S2000 as a first car
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 110
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From: St Louis, MO
Horrible first car.
Lift-off oversteer could definitely throw her for a loop (pun not intentional).
Poor gas mileage, high insurance rates, etc.
Boyfriends and teenagers are a lot harder on their cars than you give them credit for.
And vandalism, kids with worse cars/no cars will be jealous, and they will do something stupid. That's why my cars in high school had their BBS valve stem caps stolen, paint markers used to write on the car's paint, etc.
I've always been a very, very conservative driver and there were still (hugely infrequent) occasions when I'd attempt to max my old beater of a first car. No kid is going to be much different.
Jesus, kid above me with the CR. MBN to have parents who can throw that kind of money around.
Lift-off oversteer could definitely throw her for a loop (pun not intentional).
Poor gas mileage, high insurance rates, etc.
Boyfriends and teenagers are a lot harder on their cars than you give them credit for.
And vandalism, kids with worse cars/no cars will be jealous, and they will do something stupid. That's why my cars in high school had their BBS valve stem caps stolen, paint markers used to write on the car's paint, etc.
I've always been a very, very conservative driver and there were still (hugely infrequent) occasions when I'd attempt to max my old beater of a first car. No kid is going to be much different.
Jesus, kid above me with the CR. MBN to have parents who can throw that kind of money around.
All its takes is one asshole kid to know how much parts for this car are worth and one day he skips class and she is missing her seats.
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 61
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I cut my teeth in an '89 Accord coupe manual transmission. When I turned 16, my dad paid for a 10 year-old 4-runner manual transmission and I made monthly payments to him till I paid him back. Between 6 months with my learning permit and then driving a stick every day, driving a manual quickly became 2nd nature. My dad rode with me every weekend and by the time I was 16 1/2, I was allowed to drive my mom's 944 Turbo (another manual transmission) on Friday and Saturday nights out with my friends. The only rule was that I would lose driving privileges if I got a ticket (besides having to pay for the ticket and insurance increase). This single rule kept me in check!
In order to satisfy my curiosity, my dad would take me down to a large parking lot and teach me how to do donuts, etc. He would then let me do some and learn the handling limits of the car. We did the same thing in my 4-runner and our family Suburban when it snowed. For the most part this satisfied my curiosity about speed and showing off, so when I did take the car out, I just wanted to look cool.
I drove for almost 15 years before I got my first car with traction control, my 2011 MDX. Only 1 of the 4 cars I owned prior to the MDX was front wheel drive, so I'm not convinced that a teen/young adult has to have traction control and FWD to be a safe and accident-free driver.
These stories of learning to drive bring back memories...one of my best friends was convinced that one of my girlfriends only started dating me because my parents let me drive their cars. We would occasionally hang out at her house and her dad worked a lot. Her mom was always really friendly, sitting down on the couch and putting her arm around me. I remember feeling totally out of place and having the thought that she seemed too lonely. Ahhhh, the awkward and strange life of a teen!
In order to satisfy my curiosity, my dad would take me down to a large parking lot and teach me how to do donuts, etc. He would then let me do some and learn the handling limits of the car. We did the same thing in my 4-runner and our family Suburban when it snowed. For the most part this satisfied my curiosity about speed and showing off, so when I did take the car out, I just wanted to look cool.
I drove for almost 15 years before I got my first car with traction control, my 2011 MDX. Only 1 of the 4 cars I owned prior to the MDX was front wheel drive, so I'm not convinced that a teen/young adult has to have traction control and FWD to be a safe and accident-free driver.
These stories of learning to drive bring back memories...one of my best friends was convinced that one of my girlfriends only started dating me because my parents let me drive their cars. We would occasionally hang out at her house and her dad worked a lot. Her mom was always really friendly, sitting down on the couch and putting her arm around me. I remember feeling totally out of place and having the thought that she seemed too lonely. Ahhhh, the awkward and strange life of a teen!
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,663
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From: West Los Angeles, CA
I don't know that I can agree with that, but I can definitely say that none of us know this guy's kid. None of us can say for certain what she will or won't do based on ourselves as examples, based on stereotypes, or based on statistics. She is, after all, an individual. Only person here who knows her is the OP.
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,663
Likes: 235
From: West Los Angeles, CA
Originally Posted by HUNTERANGEL121' timestamp='1422924053' post='23491258
[quote name='NSXLITE' timestamp='1422887515' post='23490370']
So unlike most people in this thread I'm a 17 year old guy in NJ my first car is a S2000 CR. Now a lot of points mentioned here bring up good points I already knew how to drive stick because of dad, but I think the biggest thing that he did for me that made him feel safe and really helped was the first day of any new weather so snow heavy rain he went out with me and showed me what will happen and what to do if it happens. Honestly if you teach your daughter how to handle situations like hydroplaning, the tail slipping out, snow etc she should be alright. Also the comfort of knowing only one other person and can be in my car and I'll be focused on driving stick instead of texting really helped them. My parents knew I would speed the taught me that if I did speed do it where there are no other cars and to stay safe and slow down the second another car is seen there not stupid I'm 17 so they know I am stupid of enough speed, you said your daughter is responsible but honestly were teenagers just assume we speed. Yea the S2000 isn't the greatest car to learn how to drive you just have to approach it right and I'll gladly provide proof to show I really am 17 if you guys think I'm just some older guy over the internet. I say go for it, just teach her how to handle any situation the first day of snow don't let her drive the S make her drive something else when she gets home show her what happens in the snow, how to handle the situation correctly and what not to do and honestly she should be fine, first day of heavy rain same thing then show her what hydroplaning is how to handle it and what to do and what it feels like to hydroplane so she understands. This my 2 cents, you show her everything that can go wrong and how to handle it she should be fine, it really isn't such a big deal.
So unlike most people in this thread I'm a 17 year old guy in NJ my first car is a S2000 CR. Now a lot of points mentioned here bring up good points I already knew how to drive stick because of dad, but I think the biggest thing that he did for me that made him feel safe and really helped was the first day of any new weather so snow heavy rain he went out with me and showed me what will happen and what to do if it happens. Honestly if you teach your daughter how to handle situations like hydroplaning, the tail slipping out, snow etc she should be alright. Also the comfort of knowing only one other person and can be in my car and I'll be focused on driving stick instead of texting really helped them. My parents knew I would speed the taught me that if I did speed do it where there are no other cars and to stay safe and slow down the second another car is seen there not stupid I'm 17 so they know I am stupid of enough speed, you said your daughter is responsible but honestly were teenagers just assume we speed. Yea the S2000 isn't the greatest car to learn how to drive you just have to approach it right and I'll gladly provide proof to show I really am 17 if you guys think I'm just some older guy over the internet. I say go for it, just teach her how to handle any situation the first day of snow don't let her drive the S make her drive something else when she gets home show her what happens in the snow, how to handle the situation correctly and what not to do and honestly she should be fine, first day of heavy rain same thing then show her what hydroplaning is how to handle it and what to do and what it feels like to hydroplane so she understands. This my 2 cents, you show her everything that can go wrong and how to handle it she should be fine, it really isn't such a big deal.
Been trying to convince dad that it's not a shit car and that I will buy one when I'm older and such. He just hates honda, and says the block will crack and coolant leak recall yada, yada...
Remember.... Your car has VSA.... 6sigma's ap1... Not so much. A NEW driver behind the wheel of a car that can, and will slide out on you. Not as hard as a MR2. But it wants to slide when in the right conditions.
And... Yeah, kind of agree with the fact that "we're teenagers, we speed"... That torque at 1,800RPM is so easy to pick up speed with...
You can say it's not that big of a deal when you drive in Miami after school and in the parking lot...
Another important thing though is I also was driving on my own for 4 months before we bought the S so I had experience on my own if you even want to call 4 months experience. That eased there minds that I didn't have any problems with the police or accidents the first 4 months.
[/quote]
I have to say that your parents have every reason to be very proud of you. Being able to drive your car is important enough to you that will do nothing to risk it. You get it. To be honest, I'm not sure all that many full grown, independent adults get it like you do.
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Joined: Aug 2010
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NO NO NO
Ap1 is a very edgy car... it's loud, it's uncomfortable, it rattles.
It has no torque, you need to rev it up in second gear to merge to highway speed, and again, it's loud
2nd gear, 6k rpm, and your new driver clutch out too quickly, WHEEL SPIN, what's gonna happen if the road is wet ?
It's terrible in traffic, in 1st gear, sometimes it jumps like a kangaroo, you need to be skillful to control the clutch, otherwise, you will hit the other cars rear end.
1st gear can be STIFF sometimes, I throw it into second then first. Ideal for a first car ? no
and people will try to race her...
Ap2 with VSA would be a better choice.
Ap1 is a very edgy car... it's loud, it's uncomfortable, it rattles.
It has no torque, you need to rev it up in second gear to merge to highway speed, and again, it's loud
2nd gear, 6k rpm, and your new driver clutch out too quickly, WHEEL SPIN, what's gonna happen if the road is wet ?
It's terrible in traffic, in 1st gear, sometimes it jumps like a kangaroo, you need to be skillful to control the clutch, otherwise, you will hit the other cars rear end.
1st gear can be STIFF sometimes, I throw it into second then first. Ideal for a first car ? no
and people will try to race her...
Ap2 with VSA would be a better choice.
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 542
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As you have also mentioned, visibility is also a problem, you don't see that much with the top up, huge blind spots left and right, and as a small car, it is less noticeable on the road, try being 4 o'clock position next to a Full-size SUV, chances are they don't see you and they will crash into you.
The driver needs to be position the car wisely on the road. Don't go parallel with a 18 wheeler, they don't see you, either pass them with a signal, or stay way behind.
The driver needs to be position the car wisely on the road. Don't go parallel with a 18 wheeler, they don't see you, either pass them with a signal, or stay way behind.
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 147
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I am much too lazy to read through these 4 pages of people saying the same things, but what I do know is that regardless of how responsible someone is, it only takes 5 seconds to make a bad decision. The more experience she has behind the wheel of a car the better off she will be when it comes to sticky situations, whether that experience is in RWD, AWD, or FWD. But nobody is exempt from dangerous situations, no matter how much experience you have. A potentially 15k car that's rwd, no traction control, and everything else everyone has said just doesn't seem suitable for someones first car. Do what you want though. That's your kid. 
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Joined: Feb 2014
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My daughter is approaching driving age and I am considering letting her drive the S2000. I know it might not be a good idea for a teenage boy, but for a VERY responsible girl I think it could be OK. My biggest worry is the overall safety of the car. It is an 03, all stock. No traction or stability control. The S2000 is a great platform to learn how to drive, how to really drive. If you don't rev it, it is quite tame, and I have little concern that she would drive irresponsibly. I'm more concerned about all the other people on the road and the car's overall safety. What do you think? Bad idea?
personally i would suggest finding a large empty lot and let her get a feel for the car. Teach her manual in that lot. Once she can drive (whether legally or not) let her open the car up a bit (in previously mentioned lot) so she can get a feel for how the car handles and how the car can bite you in the ass at a moments notice. She needs to understand that the S2000 commands respect. Once you feel she is fully prepared then sure let her DD the S2000. accidents happen in EVERY car. Some are certainly more prone to accidents than others but the can and will happen in every car. Make sure she is prepared for whatever the city and the car can throw at her.
every situation mentioned in this thread can happen to ANYONE at ANY AGE. Ultimately the choice is yours