scottw

Exactly.....I started driving in 1979 and my dad had an Olds '98. It was like a living room in there....

I agree about Manual transmissions being liberating...I drive one myself...I just think a brand new driver should have a number of years of experience first. Enough of my Editorializing....Good Luck on the new car...now matter you decide to get your daughter she is lucky to have a father who cares enough to put a lot of thought into it....

ironcheflam

ohhhh haha my badd..

AndrewAZ

Just a tip. Dont give a new diver a manual transmission. They are distracted enough and tend to panic when the going gets tough..

Facts are..

She is going to talk on her cell phone and drive when you are not around.
She is going to speed
She is going to have friends in the car and will be distracted
She will try and put makeup on or look in the mirror at herself a lot.

Trust me I was a teen once just like you but the difference now is we have electronics and junk that distract us...

Probably my best recommendations for a 1st time driver.

1. ML or X5
2. X3
3. 3 seires.

The reason I put the ML and X5 above the X3 is since the ML and X5 are 4wd and that is basically a fool proof thing for new drivers, 4wd are some of the easiest to control on the limit. Both the X5 and ML will not fishtail (unless you are going crazy fast on the verge or rolling over) and the have mild under steer at the extreme limit. Probably the biggest advantage to the 4wd cars is control in the rain and bad weather, feeling confident while driving is very important when you are a new diver. And being a new driver she will be inexperienced in the rain and will probably drive a little to fast since you are not in the car, well the 4wd is a big safety feature in the rain and bad weather.

If it was my daughter I would get either an ML or an X5 whichever one you could get a better deal on, usually the x5's tend to be more than the ML's.

HLG600

Haha. I'm not sure how I would react if a girl in my school had a Phantom as her DD. Figure I might as well get to know her better...alot of room in that back seat.

1985mb

I disagree. It might be one thing to start on an auto for the 1st month or two, just to get the basics right re: accelerating/braking/turning/merging/etc. But if you give them an auto and they drive it the next 1, 2 or 3 years, chances are they will never learn stick in their lives. Just my $0.02...


X3 is AWD (and also available on the 3-series for that matter), so what's your point?

AndrewAZ

I guess it depends on where you live... In AZ we dont get hardly any 4wd cars that done have it stock such as the X5 or ML. For some reason I was thinking the X3 was RWD but I am wrong..

AndrewAZ

About driving stick. I learned how to drive stick before I turned 16, but I was only allowed to drive this stick shift car during the day and never at night. I still remember my first week of driving stick, I stalled turing left since the guy in front of me started to go then I moved forward then he slammed on his brakes and I had to slam on (light turned red now) he finally went and I ended up stalling.... Very scary to get the car started being stuck in the middle of an intersection with cars coming at you. AWD and a 3k RPM clutch drop is what got me out of that trouble... But then again my fathers car was no pice of cake to drive and after driving that I have never had any trouble driving any stick besides other cars having lose crappy gearboxes.

raycanales

well im hunting for an older stick car .. 911TT

she wants a truck though .. maybe a 2500 series with a manual tranny would be cool to go to high school in ....

thanks for the great input, I got to do something fast before she takes my CL out for a spin and I have to kill her ...

I will keep you guys posted ...

thanks again

b3d_sage

I think the first thing you should have done was ask her.

raycanales

I did and she wanted an E55

b3d_sage

HAH!

Oh well, perhaps an E320 would do... it's a very safe car and not all that fast.

Oh yes, and are you going to buy her a new car when she goes to college? (If not, what college do you think she will be going to?)

MercedesFTW

She has good taste in cars.

thegeneraltso

it is a sad state of affair that kids drive luxury cars (used or new). it is warped their outlook and they probably thought that "this is normal."

i am sure the teachers' lot is full of corollas and camrys

b3d_sage

What is wrong with that? In some areas, it IS normal.

MrBenz55

If u hunt around you should be able to get her an 05 or 06 C230 for that knida money, thats gonna be a nice safe first car fro her !

raycanales

well here in this part of Texas its mostly full of Trucks and Crown Victorias

lots of accords too ...

not a problem

went shopping did spot a 3 series 4 door prb pull the trigger on that one

smb7420

I'm 18, my first car was a 740iL - now a E500 - which i still consider to be a great car, not extremely practical for a young person, but I sure as hell had many people in the car often, and they enjoyed the backseat comfort.

I don't drive fast, and never got into an accident with the car, she clearly enjoys sport tuned car as the E55 would indicate and it seems as if she will go a bit too fast. I don't agree w/ the idea that young people shouldn't drive luxury cars. They're safely designed and many people are mature enough to treat them properly.

My suggestion would be to get her a SUV. It seems women enjoy SUVs...it provides ample shopping bad room. I think they're safer due to their higher seating as FTW mentioned. If i had a daughter/wife I sure as hell would want her to have AWD it helps with safe driving.
I'd definitely do my best to avoid getting her a speedy sedan...it is the teenage years, I'm in them and I do know how many of my peers - even the "nerdy, studiers" get the urge to speed for thrills. If she persists for the speedy engine, get her the ML AMG. But a good V8 will provide her a comfortable ride and satisfaction.

BTW, I commend you're dedication to your daughter, you obviously care about her safety and her wishes - you seem to be a good Pops.
Hope all goes well