hammeron

definately get your son the supercharged
version....he'll want it anyways within
6 months

chain1

I think alot of you are missing the point. Yes, the mustang is a safe car in the fact that when it crashes it holds up quite well for a car in its class. That being said, in the hands of a 17 year old, it is much more likely to be involved in a wreck than say a nice front wheel drive car.
I think the supercharger issue has already been addressed. (not a good idea).

Roy_R

It's a lot of car for a 17 year old....especially when it rains. I would get something slower/cheaper for the first year, see how he does, then surprize him.

whtcanbrwnd04u

I got my car when i was 17. The first month or so, he will be satisfied... after that, superchargers and power-adders will get to him. I agree, peer-pressure will play a big role in his decision making. Everyone wants to race, see what it can do. I think if you trust him... a GT would be a good starting point. Make him pay for gas.

Kara

As long as it is a 2005+ I would do it. A policeman I talked to said all the previous mustangs where horrible in wrecks but all of the newer ones held up great~!

tncruiser

is this a real post?

Andretti

Congrats on being an obviously wise parent and looking into stuff instead of just handing a 17 y/o the keys to a car without putting any thought into it.

That being said, I

1) wouldnt suggest getting him a new car. Like its been said before, most of us got into (at the very least) some minor fender benders when we first started driving. Also, there have been numerous posts here about high school drivers getting their cars keyed by jealous schoolmates. That alone would make me shy away from a new car.

2) a V6 mustang would and could certainly fit the bill, but I wouldnt consider a new one due to what I mentioned before about kids keying it. A used one might be easier, but no less of a target though.

I cannot strongly enough suggest NOT to get any sort of supercharged car.

The other law I would hand down along with the keys is a seatbelt at ALL timesis no use of a phone unless car is at a complete stop or at the very least, being used in a "hands free" situation. As a firefighter for 14+ years, I've ran and seen enough of wrecks where kids are driving while doing other things (phone use, too many friends in car at the same time, etc) and someone ended up dead. Kids by no means hold that distinction soley, as I've run wrecks where the parent was gabbing and ended up killing their kid too.

Again, congrats on obviously being a caring and responsible parent. The world needs many many more of us.


Bryan

TheRebel

You could always do what my parents did. They made me buy my first car. Its amazing how much safer the car was when it was my money going into it.
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05MustangSally

The question shouldn't be "is the Mustang a safe car for a child?". It should be "is your child a safe driver for the car?"

You can't judge someone you don't know. BUT for a 17 year old boy, it sounds pretty risky. Personally, I would love it if my parents bought me one at that age. But who knows, I might have been stupid with the car. A lot of younger boys than me around my area now with GTs, and they tend to just show off and drive pretty recklessly. That's not everyone but it sounds like you want opinions. If you can reason with your son if he really wants a Mustang, like discuss responsibility, that might be good.

Good luck!

MexGT

Base GT will be more than plenty to learn to handle this power with rwd.