Totaled my Max *My situation*
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,184
From: 92626
Originally Posted by happyricefob
mr2...............
I like the Mid-Engine layout or another max is a good idea too. But I would have him driving the ford van for awhile since he probably feels really bad about it(or if he doesn't then he really deserves the van).
Thread Starter
Supporting Maxima.org Member
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 236
My son is fortunate to have a bit of a car nut for a dad. I really wish I could buy him that 4-banger Taurus, but it's just not in my genetic makeup to buy a car like that.
My first new car was a 1979 Mazda RX-7. My most recent car was a BMW 325Ci. I've never been rich enough to buy a REALLY good car like an M3, but for the money I have to spend, I'm looking for the best quality and the most "fun" I can get. When it comes to buying a car for my son, I wouldn't buy anything for him that I wouldn't be willing to drive myself. Maybe that's "wrong," but that's just the way I think.
Actually he's buying this car for himself. Kinda sorta. My intention was to give him the Maxima, maybe for a graduation gift, but now that he's wrecked it, he's going to "borrow" that money from his mom. It'll be a no-interest loan until he graduates from college. If he drops out of school, it starts accruing interest and payments become due. He will borrow the rest he needs to buy a decent car from a bank, with me as a co-signer. If he doesn't make his payments, I will make them but I will also "reposess" the car and drive it myself until he can start making payments again, and he'll then owe ME money.
Oh, and he has to pay the insurance above an "allowance" and he'll have to pay the property taxes on the new car.
All things considered, that gives us around $9K to work with. Maybe $10K. That should buy us a 2000 Volkswagon GTI 1.8T with around 75K miles if we shop carefully.
My first new car was a 1979 Mazda RX-7. My most recent car was a BMW 325Ci. I've never been rich enough to buy a REALLY good car like an M3, but for the money I have to spend, I'm looking for the best quality and the most "fun" I can get. When it comes to buying a car for my son, I wouldn't buy anything for him that I wouldn't be willing to drive myself. Maybe that's "wrong," but that's just the way I think.
Actually he's buying this car for himself. Kinda sorta. My intention was to give him the Maxima, maybe for a graduation gift, but now that he's wrecked it, he's going to "borrow" that money from his mom. It'll be a no-interest loan until he graduates from college. If he drops out of school, it starts accruing interest and payments become due. He will borrow the rest he needs to buy a decent car from a bank, with me as a co-signer. If he doesn't make his payments, I will make them but I will also "reposess" the car and drive it myself until he can start making payments again, and he'll then owe ME money.
Oh, and he has to pay the insurance above an "allowance" and he'll have to pay the property taxes on the new car.
All things considered, that gives us around $9K to work with. Maybe $10K. That should buy us a 2000 Volkswagon GTI 1.8T with around 75K miles if we shop carefully.
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Originally Posted by haysdb
My son and I share an account. I am 47. He is 17. Hey son, get your own account! 
as for a new car, buy the cheapest reasonably well maintained 96 or newer toyota corolla you can find. just make sure it has had frequent oil changes, one or two transmission flushes, and at least one radiator flush (with toyota red coolant - it should not have green coolant in it, or any wierd mixture of red/green/orange). such a car will last >300k miles and will be cheap to insure.
it really depends on how the accident happened, rear ending someone elses TWICE is NOT easy for a good drive that drives safely.
I`d consider something reliable/ reasonabely powerful. IMO 200 horse is way too much for a 16yrs old to handle, small 4cyl (hint :camry: hint :P) that tops out at 100mph is the way to go
BTW technically ES300 = v6 camry and a camry cost much much less.
I`d consider something reliable/ reasonabely powerful. IMO 200 horse is way too much for a 16yrs old to handle, small 4cyl (hint :camry: hint :P) that tops out at 100mph is the way to go
BTW technically ES300 = v6 camry and a camry cost much much less.
Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 58
I hate to say it but all of the nissans you listed will be expensive to insure anything slightly sporty out of the factory is going to cost you ,(GTI ,Type-s, Mr2, TT) all of wich they will charge you a kings ransom to insure, so you have to find a car thats "under the radar", thats how I ended up setteling on a 5spd max. You can get a N/A 300zx 5spd like I almost got If your willing to pay for it, the insurance that is not the car itself their fairly cheap and IMO much nicer all around package. Or maybe a V6 Accord ,their nicer than you think. Either way Good luck and sorry to hear about it.
Here's my take on things.
It appears rear-ending vehicles == getting "rewarded" for doing so ( a new-er car.) Not to mention your insurance rates most definitely will be more than on the maxima. My suggestion: Get another maxima (you are familiar with working on them) you can buy the totaled car from the insurance co. and use it for parts if you ever need them; the insurance rates would be equal or less. Transfer the mods if you want. Don't spend more on the new maxima than the payout of the old one.
It appears rear-ending vehicles == getting "rewarded" for doing so ( a new-er car.) Not to mention your insurance rates most definitely will be more than on the maxima. My suggestion: Get another maxima (you are familiar with working on them) you can buy the totaled car from the insurance co. and use it for parts if you ever need them; the insurance rates would be equal or less. Transfer the mods if you want. Don't spend more on the new maxima than the payout of the old one.
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here's the last car I totalled. 93 twin turbo RX-7. I made over $8k on the insurance settlement (bought car in 1996 for $18k. Insurance settled for $25k +8.25% tax). I owned it for 5 weeks and made 1 insurance payment. damage was >$30k. Geico dropped me. I had to find crap insurance for my 1991 toyota camry -- $30/month for liability with American Heartland. 10 years later I pay $620/year for full coverage on my 1999 maxima SE in Chicago with State Farm.
will trade the 1991 camry for a date with the cute girlfriend.
pics of the 93 RX-7 (RIP)....
will trade the 1991 camry for a date with the cute girlfriend.
pics of the 93 RX-7 (RIP)....
Originally Posted by sky jumper
here's the last car I totalled. 93 twin turbo RX-7. I made over $8k on the insurance settlement (bought car in 1996 for $18k. Insurance settled for $25k +8.25% tax). I owned it for 5 weeks and made 1 insurance payment. damage was >$30k. Geico dropped me. I had to find crap insurance for my 1991 toyota camry -- $30/month for liability with American Heartland. 10 years later I pay $620/year for full coverage on my 1999 maxima SE in Chicago with State Farm.
will trade the 1991 camry for a date with the cute girlfriend.
pics of the 93 RX-7 (RIP)....
will trade the 1991 camry for a date with the cute girlfriend.
pics of the 93 RX-7 (RIP)....
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 473
Originally Posted by JPMax
two accidents and only 16? I'd say it's time to use a bicycle for a few years.
When college comes around, maybe a small suv or hatchback type car to haul stuff back and forth to school.
When college comes around, maybe a small suv or hatchback type car to haul stuff back and forth to school.
Heh.Guess what my Dad said about me taking the Max to College last year?
Two Words :"Public Transit"
And BTW, I have No accidents.No tickets .
I reccomend the same for sonny-boy. Not b/c he smashed two rides, but because somewhere in life you're gonna have to get around without a car eventually. May as well start with college.
" Mass Transit 101"
To be honest, I did b!tch about it until I got back home and TRULY understand the value of being able to even basically choose where and when to go somewhere, much less the cool factor of drivin' a Max.
Originally Posted by haysdb
My son will be 18 in 2 weeks.
The manual transmission was not a factor in the accident.
I semi-agree with the ES300 suggestion. It's one of the few automatics I would personally own. But I haven't owned an automatic (car) since 1979, and I have no intention of starting now.
An Acura Integra was on the short list until we checked insurance rates. For whatever reason, an Integra is more expensive to insure (in our case) than a Volkswagen GTI. I guess it comes back to claim history, and the VW has apparently fared better than the Acura.
The NADA value on the Maxima is in the $6K range. The body shop came up with a $6600 repair estimate. State Farm's estimate was exen higher than that because they felt the wiring harness would need to be replaced. It's definitely totaled. It doesn't take much with an 8 year old car with 120K miles.
We are still haggling with State Farm over the extras we had put on the car. Even though it's totalled, they are insisting that if we take off the stainless steel exhaust, we have to put another exhaust on the car. And if we take out the custom radio, we have to put another one in. I don't understand why they can't just deduct the salvage value of those parts from our settlement. We'll set up a 3-way call tomorrow to see if we can make any progress. My name is not on the policy, so my ex-wife will have to be in on the call. My ex and I have had State Farm since we were 18 (~30 years), and they have always treated us fairly, so I assume we will be able to work this out, but they are being surprisingly stubborn over a few hundred dollars in parts. I mean, the total salvage value of the car is $562, and just how much is an 8 year old exhaust and factory radio worth? They aren't paying us anything for the custom parts, so all they can deduct is for the salvage value of the original parts.
The manual transmission was not a factor in the accident.
I semi-agree with the ES300 suggestion. It's one of the few automatics I would personally own. But I haven't owned an automatic (car) since 1979, and I have no intention of starting now.
An Acura Integra was on the short list until we checked insurance rates. For whatever reason, an Integra is more expensive to insure (in our case) than a Volkswagen GTI. I guess it comes back to claim history, and the VW has apparently fared better than the Acura.
The NADA value on the Maxima is in the $6K range. The body shop came up with a $6600 repair estimate. State Farm's estimate was exen higher than that because they felt the wiring harness would need to be replaced. It's definitely totaled. It doesn't take much with an 8 year old car with 120K miles.
We are still haggling with State Farm over the extras we had put on the car. Even though it's totalled, they are insisting that if we take off the stainless steel exhaust, we have to put another exhaust on the car. And if we take out the custom radio, we have to put another one in. I don't understand why they can't just deduct the salvage value of those parts from our settlement. We'll set up a 3-way call tomorrow to see if we can make any progress. My name is not on the policy, so my ex-wife will have to be in on the call. My ex and I have had State Farm since we were 18 (~30 years), and they have always treated us fairly, so I assume we will be able to work this out, but they are being surprisingly stubborn over a few hundred dollars in parts. I mean, the total salvage value of the car is $562, and just how much is an 8 year old exhaust and factory radio worth? They aren't paying us anything for the custom parts, so all they can deduct is for the salvage value of the original parts.
You should tell sonny-boy to find a parttime at Starbucks/MickeyDee/Panda Express or something...that way he can help pay for insurance and won't be too guilty.
But with the amount from the settlement, you should be able to easily get another "better than Civic/Corolla/Sentra/Accord/Camry/Altima" car. Maybe something along the lines of a 99 Acura TL or the Lexus ES or 00 I30
Good luck!
If you do decide to get a car, go with something in the early to mid 90s. Go to nissan or toyota even honda. All are reliable, make sure you get a 4door, less on the insurance.
Oh, and Im 15 and a senior in high school :P I turn 16 on Sept the 10th.
Oh, and Im 15 and a senior in high school :P I turn 16 on Sept the 10th.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 370
wow im turning 19 this september and im only a freshman in College. i dont think age makes a difference. i was a senior in HS and i didnt get a car to call my own until just a month ago. senior year does suck when you don't have a car..now i wish i hadn't purchased my max and waited for a stick instead of an auto...
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