Unnamed Car Buying Show - Best First Car for a Kid for Under $15k

The Great Car Debate: A Father's Perspective

As I sit here reflecting on my recent car-buying experience, I find myself torn between two vehicles that cater to different needs and preferences. My son, who has just outgrown his current ride, is looking for a new set of wheels that will not only serve him well but also provide a learning experience. The debate revolves around two cars: my own 2012 Mini Cooper with a manual gearbox and a 13-inch infotainment screen, and my son's potential daily driver, a 2023 Volkswagen GTI.

My Mini Cooper is a reliable and fuel-efficient vehicle that checks all the boxes for a practical car. With its compact size, it offers less room inside, which I think will help minimize distractions while driving with friends. The car also boasts head curtain side airbags, providing an added layer of safety. Additionally, it has a basic Bluetooth connection, allowing my son to stay connected on the go. However, I must admit that this car lacks the "fun factor" that I was hoping for in a daily driver.

On the other hand, my son's potential daily driver is a 2023 Volkswagen GTI. This car excels in the entertainment department, offering a manual transmission that will provide my son with an exciting driving experience. The GTI also has a more modern design and features compared to my Mini Cooper, making it a more appealing option for a young driver. However, I was initially drawn to this car's reliability and fuel efficiency.

The debate centers around the balance between practicality and fun factor. As a parent, I want my son to have an enjoyable driving experience that will also teach him valuable skills like driving a manual transmission. I'm willing to compromise on the "fun factor" for the sake of safety and practicality. My first car was a $1,000 vehicle that required me to work hard to pay off, but it taught me the value of responsibility and hard work.

Interestingly, both cars are under my budget, with the Mini Cooper costing significantly less than the GTI. However, I'm willing to splurge on this occasion because of the benefits that a daily driver car will provide for my son's future. My son has been eyeing a 1966 Vanden Plas Princess, which is a unique and fascinating vehicle that he jokingly calls his "princess." While it may not be the most practical choice, I think it would make an excellent project car or even a daily driver if modified.

The debate ultimately comes down to personal preference. If my son were to drive a manual transmission, it could teach him valuable skills and provide a more engaging driving experience. On the other hand, the Volkswagen GTI offers a more modern design and features that cater to a younger driver's needs. As for me, I'm willing to concede that the GTI is a better choice, but only because I didn't get to say so initially.

For our viewers, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this debate. Do you think my son's potential daily driver car wins out in terms of practicality and fun factor? Or do you prefer the balance offered by my Mini Cooper? Sound off in the comments below!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello and welcome to the unnamed car buying show I'm your host Jeff glucker join with my friend and colleague Lyn Woodward hello Lynn hi so we've done trucks we've done V8s we've done Corvettes um we we've V overlanders today though we're thinking about the children today we're talk school time man it's back to school time perfect timing this is the right start of the second week of my nine-year-olds back to school so today's challenge is the best first car for a kid with a Max budget of $115,000 which is more than my parents would have ever spent but we're opening up a wide range to see what's out there and and uh like usual I'm gonna let you kick things off show me what you got send your send your text over and I will look at it as you start to explain what you pick yeah there's gonna be no Preamble this time because I've decided I talk way too much I had to cut you off so yeah when someone has to cut you off you know it's a bad sign so this is my pitch okay oh no no no no this is a this is a excited reaction that I was hoping for this is a fantastic choice okay I instantly went to hot hatch because I think small but still has some utility when you can put all your stuff in the back I mean there's no way a kid going off to college or someone in high school I can't deal with the space this is a 2015 VW Golf GT s 62,6 miles 13,99 bucks um look this is a cool fun car to drive period this one in particular I think is great it's that awesome blue like kind of metallic color on the outside the inside is The Tartan interior which is Super Rad it's an automatic so you don't have to have your teen like freaking out that they're not going to be able to drive a manual but um so there's that that's fine turbocharged engine 210 horsepower um so it's not too much fun right but it's just enough fun the one thing that I think might be a little bit of a hesitancy and I'd be interested to hear what you think about this as a dad who might soon have to put their daughter into a car it doesn't come with all of the sort of new fangled like super Advanced driver safety thing when I've heard friends want to put their their kids into a first car it's like well it has to have the emergency you know breaking and then it has to have the lane centering and it has to have it's like just let your kids figure out how to drive maybe or teach them well and they won't need all of that stuff so the GTI is my first choice however if people are a little bit reluctant to put their kid into something that maybe is a little sportier when you are first out of the gate when I was looking there were no there was no shortage of s SE seel's there was even an e golf that I found if you want to give your kid an an electric car um with like 40 miles of range yeah this no no no I'm just kidding I think it's like maybe 80 or 90 it's like no I think it's like aund it's it's maybe less than a 100 because it's the it was it was I think a maybe a 2015 or something a great car just needed better battery I think that VW is a great way to go another one thing that I will say as an owner of a VW wagon when it comes to fixing stuff Parts can be a tad expensive because they're German y but I think the hot hatch the golf in particular it's a great looking car your kid is not going to be embarrassed because let's face it I mean I thought Kia Soul would be a really good pick too because I just think it's super c um but this is where I landed and I I'm going to yeah I'm really confident going into this I think this one is going to be tough for you to beat okay I think that is a very good choice I'm just clicking mine to send over um and you're GNA be surprised um to find that we' have landed on the same manufacturer I I knew that this would happen at some point I no I have the tendency to think of like I my mind goes to cool cars and I did look at AutoTrader Classic but to be honest I need something that if I'm gonna put my kid in it I don't need it to have Lane centering and and smart cruise control I just need it to have modern airbags and modern crash safety standards for the most part um the other thing I searched for that would help alleviate and let me say if I I it'll show up on screen but if anybody was just listening I've picked a 2012 Volkswagen bat 2.5S it has 100,000 miles but it looks extremely well-maintained the reason I picked it though is because I purposely searched for vehicles with manual gearboxes because I think learning how to drive on a manual makes the driver a more attentive driver you're paying more attention to what the machine is doing and in doing so like in my Montero I'm watching everyone around me I do that in any car regardless but in my Montero I need to know if I need to downshift on the freeway to maintain my speed like all sorts of things you're paying more attention than if I was just cruising in uh an automat where you pay less attention and then in even more modern cars if you think you have safety measures in place to keep you um more safe that could sometimes make for a reduction it's almost like how modern Air Force pilots the older guys Grumble they're like ah these Pilots don't know what they're doing because they have all these safety things um and there may be some truth to that but more specifically in a car I want them more in tune with what the vehicle is doing um so I I I almost went with a Mini Cooper that was a manual gearbox it was a 13 um so and the reason I would like that is because less room inside means less room for distracting friends driving along with them which is something I thought about but at the same time this 2012 it does it even has like head curtain side airbags so there's that safety level it should be okay on fuel economy this has 32 Highway and then it still has um the most basic Bluetooth connection so they could have their phone paired if I need to call them um that said you know I still want a car to be fun nothing about this pad is fun um except that it has a manual transmission and there's a little bit of fun there a little bit and like you know I would do like hey kiddo let's do wheels and tires like let's make this look cool um good dad it's still a pad at the end of the day your GTI is a great choice the only thing I wish it was uh a manual but on the flip side I also so I know I set our budget at 15 but like my first car was um $1,000 which at the time was like oh my God I can't believe and I just had to work it off from my parents but I couldn't believe that we spent that much money on a car um so this car is under 7,000 um and it's funny because uh both of these are Under the price I paid for my own daily driver because you and I both like older and like I actually did go to classic I found a 1966 Vanden PL princess which I was going to post as a joke for like a princess for my princess but like I wouldn't put her in a car from 1966 from a weird bre it's not even a Jag it it's just a Vanden plast Princess um which was actually a really cool car there was like a Dodge Dart you know there was like there was a Ram charger I'm like oh SUV will be safe it's got a big V8 but I have to be somewhat practical here um and yeah I went with the manual gearbox which for all your parents out there if you know how to drive a manual you should teach your kids to drive a manual they might not ever need it but maybe someday they will need to hop in a car and know how to use it um and I just I really think that driving a manual makes kids pay more attention to the world around them at least I hope that's the case because my daughter will drive my montaro someday as long as the engine is still running um and if this ever gets an engine maybe she'll drive that too but not first possibility strong possibility I'm I'm rooting for you on on both fronts thank you on this one I'm I'm G to be honest here I almost feel like we're gonna need to defer to the five people who are going to comment on this video because there are reasons for both of these your mileage is fantastic and the more it's not that it's like one year newer and it's a more entertaining car without being an overwhelming car like right even a Bas golf is still a fun car to drive sure um GTI are awesome though so you can teach if you teach them how to drive well they're gonna have a lot of fun in the car um but your price is higher but your mileage is way lower um on the flip side I think my manual gearbox argument and the cleanliness of that car and it still has all the modern features and my price so like we could go back and forth on either one of these agreed agreed I honestly I think you're I think the manual transmission um I think that argument is actually a really good one it's super it's certainly solid I I would think for anybody who's not who doesn't kind of do what we do or is in this space probably don't even drive a manual themselves and so we never even think of something like that so I think that's a really good point to bring up um I'm glad you just said what you said although 100% I was willing to concede that I yours is a better choice but since you didn't then yeah I say we put it to a vote and because you you still you're under budget and your mileage is f 62,000 miles is fantastic so the kid the kid could drive that all through college and oh 100% and stay under 100 th I mean unless they go to school in somewhere on the east coast and they're driving back and forth if they're based out here you know vice versa um we have tide yeah yeah you need to tell me to shut up this time shut up um there you go um and for those of you watching tell us who won who do you think won or also sound off on better choice forhello and welcome to the unnamed car buying show I'm your host Jeff glucker join with my friend and colleague Lyn Woodward hello Lynn hi so we've done trucks we've done V8s we've done Corvettes um we we've V overlanders today though we're thinking about the children today we're talk school time man it's back to school time perfect timing this is the right start of the second week of my nine-year-olds back to school so today's challenge is the best first car for a kid with a Max budget of $115,000 which is more than my parents would have ever spent but we're opening up a wide range to see what's out there and and uh like usual I'm gonna let you kick things off show me what you got send your send your text over and I will look at it as you start to explain what you pick yeah there's gonna be no Preamble this time because I've decided I talk way too much I had to cut you off so yeah when someone has to cut you off you know it's a bad sign so this is my pitch okay oh no no no no this is a this is a excited reaction that I was hoping for this is a fantastic choice okay I instantly went to hot hatch because I think small but still has some utility when you can put all your stuff in the back I mean there's no way a kid going off to college or someone in high school I can't deal with the space this is a 2015 VW Golf GT s 62,6 miles 13,99 bucks um look this is a cool fun car to drive period this one in particular I think is great it's that awesome blue like kind of metallic color on the outside the inside is The Tartan interior which is Super Rad it's an automatic so you don't have to have your teen like freaking out that they're not going to be able to drive a manual but um so there's that that's fine turbocharged engine 210 horsepower um so it's not too much fun right but it's just enough fun the one thing that I think might be a little bit of a hesitancy and I'd be interested to hear what you think about this as a dad who might soon have to put their daughter into a car it doesn't come with all of the sort of new fangled like super Advanced driver safety thing when I've heard friends want to put their their kids into a first car it's like well it has to have the emergency you know breaking and then it has to have the lane centering and it has to have it's like just let your kids figure out how to drive maybe or teach them well and they won't need all of that stuff so the GTI is my first choice however if people are a little bit reluctant to put their kid into something that maybe is a little sportier when you are first out of the gate when I was looking there were no there was no shortage of s SE seel's there was even an e golf that I found if you want to give your kid an an electric car um with like 40 miles of range yeah this no no no I'm just kidding I think it's like maybe 80 or 90 it's like no I think it's like aund it's it's maybe less than a 100 because it's the it was it was I think a maybe a 2015 or something a great car just needed better battery I think that VW is a great way to go another one thing that I will say as an owner of a VW wagon when it comes to fixing stuff Parts can be a tad expensive because they're German y but I think the hot hatch the golf in particular it's a great looking car your kid is not going to be embarrassed because let's face it I mean I thought Kia Soul would be a really good pick too because I just think it's super c um but this is where I landed and I I'm going to yeah I'm really confident going into this I think this one is going to be tough for you to beat okay I think that is a very good choice I'm just clicking mine to send over um and you're GNA be surprised um to find that we' have landed on the same manufacturer I I knew that this would happen at some point I no I have the tendency to think of like I my mind goes to cool cars and I did look at AutoTrader Classic but to be honest I need something that if I'm gonna put my kid in it I don't need it to have Lane centering and and smart cruise control I just need it to have modern airbags and modern crash safety standards for the most part um the other thing I searched for that would help alleviate and let me say if I I it'll show up on screen but if anybody was just listening I've picked a 2012 Volkswagen bat 2.5S it has 100,000 miles but it looks extremely well-maintained the reason I picked it though is because I purposely searched for vehicles with manual gearboxes because I think learning how to drive on a manual makes the driver a more attentive driver you're paying more attention to what the machine is doing and in doing so like in my Montero I'm watching everyone around me I do that in any car regardless but in my Montero I need to know if I need to downshift on the freeway to maintain my speed like all sorts of things you're paying more attention than if I was just cruising in uh an automat where you pay less attention and then in even more modern cars if you think you have safety measures in place to keep you um more safe that could sometimes make for a reduction it's almost like how modern Air Force pilots the older guys Grumble they're like ah these Pilots don't know what they're doing because they have all these safety things um and there may be some truth to that but more specifically in a car I want them more in tune with what the vehicle is doing um so I I I almost went with a Mini Cooper that was a manual gearbox it was a 13 um so and the reason I would like that is because less room inside means less room for distracting friends driving along with them which is something I thought about but at the same time this 2012 it does it even has like head curtain side airbags so there's that safety level it should be okay on fuel economy this has 32 Highway and then it still has um the most basic Bluetooth connection so they could have their phone paired if I need to call them um that said you know I still want a car to be fun nothing about this pad is fun um except that it has a manual transmission and there's a little bit of fun there a little bit and like you know I would do like hey kiddo let's do wheels and tires like let's make this look cool um good dad it's still a pad at the end of the day your GTI is a great choice the only thing I wish it was uh a manual but on the flip side I also so I know I set our budget at 15 but like my first car was um $1,000 which at the time was like oh my God I can't believe and I just had to work it off from my parents but I couldn't believe that we spent that much money on a car um so this car is under 7,000 um and it's funny because uh both of these are Under the price I paid for my own daily driver because you and I both like older and like I actually did go to classic I found a 1966 Vanden PL princess which I was going to post as a joke for like a princess for my princess but like I wouldn't put her in a car from 1966 from a weird bre it's not even a Jag it it's just a Vanden plast Princess um which was actually a really cool car there was like a Dodge Dart you know there was like there was a Ram charger I'm like oh SUV will be safe it's got a big V8 but I have to be somewhat practical here um and yeah I went with the manual gearbox which for all your parents out there if you know how to drive a manual you should teach your kids to drive a manual they might not ever need it but maybe someday they will need to hop in a car and know how to use it um and I just I really think that driving a manual makes kids pay more attention to the world around them at least I hope that's the case because my daughter will drive my montaro someday as long as the engine is still running um and if this ever gets an engine maybe she'll drive that too but not first possibility strong possibility I'm I'm rooting for you on on both fronts thank you on this one I'm I'm G to be honest here I almost feel like we're gonna need to defer to the five people who are going to comment on this video because there are reasons for both of these your mileage is fantastic and the more it's not that it's like one year newer and it's a more entertaining car without being an overwhelming car like right even a Bas golf is still a fun car to drive sure um GTI are awesome though so you can teach if you teach them how to drive well they're gonna have a lot of fun in the car um but your price is higher but your mileage is way lower um on the flip side I think my manual gearbox argument and the cleanliness of that car and it still has all the modern features and my price so like we could go back and forth on either one of these agreed agreed I honestly I think you're I think the manual transmission um I think that argument is actually a really good one it's super it's certainly solid I I would think for anybody who's not who doesn't kind of do what we do or is in this space probably don't even drive a manual themselves and so we never even think of something like that so I think that's a really good point to bring up um I'm glad you just said what you said although 100% I was willing to concede that I yours is a better choice but since you didn't then yeah I say we put it to a vote and because you you still you're under budget and your mileage is f 62,000 miles is fantastic so the kid the kid could drive that all through college and oh 100% and stay under 100 th I mean unless they go to school in somewhere on the east coast and they're driving back and forth if they're based out here you know vice versa um we have tide yeah yeah you need to tell me to shut up this time shut up um there you go um and for those of you watching tell us who won who do you think won or also sound off on better choice for\n"