Honda Car Forum

<me6@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:4t9h709r340476franrh1jr59a5pj1clsg@4ax.com...
> My 19 yr old nephew will be off to first year of college next fall.
>
> He desperately needs reliable and economical transportation as he will
> be in college abt 4 hrs away.
>
> What vehicle.... model and brand....would be a good bet for him to
> buy? We are thinking brand new vs used....so that he will have a
> warranty and can fully concentrate on his studies at school (he wants
> to become dentist) ... and not have to worry abt a used car and
> breakdowns. But we are on a budget.
>
> he has worked hard and has a good savings.... plus his family (uncles,
> parents) will help him with cost a new car as well.
>
> We need something that will help keep his insurance costs low as he is
> in that high risk "bracket" at his age level.
>
> Advice?
>
> Thanks in advance

Need to look at insurance too. A Civic coupe will be high. I would look at
a used Accord 4-door (LX) with auto. Manuals can be a problem for some
youngsters -- either can't drive them well, or play sports car. I had one
young man boast to me how he could run his Prelude to 8500 rpm and it would
stay together. Dangerous living when the redline is 1000 rpm less. On the
other hand -- find a $ 4,500 domestic -- Buick Regal or the like and put
liability on it only. When it's ruined, the loss will be unimportant. I
guess it depends on how responsible your nephew is in taking care of car.

A used 3.4L Chevy Impala (unless you can find a new one for under invoice,
which shouldn't be too difficult). Good Highway Mileage. Big back seat for
extra curricular actives. Tons of space for cargo. Good at giving and
taking hits. If the kid wants a more exciting car, he can work on that
when he starts making the big bucks. Also, they usually don't get into
accidents, since other drivers are always looking out for them (cop cars).

If the kid's a driving enthuiast (not a car enthuiast) and is not on the
concervative/safe side. I would get him a 2000 Civic with upgraded
shocks/springs (tokico&pro-kit) and good tires. With this setup, there's a
better chance that the car will save his ass when he overdoes it.

Pars
98 Civic Hatch

me6@privacy.net wrote:

> My 19 yr old nephew will be off to first year of college next fall.
>
> He desperately needs reliable and economical transportation as he will
> be in college abt 4 hrs away.
>
> What vehicle.... model and brand....would be a good bet for him to
> buy? We are thinking brand new vs used....so that he will have a
> warranty and can fully concentrate on his studies at school (he wants
> to become dentist) ... and not have to worry abt a used car and
> breakdowns. But we are on a budget.
>
> he has worked hard and has a good savings.... plus his family (uncles,
> parents) will help him with cost a new car as well.
>
> We need something that will help keep his insurance costs low as he is
> in that high risk "bracket" at his age level.
>
> Advice?
>
> Thanks in advance!

SAC441@webtv.net wrote:

> Manual transmissions may be cheaper to repair PER BREAKDOWN
> OCCURRENCE,but in my experience they were always breaking down more
> often than any automatic transmission I have ever had.I would say that
> automatics have a higher rate of reliability overall due to the fact
> that you are not over-revving or under-revving the power bands as much.I
> guess it has more to do with the driver and his driving style.Just an
> opinion,as this can also vary by make and/or model of vehicle.

My Volvo was on its original transmission at ten years and 230K miles.
Yes, the clutch was barely there, but it still worked fine at 250K
when it got totalled.

On 11 Apr 2004 15:32:35 GMT, drpimpdaddi@aol.com.FUdope (He Hate Retards)
wrote:

>>No.... we are not rich....sadly. lol
>>
>>Good point on the poor parking. I will print this out and let him
>>read it
>
>
>This is ridiculous. I had a new car while in college and never got any damages
>while parked on campus. Students aren't the inconsiderate, reckless aholes that
>most adults are. For example, my car was parked in a shopping center parking
>lot, when I came back, I found a note saying "I'm so sorry about hitting your
>car!" I looked around and found a huge dent the size of a basketball.

"Aholes" don't leave notes... unless there was no info to get insurance
stuff?? This kind of thing happens everywhere occasionally - in
school/college parking lots it's an everyday occurence; most are
under-insured and many not properly insured... they generally do not leave
notes.

Here's a couple for you:

1) LI princess after gouging someone's car, denting door and ripping off
mirror, in her brand new Lexus SUV: "Huh, $1000. ta fix it?... It's only a
****in' Honda Accord!"

2) Passenger: Melissa[driver in traffic], your brights are on.
Melissa: Whaddya mean?
Passenger: The blue light on your dash - you're blinding everybody.
Melissa: Nah that's always on - s'pposed to be like that.

How someone can get a driving license without knowing about low and high
beam headlights is beyond me. What else might she not know... which could
be umm, critical at 80mph on a freeway? Those are just a couple of
examples - the scars which were on the cars, plus a minor case of malicious
damage(surfboard oil on windshield), were evidence enough for me.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

>My 240 cost me a whopping $300 in maintainence in one
>year.

Joseph.... I tend to agree with everything you said abt requirements
of a good student car. heck maybe its what I should get as well...
i.e. Vovo1

But.... I think a Volvo might be a had sell to my nephew. He is
wanting something a bit sportier looking than a boxy Volvo.

He is currently driving an old K car..... name escapes me.... Dodge
Aries that his grand mother left him when she died. This was his very
first car ever. And its kinda boxy and ugly looking. But he so far
has been a very good driver.... very responsible.

I will try and make him "see the light" on the Volvo thing.....and why
such features are good. But I also recognize his desire to have
something a bit better looking. After all he is 19..... lol

>Manual transmissions may be cheaper to repair PER BREAKDOWN
>OCCURRENCE,but in my experience they were always breaking down more
>often than any automatic transmission I have ever had.I would say that
>automatics have a higher rate of reliability overall due to the fact
>that you are not over-revving or under-revving the power bands as much.I
>guess it has more to do with the driver and his driving style.Just an
>opinion,as this can also vary by make and/or model of vehicle.

He cant drive a stick anyway. My nephew that is.

Im sorta ambivalent on the manual vs auto thing as well.

I agree manuals are easier and cheaper to repair..... better gas
mileage, etc. But Im like above poster in that a good manual often
goes 100k plus mileage BEFORE it needs repairs.

Plus he cant drive a stick ....and will be in heavy Kansas City
traffic.

>Need to look at insurance too. A Civic coupe will be high. I would look at
>a used Accord 4-door (LX) with auto. Manuals can be a problem for some
>youngsters -- either can't drive them well, or play sports car. I had one
>young man boast to me how he could run his Prelude to 8500 rpm and it would
>stay together. Dangerous living when the redline is 1000 rpm less. On the
>other hand -- find a $ 4,500 domestic -- Buick Regal or the like and put
>liability on it only. When it's ruined, the loss will be unimportant. I
>guess it depends on how responsible your nephew is in taking care of car.
>

Well so far he is very responsible driver

However....Im surprised to hear that a Civic coupe would be higher
insurance. I would have thought any small compact car to be fairly
cheap to insure.

But yes I can see th logic on a Buick Regal or a Volvo as far as cheap
to insure

But its gonna be a hard sell to convince him to go for that as he does
want a better looking car. He has been driving a Dodger Aries..... so
he has been practicing "self denial" so far.

>"Aholes" don't leave notes... unless there was no info to get insurance
>stuff??

Aholes leave meaningless notes instead of insurance information and/or their
name & phone #. Plus, this is a well known "scam" that people pull, where they
pretend to leave their insurance info. Think about it, If you hit a parked car
then flee, a witness might report you for hit & run. If you get out and pretend
to leave your insurance info, then you probably won't be.


This kind of thing happens everywhere occasionally - in
>school/college parking lots it's an everyday occurence

A ding or a scratch maybe... but a HUGE F'N DENT????? I don't even know how
this damage was possible, considering where my car was parked.



; most are
>under-insured and many not properly insured... they generally do not leave
>notes.

Why da hell are you so hung up on them leaving a meaningless note? How is "I'm
sorry" gonna help pay for the $1000+ in damages? So if someone is under or
non-insured, they shouldn't be responsible?

>
>Here's a couple for you:
>
>1) LI princess after gouging someone's car, denting door and ripping off
>mirror, in her brand new Lexus SUV: "Huh, $1000. ta fix it?... It's only a
>****in' Honda Accord!"
>
>2) Passenger: Melissa[driver in traffic], your brights are on.
>Melissa: Whaddya mean?
>Passenger: The blue light on your dash - you're blinding everybody.
>Melissa: Nah that's always on - s'pposed to be like that.
>
>How someone can get a driving license without knowing about low and high
>beam headlights is beyond me. What else might she not know... which could
>be umm, critical at 80mph on a freeway? Those are just a couple of
>examples - the scars which were on the cars, plus a minor case of malicious
>damage(surfboard oil on windshield), were evidence enough for me.
>
>Rgds, George Macdonald
>
>"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
>
>
>
>
>
>





How to turn off 'Maintenance Required" light:

1. Hold trip/reset button on dash
2. Turn key to "ON" or start engine
3. Hold button til light goes out

From: josephoberlander@earthlink.net (Joseph*Oberlander) wrote:

>My criteria for a college student-to-be
>and first time driver(that is, without your
>supervision/driving family cars where
>they are naturally on good behavior)

>5irt-cheap to insure.

Excellent advice. We made the mistake of buying our son a Civic coupe
and pay big bucks for insurance. Look into rates for the car you are
considering!

>6:Stick. It is good to learn now, and it
>helps maximize driving efficiency. You
>also get better power and speed in 4
>cylinder engines. Most of all, though, is
>that it requires interaction. Most young
>people with automatics tend to phase
>out and listen to the radio. Stick forces
>them to interact with the car every
>minute or so. They spend their time
>driving and not goofing off.

Excellent points again. Said son has been itching for a manual shift and
you give good reasons for the change.

From: me6@privacy.net wrote:

>However....Im surprised to hear that a
>Civic coupe would be higher insurance.

Trust me when I say it's high. I'm ready to pay the 6 month premium, 17
year old driver, SoCal, full coverage, $1459./6 months. Oucheemama!

>I would have thought any small compact
>car to be fairly cheap to insure.

Think again. The Civic Coupe is a ball buster.