[Beach Cruiser]

Ok, so my son just turned 18. He has a Honda Accord that he built up pretty stout. Engine swap, coilovers, suspension ect... I think it is something like 300 hp on spray. He really wants to get into an F-body now. He's found a pretty decent 99 Z28 with some mild mods and high miles. Two questions for you guys, do you think a mild F-body is to much for an 18 year old? And what do you guys think abou the price and mod list? I drove the car, and it runs pretty well, and it's very clean, just High miles. Here's the link to the ad: http://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/1561183126.html

What do you guys think?

[jensend]

A key point is how well you know your son. There's just as much potential for irresponsibility in many grown adults as there are in many teens. The bulk of DUI offenders and road ragers are adults. Only you can determine if your son has the maturity to act responsibly in a car whether it's a muscle car, a modded Honda, or a minivan.

Both my sons were taught to drive all of our cars from our Dakota to my track prepped Z-28. We made sure they understood the differences in the power and handling of various cars. We made sure that neither of our sons saw our performance cars as "forbidden fruit". Both boys accompanied me to autox and HPDE events for several years before being old enough to get a driver's license. Both learned about the physics and consequences of speed by spectating at those events.

My oldest son received my '98 Neon ACR as his first car. My younger son son started with a'93 Integra (which we upgraded both for power and handling). Neither boy has ever had an accident and neither have any tickets for speeding or careless driving. They are now 24 and 22 respectively. My point is that what matters most are the attitudes and mind set of the driver, not the relative power of the car. We've had friends whose kids have wrecked commuter cars and minivans through carelessness and and misplaced bravado. The peroformance that mattered was the driver's, not the car.

Sounds like your son has a serious interest in performance cars and has already had some introduction to performance driving. Seems to me it's a matter of how much you know about your son and his attitudes. You are the best one to assess his maturity and judgment. If you haven't already done so, sit down and discuss your concerns with him.

as a side note, both my sons have told me that my Camaro is evil in the wet compared to their FWD cars. My own experience coincides with theirs. I would much rather commute in snow in a Civic than in my Z-28.