I been driving since I was 15 years old and been driving for 30 plus years. So what. The question of age is always relevant, because it in most cases it dovetails with judgement or the lack of. The is no doubt that some 17-18 year olds have the skills to drive 300hp machines, I know, I did; at seventeen I bought a 426 hemi, which was well over 300hp. Driving it was never the problem, however; at time my judgement on the street was seriously lacking in mature judgement. There is no crime in being able to afford to buy nice cars for your children, however; parents should be responsible enough to accurately establish the limits of their offspring's experience, judgement, maturity and driving skills. In other words if they have it, get it.

 

As humans, we tend to generalize, because generalization is a lazy way of thinking. To not generalize, one has to put their prejudicism aside, examine the facts objectively, gather the evidence, and then make a statement. That is hard work!

Granted most teens, including myself (when I was young ), tend to be more emotional than older people; when I was a teen, I used to be more emotional than I am now. I used to do things on the spur of the moment, just because "I felt like it". So, as a teen, if I had a powerful car, and someone challenged me and led me on (think, peer pressure), I might do something stupid that I otherwise would never do. Hey, I think most people would have done something stupid in their younger life (I know, I have), that later on, they would say "Man, only if I had controlled myself a little bit more, things like that would not have happened!" As one gets older, gets a mortgage, gets a family, gets more responsibility, they tend to think more before reacting, because now for each action, there are greater consequences.

Now that said, there are some teens out there who do know the consequences to their actions and know how to control their emotions just fine--I see most people here on the forum use the word "mature" for this. Conversely, there are some "adults" out there who act worse than 17 year-olds! So, slapping the age requirement on whether or not one should be driving a high-powered car is equivalent to lazy thinking. Instead, one should examine each individual driver and judge to see if that person has the characteristics of a good driver, i.e., responsible, able to control their emotions, aware of consequences, know the car's limits, know their own limits, etc....

My 2cents! FYI, when I was a teen, my first car was a Yugo (LOL). Can't hurt nobody with that, except myself by bogging down on the freeway

 

NO i have never raced on the street. It is stupid.. of course on a nice sunny summer day with dry roads and the music goin i reach high speed but there is a time and a place for racing and that is on the track with safty crews at the ready

 

Howdy-

I’ve read this WHOLE thread and there are a lot of really good points, and some that need to be re-thought by the poster.

As for me . . .

I’m 21 and will have my Associates Degree in Computer Science in April. I’ve been driving since the age of 15. I’ve driven a wide range of cars which include; police cars, rice rockets, older Fiats, and a new Lancer OZ Rally Edition that my friend owns. I’m not saying this would qualify me to drive or not to drive the STi, but now it’s a dream to own one.

I could have taken better car of my current car, but buying it with 194k miles on it was my choice and a good choice I made. I’ve learned lots from owning an older car, and I think it has made me a better person because I paid for it and did all the mods to it. With the car falling apart (leaks, no radio(stolen), seat belts don’t *really* work, 214k miles etc) Its about time to get a new car.

I’ve chosen a WRX for the pure reason of enjoyment, speed and reliable. I need something that will last a LONG time, and I mean a long time. Plus this will be my first NEW car, so I’ll be babying it for as long as I have it in my possession.

As for me I’ve gotten in 3 accidents. The first one I was looking down not paying attention and crashed a police car.(I was driving it). The next one was when I was pulling out from a side street where there was a blind spot. Did not see the car coming and my slow *** car did not get out of the way, so the lady hit my driver side door.(minimal damage, nobody reported it). The 3rd time was me being a dumbass looking for a piece of ID for work, looked down for 2 seconds while stopped at a red light, foot slipped off the break and I rolled into the back of the a non-rice Honda.

Surprisingly I have a CLEAN record because none of the accidents were reported, so my insurance is cheap. I’ve already talked to my insurance lady and she quoted me around $108.00 for full coverage on a WRX, then plus payments of $300-$400 a month while putting 10k+ down.. Going from a ~105hp car, to a 300hp car will be a DREAM! Not just the hp is what I’m looking at, but all the toys that come with it.

In conclusion.. a WRX in the hands of a person has nothing to do with how old a person is but how mature you are on and off the road. It’s how you can handle yourself on the road driving in normal to extreme conditions. For an example my step-dad whom is almost 40 has crashed 3 cars, and totaled 2 of them SPEEDING around corners and just being a kid inside. Yes, I’ve crashed cars, but at least I was able to drive mine home. I’ve scared the sh*t out of myself enough just with my minor accidents and driving with friends so I believe that I’ll be able to handle the car and its power.

**On a side note, I would really like to take some professional driving lessons. The police school was okay, but it was only directed for police cars. I would really like to take some lessons when I get the car.

Take Care!

 

Well i learned to drive in an svx and i am now 18 and have had the svx handed down to me i gladly excepted. This is a wonderful, car as all you svx owners know, with ample power most of wich is at top end. but its power to weight ratio wre wonderfully matched, unlike mustangs and other cars like it, that mixed with all wheel drive, subarus are very controlable cars. yes i love to drive it fast but im not a moron about it. i mean look at europe they got kids younger, haulin *** down the autobaun in little italian sports cars, if what my brother, who has been over there five times, says is true, so i agree with most of the other people, its the individual.

 

Taking into consideration that the only things required are the price of admission and a drivers license, this thread is is a waste.

 

This topic is so over discussed! Talk about beating a dead horse. Some of you people just need to get over it, and move on. What's the point of discussing this topic so much, when in reality it doesn't really make a difference what the hell your opinion is. Everyone is different, I know 17 year olds that are more mature than 30 year olds, and I also know 17 year olds that can drive a lot better and have much more car control than 30 year olds. I guess most people like being prejudice against the younger generation. What I don't understand is how these half blind 75 year olds can drive on public roads...???

 

I would like to know how a 17-18 year old kid can afford a $30,000 car???? Mommy and Daddy buy them the car thay will never treat it with the respect that someone who had to bust there *** and pay for it themselfs will. I saw it in high school growing up. Most all the kids who's parents bought them new cars treated them like ****. They have know idea the value of money. Most of them don't deserve the cars.

 

I myself am finishing up my freshmen year of Highschool and I have things pretty much figured out. I have a 8000 d/p and 4000 so i dont have to work for everything just insurance and gas. Thats how i figured to do everything. My college has lots of kids to work so a job will not be to bad. And since I have had a credit card well since i was 18 my credit is really good also.