bczoom said:
I wouldn't even risk it. She's going to spend the next 4-5 years helping you build it. It'll crush her if she wrecks it. (I mean the tear factor here...) Get her a POS for the first year or 2 then put this machine on the line.
Oh come on, should we assume the worst or the best in people?
- OK, I'll admit, she has one strike against her because she will be a teenage driver.
- And strike two because she will be a female driver.
But I never wrecked a car, I've gotten into a couple minor fender benders, but never anything bad. Ditto my wife, brother, sister, etc. Sure it can happen, heaven forbid she could roll it and total it. But then again she could treat it like her baby and take care of it and it could be a great vehicle for her with a lot of sentimental value. My hope would be that she will be more responsible because of the time and effort she has invested in it, and in this day and age when kids are often careless and stupid, giving her some incentive (
via the emotional attachment) might be a darn good thing.
Now from the other perspective, I could buy her a junker and expect her to treat it as a junker, and she probably would, and that in itself seems to me would be sending the wrong message. It is essentially saying,
HERE IS 3000# OF DENTED & RUSTY DETROIT IRON, GO HAVE FUN AND DON'T WORRY IF YOU DENT IT SOME MORE BECAUSE I'LL NEVER NOTICE IT. That just doesn't seem like the subliminal message I want to send.