One of the major problems that I have with giving a kid a car that's powerful, RWD and hard to control and handle is that they might be focusing too much on physically controlling the car instead of dedicating their mental efforts to learning the finer aspects of safely navigating the roadways.... and when they do feel that they can physically control the car, it could encourage a false sense of confidence in their overall driving ability and lead to reckless driving when the mental aspect of driving hasn't quite caught up to the physical. I'm talking about the little things that you pick up with years of driving, such as a defensive driving mindset, looking far enough ahead and through a corner instead of at the road right in front of you, learning to avoid driving in other people's blind spots (particularly in regards to tractor trailers on the highway, or pickup trucks that might be backing up in a parking lot), learning how to recognize potentially dangerous situations such as people merging in on highways from the right if you're in that lane, etc, not looking for people who might be running a redlight from the opposite direction as you're approaching a green light in an intersection. Then there are also bad driving habits that could damage the car, such as riding the clutch (in a manual), not keeping up with the maintenance due to lack of experience and/or knowledge, jamming the car into gear while it's still rolling backwards, etc., not keeping the tire pressure up to spec, being unnecessarily over-aggressive on the brakes, or letting the car run out of gas and then plugging up the fuel filter or fuel lines when the fuel system sucks up all the gunk at the bottom of the tank.

A lot of younger drivers also don't think of some of the potentially dangerous things that can happen at any given point, such as speeding down a small rural street and a kid or animal jumps out into the road or someone unexpectedly backs out of a driveway with no warning, or driving down the highway in the high-speed lane for no reason in the rain and suddenly hitting a big puddle that makes the car hydroplane. These are all things that you're better off learning in a slower, and easier-to-control car that is also not as costly to repair or replace in the event of an accident.

 

My first car was a 67 Plymouth Valient (essentially a re-bodied Barracuda), it is an absolute miracle I survived that car. Spinning out on the freeway in the rain, brakes going out, dash fire, black ice, blowing a head gasket on the freeway, you name it I went through it with that car. Way too much power to learn to drive with but since it didnt kill me, I learned how to drive it. In retrospect I should have had a more tame car for a year or so.

 

I don't think the g35 is a good beginners car at all unless your parents are balling and they cash out for your car. The car itself isn't that cheap, insurance is ridiculous, mods are expensive, and if it's your first time driving stick, the clutch can be tricky. Plus it is RWD and decently quick car. I love it but it definitly wasn't my first car.

 

This is the part that scares me away from recommending it as a first car. There are cars that will help a driver handle like a pro... this is not one of them. Sure there are more difficult cars out there but a g35 will do you no favors.

 

Exactly. I just didn't know any better back then. Who wants to buy snow tires when i could buy a set of heads and camshaft instead?? Now, i have experience, age, and a larger bank account to change my ways of thinking.

One day I stopped and remembed my youth of driving sideways in the snow with a RWD car and said to myself "When the hell did I become such a pansy?" Guys at my work in their 50's and 60's look at me funny when i talk about driving in the snow with my AWD, traction control and snow tires. To them, back in the old days they would just hop in their 705cubic inch RWD 4500-lb land yatch with bias-ply tires and just drive no matter how many inches of snow there was.

My point is cars these days are more advanced than cars a few decades ago were.. ABS, VDC, traction control, stability systems, AWD, SH-AWD, turbos, laser guided cruise control, hover mode, etc. In the future we might get to a point where the car drives itself and any car that requires manual mode might not be good enough to be a "beginner car". At some point...you just gotta stop being afraid of life and just drive the damn car.

 

Oh I forgot to mention, I know a lot of people do well with powerful first cars but my cousins got an 04 G35x and both of them started with it as their first car. Both of them had fender benders. One of them drove over a parking stop destroying the front end and causing 8500 in damages. Their parents got it because the found it for a great price, its safe and reliable, used enough gas to make them think before driving anywhere other than necessary but they racked up a lot in damage to it almost totaling it on a parking stop.

 

The G35 is not a good beginner car. But, it's not cuz you may crash it. If you're an idiot, any car has enough horsepower to crash it. You can crash a KA 240sx if you're stupid enough or suck at driving enough. The G35 is not a good beginner car cuz it's expensive as **** to own. It's not good on gas, it's high on insurance (especially for a young male) and maintenance is expensive EVEN when you do it yourself. HECK, DEALER price for a bulb for one of the headlights on these jokers is 100bux. It's a freaking bulb. If you're savvy enough, you can figure out which parts you can snag from the 350Z and try to save a lil cashsis that way (that's what I do), but trim pieces and whatnot have to be Infiniti...and THAT'S expensive because Infiniti is a luxury model so they can eff you in the a for Nissan parts and you just have to take it.

Another reason, it sux on gas. And when I say sux, I mean compared to an economical car. In it's class of vehicle, it's not really that bad. It's a 6 cylinder sports coupe and other 6 (and even some 8) cylinder sport coupes do the same as it. However, all those vehicles suck. lol. I have a Maxima as my daily. It's gets WAY better gas than the G. And, I drive it harder. My G is too low to drive hard on public roads. It normally just cruises for the most part. In the Maxima, I cruise, I rush, I speed, all of that, and I spend less time at the pump. SPEAKING of the pump, the filler head is uncomfortably deep into the body of the car. That's just annoying.

Pick something else

 

Hey Giroux! I messaged or PM you. Check it.

 

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this question, it all depends on the person. You could be fine with it, even if you've never driven a car with this much power, as long as you have self control. It's also a very reliable car.

On the contrary, it is more expensive to insure, maintain, and it eats gas. If you think you can handle the costs though, by all means go for it.

 

My first car was a 61 Mercury Meteor with a 289 2 barrel and a two speed auto.... I wrecked it a month.

Second car was a Fiat 850 spider with a whole 49 hp.... Had it a year and wrecked it

Third car was a 1964 MGB, 12 coats of red lacquer, wire wheels OH yeah. (BIG chick magnet) I kept it a year and a half and blew the #3 piston skirt twice....

Oh yeah, I wrecked my Moms 1968 AMC Rebel Station Wagon in there too.

Traded the MGB for a 1968 Chevy Impala POS... I wrecked it twice.

Then I got married

Two months after that I was driving my (ex) friends BRAND NEW Porsche 911 cabriolet and hit a Telephone poll BACKWARDS at 110 mph.

I had "high risk" insurance for MANY YEARS.


Not saying you will be that way, but get something you wont cry over losing.

BTW: My G is the fastest car I have ever owned (not driven), if I had it when I was 16, I wouldn't be here writing this.

 

It only has 300hp lol. Assuming you're going to keep it stock it's a great first car.

I'm selling mine it was my first car also and it's not powerful enough unless you spend a lot of money on it. I'm getting an STI now lol

 

Damn, how old are you?

Not one car out there will ever be powerful enough, any car will feel slow/get boring after owning it for a while. You'll always want something faster.

 

I've been in the same scenario before.

People were like, just like here, don't do it, too much power and so and so...

I had an Accord for 6 month and upgraded to my 350z. Had it for 7 months and everything is perfect.No accidents, no problems. Yes, it's a lot of power so just be mature and responsible and you should be good

 

No this car has too much power and would prob end up being totaled!

 

I don't consider 286HP as too much power...