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Son wants my 2005 Wrangler

2K views 37 replies 31 participants last post by  rq27606 
#1 ·
My son turns 16 next month and wants the 2005 Wrangler x. It has a small lift with 33x12.5's. The jeep is pretty sound, but some are worried about him having a Jeep for his first car. Thoughts?

I'll try to answer some questions you might have:
*He is pretty responsible and a pretty good beginner driver.
*Good kid but may possess the need to show off some.
*Been driving the Wrangler for a year now with a parent.
*Mostly flat ground hear in coastal GA.
 
#2 ·
With those tires and minimal lift I think concerns about rollovers are probably exaggerated.

My biggest concern would be stopping distance\emergency braking.

Also all passengers need to be wearing seat belts at all times. This should be obvious but you never know.
 
#3 ·
At my kid's High School, there are several who have TJ's and YJ's. Some are stock, some are lifted. It really boils down to the teen, and how comfortable and confident they are behind the wheel of the TJ.

The biggest issue with 33's is "standing water" on the road as it can be a bit sketchy to drive through (hydroplaning), and the teen needs to fully understand wet weather speed control to be safe.
 
#4 ·
Up to you pops. Only you know your son. He "wants" your Jeep. Does that mean he is going to buy it from you?
 
#5 ·
So, your kid wants your jeep. Kids want everything these days - the sense of entitlement is mind-boggling to be quite honest. My only question to you as a parent is:

Is he prepared to accept the responsibilities, terms and conditions? Here'd be my list of T&C for him:
  • He either buys it from you for fair market value or rents it for an agreed upon price (say $100/month)
  • He pays for his own insurance (or at least the difference between your current insurance and the cost of adding him as a driver - probably the latter as a 16yo usually can't get their own insurance from most major carriers)
  • He pays for all vehicle maintenance costs (including fuel)
  • A vehicle monitoring system placed in the vehicle so you know the whereabouts at all times (and prevents driving anywhere not permitted, or after hours)
  • No more than two passengers besides himself
  • No off-roading without an adult present/prior permission given on a case-by-case basis

Ownership/driving privileges revoked on any of the following conditions:
  • Misses a payment
  • Gets in an accident
  • Goes to an unauthorized area or drives after curfew
  • Gets a ticket/citation
  • Discovered drinking, smoking dope, using any other controlled substance whether driving or not
 
#24 ·
I agree 100%.
 
#6 ·
To build upon what Colorado_Lab listed above; call your insurance company and see how painful its going to be putting him in a TJ for his first car (i know its not a car). My son is 14 and I would love to get him a Jeep, but I am dreading the insurance costs, so haven't called them yet.
 
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#11 ·
I have already looked into this. Believe it or not, my 98TJ, was the least expensive vehicle to insure my soon to be 16 yr old on. Others were 08 versa, 2002 F250 and 2014 JKUR. I was very surprised.
 
#7 ·
My first vehicle was a YJ so I see no problem with it. I actually think it made me a much more careful driver because my dad was so focused on the possibilities of roll overs and/or hydroplaning. Last thing I wanted to have happen was have to sit through an I TOLD YOU SO, speech.

Just remember your kid is 16 so he is going to hit something. Good news for me was that my YJ was fixable with a pipe-wrench in our garage after my first wreck.
 
#8 ·
My Daughter is getting my Tj in a year. I'm going to replace the 33" MT's with some AT's then put locking everything on it & a starter interrupt. Probably will do a Web and half doors since she likes to run it without doors.
Insurance premiums are 90% dictated on the driver, not the vehicle itself so it's not really a matter what kind of vehicle they drive. Also if you have 3 vehicles & 3 drivers you can tag each driver to whatever of those 3 vehicles you want too. If one of those three cars is less for the kid to be on, you can tag him/her to that vehicle as the primary but they can still drive all of them as much as they want.
I'm more concerned about keeping the thing running as a DD than anything else.
 
#9 ·
Our 2001 TJ Sahara was our daughters first car. She loved it. It was sitting on a 3" lift with 32" tires and at the time was one of the taller jeeps out on the road. She loved pulling up to other Jeeps and looking down at them.
She's only 5'1" or thereabouts.

She loved looking over traffic and the easy parking and turning radius. She did end up having an accident with another young driver. She started to turn left at a yellow and stop when she realized the oncoming car was not stopping. The other car clipped her front left tire and fender and preatty much totalled his car. The jeep just needed minor repairs.

They are not the safest cars, not the best handleing. We explained all that to our daughter. It's a Jeep and needs to be driven like a Jeep.
The only reason she moved to a Jetta was when she started college and working, and needed better gas mileage. She still to this day misses the Jeep.
 
#10 ·
Every kid needs a jeep and I bet you wouldn't mind something new for yourself.

That's quite a list Colorado-lab laid out but IMO my sons 1st priority is school, not working to pay for a car/Jeep.

In order to keep the privilege of its use we require the following:

-4.0 or better GPA
-All homework completed before extra curricular driving occurs.
-No accidents.
-No speeding.
-Phone tracking must always be on - no "my phone was dead" excuses.
-AL law limits passengers in the 1st year so compliance with the law.
-assist in all maintenance and repairs.
-Finally, be available for family needed errands like shuttle driver for his brother and grocery shopping.
 
#13 ·
That's about what my parents did when they helped me get mine. I already had (and still have) my car that I got on my own, but I got it when I still worked full time before I transferred colleges. Now, with my current school and schedule, no way I could work, but they still helped me get it. I find a way to pay for the majority of my upgrades, repairs and maintenance, but they'll help me still if it's an absolute necessity (say brakes). Granted, I'm a few years older than the OP's son.
 
#14 ·
TJ is one of the least expensive vehicles to insure. I agree with ssinga about grades more important than paying for a Jeep. My son works, but, that money goes straight into his college fund. My son drives the Jeep occasionally, typically he drives an 08 Grand Prix. The car is mine, not his, this means if he back talks to me or to his mother it is bicycle time for him. He also assists with all repairs, Grand Prix or Jeep.
 
#16 ·
Also agree. My teenage son just got a TJ and our insurance went down. I think it is pretty standard to see this with the slightly older jeeps. We spent time investigating this before he pulled the trigger. Inexpensive to fix and most people drive them like jeeps (generally slower speeds on road then kids in tuners)


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#17 ·
I'm the oldest, so my dad learned his lesson through me. I got a new car at 16, only because it was the cheapest reasonable thing with dual airbags -- a requirement for my dad. However, by the time I was through college (and at my poorest), it was time for a replacement.

With all my siblings, they got *the use* of one of the oldest family cars at the time, and then a reasonable used car once they flew the coup.

I agree with the following from the folks above me:
1) likely lower insurance costs for a Jeep
2) it's your vehicle, not theirs (16 yo me is mad at that, but it's 16 yo me)
3) requiring the maintenance labor will make your son a lot more conscientious about driving hard or abusing their wheels

But overall, lucky son to have a cool dad!
 
#18 ·
After raising two kids through college, I will say the very first car needs to be a cheap, beater. You don't want to keep full coverage with a 16 year old, in a Jeep. Both of mine have totaled a car before they were 18. They were accidents, nothing stupid was being done, but the vehicles were still toast. Make him earn the Jeep. 12 months with no accidents or tickets in a beater, then he gets something else. If he doesn't have to earn it, he won't respect it. If he doesn't respect it, it will end badly. If you don't decide to do that now, you may be deciding after a couple of destroyed vehicles.

If it isn't earned, it has no perceived value. Earning something gives it worth. If you get him something else, to start, and he pitches a fit about it, tell him that you will match whatever he has saved up so he can buy something on his own. Unless he is completely an idiot, he will say thanks.

A buddy of mine called me when his son had pretty much destroyed a civic by driving it where it shouldn't be driven. Mostly cosmetic damage, but a lot of it. He asked me if I thought it was a good idea to give the kid his old Titan. WTF? No it isn't a good idea. Make him drive the Civic in the condition that he made it. You don't reward bad decisions. You don't break something through misuse and get a better thing to replace it with.

Full disclosure here, my daughter had three cars replaced in two years before we came to the conclusion that we were rewarding bad behavior. She took the last one to a body shop without telling us about the single car accident. The body shop called us because the vehicle was in my wife's name. We paid the repair bill, put the car on Craigslist, and sold it before she knew it was out of the body shop. She went without a car for over a year and we didn't help her get another one until she straightened up, got her GED, and enrolled in college. She is in her third year of college and she is still driving the 2003 Forrester with a salvage title that we let her drive. She is happy to have it, no matter how bad it looks.
 
#19 ·
I guess it depends on the kid, I'd put my 14 yr old daughter up against any adult driver with any of my vehicles. She knows how to drive on or off road. My 18yr old drives like a grandma. Where I live high school kids are driving nicer vehicles than most adults. The thing I did when my first daughter got her drivers license was to sit down with our insurance agent and have him go through different senerios and the possible ramifications for her & us.
 
#20 ·
Those tires and a lift would make me nervous as a parent. Especially if brakes and other aspects of the suspension weren't improved to handle the extra weight. I'd definitely consider swapping in some smaller/lighter and pavement friendly all terrains if you go down this route. Maybe make him save up for a more road practical set of wheels and tires so he has some skin in the game.

I think 99.9% of drivers have a handful of really dumb moments as a teenager as they learn the limits of driving a vehicle. A lifted jeep with wide, heavy tires probably isn't the best thing to learn those lessons in.
 
#22 ·
I agree with everything everyone has said,

However, when I was in high school, my friend had a cherokee, stock. Overcorrected it in a 45mph zone, straight away, and it rolled 3 times, her and her sister were in it, and walked away with NO scratch.


Jeeps are safe, it depends on the driver. How much faith do you have in your child? Teach them how long it takes to properly stop, or how to drive in the pouring rain where water may pool in the road. If you take the necessary steps, then you're golden.


Good Luck!
 
#26 ·
Interesting thoughts, my oldest daughter 1st vehicle was a 98 w/31's and 2" lift. We had all the talks about friends and driving defensively, being aware of various conditions. She loved it, never had an issue other than paying for the gas. Working part-time and commuting just didn't add up! She sold it for a economy car and now at 23 she constantly say's "Dad I want my jeep back"! She helped with maintenance and I agree with somebodies comment "if you can learn in a jeep, you'll be great in any other vehicle"!
 
#30 ·
If a kid wants a wrangler why not... They are so slow it's not exactly easy to speed, especially if you have him pay for gas. It's not like the old CJ's that were almost death traps for kids....

sounds like a perfect time to get a newer one to me :)

Part of the reason I purchased my 16 JKU RHR was so my step kids would have another vehicle to drive.... Something slow, safe etc. We are now divorced actually signed the paperwork to buy the jeep a few days after she said she wants a divorce
 
#31 ·
I wish I had had a Jeep as a first vehicle, or my son. My son got his mom's lil 14 year old sporty car, already got a speeding ticket. I didnt just let him have the car though, I've made him earn it to a degree. I helped with some repairs, but made him pay some and repairs from then on, plus gas. He also pays his own insurance, after he was added to my policy saving him a lot of money.

When I was his age, I had to work full time while in high school to buy my first car. I didnt want him to do full time, but part time wouldnt kill him, and teach him some responsibility. Better than sitting around playing Xbox lol. His grades are fine. He graduates high school this year, with already 3 years of college credit in the automotive field. I think hes doing good, and was better off than I was at that age. Of course schooling has ALWAYS been his main responsibility, and he knows that. Nothing changed with a license.

I havent done any of the tracking, thats more like some government surveillance which Im opposed to lol. I do the honor system. Hes a very honest kid. He knows a lie will set me over the edge.

So, my opinion, follows along with what Colorado and Tugg is saying for the most part.

Good luck in your decision, but I think a teen that earns a TJ would be a happy teen, and less speeding tickets lol.
 
#36 ·
I'm going to refer to the original question and skip the parenting lessons. No kid is going to drive by himself the way he drives with their parent. You said, "Good kid but may possess the need to show off some."

My son was in a Dodge Hemi 1/2 ton pickup a few weeks before I noticed the right rear tire was slick. I think of every reason I can to keep him out of my LJ. I all but disconnect the battery and tell him it is broken down.

I know of two different guys from my small town that now live six feet deep in the ground from rollovers in Jeep Wranglers. They were both idiots, but now they are dead idiots. A passenger that was with one of them will be messed up for life. I don't want my son killed, so I keep him out of it.

Another person I know that is an excellent driver damn near rolled a brand new Wrangler recently dodging a cow. And the new ones are a lot more stable than the older TJs.
 
#37 ·
I think you need to decide beyond just his driving habits, more based on his character and little things he does. That includes how he handles schoolwork, chores, etc. Like what Danny said, how he drives with you is likely not the same as he drives by himself or with others.

However something to use as a comparisson, my first vehicle was a 1971 Toyota FJ40 with Chevy 350 small block and that thing could haul butt. That was almost 4 years ago. I ended up with my 05 TJ a year later due to all the problems that come with a 40 year old vehicle. I personally think a TJ is a perfect vehicle for a first car but that's going to depend on what your gut is telling you
 
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