why does everyone suddenly think because its a sports car he's going to crash it? If he's responsible, he'll be fine.

 

buying a different car is not the point. It's the person who is driving is the one that everyone is concern about.
WRX, 350Z, Evo....... If you are going to wrap the car around a tree doing stupid sh#t.......it's the fleshy part of the whole equation that's the problem.

Good luck and be safe!

 

most of you explain the reason for not getting the evo is due to maintence. aka problems due to racing. who said he is going to race the car. most people i see you have exottic cars (ferrari, lambo's) all drive very slowly. He might occasionally drive fast but it doesn't mean he is going to be the next jeff gorden or michael shumacher. however having said all that, i would not get the evo as my first car. get your son an eclipse or a regular lancer maybe oz edition. let him get to know how to drive with a stick and then maybe for his second car, the evo would be a possible option. its all up to you now and its all how he was raised. good luck in your car choices.

 

Well one of my main concerns with the evo is when Im on the freeway and I take a hand off the wheel to shift, If i hit a bump or a curve in the road somtimes Ill almost lose control. I know it comes with the car but I dont think im ready for that.

 

let him have the Evo, and when he's not looking, put in a "detune ECU flash", have him drive it for awhile until you are satisfy that he can handle it, then put back the real deal...

 

Last year I bought my evo 8 and I was 18. Yea I had a bunch of people tell me the same as some of these guys are now, 18+evo=tree, thats a bunch of bull. If he appreicates his car then he wont do anything stupid, thats why my baby, THE EVO, hasn't been hurt.
James

 

i was 18 when i got the evo7, my first car, and manual car. had no problems with the car, i think its the best car ive driven, im just not used to low power manual cars, just doesnt feel right since ive learned and driven my evo. its a nice car, i give great care and keep it in new condition, i had my car over a year, its a 2001, i got it used, and it still has the new car smell.

 

Like many said, it all depends on how responsible the guy it. If your worried about saftey, then no car will be much different from the other. If you can wrap an evo around a tree, you can wrap a civic around a tree. It may be a little easyer to do in an evo if you don't know what your doing, but thats why hopefully he is responsible enough to at least learn the car before the spirited driving starts. Maybe he doesn't want to race it all the time, I dunno. Would I recommend the evo as a 1st car? no, but as a second car, I say why not. It takes a while to get used to, I moved up from a 92 civic 5spd, and I'm just now getting used to the power and accelaration of the evo. He should definetly know how to drive a stick before the evo though, if he doesn't already.

If he's got his heart set on the evo, he'll get it. If he has been saving his money up for one, so theres no stopping him. Don't even try. Just try to make sure he's safe about it.

If he is a crazy driver, and can't resist showing off to everything that goes faster then him, then maybe he shouldn't get it. If he's got an ego, it can get him in trouble. If he screws it up, hopefullu he will learn from his mistakes. ****, if he's got enough for an evo at only 18, I say let him get what ever the hell he wants. If he worked for it, he will value it more, and take better care of it then someone who just gets one for free.

just my .02

 

A small sidetrack here, but how does a kid save $30000 in two years? He made enough money to pay for movies, clothes and whatever else a 16-18 yearold buys plus he has $30K in the bank? That would take a $30000 job for two years, no? I wish I had that kind of job in highschool.

 

Id say sure... I learned to drive in high performance vehicles, most all of them were under a 5 second 0-60. I now can say I am a pretty decent driver...Although I recommend he should take some professional driving classes and get a passport 8500 or valentine radar system. O and ummm, keep him away from street racing in traffic, that would be my only real concern.

 

how good are those passport and valentine radars? i have a uniden one and it's lousy. of course, the purpose of the radar would not be to speed, but be alerted when there are police in the area.

 

i def wouldn't let him get it for his first car....transmissions go so easy and then u have to deal w/ mitsubishi

 

the evo can be a very dangerous car or it can save you. twice. like mine did. i used to drive a grand am (boo) and those 2 situations i was put in i had to rely on the brakes to save me. one being a jack*** stopped in the middle of the road around a blind turn. and the other was a guy passing someone the other direction didnt have the room to. i had to brake from 55 to a complete stop real quick, i almost thought i was gonna get head on, he missed me and the car he was passing by about 2 feet. as long as your son is careful and doesnt drive like an idiot, the car may actually save HIM from some other moron. also anybody, i dont care the age, saves up 30k to buy an evo they most likely will baby that car until they learn to handle it. if he knows so much about it, he will know the car and the power it has demands respect.

 

Lets just say I have not had a ticket in o....a few years... The 8500 passport can even sense through bridges and overpasses.... It will beep beep beep KA or K whichever cop is using, then right before you hit the over pass it will stop...that means poopoo cramping the bridge.

I love it....

In terms of the transmission and clutch, make sure he understands the penalties of launching this car, as well as the benefits of learning how to rev match and heel shift.

Mr_Green brings up a good point as well, it can be very dangerous for a newbie, but it could also end up saving his life... As my M did a few times when I first bought it, and let me tell you if that car was not built to control the way it did then or if it were any other car, I wouldnt be here now...Atleast I wouldnt be here with my car.

 

Dad. Just make sure you have good health insurance for your son (because he isn't getting it by playing with stock online) and that his life insurance policy is well paid up.

If he screws up and crashes/injures himself or others, you will ultimately be held responsible ...esp if your son still lives under your roof.

Also keep in mind that being able to buy the car is one thing. It's great that an 18yr old kid has the ability to do that. Being able to maintain this car is something completely different. This car is NOT cheap to keep up like a Neon or a Civic. The parts are not inexpensive.

Trading stocks is not a reliable source of income. If it was, we would all be daytraders also. That $30k you have in your account could be $1k next week if you make the wrong decisions. And if/when that happens, how will you possibly afford the $1200 set of new tires you will need every 15k miles, the $800 snow tires for winters (since the oem tires are summer only), the $600 brake pads and $800 rotors every 20k miles or the $1500 clutch you will need after learning how to drive the car properly?

Good luck with whatever you decide.