khelawanb

I like this,

vcruiser

im 19 and I drive a new C350.
was gonna get the c63 but it was not 4wd

I drive my dad's clk 63 black series from time to time and it doesnt matter how fast the car is. . . you can speed in any car . . . It's the way YOU drive it.

no matter what car you get him, he will most probably speed at times, just because of curiosity . . just like any 17 yr old would do.

you just have to have trust him and have faith that he will not disappoint you.


that said,
ask him how he would feel about a c63 !

1sikbenz

I don't think it really matters what kind of kid he is, responsible, irresponsible...or if he can or can't handle that kind of power, to me what would be important is his future, will handing him such a vehicle increase his grades? make him a better person? make him work harder and honestly for what he needs and wants in life? when I was a teenager, I recieved a hand me down beater that my brothers and older sisters used (76 Peugeot 504), and I loved it, sure the guys at school with muscle cars made fun of me for it, but hey, it was modest, unique, served me well, and I was able to save money, and with the cash I had saved from my paper route as a kid, I bought my first car (68 Dodge Dart), which wasen't a looker either, but it was mine, I worked hard for it and it was paid for, when I have kids I won't ever hand them a car, I'll teach them that they need to work for what they want and if they can't afford exactly what they want right now, tough... they can learn patience, what I may do is make a deal with them that whatever they save and earn for their 1st car, I might match it to a certain percentage, that would help them and teach them. Personally, though you may feel different, I think handing somebody (especially my own son) a car, whatever the worth of the vehicle would be a huge dis-service to him. I'm glad my father raised me this way, though at the time with my teenage mind I probably would have prefered to have whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, I learned much more working on that car about being handy, and waiting and working for those good things in life until after I've earned them than I ever could have if it had been otherwise. Sometimes when you love somebody, and you know what's really better for them, you may need to just stay your hand.

von32897

Mercedesboss,
I agree with Ducati. He needs to get a job, pay for it on his own. How else will one appreciate the nicer things in life if all they had to do was ask, and it be given. How does one appreciate and learn the meaning of life? BAD BAD BAD idea brother. Just because you can, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Your son needs to learn to earn what he wants. How is he going to survive on his own if you weren't around? Who's he going to ask?

I can understand possibly a car to get around in but damn, 467 horses/500+ torque for a 17 year old?

Let me tell you a true story about a father that came into my dealership and bought a brand spanking new Infiniti G35 with all the bells and whistle for his son. He was 17 years old. Just got his license a few months ago. This was his dream car. Father didn't listen to me and paid cash for it. Two hours after they left the dealership, he wrapped the car around a telephone poll. Lost his son and $40k+. True heartbroken story brother. Put yourself in that father's shoes. I would bet he still regrets it today and everyday for the rest of his LIFE. That car only had 295HP.

Hope you make a wise decision. A car with this much power is not something any 17 year old can handle. This is one of those important life lessons, that you need to teach your son. You only get a few of those in a lifetime. Help make him a better man bro.

E55Freak

Think of Nick Hogan..a supposed professional driver that has access to 1000hp cars on a track. Look where he's at...same age.

transferred

My take is getting a CLS55 for a second year old boy would be a bad idea. If you want to get him something flash then the CLS500, as others have said, is more than enough car. My 17yr old is a good girl and I got her the Mini Cooper S. I sprung for all the JCW bits as I wanted something that would be fun if ever I borrowed it and something that would have a little more rarity for those in the know. Also, at 200bhp it's nippy enough to get her out of trouble but far from a missile like a modern AMG or M-CAR. I don't subscribe that kids who worked for their own car get further in life or are better people, it's a case by case basis. This will be the one and only car she gets from me and when the others are of age they'll get the same treatment.

Now, what I will say is getting a Merc for such a young kid may cause jealousy and envy from those around. Heck, I've heard of people getting bullied for having a ten yr old C-class bought for them. Personally I'd stick to Mini (if it' a girl) or a VW Jetta or Golf as a first car. Something new and safe but not flash.

Anyhow, no judgment here: do what you think is right and hopefully it all works out okay.

Blood Doctor

Wow... haven't been by here in a while and certainly didn't expect this kind of a thread.

DucatiNut 's post above is by far the most interesting... but as a fellow parent, I have to simply say, "no" and agree with everyone who's given reasons against it as well.

A performance car of any make or model is not appropriate for a young person, no matter how good their judgement may appear to be. Like trauma doc, I've seen too many bad preventable situations in my life as well to back that up.

So while my son is also an absolutely amazing person and has NEVER done anything to disappoint me or make me question his judgement or heart, his 1st car will NOT be a performance oriented car or a compact car.

Years ago, my nephew (good kid also) created an accident speeding into a left turn 1 week after he got his Camaro and totaled it. When asked how it happened, he said, he thought he could beat the traffic... simply put, a kid is still a kid and no matter how good his track record is, simply has not been through enough life experiences to make you react properly, just instinctively.

Also as others have written, I would hope like other life stories, he should not be spoiled, and try to learn that the finer things in life (not necessarily talking possessions here) are earned in life, not given.

Good Luck,
- Ed.

Bucky44

If he desevers it go for it but it might be a little too much power for a 17 year old. But then again only you know how responsible he is.

201mph

CLK Masters' post makes a lot of sense.

You've already determined your son has the maturity and good sense to be entrusted with a car of this value. However... does he have the skills (and restraint) to properly manage this kind of power in the variety of situations that a driving teen faces?

If he were my son, and I'm in your shoes, I would give him:

1) A three-day high-performance driving course... Barber, Bondurant, Russell, etc,

2) a CLS 500 or 550 with AMG appearance package and CLS55 replica wheels.

3) a promise that after a year (or more) of accident and ticket-free driving he can have his AMG car.

DucatiNut

Blood Doctor .... I am still against the idea, not only for the safety / experience / 470 hp reasons, but primarily because I believe that by withholding some of lifes' hard lessons (for example you have to work hard to get somewhere and pay your own way) you are, by default, hindering your childs' development and limiting his ability to deal with the realities of a tough, unforgiving, competitive environment we all live in.
I am sure plenty of us know children who still live at home and have mommy wash their clothes, cook for them and make their bed when they should be out there making a life for themselves. The parent that coddles the child to the point where they are not learning to deal with life is a poor parent indeed. I am sure this is a good kid and that his Dad wants the best for him. Learning at an early age that some things in life need to be worked for will give him a competitive advantage over some others... the posters here that focus only on the driving aspect of this issue are neglecting another more important point. What he learns now about life will serve him long after the 55 is rusting at the dump.... it is after all, only a car!

imphaded

why would he value a car that he didn't pay or work for?

buy him a older c/clk/s/e or something.. and if he wouldn't be happy with that then he's a spoiled brat..

C280 Sport

[quote=imphaded;3258819]

buy him a older c/clk/s/e or something quote]

As a second option if they dont agree on the AMG. Excluding the C Class unless its a W203 C320,C55,C32.

s4avt

It's up to you

If you want to feed him fish for the rest of his life.. than do so..

or if you want to teach him how to catch the fish so he can live w/o in the future.. let me get his own car...

Chinny4290

Oh how nice it is to be idealistic...when idealism rarely ever translates into realism.

Broker

I think it's great that you drove with him during the time he was learning to drive. My dad did this with me @ 15 with my learners permit, and I've read statistics that say that this makes young drivers more responsible on average. I think it was good for me.

I think of myself at that age as a pretty focused and good driver for being 17, but I'm glad I didn't have a beast like that; could easily be dead now. I had a 92 BMW 325i with 192 hp, with lots of suspension mods that I had worked hard to pay for at the time, and the suspension alone allowed me to really get into some dangerous speeds, without any special amount of power.

My dad also sent me to a weekend aggressive driving school for teens in addition to the standard drivers ed. They had a couple big trucks, one dumping soap all over the track, and one dumping tons of water on it, and to our advantage it was also icy and raining. Lots of fun. Pushed my car to it's absolute limit in a save environment, and got a great feel for how to regain control of the car whenever it loses control, and making sure not to overreact. Not only would I suggest doing this for all teen drivers when they start driving, but also with each particular car they will be driving. If they get a new car, have them go to the school again and get a feel for that car's capabilities.

Personally I think the CLS (of any kind) is quite a car to be buying a 17 year old. The 550 would be tons of power on it's own as well; it has more power than many N/A AMG cars.

I think one good idea (for someone already spending plenty of money on their kids) is to make them work/pay for it still, but offer to match the money they put towards a car. Who wouldn't agree that a half price car is an amazing deal? And he'd appreciate it as he'd have to work hard for the money. Or you can make him pay a smaller fraction if you really want to treat him.

Soon about to turn 25, I feel that I can be responsible enough to buy a 55AMG (probably the SL) but I still plan on being careful and spending some good time learning on how the car drives. Although my AMG purchase isn't a huge leap from anything that I'm used to as I have been riding sport bikes since the age of 21, now those will get you into some trouble. But even there I know that I am NOT experienced enough to have a sport bike with 140+ hp or 900cc+, I limit myself, which isn't any problem as any new 600 will smoke 99% of cars on the road.

bigben320e

Ducati, Von, and several others have very good points. Like I noted before as well, with others he should work his way up to a car like this even to a CLS500. That's 305HP, which can be quite a bit to even an experienced driver.

My dad at 65 has over 30 years of taxi driving, trucks, mustangs, and all types of fast cars (big block V8's). He got a Mustang GT, and said he had to get back used to that kind of power again, take it for what it's worth.

No doubt your son sounds likes he a great kid, but like we all are saying: He's still 17. He still is wet behind the ears, and a CLS55 or 500 would "scratch an itch" that should not be at this time.

Personally, I have drove a CLS55 K4 quite a bit (my friend has one) which has about 600HP, that is not a beast I try to open up because of that kind of power and I am not trying to kill myself.

It takes experience, time, and appreciation to get to cars like this to handle them correctly.

Blood Doctor

I couldn't agree with you more and could certainly see where you were going with your original posts.

As mentioned, having the means to buy your kid anything he / she may want may be more dangerous in the long run, of course that's my stance as a parent. I could buy my kid an F430 if I wanted, but what kind of example / lesson would I be setting.

Learning to "fish" rather then being "feed" may be the more important message to get across then the question of whether or not he could drive responsibly.

I'm probably just "old school", but as a right of passage, unless every 17 yr old these days is cruising around in a high-end / performance vehicle, a first car should always be something you work for and earn with minimal help from your folks.

MercedesBoss sounds like he may also have not choice now but to be fair to son #2 (the good one), since he's already given a corvette to son #1 with the now known speeding issues.

Good luck Dads out there...

C280 Sport

Thank you. My daughter is wanting an SLK 230 or 320 when she turns 18. I told her we will see.

06CLK350

Who told you idealism rarely translates into reality? In my family it sure has many time, i also know many other people that this has occurred to. Keep your unnecessary options to yourself.

E500C70

Honestly if your family has the income to support a purchase like this, and your son is a dedicated car fanatic who is dead set on that particular model, go for it.

He's not too young.

I was driving powerful luxury cars at 16 when my parents were rolling in Dodge Caravans and Golfs. But I'm a car enthusiast and they aren't, so my taste in cars was a little more "picky" so to speak. Still they understood where I was coming from. Plus at the time, my 3 other siblings never wanted a car and didn't like driving, so this was special to me. My dad agreed. Since then my parents have come over to the dark side, and bought a pair of BMWs.

It's been happy motoring ever since.

DucatiNut

Would really like to know what the original posters' thoughts are now that sufficient feedback has been received..... just curious....I am sure we will all respect his opinion.

CakeDaddy

he made his decision.

rploaded

Sounds like the decision has been made. I will just add my thoughts anyways.

I know plenty of younger folks who fit the Straight A, Top of the class, going to Harvard etc. They are the worst of the group, we were the ones who grew up with money and always had nice stuff. We beat the hell out of our parents cars. I remember fondly doing 160 + in HS in a RUF 911. We had no concept of what safe or smart is.

Buying someone a car with that amount of power is reckless and absolutely lacking in better judgement. You would be better off with a first step SCCA level car and having the child learn how to drive. Doing it this way is like strapping him in a poorly performing nascar and saying have at it good luck and watch your speed.

Would you stick your 16 year old child on a 1000 CC bike and say be safe? No you would start on a dirt bike or maybe a 250CC. History is great guidance in these types of situations. Heck maybe a trip down to your local emergency room and a chat with the fine hard working staff will help guide your decision.

IMHO this is a recipe for DEATH. All children in fact even some of us adults still have the wild hair. Good kid bad kid, they do not have the maturity to control it when it will really matter.

You have to learn to crawl, then walk, then run. There is no other order that works!

MercedesBoss

WOW!
I was definitely not expecting to receive feedback like this. Sorry for the delay, I was in Dubai with my family for a week during winter break for the kids.

I've came to a pretty sound decision. Actually I've already acted on my decision. We went to the dealership and drove a CLS550, CLS55 AMG, SL500, E550, and a C350. I told my son what he thought about the cars and of course he was still sure the the CLS55 AMG was his favorite. So I asked him which car would suit him best and the conditions under which hes going to drive and to my surprise he told me definitely not the CLS55 AMG. He told he that he would be happy with any of the cars for they all drove really smooth and the handling and manuverability was present and excellent in all of the cars. I was thinking of getting him the E550 but he said that older people drove that car, and he said he would be happier with the C350. So I bought him a C350 and said that he could do WHATEVER he wants to the car as long as the car doesnt exceed 300 horsepower and he said ok.

Thanks alot for the support and advice guys. It really helped me more than you guys could imagine. I'm going to show my son in a couple days the forum.

MercedesBoss

E500C70

Smart boy
C350 is a fine machine.