WOW, I am simply amazed that so many young people have S's. What jobs do you guys have?@!, there is no way in hell I would of been able to pay for the S, rent, food, tuission, books, insurance, tires, MODS, GAS etc.... IMO.
I graduated from college last year, and my college car took quite a beating, door dings ups the wazooo, not to mention no place to wash your car. I say definitely not a car for college. Whats the point anyways, he is not going to have the time to enjoy the car, for what it is, especially if he is going to Medical school.
Just my 2 cents.

 

You'd be amazed at what you can afford when mommy and daddy are footing the bill. My first car was 1985 pontiac sunbird with 100k on the odometer, and after replace the head gasket, water pump, every hose in the car... it still went through coolant like a water fall. My next car i bought with my parents as co-signers... But I made all the payments. Since then, I've been on my own. That was... 12 years ago give or take.

My brothers girlfriend actually had a panic attack at college because daddy gave her a $200 a week spending allowance! She freaked out because she couldn't possibily live off that in her estimation. School - paid in full. Food and housing - paid in full... Car - paid in full... and she could live off that


Daddy caved and gave her the amex. The only time her father denied her anything was when she wanted a z06 vette. He took it for a test drive and said no way in hell .

He bought her a VW beetle for her 17th birthday. She hated it so the next day he bought her a convertible BMW.

Now that she's failed 2 full years of college, he's put her back on the 200 a week allowance .

If I only had such problems sigh.

 

[QUOTE=jiggagnome,Oct 31 2005, 12:41 PM] WOW, I am simply amazed that so many young people have S's.

 

I re-read the original post here, and have determined that the original poster didn't give us enough info to give fully informed advice. First, it states that the student is "going off to college" but does not say how far. If it is a considerable distance so that mom and dad would not want to load up their SUV and haul the student's stuff to the college, I would certainly say the s2k is too small. But if the college is, say 50 miles away from the parents home, and if the parents are willing to haul the student's stuff back and forth (and themselves have a vehicle that will do so) the s2k might not be too small.

Then, it is not stated where the student will live at college. If it will be the old dorm or frat house routine with outside parking (sometimes with a number of drunks in it), I would not recommend subjecting a car like the s2k to such dangers, and to the elements. But, there are cases where college students rent a house with other students, and there IS a garage. And there are cases where parents actually buy a condo in the college town where the student lives with garage or carport till graduation, then the parents sell the condo (usually at a profit). When the parents have the required "up front" money, this is often cheaper in the long run that paying dorm or frat house rent. In a case like these, an s2k might be appropriate (if the distance and lack of hauling capacity issue above were solved.)

Finally, it is not stated whether the student is a sports car enthusiast or not. When I was in college over 40 years ago, I sure was, and would have taken prime care of an s2k, as I do with mine now.

So there are too many factors here to give a "one size fits all" answer. Heck, I've even known college students who had TWO cars, such as a good sports car and a "beater."

So without more facts from the original poster, there is no answer.

Thanks,
Richard

 

Convertibles and Colleges don't work. I can guarantee 100% that something significantly bad will happen to the car if it's going to be parked at night in a normal college freshman parking lot environment.

As for young people owning an s2000, The KBB private party value for a model year 2000 S2k in good condition with around 50k miles is about 15 grand. Now I'm 18, and I bet my opinion around here is going to count for 0, but I spent 4 years at a top 40 private highschool and currently go to an acredited business college. Clean driving record, ect. I know I'm intelligent, and deserve the car I purchased for 16,000 (you'd be suprised how much a caddy at the right courses makes.) Hate to break it to you, but a 15 grand isn't a lot of $$ for a second car. If it makes you guys angry to see someone else safely enjoying the car their driving, think about seeing a psychiatrist. There are a lot worse things delinquents could be driving than a slightly underpowered honda convertible.

 

I don't think it's so much a problem about seeing young people have it - I think it's more about the ones that get it for free from their parents and then is very careless about it and careless about their other responsibilities, like the brother's gf mentioned above.

No one in this country disrespects hard work.