Quote:
Originally Posted by Craxel
Thanks for the thoughts. It’s not my first vehicle, I’ve been driving a older Honda Insight but it’s gotten to the point where it’s no longer reliable enough to daily.
|
I appreciate you taking my (our) words in the spirit in which they were intended. I became increasingly sensitized to these kinds of choices a few years back when an acquaintance of mine lent his Ferrari to his son a few days before his son's high school graduation. Very sadly, his son missed his high school graduation and the rest of his life, and my acquaintance no longer has a Ferrari or a son. His son was a great kid... not one you would think would drive stupidly. And yet.....
I do not necessarily share the opinion that RWD=bad first (or second in your case) car. Light rear end coupled with poor balance and/or tons of power... yes, VERY bad choice. Going back to my experiences with my sons, the first cars of choice were our old Toyota Celica (FWD with 220K on it but still in great shape and quite reliable... we did a full brake job, replaced the rusting gas tank, and all routine fluids and maintenance on it before transfering title) and two Volvo 240s purchased for $900 and $1200 respectively (RWD) that also received full fluid/belt/plugs/hoses plus needed repairs (intake gasket, exhaust manifold, motor mounts, breather tube, whatever we found). I live in the snow belt. The first thing I did with my kids, on maybe their second or third driving lesson, was to take them to a large snowy deserted parking lot and practice first steering into skids then doing controlled donuts. Well... maybe not their second lesson, but I did it early. I had to wrestle with teaching them something they should not do intentionally, or NOT teaching them something they needed to know to drive safely in bad roads and possibly save their lives. I erred on the side of safety and taught them how to do donuts and steer into skids. They learned to respect the constant possibility that a tire may lose traction, and learned how to recognize the feeling and what to do.
I, personally, find RWD much easier to drive safely in winter because, while it loses traction more frequently, it's also MUCH easier to correct. With FWD, if you get in trouble, you get in a LOT of trouble.
Yes, though, to echo Yoshoo's points... a powerful RWD car that swings out in the rear easily and suddenly is NOT a good idea for a young, enthusiastic driver. The 86 is not powerful, but if you turn off the nannies (and you know you will), when it lets loose, it lets loose fast. I thought I was pretty good with my e36, and could steer it wonderfully with the gas pedal. Compared to that car, the 86 kicks out MUCH faster and can get away from you unless you are right on top of it.
Make it to your graduation...to your wedding... to your first (and second... and third...) child's birth... to your Dad's advanced old age to be there for him as he is there now for you.
And actually, now that I've thought about, I've never spent $22k on a car, period. The most expensive car I've ever bought has been my FRS, at $17,500 with 23K on it, and I've been blessed to enjoy several Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Range Rover, Toyota (Celica and Land Cruiser), and many other "lesser" but still reliable and fun cars.
All the best, Craxel. A long, happy, exciting life to you!