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Brian,
It is a credit to you that you are seeking out opinions. As a 17 year old, your daughter's highest risk of dying from any single thing is from a motor vehicle accident. Please contemplate the graphic below. Although it is unlikely she will die that way, since death (or injury/disability) is a high consequence outcome I recommend a more cautious choice. Although she sounds like a conscientious person, she still lacks experience. A driving class is no substitute for years of seat time. As a surgeon, I have had to deliver the bad news to parents of dead children from trauma (including car accidents). I know what they would tell you also.
Good luck
Thanks for shairing . I just had our insurance company come in for a drivers saftey course for our driver of our fleet of trucks and the number were surprising,
I'm doing the same thing with my 15yr old daughter. I refuse to let her work but I insist she maintain her 4.0+GPA and work on applying to colleges (probably a full ride). That's a full time job in itself. She might not get accepted to a top tiered college and certainly isn't an Olympic hopeful. Daddy is not even close to being rich, but I can cover her 100% even if she doesn't get a full ride.
I know old-schoolers hate this, but how about fast forwarding 10 years from the date of college graduation? Where will she be then? It's a crap shoot, but I'm the "education" camp v. "work my *** off with crazy student debt" camp. My guess, knowing my daughter, she'll be picked up by a huge firm of her choosing and be fine.
I came from a middle class family. My parents didn't want me to work in high school. They said I would be working for a very long time when I start, so I should just wait. I wanted to make my own money. I also wanted my own car my senior year that I was going to pay for with my work money. I was told they would buy me a car when I graduated. Not doing me much good as a Senior though. I wanted wheels now. After I bought it, they said they would pay for the gas. I said no. I didn't want them having a say in what I did with "my" car since they were paying for the gas. I paid for all of it, including the insurance, myself.
Parents like the OP mean well. They just want the best for their kids. I Knew this rich kid in high school whose well off parents bought him a new MG. He was a honor roll nice kid. After he got the car, he changed. He thought he was better than everyone else, and he he began smoking, he dropped off the honor roll, and turned into a hood. All from a nice car.
If she's a good kid, I say go for it! We need some younger blood to carry on the love and traditions...plus it's something neither of you will ever forget
However, have you considered the greatly increased peer pressure she will have to endure by driving such a fast and flashy car?
Even with good kids, the challenge at that age is they quite often don't have the depth of experience to resist the pressure of their peers wanting them to use poor judgment. Everyone will be asking/daring her to race. Everyone will be begging her to "let's see how fast it is". Everyone will be a new best friend and asking to drive.
And you (the parent) are subjecting her to all that additional pressure for what? To spare a 17-year-old child the embarrassment of driving a really nice new Lexus RC?
I think you are too focused on being her buddy instead of her parent. One of the best things a parent can teach their child is patience -- the "immediate gratification" mindset can lead to really bad decisions. Not everything is right for every age.
Also, think about this: Does a professional race car driver start off his career driving a 1,000HP Formula 1 car? Why not?
I agree with this to the fullest. Well said. Good luck with your decision sir. I would tell her no.
The fact that your daughter would ask for a new Corvette at age 17 speaks volumes. Perhaps your family is very wealthy and this is in-line with lifestyle, but perspective is important.
As for me, I'd like to have heirs, so my kids did not get high powered automobiles.
There are multiple ways to look at it, but my personal opinion is that I would NOT be buying my daughter a brand new corvette.
Its not even about responsibility or trustworthiness or driving skill... to me its about having worked hard to own something nice.
99% of kids would kill to have an RC350 as a vehicle of their own and upgrading is something that happens over time and when
it happens there is some self pride associated with that purchase. Being handed a Corvette is a super nice gesture but does it
really make that individual appreciate it as much as if they acquired it themselves? Its about setting goals and achievements in life
and having things to look forward to as you get older..... but that's just my opinion.... and Also if she uses it as a daily driver, is it really
as practical as the RC350... probably not.... Just my 2 cents worth :-)
Last edited by Heiko Voss; 02-08-2019 at 12:47 PM.
I would be willing to buy my teenage daughter a new Corvette, with a few very clear conditions:
1) Corvettes are a luxury, not a necessity... nobody needs a Corvette, they are toys. So she pays 25% of the total price. If she wants the car bad enough, she will work for it. This is no different than asking her to pay for her own cosmetics, tattoos, movie outings, etc. Making her responsible for some of the upfront cost will likely change the way she looks at this new sports car... not just a toy from daddy, but something she actually worked for.
2) She keeps her grades up, and/or keeps her job, and/or keeps working toward building her future.
3) She definitely pays her own tickets. No question.
You get the point so I guess I can stop there. She has to hold up a reasonable portion of the burden in order to have a *brand new Corvette* at age 17. Just buying her the car and giving it to her outright (as a gift) would not be a good idea, I don't care how smart or responsible she is. Look at what is happening to the new generations -- it is scary and it is sad. I believe kids need to learn the value of the dollar, the value of hard work, and the value of good character. Good character cannot be taught, it has to be earned through life experiences.
But I'd definitely give her a Corolla or Civic, 100% free, no problem
My $0.02
I know some of you are going to think I'm crazy but wanted some feedback. I am thinking about getting my daughter a 19' C7 but I'm having second thoughts. She's only 17 and has been driving a Lexus RC350 for a year. She really wants a corvette but I don't want to be doing something wrong. She's had zero issues with her driving. I monitor her driving through an app that alerts me to high speed, rapid acceleration, hard stops etc. I figured all cars can go fast and we live in south Florida so there's so much traffic you can't really do much. I don't know just looking for some thoughts.
I've been in the car business for over 20 years now. I have one story that I thought of when I saw your post. This same scenario happened back when the C5s were out. A father came into the dealership and bought his 16 year old son a brand new Corvette. His son was dead two weeks later. It's not because he had too much power, it's because he didn't know how to handle and drive the car. So if your daughter knows how to drive and has done a driving school and has had some track time, I would say go for it. If she hasn't done all of that, I would wait until she does the driving school and gets at least 10 tracks days in. You need to know the capabilities of the car especially for a teenager.
This is no different than parents buying their kid a crotch rocket superbike motorcycle. These young kids come out riding with us wanting to show how much expertise they have after two weeks of experience, usually as their first bike. Many end crashing. Some dying. It's the same with riders in their early 20's too. I know many who had the skill, but very few with the experience riding a high performance machine. The handling is so smooth with these latest cars and bikes, but the laws of physics still apply. It is so easy for them to get away from you when you think you have full control. A look at the Youtubes after a Coffee and Cars event will prove that. People who think that have Mario Andretti DNA, are the ones with their precious in the ditch, wall, or wrapped around a tree.
It's nice for a young teen to be able to ask for and get a high performance vehicle, but do they really need one? If you are 17, you have 5, 10 to 60 years to own one. I've been to many wakes of young guys who died on bikes, and the look on their families face's is heart breaking. Most of them I didn't know personally, but out of respect I would attend.
I would let the daughter keep driving the Lexus. Maybe get her a Vette, possibly a ME model when she graduates from college. I'm sure you want to see her with that sheepskin?
Everyone is a little different, but mostly kids at 17 are not very responsible and do not have the experience in driving, especially a high performance sports car.
I had my first Corvette at the age of 18 while serving in the U.S. Navy, that was in January of 1972. It was a 1966 327/350 4speed convertible with only 21,000 original miles on it. I bought the car a week earlier with my dad while home on leave.
Long story short....I totalled the Vette only after two hours of ownership!! Driving the car at over 100 MPH and hit black ice, rolled 3 times and luckily did not get badly hurt or killed!
I am sure your daughter is more responsible than I was, but kids tend to be egged by others and do things they wouldn't normally do on their own. My advice is for her to keep the car she is driving now and shelve the Corvette idea until a later time...
Brian... here's my experience, and it is based on FACT, but a small sample. Nothing more, nothing less. Granted... my two did not get _new_ Corvettes when they were just driving. They also put some equity of their own into their first vehicles. But _both_ got late-model, hot-rod trucks (Gen 2 Ford SVT Lightning), which at the time were very quick... and could get a lot of irresponsible adults in trouble.
Understand, from the time my kids were babies, I've had a sports car or a race car in my garage...sometimes several at a time. They grew up around them, worked on them with me, and with _no doubt_ respected the power under the hood via their right foot.
My son bought my '04 Lightning when he was 15. I was going to sell it, and get something else. He learned to drive with it. My wife and I felt like this would be a good vehicle (I de-modded it for the most part when I sold it to him, but it still had some mild mods and was a mid-12 second truck). Single cab (only one passenger...far less distractions than a sedan where teens will pile 4+ people in the car), sits up a little higher for good visibility, had better than average brakes and handling. Power? yep... plenty. At 16, he got his license, learned to parallel park with it to pass the state test, and drove it through HS and into year 2 in college. One ticket in 4 years. Not one accident. He decided he wanted a Vette like dad, so I told him he would have to pay the insurance difference, work through the process of selling his truck and we would look for a low-mileage Vette for him. Found him an '07 coupe with 25k miles on it, and immediately did some mods... it was quickly a 500hp car. Drove that for 4 years without a ticket, and zero accidents. He recently sold it to purchase my 2002 Lingenfelter Twin Turbo Z06... I am the original owner of the car, and he was 7 when I bought it. He's 24 now, and will be able to handle a 750hp car.
My daughter (3 years younger than son)... I found a '00 Lightning in pristine condition for her. At 15, she learned to drive with it. Drove it through HS and college. She graduated from a 4 year school at age 21, and decided she wanted something newer. Bought a Ford Edge Sport... that's just more her style. In 6 years... never had one ticket, no accidents.
Again... my kids weren't driving Vettes at 17... but they both had two of the fastest vehicles on their HS campus, and never got into trouble with them. Maybe they are the exception, maybe not. I don't know.
As others have said well... you know your daughter better than any of us do. But there are certainly some teens out there who can be responsible with high-HP vehicles.
Oh man I love to see the diverse group of parents commenting on this thread! Plenty of "cool" parents and a few jealous downers
People frequently associate young adults + fast cars with negative outcomes. I can give my first hand experience from driving a fast car as a teenager in the 21st century:
When I got my license, I immediately jumped into a Jeep SRT8 with 430 hp. Now, I'm 24 and have been daily driving a 2017 Z06 for over a year - that I purchased new.
What did not happen as a result of my experience:
A single accident
Financial reliance on my parents
What did happen as a result of my experience:
Self control to apply both on and off the road
An appreciation for the finer things in life to fuel a strong work ethic
And of course a passion for cars
And one last point - for those who say the Lexus is a better car for the purpose - get off the internet. HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TEACH YOU THIS LESSON OLD MAN (feel free to google this reference)
Last edited by Frankadoodle; 02-08-2019 at 03:08 PM.
My son drives a 1998 Z28 daily and has full access to my 1974 Stingray. He has had no issues and knows the consequences if he does anything stupid. But I don't know the OP's daughter, but if you give them power early they will respect it.
If she's a good kid, I say go for it! We need some younger blood to carry on the love and traditions...plus it's something neither of you will ever forget
Love this! Corvettes are too frequently called "old man cars". We should be happy that some people are lucky enough to get behind the wheel at a young age
Love this! Corvettes are too frequently called "old man cars". We should be happy that some people are lucky enough to get behind the wheel at a young age
I've been in the car business for over 20 years now. I have one story that I thought of when I saw your post. This same scenario happened back when the C5s were out. A father came into the dealership and bought his 16 year old son a brand new Corvette. His son was dead two weeks later. It's not because he had too much power, it's because he didn't know how to handle and drive the car. So if your daughter knows how to drive and has done a driving school and has had some track time, I would say go for it. If she hasn't done all of that, I would wait until she does the driving school and gets at least 10 tracks days in. You need to know the capabilities of the car especially for a teenager.
I would say no unless you first send her to the Spring Mountain Corvette driving school in Pahrump, Nevada. Too much car car for a teenager unless they're trained to drive it.
THIS. Every kid should get defensive driving and high performance driving lessons. Drivers ed is not enough...especially when you're tuning a 17 year old loose in an almost 500HP car.
Heh...my daugher is getting a 14 year old Acura TSX.
02-07-2019, 07:15 AM
