Is the Scion FRS a good starter for 16 year old

[Paul_Gerges]

Hello I am looking through reviews and I really like the GT86 a lot aka as the scion FRS, and I drove the car and it handles turns like its no problem and there is not much temptation to race with it, but I feel that as a starting driver is this recommended because the body of the car is weak and if involved in a collision i might suffer severe injuries, just opinions is what i need.

[Squishy86]

Don't do it. Insurance will be ridiculous. Go to college. Don't let your parents pay for it. You have another things to pay for. Don't forget student debt. Your girlfriend will demand you drive all the time. Gas is expensive. You probably don't have a job yet. You probably haven't even graduated yet. You're going to be indecisive about future cars. It's not a car you want to learn mechanics on. Modding cars is expensive. Find a different hobby.

I think I covered almost everything.

In all seriousness, I think it's not what you want a first car while you're still learning how to drive and will still be surrounded by a high school atmosphere.

[chrisl]

Actually, contrary to what you said, the body of the car isn't weak. This car actually does quite well in collision tests.

That having been said, I think it's a fairly expensive and risky car for a first car. I would get something FWD or AWD instead, preferably cheaper and more practical. It isn't the worst choice in the world, but I know I would have done some stupid things if I'd had a BRZ when I was 16 (though I wouldn't have thought so at the time). The insurance will probably be pretty pricy too.

(Gas mileage is good though, so that's a plus...)

[dnL]

I didn't know 16 year olds worried about injury or death. I know I didn't...

[finch1750]

There is nothing to be cpncerned about regarding safety with this car.

With that said start with a beater/old car. A miata, aw11 mr2, ae86, or sentra se-r would all be great fun cars to start with. No debt from payments and no bill to worry about. Plus insurance wont suck and you dont have to forl out for premium fuel. Learning on an old car helps a ton, plus no real harm if you mess it up a bit.

[FRaSer]

Neither poll result was vote-able for me.

Seriously, a 16 year old needs a piece of shit that has cheap parts and is easy to work on. Build the maintenance and respect basics before buying something like this. C'mon, who among us couldn't resist the urge to play bumper cars in our youth?

Grab a small used truck for 3K and learn how to parallel park first at least. It'll pay off in the long run.

[Anthony]

Haha this is the second best poll I've ever seen.

This one is still my favorite though: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1294320

[Tromatic]

Go big or go home. Make your parents get you at least an M3 BMW.

[Veloist]

Originally Posted by Paul_Gerges

if involved in a collision i might suffer severe injuries

This applies to every car. There is no car out there that can prevent severe injuries.

But I don't get where you got the idea that this car is weak.

The IIHS ratings are high--all Good except for 1 Acceptable rating on torso movement. (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/scion/fr-s)

Now that that's out of way, there are other things to consider when buying this car especially at your age. The above posts may seem like they're exaggerating but some of it are true.

Unless mommy and daddy are supporting you financially 110%, you should take into consideration what the others have said!

[Atropine]

I always thought Monte Carlos and Supercharged Corvettes were the best cars for High School Students.

On a serious note....your insurance will be sky high (whether its you or your parents paying for it).

You have bigger things to worry about than cars and car insurance.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Paul_Gerges

Hello I am looking through reviews and I really like the GT86 a lot aka as the scion FRS, and I drove the car and it handles turns like its no problem and there is not much temptation to race with it, but I feel that as a starting driver is this recommended because the body of the car is weak and if involved in a collision i might suffer severe injuries, just opinions is what i need.

Hello Paul_Gerges and welcome to our forum ....

Well, if you are dead set on buying a new car priced around $25,000, then an FR-S would be a relatively safe, relatively economical, dependable, fun automobile for a single person..

However, several other new cars on the market are less expensive and can fill that criteria.

I know I started all three of my kids off with used cars when they turned 16. I replaced the brakes and mounted new tires for them and then showed them where my tool box was and where the wrecking yard was.

As others have mentioned, at age 16, you might consider other priorties to spend your money on. Like education, acquiring job skills or simply saving it.

There are lots of fine pre-owned vehicles out there that can get you to where your going for far less money .....

humfrz

[boxer 2.5]

Get a Honda Civic. Worse comes to worse a new d-series engine/trans is $500. Very cheap and reliable. Insurance is cheap. Enjoy!

[husker741]

Considering you can't decide when is the correct time to use commas or periods, I don't think it's a good decision.

[Anthony]

I wonder...

If you could perfectly quantify peoples' bad driving-ness as well as their inability to punctuate correctly, and graph them together... would they be the same graph? I think you may have just stumbled onto something huge, Husker.