88MustangGX

i am 22, i had a 93 grand prix for my first car. then got a 00 GTP supercharged. Now i have a mazda 3 and i picked up the fox last may. I tell ya it's a different ball game with RWD. The car isnt that fast stock but you can loose that *** end with the wrong driver. I agree with showing off in front of people. If it is his first car no doubt he will get alot of attention and want to do burnouts and tailwips and race... it's a guy thing. And with the wrong people around chances are he'll probably do it. Hell, i tryed gettin smart and almost wacked a curb when i spun out the a$$ end. And i did loose it on labor day and messed up my front end. Point is i guess that alot of people think they can handle it. But bottom line, start out with something with FWD at least. Especially in snow. My fox in the rain is horrible. I only got caught once in it and i will never do it again. As a parent, it's a tough call cuz he will want one and do anything to convince you he can handle it. If i where in your spot, i wouldn't get one for him. But thats me. good luck

P Zero

My first car was '79 5.0 ghia sport (5.0 4spd), I bought it myself, needless to say my folks werent very happy about it. Anyway, I live in michigan and we get LOTS of snow and ice here, what the 5.0 DID teach me is to respect mother nature, because it doesnt really matter what youre in (ranger, escort, hummerr, etc), if you dont respect the weather you WILL get hurt. On all season radials, in the snow I couldnt get going past 25/30 with out the tailend gettin happy.
ANyway, is it a good first car, IMO yes it is, my stang taught me everything I needed to know about driving, how to control skids, how to regain control if for some reason I lost it, and it also taught me how fast I need to move in order to get teh car to do what I want. Also, my first car got me on the road to learning A LOT more about cars, physics,chemistry, hydrodynamics, thermodynamics, etc. etc. Cars are VERY useful learning tools, there are SO many different sciences that come together on a car, and that education is priceless, you never know his love of cars might be a step towards mechanical engineering.
To sum it up, Id say get em the car, DONT let em supe it up for a while, and when you do let em only do it a little at a time, that way he'll progressively learn how to drive a higher and higher rwhp car, the most accidents Ive seen in muscle cars is when someone goes from a a bone stock car to something that 350 rwhp, thats a completly different animal and they wind up crashing.
Also, safety shoud be a concern, Id say a rollcage would be a wise investment as well (just in case). My .02
-P.
PS: Forgot to mention, if you do let him get it, he'll love ya forever.

vt89gtvert

I am going to say it is not a very good first car. My current stang was my first car, I wrecked it within six months, when I was even showing off to much. That was followed by a whole line of really crappy cars (1982 VW jetta Deisle), and now that I have my stang back up and running I still show off to much, and I am 22. Hell I almost get myself into a little bit of trouble about every month (Mainly when the raods are wet). I just don't think it is a good idea to give a 16 yo that much power. I would get him a 4x4 4cly toyota pick-up. You can have just as much fun raising it, adding power to it, and still have something that is different and doesn't just blend into the parking lot. I had one, and regret selling it more then just about anything else.

MEM 302 5.0L

That isnt really true....i didnt pay for my car, my dad had had my car since it was made in 81..and he converted it to 91 and all and then he just gave it to me for my 16th birthday along with some new flowmaster mufflers.... pretty much the best present i had ever gotten..and i take more care of it than my dad ever did...i wash/wax it like once a week at least...sometimes more...i cant stand for anything to not be working on it..and i can stand for anyone to leave trash or other crap in it...so just saying..that the whole if u buy it u care more thing...isnt alwyas true...

ryan_89_mustang

Thanks for all of your input, I forgot to add he has the cash saved up for the stang he just wants me to buy liability insurance for it. He also thinks he could do minor mods like an exhaust while he is waiting to get his lisence.

green95GT

Im 16 and i have a 95 gt and i love the thing. just make rules like my parents did.
if i get a ticket car is sold. get caught racing sold.

MEM 302 5.0L

Yeah rules help, my parents didnt threaten to sell my car but they did threaten to take away my keys for a month or more depending on how bad what i did was.

VigCS

Jeep Grand Cherokee with the unkillable 4.0L Inline 6 imo.

I'm 19 and my stang is my third car. I had one screw up in the rain and I drive my car like a grandma in wet weather now.

ryan_89_mustang

I think I am going to let him get it in the spring a month or 2 before he gets his licence. That way he can learn how to handle the stang while he still has his learner permit. He will will also end up with a whole summer of driving before winter. Thanks again for all of your opinions they really helped my decision.