SRT 4 for daughter's first car

[LA]

Just bought a used car for my daughter, an SRT4 Dodge Neon.  Got it from a Granddad who bought it for a grandson who toasted the engine.  Dodge  replaced the engine and Gramps sold the car.  It's all black inside and out with those nice fitted racing seats and some sort of hot rod DVD/CD video player.  The car has 50,000 miles and still under warranty for 25,000 more miles.

The car just hauls ass and handles great.

Daughter can't drive a manual trans car, but has ridden a Yamaha 230 dirt bike for years. I don't think it will take long to transfer that to a car.  She'll learn in the S10 pickup first.

She's a good driver who learned in the Blue Ridge Mts. up hwy 28 to Highlands, NC and the War Woman Dell.  She's really got a good feel for the road and has a lot of Ducati seat time on the same roads.

What do you think?  Pretty neat 1st car for a 16 year old?  I'm hoping $9000 was a good deal.

She's the son I always wanted too.  She's been begging to drive the Ducati and is trying to make sure it's her's in my last will.  She says her 7 years older brother can have the old Norton.

I'll have to get a pic.

LA

[Alexandre]

Nice little ride for a first car.

First streetbike should be coming soon?

[IZ]

What do you think?  Pretty neat 1st car for a 16 year old?  I'm hoping $9000 was a good deal.

Yup..real "neat"!!

I remember when I sold my GSX Eclipse to a 16 y/o a couple years back.  It was a "neat" car as well!! 

She had it for a total of <2 months when it was impounded after..what..her 5th ticket?!

Just make sure she keeps her head out of her azz..her hands on the wheel (not texting/talking on the phone) and her foot light on the gas!!

Other than that..those are fun lil cars.  One of the guys at Ducati in Mesa had one.   


Most importantly..tell her to watch out for other drivers..esp. when at a standstill!!

[LA]

Nice little ride for a first car.

First streetbike should be coming soon?

Yep, she's after a brand new red 250 Ninja with an aftermarket open pipe.  The dealer called and told her it was on the floor for $3900 the other day.  Her mom ixnayed that. [moto]

LA

[swampduc]

Should be a fun little car. My first car was a 10 year old Toyota Corona station wagon that maybe did 0-60 in about 18 seconds or so, so yeah, she's lucky to have that for her 1st car 

[DoubleEagle]

LA, sounds like she might be taking after her father. If she is a good kid and drives with some sense ( not like we did at 16 ) she should be ok.

Boyfriends getting behind the wheel might be a problem.

Only you know your girl , so if it'
s ok by Mom and you then just keep an eye on it for dings , dents and excessive tire wear for signs of driving in a manner that you may not approve of.    Dolph   

[DucatiBastard]

I've got an '04 for my daily driver.  They are really fun cars to drive, although the stock KDW's are kinda crappy in the snow, although with 50k miles its probably been through a few sets of tires (especially the fronts!)  Sounds line yours had the "Kicker" Stereo option, nice.  They made these cars for 3 years with little difference between them.  What year is yours?  What options?  www.srtforums.com  is a good place for these and other SRT cars.  They'll help you out with all the questions, (Is the tranny supposed to make that noise?, where is the trunk release button?, etc.) 

Its almost like having two different cars, depending if you're in the boost or not, the thing can be a handful if you're at WOT, it wants to steer itself.  Check out that site, its very helpful, and enjoy!

[the_Journeyman]

With a good head it'll be great & fun.  However, if she complains about poor fuel mileage, examine her driving habits.  If you keep your foot in those they get down in the teens from everything I've heard from owners ~

JM

[Le Pirate]

fun cars.

a friend has one...it's a torque steering summapregnant dog!



i hope if i ever have a daughter she loves fast cars and motorcycles too!

[KnightofNi]

Should be a fun little car. My first car was a 10 year old Toyota Corona station wagon that maybe did 0-60 in about 18 seconds or so, so yeah, she's lucky to have that for her 1st car 

my first car would do 0-60 in about 8 sec.
it was still not my first pick, it was a 1978 ford ltd. the good thing is i rarely got pulled over in the grannymobile.

it's not what you drive, it's how you drive it.
i used to try and drift my mom's minivan. i also jumped my dad's F150 more than a handful of times.

[sbrguy]

good luck.

hope all goes well.

remember she is only "your good girl" around you.  why does every parent think "their kid is the good kid" that won't do any wrong and that is always "someone elses kid" that does bad stuff. 

the operative word is "kid".  If she doesn't do stupid crap with her first car i would be very very concerned.

[minnesotamonster]

good luck.

hope all goes well.

remember she is only "your good girl" around you.  why does every parent think "their kid is the good kid" that won't do any wrong and that is always "someone elses kid" that does bad stuff. 

the operative word is "kid".  If she doesn't do stupid crap with her first car i would be very very concerned.

Why are you so pissed off at the world?

Not every 16 year old thrashes the shit out of their car. I was 16 not long ago and I didn't do any stupid shit in my car. I had dirtbikes and fourwheelers for that.

[abby normal]

its a POS, but at the same time fast with strange handling.  wouldn't be my first
pick for a child's car.

[corey]

at least it has modern brakes and a clutch that will allow her to remove power from the wheels on a whim.
probably alot safer than the 88 thunderbird rust bucket that was my first car, or even the 2000 neon i'm driving now.
make sure she buckles up, and doesn't let any of her stupid friends drive it.

[il d00d]

From what I have heard, these are good cars, better than the badge they represent.  I had occasion to be driven around in one, and it had some stomp.  Also, one interesting feature of this car is that they bring out the hata's on internet forums 

+1 on making sure her guy friends don't get a turn on the wheel.  But you pretty much rule as a dad for entrusting her with a car that can beat many stock tuners.  I hope she makes the right decisions