[QUOTE]Originally posted by Quik S2K

 

Well, being 17 (turning 18 in 12/25) I just had the s2k for 2 days. This car is crazy fast, and it is rwd. You just have to becareful, I do granny driving (that is how I drive with the s2k) I know I am pretty young to have this car, but I believe if you treat a car with respect it will respect you back. So if you get the s2k have fun and goodluck!

 

A Renault Fuego can be dangerous in the hands of a 40-year-old. IOW, a good carpenter never blames his tools.
I began my senior year of high school at 15-years of age and graduated at 16 so I didn't even HAVE a license until the summer after I graduated. I used an old pickup truck to get to the golf course that summer.
My first car, at the age of 21 (I joined the Navy at 17 and spent my first four years overseas in Italy) was a Triumph TR7 convertible. With a good pair of Converse high tops, you could out run that car in the 50 yard dash.
If I had owned a 240hp convertible back then, I probably would have driven it a bit more aggressively than I drove the Triumph but certainly nothing approaching irresponsible. I've never really had a "jones" for doing stupid shit inside a 2500-lb cage at 100mph. Going back to my senior year of high school, we lost two teens who literally became part of a tree due to high speed antics. That was all I needed to tone it down until my skill level matched my own self assessment. It took two professional performance driving schools (well worth the money and a blast!) and about 20 cars later, but I've finally reached a point where I always feel totally in control of my sportscar and yet I STILL won't pull the stunts I see some kids crap out of their pants on the highways down here. They're going to run out of cemetaries if it keeps up. Which brings me back to my first sentiments above...
Always the driver, never the car. Remember that and you'll be fine.
If you end up getting the car, spend some time in empty parking lots understanding oversteer and how to control it. Make sure you hit that lot after it's rained as well. Too many folks think if they see asphalt, everything is fine. Most S2000's that have kissed a curb have done so in the rain.

 

im 19, soon to be 20.. this is the 2nd car that ive owned.. the first was an audi a4 that i got at 16.. traded that in for a new 2003 s2k..

what i think you need to decide for yourself is whether or not you will have respect for the car and how you'll drive it. if you drive aggressively now, it might not be the best car for you.. i never realized how much AWD saved my butt until I got this car..

but after taking a performance driving class, i know how to drive the car and treat it with respect(i also paid for it, so i dont want to f-things up)

i suggest trying to really work for the car, and evaluate how you drive in general. if you can control yourself, it should be fine..

another thing you should also check out is the insurance rates for you, i got a really good rate so i decided to go w/it

 

I think you've heard about driving responsibly, so let me raise the other issue: finances.

Insurance for a 20-year old is likely to be quite costly. Get quotes from several companies to find out what insurance will cost you, with your driving record, credit history, location, etc.

If you drive the car a normal amount, you could easily be looking at $4-500 dollars per year for tires. It's easy to wear out a set of rears in a year's driving, and a set of fronts every other year.

Where will you be living? Is it a "good part of town," or the "wrong side of the tracks?" My only point here is that a nice car can suffer if you have to park on the streets in certain parts of every city, including student housing around major universities. It isn't right, but it is so. You wouldn't want to spend a couple of your college years worried sick about what was happening to your car at night.

If your budget can handle the car, with a proper cushion for the inevitable contingencies, then you have a decison to make. But you have to have some cushion: what if insurance rates go up 20%? What if you are sick and miss a couple of weeks of work? What if you have an at-fault accident and have to come up with $500 or $1000 deductible? What if something on the car breaks and isn't covered by warranty? If you can't afford it without stretching the budget too thin, then buy something less expensive and enjoy life until you can really afford the car.

Please don't flame me: I do not mean to imply that a 20-year old can't have a large bank account. I know that there are 20-year olds that can buy and sell me. I've just seen too many on this forum overextend themselves for this car, then take a bath when something bad happens and they have to sell it.

 

Thanks everyone for such fast responses.

First off the finances I'm not concerned about. (though i wish my parents would take care of it )

Second, This care will be absolutely babied. It will be the first care I actually pay for so i will treat it with respect. My First car is a '96 subaru L AWD. But i have had plenty of experience driving a 283 hp lexus is 300 and my friends '93 NSX.

I know they will be completely different cars compared to the S2k but i will not play stupid and crash the car.

But I will take the advice on the drivers training courses and tracks days.

once again Thx.

-Aidan-

 

TrueDrezzer: Whoa, your insurance is a wee bit high. I pay $700 a year down hear in Ktown(I'm 28 w/kids). I really hope the rates don't go up.



Aodhan: Not to be a smartarse, but if finances weren't something to be concerned about you'd be on the Enzo forum asking this question. *Sorry, ex-business major talking and I still believe that 99.999% of decisions are based on money...*

What really matters is your maturity level. I've worked with plenty of twenty year olds that I wouldn't trust a BMX with. If you can handle the car, then by all means join the club...

Good luck with your decision...

 

Respect..

 

I'm 20, and just got my 04.

My only inexperience was that I was way too excited about owning this car, and perhaps was a little daring when I drove it last Friday knowing that it could start snowing any minute (it was rain at the time). I use the term daring in the sense that I really just wanted to drive the S because it's new and I wanted to drive around in my nice new car. So I was more apt to risk the potential changing of the weather and drive the S. I don't mean daring as driving like an idiot.

For that eagerness/immaturity, I put the car in the ditch. Yes, I was driving very responsibly (I've driven several RWD in the winter before), but these Potenzas with strong wind and a light car is just a recepie for disaster.

I don't believe I did too much damage. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow. Lesson learned. As soon as it's fixed it's going into a garage for the winter.

 

sorry to here that chadwick, especially thats it a 04.