How Long to Build?

[Gerald Pierce]

I just ordered an 06 Ranger 2dr Ext cab STX for my son through the "navyautosource" (a service of the Navy Exchange) and they were placing the order with Ford this afternoon for the truck to be built.... any idea how long it takes for a vehicle to normally be delivered once it is ordered? They said he should get the build date and VIN in a week or two.....



Not bad for a kids first new vehicle, 16, 800 with most of the bells and whistles, including a 3k rebate only available for the miltary through this program. Tried the local dealership, they could actually beat the price on the truck, but could only offer 1500 rebate, and that was not guarenteed untill he takes delivery. MSRP is almost 22k.

 

[Fudged Undies]

usually between 6 and 12 weeks.



I have a slightly different view on first vehicles for an offspring and my daughter will be getting a decent used car when it's her turn. I want to make sure she realizes/understands about taking care of the vehicle. Can't see teaching this with a new vehicle.

 

[Frank Marano]

god forbid someone buys their kid a NEW first vehicle....if you can afford it, spend it.

 

[Dreman]

I don't know if I agree with that. My father gave me a car when I turned 16. He pointed at his old Ford sedan, and said "if you can fix it, it's yours". I don't think he intended for me to strip it down and install the 428 Cobra Jet I found, but that's another story!



I think it's useful to put a kid in a situation where he/she HAS to learn what to do if something breaks, and there's nothing like an old car to teach that! And a young kid still in school usually has the time to spend to figure it out, which they might not have later in life.

 

[Jeff C]

Yeah, you can have your kid workin on his car instead of studying in his free time.

 

[Fudged Undies]

Jeff, why is it assumed that a used car will automatically be a junker? I'm not condeming Cruzrtwdgt for what he's doing, for all I know his kid already knows about maintenance and taking care of the vehicle. And if you need all your free time to work on the car instead of study, lets recall all the fun that you have that you could also sacrifice to work on your car instead of sacrificing studying.



My trac was my first new vehicle, and prior to it, I have owned 5 used cars. With the exception of the dodge daytona (I hear the groans already), none gave any problems other than regular maintenance items. I worked full time while putting myself through college, as I'm sure many of us have. A bit of sacrifice is good for appreciating what goes into having nice things.



I understand your perspective but don't think it's accurate.

 

[brandon mena]

I agree with Dreman. I had to fix and make roadworthy my first car. Oh and Jeff C I was still an A student. Just depends on the person, you have to be smart and understand priorities. I'm the kinda guy that can pick up a book on garden spices or some garbage and can't stop reading it until I've finished it. That's how I started on cars. At 14 I was buying Hanes manuals and memorizing them front and back. Now I'm glad I earned the right to operate my vehicles instead of something happening and getting myself into a situation that I could'nt handle.

 

[Gavin Allan]

What's wrong with a Dodge Daytona? I had an '85 Daytona and put 218,000 miles and 10 years on it before I traded it for a new Ford Ranger. (They gave me $888 trade-in for it--exactly the cost of add-on Ford air conditioning!)

 

[Gerald Pierce]

I guess I should have clarified--even though I placed the order and paid the 500.00 with my debit card, the money will come out of HIS bank account. He's active duty Navy (E4) and has been on deployment for 5 months tax free. He has saved a good bit and has a loan through the credit union for the rest.



If I was paying, he'd be driving something significantly cheaper. My other son fell into hard times, I bought a 93 Mustang for him to drive, put a new radiator in it and new wheel bearings. 1K total invested, and he can pay me for it if he wants or give it back when he gets on his feet and I will prep it a lttle more for the 16yo daughter to drive.



Both boys have bought their own vehicles, always used. Just like me, they earned every penny theirselves. I am not against kids getting cars from their folks, but mine will pay for theirs on their own. I even charge my 21yo rent while living at home (on paper anyway--he has a list of things he owes me for, but I do not expect to ever see anything from him, nor do I want anything from him) so that he can see that nothing is free. Now that he has a regular job again, I expect he will pay some of it back, but it wont bother me either way.

 

[Deleted deleted]

I think what shocks me is the local high school parking lot is full of nicer cars than the employee parking lot at my employer. I do not understand the logic of buying a brand new car for a beginner driver that is likely to wreck it in the first year. The insurance premiums alone must be a killer!

 

[FlipTrac_511]

I'd be more worried about other drivers driving beaters that don't give a hoot about damage they incur on other cars on the road or in parking lots. Also, for me, a brand new car motivates me to keep it in mint condition, but it's all out of my own wallet too so I don't have the luxury of taking it for granted.

 

[Fudged Undies]

Gavin, I guess you got a daytona that wasn't built on Friday. I and everone else I know that has had a daytona, had nothing but headaches. I owned for about 18 months and was fixing something at least, every other month. Mind you, this was a low miles vehicle. A/c worked when I bought it, well, at least till I got it home. it was down hill from there. When I finally got rid of it, the map sensor was shot. I think I gave it to the dealer I bought my next car from. I was never so happy as the day I got rid of that car.



Cruzrtwdgt, you didn't have to explain anything, I was just expressing an opinion that many seem to think a new car is better than used. My mother is already planning on buying my daughter a new car and I continue to explain why that's not such a good idea. Especially due to how poorly my ex takes care of her car. Sadly I think that will be a trait my daughter will pick up, and I see many years of me dealing with the headaches. I'm just hoping I can nip it in the bud and teach her properly.

 

[brandon mena]

Fliptrac are you kidding? Remember your first car? I had an 85' Chevy Citation, biggest p.o.s. but I loved that car. It had rust and was ugly as all hell but dare someone try to get in there with a soda, lol. That was my baby, I treated it better than myself. I don't know, guess it has to do with the whole fixing it and making it my own thing again.

 

[Tom Schindler]

My first car was a 1977 Maverick 4 door. Straight 6 engine. it was mom's old car. I got it with 140,000 miles. I had to replace the catylitic converter and exhaust system. I knew someone with a Maverick with 200,000 miles and got it off of him for $100.00. Pulled the cat, carb, exhaust, bumpers, etc. I junked the rest.



I drove it 'till it had well over 180,000 miles on it. During the time I had it, I had to replace the starter, waterpump (both original) and a tune up. Sold it to a friend that drove it to 200,000 miles. He sold it to his boss and as far as I knew, he drive it for a year after Ben sold it to him. When Ben got the car, I gave dad the money because the car was his. When I got my replacement car, dad gave me a thousand dollars to put down on the new car. Mom gave me a thousand too. Grandma gave me a thousand to buy a plane ticket to visit her in Germany.



I learned a valuable lesson with that car.



I can turn wrenches on anything I own and save money doing it. My kids will get the same lesson.





Tom

 

[Nelson Atwell]

My first car was also a Maverick, 1973. I bought it for $100, rebuilt the tranny, and filled the rust holes with about 50 lbs of bondo. I put an additional 100K miles on it (the odometer rolled over the second time, just before I sold it). After four years, I sold it for $100.



Now my daughter wants my ST. I figure in two years, I'll have 90K miles on it, so I may be ready to give it to her, so I can get something new. We'll see if she keeps her straight "A"'s the next couple of years. If so, I will probably let her have it on a shared basis (I get to drive it when I need it)



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Tom Schindler]

Mine had 4 doors and it had special "thunderbird" blue paint.



...and they say cars from the '70's were junk.





Tom

 

[Johnny O]

A lot depends on demand and how busy the factories are. (I used to be a car salesman a long time ago.) I special-ordered my first Ranger in '99, took about 6 weeks. I went to order my second one in '02, recession, factories are slower, yadda-yadda, gonna be about 12-15 weeks and probably miss the rebate. They had one in stock that was close to what I wanted, XLT SC, limited-slip rear, but it was an automatic , so I took it. Somebody ran a stop sign and demolished my '99 and I couldn't wait that long.



In 2000, my dad special-ordered a BMW 740iL. Order goes to Germany, car gets built, shipped across the pond, and trucked to Pittsburgh in 4 weeks flat. :blink: THAT'S fast. Worst POS he ever owned, lesson learned was do not keep a Beemer past the warranty period.