FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

*EDIT*THIS IS NOT MY FIRST CAR THIS IS NOT MY FIRST CAR IM NOT LEARNING TO DRIVE IN THIS CAR THIS IS NOT MY FIRST CAR THIS IS NOT MY FIRST CAR



K well as the title states, im 17 looking to buy my first Fbody LS1 car. After riding in my friends 11 sec TA i was hooked. I started looking for one after that (a couple months ago) and have been seeding out the good and bad ones. Well I have basically found the perfect one for me. It is low miles, good shape, owned by an older couple, etc.

Well to my parents, they think I am wanting one just because my friends are getting them (one bought an LT1, another bought a V6 ). They also think I am just going to go out and get 100 tickets, tear the **** out of the car, and kill myself in it. Also they say I can't afford one and insurance will kill me. Yes, insurance is bad but not that bad ($120 a mo full coverage, good grade discount). Another big issue is gas mileage. My DD gets 8mpg driving good and kicks my *** filling up $10 a day to go to school and work.

What really breaks my ***** is they were willing to let me buy a Dakota R/T for 4k more than the LS1 I want. For those of you that arent familiar it's a 5.9 truck. Well evidently that truck has magic skills that it gets better gas mileage than an LS1, and the fueleconomy.gov website is full of ****. My moms friend has a 5.9 ram that she claims gets 30mpg in town with her ''gas mileage chip'' *jet chip*, and my mom was all for letting me buy it.

So what advice do you guys have for me to convince them to let me get what I want? I will be paying for everything for it so I want something that I want to drive, not what they want. Every time i try to have a mature discussion with them they always have something that pops up so they leave. And another way they get out of a discussion is saying ''it's a sports car, its bad gas mileage." I must say I'm a very good driver for my age, I have no tickets and definatly don't speed during the day time. Thanks guys

nomadnate

iTrader: (1)

well first of all if it is your money buy it. but that may cause problems soooooo. if it is a m6 show them the gas milage rating on paper 18 in town 27 (or higher) hwy. remind them that it is your money and you need to be happy. print out insurance quotes for them to look at. have an agreement to a type of punishment if you get in trouble with it. you will run it hard on the street eventually and eventually get caught. (mine was for a burnout) make a list of reasons you want this more that other cars like a mustang, truck, ect. that is all i have. it is a hard sell though. good luck

BLCKBRD

iTrader: (6)

If you're paying for it all yourself and your own insurance, why do you need their permission? Just buy it and be responsible.

Optimus_Prime

iTrader: (4)

If you're paying for everything you can get whatever you want.

My dad thought that the ls1 F-bodies all looked like ****...then he saw the WS6. Now that's what i drive and i'm your age

If you do get it your parents will be totally **** about tickets and driving fast but after they see you taking amazing care of it they will start to trust you with it and who knows how things will end up...My dad rode with me when i did autocross Never thought that would happen.

I'm in Salina by the way

And i'm really bored

lalala siing a songi

Camaroz

iTrader: (2)

Being cocky will kick you in the nuts. that's all i have to say about that...

ChocoTaco369

you're probably not gonna want to hear this, but i STRONGLY recommend you do not buy an LS1 for your first car. i suggest you buy a cheap, beater car to teach you how to drive. you say you're a pretty good driver for your age. bullshit. no 17 year old is a good driver. i don't care if you're the best track driver in the world either, you can very well suck on the street. there are far too many variables that you have to learn. your first car will likely get pinged, dinged, you're gonna scrape the rims on soooo many curbs, if you parallel park a lot, i'm sure your back bumper will see action...

f-bodies are one of the trickiest cars to drive. they have one of the biggest blind spots in the world (i have to make crazy angles to see when i make some left turns), they are a very strange shape with the super long nose and super short rear end, they have very poor weight distribution, and they are nearly impossible to drive in the snow and not the best in the rain either.

i think it's a poor decision to buy such a nice car as your first car. buy something that you don't mind if it gets dinged or scraped. then, once you're used to driving (and we're talking 1-2 years here), get something nice.

i'm so glad i bought a V6 f-body for my first car. i think i woulda got into a lot of trouble with an LS1 for my first car. it's hard to handle all that power when you've never been driving.

i strongly recommend you buy a V6 f-body as your first car and drive it for a year. it'll teach you all the tricks of driving/parking an f-body, but the car won't have power to break itself or you since mashing it at a standstill gets traction in 2 seconds. you won't have to worry about going sideways when you shift.

i hope you take my advice on this. get a V6 and learn how to drive before you make such a big leap. people that buy V8's with tons of power in their first car have a big possibility of getting into a bad wreck. you think you know how to drive but man, you just don't. no one is safe on the road, no one.

just for the record, my 2001 5.7L V8 firebird forumla is only $50 a year more to insure than my old 1995 3.4L V6 firebird, so the engine makes nearly no difference in insurance - and i live in NJ, home of the nation's highest insurance premiums and i turn 20 in 2 weeks so i'm a young'n.

mpe488

Take your parents to test drive one. My dad let me buy one (well, we went 50/50) because I was responsible with my first car and I took good care of it despite the fact that I hated that peice of ****.

But he was almost as excited as I was when we went to a dealership and he test drove a modded M6 SS. I dunno exactly what it had done (other than lid, some kind of exhaust and stb), but it ran a good bit harder than my car. Tell them the manual cars can easily get 25+ highway miles, and anyhting is better than your current 8mpg.

Also, $120/ mo is piddles compared to what I pay with no points, a 3.0 discount, ABS discount, anti theft alarm discount, and multiple vehicle discount.... I pay $300+ liability only. God, I hate insurance compaines.

BiggCmass

iTrader: (1)

Dude, seriously buy a 93-97 LT1 with high miles for your first car and get used to it. ior even a <gasp> beater 5.0. Don't head straight out and buy an LS1, get used to driving a POS first cause, sorry to say, you'll probbaly **** it up anyways. Everyone wrecks their first car...

98camaro1le

iTrader: (5)

i got my first ls1 when i was 16, after nine months in a volvo 240 wagon with 0 tickets. I convinced my parents to buy me one based on grades that i had to maintain. worked my *** off, got the car. as for insurance, have ur parents ensure u under one of their cars as ur DD and still have u insured on it. for instance, the insurance company thinks that my DD is a 2001 mazda tribute and that my mom drives the '98 Z.

98redM6

iTrader: (39)

Right on. My brother had to sign a contract stating such things as

1) No drinking and driving or drinking for that matter (under 21).
2) Tickets will warrant a punishment.
3) He gets his girlfriend pregnant and he won't see his car ever again.

Things of that nature.

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

Sorry when I said I'm a good driver for my age I meant like not doing 65 down a 30 like most teenagers seem to do, I didn't mean like autox/strip.

This isn't my first car, and not my first time driving. KS allows you to drive with a parent when you're 14, and I drove every day after I turned 14.

Yes I know winter would suck, that's why I have a 4wd beater to drive during the winter time. Plus Kansas winters are 2-3 snows and a lot of cold days. The car will be garaged. Im telling you guys, I'm not the kind to tear the **** out of stuff.

The problem with going out and buying it and telling the parents later, is I can't. I can't add the car to insurance by myself, can't get my own insurance, can't buy it <- all because I'm not 18. Also I don't have all of the cash saved up, so I need a cosigner on the loan.

I absolutely will not buy a V6 fbody. I have to have the sound, feel, and power of a V8 car. I'm not saying I wont slip up and get a ticket for doing something dumb, but those times are few and far between.

Their main arguement is that I WILL go out and get a ton of tickets. I think it's a pretty BS arguement, because you can speed and do burnouts and etc in any vehicle.

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

The car will be insured under my mom as a pleasure vehicle, and I'll be primary driver on my 93 jeep ($30 a month)

I've offered to make a bargain like tickets are no car for a time period, etc etc. I have maintained good grades my whole life, and being a senior this year I plan on finishing it out that way.

I dont see what the big deal is, if I'm paying for everything I don't see how this really effects them. I think I'm getting the aftermath of my brother, who has been busted multiple times doing... things... and has had multiple tickets and wrecks.

motoo344

iTrader: (19)

Took me a while to get my parents to let me get my z28(lt1) I think it was mostly cause my dad owned one when he was a kid and he raced a lot, but he caved and I got one right after I turned 17. Parents worry a lot more than you think, just show them how responsible you are.

blackbirdls1

iTrader: (5)

I'm 18, only been driving my LS1 for a few months, have no problems with it yet, once you get the hang of it, its a breeze. At first they can be tricky but if you've driven different types of cars SUV's etc it isn't too bad it just depends what type of person you are and how you take care of your things.

streetassasin

iTrader: (30)

If you could have a cosigner on a loan if you are under 18 I would not be drivin the RS right now. Even when you turn 18 you will still need a cosigner on a loan becuase you most likely wont have any credit and would get screwed over on the intrest if they would even give you that big of a loan. I started a tread like this about loans a few weeks ago check it out http://seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316
It sux bein under age

Dal1as

Don't listen to some of these people. You seem to be fairly responsible. Just do some research show them an M6 can get 28 mpg and possibly 30 with some mods.

The whole handling, etc in the rain and everything is crap. Get some decent tires and later possibly upgrade the shocks and you'll have a great car.

Hell my TA is better in the rain then my Expedition in the rain. The GS-D3's made a huge difference.

DesertFox

iTrader: (2)

Ok, it seems like you have more experience driving than I did when i was your age. My parents wouldn't let me get a sports car when I was 16 b/c the insurance was way too much, and it would have been my first car. So I drove a full size truck for 5 years before I was able to afford an LS1.
Now I would point out that Dodges are perhaps the worst car for lasting over 100k miles, pretty much as they turn that over they start to fall apart. Also, 5.9 getting 30mpg anywhere, let alone city, is a flat out lie. Dodge would have kept making them if they did.

Also let your parents know that the 5.9L was a low production motor, so when things go wrong it will be more expensive to fix. Compared to the LS-motors which has been made in excess of 1 million per year since 1999. Also the LS1 is probably the easiest motor to work on yourself, since the 60's with the carbed motors, that may matter if your family doesn't trust mechanics.

My car, with 128k miles, gets 15 city, 27 highway. Only mods are lid and catback, I can garuntee that is at lest 2 mpg/7mpg better than a dakota R/T.

Point is dodge < GM.

Go for it, if they don't want to let you get the car you want, get something really cheap, like a 1990 civic. bank the money you have saved and as so as you move out, get an LS1. This was my plan for a while after I got rid of my truck b/c my mom still didnt want to let me get a sports car.

Josh

MIKE_84

I say go for it, i think a stock ls1 is a good starter car if your responsible. What gets most people in trouble is they get there car and wanna be billy bad *** on the street trying to show off. I got my car a few months ago, i'm 21, but i dont see any reason why i couldnt have handled it without a problem 4 years ago. And not to offend anyone, but dodge rams (not including cummins) are crappy vehicles, the only way its gonna get 30mpg in town is if its being towed by a honda civic.

StealthZ06

iTrader: (1)

Be prepared to get bent over for insurance. I got my 99 TA when I was 16. I paid $430/month for full coverage. Now I'm 23 I've got a lighter, faster car and only pay $140/month for full coverage. No moving violations/accidents.


I beg to differ. My TA was crap in the rain. I was glad I had traction control. Seriously it was a horrible to drive in the rain. Oddly enough the Z doens't have that problem (maybe due to irs).

28-30 mpg? Yeah maybe when coasting in 6th gear doing 60 mph under 2,000 rpms. Only expect this kind of mileage on long trips with few stops. In reality expect about 15-18 city. It may very depending on driving habits. I think the LS6 Z gets better mileage than my LS1 TA did. The driver's information center shows that I regularly get between 19-21 mpg, 80% city driving. I also drive like a grandma though and very few people on this board who own LSx's drive like I do.

J2Pharren1

iTrader: (1)

Im 17 and Im gonna say do not do it. I consider myself very responsable and I think Im as good of a driver as a 17 year old can be (like you, I dont do stupid **** or try to show off, but bottom line is both of us have only been dirving on our own for a year or so, driving with your parents in the car is very different).

I own the car in my avatar, its a 5.slow and it can be a bitch at times. In the rain I slide all over the place, and its not because im accelerating to hard. The blind spot issue is a big one, I have to completely turn around and look out the crappy vert window to check them, and even though I have never done anything to hurt the car, it has been keyed (I almost cried), door dings, tire got slashed, a golf ball left a nice dent in it, all kinds of **** that I had nothing to do with, and I bet my car was half the price of any LS1 you are gonna find. You are gonna have to wrap up ALL of your money to pay for the car, and trust me that is not a lot of fun. When your 17 and in High School paying $150 a month in gas, $200 for the car, $200 for insurance, and if you take care of it like you say you do, theres alwayse maintenance to be done, and pretty soon your'e broke. God I love LS1 f-bodies but to me its not worth it to try and own one at our age, in all honesty I dont see how anyone can really afford to pay for EVERYTHING without a full time job, the ones with ls1's are still on their moms tit.