an M5 is comparable to the TT in the sense that they're both considered sports cars.

your parents are asking for danger by buying you a TT because they're buying a sportscar, which makes you automatically think your a professional driver.

Debate away.

 

first problem is your parents buying you a tt for your first car? is it your first car? IM 18 my first car was an eclipse i had to pay 1/2 parents paid the other half it was.

 

Or at least half ay

 

First and foremost: Red_Sapphire89 who are you to be lecturing me? You take this "holier-than-thou" approach yet you are all of less than a year older than me and have had more wrecks than me (as I have never had a wreck or a ticket). You are trying to take the "high road" argument of how you pay for everything you own, yourself, yet I swear I just read that your parents helped you "pay 1/2?" Okay, so you are trying to take potshots at "the rich kid" because I didn't pay for the car that my dad bought for me. I apologize for my family having the means to buy me a nice car as a reward for doing well in high school and subsequently getting me into every single college to which I applied, three of which with merit-based scholarship. I know I might take some flak over this comment, but my parents kind of see school work as my "job" and believe that I should be rewarded when I do well. I don't have time to work after school and get money to buy my own car, because I study EVERY DAY after school, much like A JOB. I try to work for money in every place that I can (for example as a corner worker at TWS in College Station for $180 per weekend), but I literally do not have the time to be employed on a regular basis. I apologize for having to study all the time. Where did you get the money to buy the car? Also, do you not realize that you too are being chastised simply because you own the car that you do, at such a young age? You too apparently believe that you are a "professional driver," simply because you are a young age.

achTTung: going beyond your generic stereotypes, I believe that you are being naive if you seriously believe that a TT is in the same ballpark as an M5. Yes, they are both considered sportscars, but besides that very broad title, the similarities disappear. I really don't want to argue this but I feel I kind of have to defend my own parents, thanks. I think that a TT is a fairly logical choice car to begin with: AWD will not allow me "burn out," drift, or do any other bad idea that stupid "yougin's" like myself obviously always have the urge to do (by drifting I am meaning on concrete in dry conditions, as many RWD cars are capable of doing). So key argument number one: AWD is a very forgiving platform to learn to drive on and is in fact one of the safest platforms to begin driving on, if not the safest. Key Argument Number 2: there is not a ridiculous amount of horsepower (example: 500+ hp, kind of like an M5?), I mean I am not downplaying the quickness of the car, but it is no M5 (less than half the displacement, horsepower, and torque). The TT will not be winning any landspeed records unless I add mods which my dad has full control over (as I respect my dad's decisions and the title of the car is in his name). My dad has already told me that he will not allow me to get any modifications that increase horsepower (like a chip) because he says that "[I] have enough horsepower as it is, and [I] don't need any more until [I] progress in group color at the track and prove [my] competence at the track." So to reiterate: the TT does not have a shi'ite ton of horsepower compared to other alternatives. KA #3: The TT has great crash test ratings. I think that the aforementioned arguement is self explanatory. KA #5: The price is right for a used TT. Also self explanatory. KA #6: The TT is also small so I can maneuver in traffic easily, park in small spaces, and cannot fit more than one other person in the car due to the impossibly small backseats. Please don't argue about the backseats because any semi-intelligent person can figure out the the coupe backseats are too small for any grown person to sit in (by grown I mean larger than 4'11" like the manual says). KA #6: My TT is a manual which I believe is a good skill to have later in life as well as it keeps me from even attempting to drive drunk (not to mention I never have and never will). Hopefully I proved why I believe that my car, my TT, is an acceptable starter car.

Now on to the "pro driver" complex that I apparently developed during this debate, according to achTTung. I believe that because of the fact that my family does track days, I am able to realize just how much of a professional driver I am NOT. I don't know how many DEs or days at the track you have done, but after that first time you go off the track because you go into a corner carrying too much speed, you instantly are "put in your" place, so to speak. These track days are also a much better way for me to intimately get to know my car and the boundaries of it, in a safe place where bystanders can not be harmed and an instructor driver is there to tell me what I do wrong/unsafe. After having personally seen a mini cooper brought off the track on a flatbed after having gone two wheels off then attempted to get back on, but overcorrected and managed to make his car turn sideways at which point his tire got caught in a rut and he flipped numerous times, along with having experienced being directly behind a C6 Corvette as it lost traction in a corner and went into a tire wall and forced me to veer off of my "line" in order to avoid hitting the dirt/fiber glass left on the track, I'm pretty sure I know the consequences of making mistakes. I'm aware that I don't know everything, but I do think that it is possible for someone as young as me to be a safe driver in a TT despite my age and the stereotypes that go with it. I go to the track to learn about my car and to learn how to be a safer driver on the street or on the track. I don't see anything wrong with young people owning a safe, compact, AWD, not-unmanageably-quick, resonably priced (for a used one), and reasonably reliable car. Because my parents bought me a sportscar does not automatically make me think I am a racecar driver. First and foremost, that depends on the person. Secondly, if a teenager (the agegroup I assume you are referring to with this comment) has the inclination to act like a racecar driver, getting him a Moped won't keep that teenager from acting like a racecar driver. The car doesn't decide the mentality. I think that track days have effectively kept this mentality subdued in me, and I think that this claim is unfounded and unjustified. My "track record" (excuse the pun) on the street is flawless (no wrecks or tickets) and I plan on keeping it that way. Please don't disrespect my parents' and/or their decision to buy me a TT, and I hope I have justified fully to you why I believe that have as much right as you to own this awesome car. If you would like to keep this debate up, I am fully ready to further this argument. If you actually just read everything I wrote, I applaud you, and if you didn't and it is apparent in your subsequent remarks, I will ignore you. Thanks!

 

I just reread my post and that is really long haha I did say "Before I write a really really long rant" though, I guess. Hopefully someone will read it and tell me where I am wrong though.

 

Umm...ok. Whatever happened to the days that parents got beaters for first cars for their kids? I was driving an 88' Dodge Omni for my first car (and NO is was not a GLH ). Not because my parents could not afford anything nicer, but because I did not need anything other than simple transportation. I am 34 and my oldest son is 7, and I am sure as hell not getting him a performance car for his first. It will be a Civic, Corollaor whatever is around 10 years from now....something along those lines. And before you make an argument about “what if they get a job and pay for it themselves” my response to that is for an 18 year old, purchasing a car normally takes financing, and because most 18 years olds do not have credit yet, require a co-signer. If my son thinks I will co-sign on a car I think is too much for him to handle, he has another thing coming. Plus, insurance for a car like these for an 18 year old? That’s a whole different issue.

I may be old fashioned, but I see something inherently wrong with parents getting really nice or even brand new cars for the first car of their kids. Parents should be looking at safety as the #1 concern when buying a car for their 18 year old. #2 concern would be reliability, then gas mileage and insurance premiums. Performance should not even be a consideration LOL. Oh, and don't even get me started on the whole issue of Parents just giving sh*t to their kids making them spoiled little brats. Now I say all this now, but when I was 18 I did not think this way. I was PISSED to be driving a Dodge Omni, whena fellowclassmate of mine was driving a brand new Prelude that he bragged about constantly. I think back and now I realize he was a jacka$$ who probably never had the pleasure of earning something by himself, and always had things handed to him.Being a parent now myself, I don't hold anygrudges against my parents for getting me that Omni, and I now know why they did it.

And Mevans607..you are missing the point of this entire thread….The TT and the M5 ARE comparable because they are both performance cars (who cares about the difference in performance or quality as it does not matter), and in my opinion, NIETHER should be the first car of a first time driver.

 

Mevans:

You make some really good points. I was just talking to my lady about my car. I've thought about getting rid of it for something more suitable for a family; although we have 2 vehicles. She said, "No, keep this... we'll just give it to Christopher" - keep in mind, he gets his license in a about 1.5 years. My response was, "Absolutely not!"

When driving ANY vehicle, there comes with it a level of responsibility; regardless of your age, sex, race and/or how many years you have been driving. The bottom line is that whoever you are, you need to be safe and have some common sense.

I wouldn't have trusted myself @ 17 years old to be driving a TT.

Keep up the good grades, do your thing and listen to your father.



-Ron

 

Firstly: munkee, thank you for your coherent and respectful comment. I completely agree with the majority of your comment, primarily the part stating, "you need to be safe and have some common sense. " I understand completely why you would choose not to give your future 17 year old a TT. Personally I think that your decision is completely reasonable, but I would just like to say that others should not criticize my parents' decision simply based on stereotypes. I think that much of this argument is based on assumptions made about the mentality of teenagers, and the driving habits that therein follow. The comment mentioning insurance rates is good in that insurance rates are proof that teenagers are involved in more accidents than any other single group of people. Although I am not going to try and convince the populace that I do not suffer from this mentality (as I probably do, as does every other person that brags about racing cars on public roadways or taking turns at 120 mph on this forum), I believe that my lack of wrecks and tickets gives some validity to the argument that although in some situations I do drive aggressively, I save the "putting my car to the limit" for the track and the track alone. And once again, I thank you for the comment.


Doadea: first things first- you said that you would buy your child about a 10 year old car. I would just like to mention that as of today, my car is over 7 years old (as it is a 2001 model and the 2001 came out in 2000). Though there is a slight difference between a 10 year old car and a 7 year old car, it is by no means a "brand new car." I think that had you read my previous post completely, and understood it, you would understand that I made no comment about “what if they get a job and pay for it themselves,” nor did I even hint that I would. I think that I even stated abruptly and outright that my father bought the car for me as a reward for doing well in school, and reaching the "first step" to succeeding financially in life. I actually believe that I argued with someone who made a similar argument about how he paid for the car himself (well half...). But of course you didn't read my post, and you just jumped into the fray, ignorant of anything that had been said, ready to "bash the spoiled little teenager." My car cost roughly as much as a new civic (which, with options, can reach over 30k currently). The reason that my dad got me a "performance car" is because my family actively races on a monthly basis, and a civic or corolla won't hold up under race conditions on a track. He has been racing his porsche for about 5 years now and when I had expressed interest in racing at the track in order to better my driving skills as a whole, he decided that he would allow me get a car that could hold up under track conditions. I understand that half of you are having a "s**t fit" over the fact that a teenager owns a car that is under the title "performance car," but there is more to the matter than simply that. You do not know my family, nor do you know me. I am pretty sure that my parents know me a little better than any of you, and they are better able to judge how responsible of a person I am, based on previous events in my life. They were also able to gauge my driving ability during the year of "permit driving" that is mandatory in Texas before getting a license at sixteen. Personally I do not think that it is your place to state that because a TT is considered a "performance car," it should under no circumstances be driven by anyone under the age of "X." You stated that safety should be the number one concern: have you seen the crash test ratings on the TT? They are very high, and once again, had you read my post you would have known that I said "KA #3: The TT has great crash test ratings," but of course you did not and you just jumped on the bandwagon of people who desired to chastise a young person with a nice car. On to reliability, I also said "I don't see anything wrong with young people owning a safe, compact, AWD, not-unmanageably-quick, reasonably priced (for a used one), and reasonably reliable car." But of course you skipped that too somehow. On to gas mileage. In a previous post on a different topic, in reference to a young, New York guy who was thinking about buying a new TT, I stated that gas mileage was a key factor that he should not forget (this is the post that I suggested he consider a 300zx over a 240sx if you want to find it in the archives). Insurance premiums: though a little higher with a "performance car," no matter what type of car I own, as a teenager, my rates will be high. I understand that you are against me having a performance car, but I do not think a TT is unreasonable for the application in which I have and will be using (notably my monthly tracking of the car), and I do not believe that a TT is unreasonable for the street, in that it is not ridiculously fast. I think that speed is the major factor in young people having accidents: too much speed, not enough experience. The TT is not a drag car, yet it is quick enough to work on the track. To be completely honest, I think a Mustang GT is a less logical car than a TT for a young person.

I do not think that I am entitled to such a nice car, and I am very, very thankful for I have been blessed with. Unfortunately though, when you said, "I think back and now I realize he was a jacka$$ who probably never had the pleasure of earning something by himself, and always had things handed to him," it made me feel like you were making a reference to me (isn't that strange?) and I would just like you to know that I did have the pleasure of earning this car in a sense. Although I by no means feel like I deserved it or am entitled to having such a nice car, I do feel like I have done everything thing I can thus far in my life to earn this gift. What other job do I need to do to prove that I am working hard at "my job," than doing well in school and getting into competitive, well-known colleges? Nothing. There is nothing else that I can do to prove my hard work. And I believe that my dad was cognizant of my hard work, and thought that for my use, a TT was not unreasonable. Thanks for your argument, but once again, you have failed to sway me into believing your argument. I feel like I have successfully defended my parents and their decision, but anyone else who like to take a stab at disrespecting my parents, please feel free, and I will zealously defend them.

 

Mevans: My Post was in response to the original post that started this thread, about the 08 M5.My only response to you was my last paragraph..."And Mevans607.." etc. I never saidI would buy my child a 10 year old car...I said that in 10 years I would buywhatever is comparable to a civic at that time.I doubt I would buy a 10 year old car for anyone.

Ithink it was very irresponsible of those parents to give that 18 year old an M5. I mean, what they HELL did they expect him to do with an M5? Pick up groceries? Yeah sure, a reckless youth can be killed in any kind of car, but I doubt he would have been out on an airstrip showing off if he had a more reasonable car. There is a reason why insurance is more expensive for younger people.

 

I sincerely apologize for "going on the offensive." It appeared to me that you were making references to "the book" that I had written above your comment. Please accept my apology. I agree that an M5 is ridiculous. There is just no justifying buying that for someone my age, because he did exactly what the vast majority of people my age would probably do with that much power: show it off to his friends. Once again, I apologize for my rant. You are entitled to your own opinion and I will leave this argument at that.