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Opinions on first vehicle?

2K views 48 replies 21 participants last post by  how45hard 
#1 ·
I want my first vehicle to be a titan. Most likely a 2006 Crew Cab. I am only 15 now but I'm getting a job soon to start saving my money and I should be able to get my titan by my 17th birthday. What does everyone think about this being my first vehicle? Any other suggestions?
 
#2 ·
If you can save up enough to buy it for yourself then you should be responsible enough to treat it right.
 
#3 ·
I'm 19 and I got my Titan when I was 18. I had an Xterra before that. Like you I worked for it, well for the upgrade at least, and it was worth every last minute of work. Just keep saving after because the mod bug will get you haha
 
#4 ·
I'm 17 and have had my titan since I was 15 I like it, it's a pretty good first vehicle. Wish I had gotten a chevy though with a 6.2 or maybe saved a little more and gotten a diesel chevy.
 
#5 ·
First vehicle shouldn't put you in the poor house trying to pay for gas. Right now it's costing me about $95 every 350 miles. Just something to think about. Not only that but the insurance is ridiculous for a teen in a Titan. I know, my insurance doubled when my son got his license.

I don't mean to dash your dreams but unless money is no issue a Titan is an expensive ride for a teen. I was a teen once and my truck was never parked long enough to let the tires cool down and lets get real, your a Teen. Once you get use to the truck your foot will be buried in the floor a lot and you can expect 12mpg or less. The last thing you want is to be stuck at home 'cause your gas money done dried up.

If your going for a truck I would consider the Frontier or Tacoma. They get a little better gas MPG, don't cost as much to buy and cheaper insurance.
 
#38 ·
first vehicle shouldn't put you in the poor house trying to pay for gas. Right now it's costing me about $95 every 350 miles. Just something to think about. Not only that but the insurance is ridiculous for a teen in a titan. I know, my insurance doubled when my son got his license.

I don't mean to dash your dreams but unless money is no issue a titan is an expensive ride for a teen. I was a teen once and my truck was never parked long enough to let the tires cool down and lets get real, your a teen. Once you get use to the truck your foot will be buried in the floor a lot and you can expect 12mpg or less. The last thing you want is to be stuck at home 'cause your gas money done dried up.

If your going for a truck i would consider the frontier or tacoma. They get a little better gas mpg, don't cost as much to buy and cheaper insurance.
+100.
 
#9 ·
Get a chevy they are the best!
 
#11 ·
Insurance comment is accurate. Even for me a 25 year old with no accidents or speeding tickets my insurance nearly doubled going from a 2001 Audi S4 Twin Turbo to the Titan. No clue why.

Only truck I would take over a Titan is a Raptor... lol
 
#12 ·
I've had a ford, a chevy, a dodge, and now a Titan. All by 22. The chevy, dodge, and titan have all been bought on my money. I'll say the Titan is the best by far, but is easily the most costly modifying and at the pump (minus my dodge that had a 35g tank and got 9mpg). Shane brought the most to this discussion. Period. He was very accurate in how you should look at it.
 
#15 ·
GRK: Let me tell you I got my first Titan recently (I'm 31) and it took me along time to be able to be in the position to afford one. Like everyone said gas is going to kill you the most, and you definitely are going to want to take care of it if you get one or fixing it is going to to cost you as well. And there is no way you will be able to be part of this forum and not want to mod your truck LOL. I have driven chevy, dodge, ford, and toyota v8's and I honestly think that the titan is the quickest most responsive v8 in it's class. But IT CHUGS GAS! $95 every 300-350 miles depending on how you drive it. Best of luck to you!
 
#25 ·
The Titan does chug gas, but in reality its only 1-2 MPG worse then the others. I had a Ram with the 5.9, that I got used when I was 17 and it only got 11 MPG so the Titan was an improvement getting 13 MPG.
 
#26 ·
I'll agree on the insurance and gas subject. You'll be lucky to get 15 miles out of 4 dollars, and insurance will cost you a mint, I guarantee it.

My wife's '12 Murano is leased, my Titan is just a truck right?.....and the 350z is a sports car.....
Guess which vehicle costs $100 more per year to insure.

BTW, I am what's known as "tier one" in the insurance industry.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I will never understand how sports cars get cheaper insurance then this thing. I mean my S4 had 400 ft lbs of torque (actually the hp/torque specs were almost identical to the Titan's 5.6 but it had full torque at 1800 RPM) and hit 60 mph in about 4.8 seconds. Full coverage was only $50 a month, Titan is about $93 with the exact same coverage.
 
#29 ·
seems to me you got a good head on your shoulders'. I'm with the guy that said to not settle for less then you want. If you love it and you work hard for it you'll take care of it. Keep up the good work.
 
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#39 ·
Man, I remember when I had my Honda in High School... I could drive for weeks and fill the tank up for only $20......... Of course gas was $2 or less a gallon.... but combine that with the 45mpg it got on the highway and it was awesome!
 
#40 ·
Haha everyone here is like, oh no it's a bad idea and I'm over here saving to lift my truck and put a winch bumper and stuff in mine and I'm already getting like 10 mpg hahaha

If you really want a truck and you work hard you can afford it.

One of my friends parents bought him a nice first car (2010 ford f250 jacked up with a winch bumper and custom exhaust with all the deletes and a tuner) and said this is really the only time people really care about what you drive. When you are 30 or so people are like oh that's cool if you have a nicer vehicle but that won't really be impressed unless it's like a lambo. In highschool/college you vehicle is a very large part or your image and a lot more people pay attention to what you drive.

Y'all might not agree but I kinda agree with that statement that a lot of people pay attention to what you drive.
 
#42 ·
My son turned 18 in November, He started working when he was 16. He bought himself a 05 F150 Supercab with 36k miles on in just after he started working, (I signed for it, and it's still in my name) He has made every payment on it and some extra, just so he could have it almost paid off before he starts college in the fall, he will be about 6 months short of paying it off. We are taking care of the insurance, but he is responsible for everything else. He has great grades and continues to work about 25-30 hours a week, but has sacraficed some things, just to have the truck. I'm in a position to take over his remaining payments when he starts college, he doesn't know it yet and expects to pay off the whole thing. But I think he has worked hard and deserves it. Just know hat our getting into before you do it, but it can be done, you just have to set some goals and stick too it.
 
#47 ·
That's a good way to put it. If you're responsible enough to save up that kind of money in high school then there's no reason not to do what you want with it lol. I still have trouble saving up more then a couple grand at a time...

One thing I do not think has been mentioned is that it would be a good idea to get an aftermarket warranty on the truck. I'm personally a fan of ASCwarranty.com, I've sold a few of these policy's to customers and they are easy going with claims and the coverage is quite comprehensive. On a Titan you should easily be able to get a 3-4 year warranty that will cover all of the common issues these have (which I don't think are major problems...)

On top of that I would also recommend financing a small portion of the truck probably around $2000-5000, (many banks wont loan less then 5000 on a vehicle but a personal loan for 2000 would be a great start too) there's only one reason for this and that's credit history. You will need your parents as a co signer but if you can get that while you're young it will make everything from then on out a breeze. When it comes to buying your first house you'll likely have 5-7 years of credit history and if the income is there the process will be a breeze! A credit card that you only use for gas and pay off EVERY month is also a good idea for building credit.

I've recently had sooo many peoples credit apps declined for purchasing cars. Most of them have made bad decisions but some of them just haven't used credit so the bank is scared to loan to them. While starting with a Titan isn't necessary if that's your decision and your parents approve it then go for it. Just be smart and responsible about it and make the right decisions for your future not just the here and now.
 
#45 ·
I am of the same opinion as others who said that if money is no object, then go ahead and get a Titan and don't look back. The Titan is a fun truck to drive, but it is also one of the most expensive trucks to own. Before purchasing your vehicle, you want to make sure you won't be setting yourself up for a fail later on. You don't want to be putting yourself in financial hardship down the road, because there is much more to owning a vehicle than the purchase price. The Titan is definitely not the best choice as a daily driver, no matter who you are. I drove a 1990's toyota camry when I was going to university, and it was extremely reliable great on gas and dirt cheap on insurance with only liability insurance. I loved being able to hop in that car with my buddies and hit the road to go camping or see a concert halfway across the country without worrying about gas. Each of us would chip in $20 and away we would go. In my Titan, a $100 tank of gas gets me 275 miles. Going on a road trip in a Titan would easily cost 5 times as much as in an old Camry. Is that what you would want for a daily driver as a broke student? With my old Camry, I owned it for almost 5 years, and I know that the total repairs were under a grand including all routine maintenance, tires and everything. For the Titan, a set of tires costs $1000, and I'm sure you will be doing many other repairs as well, as the Titan is not one of the most reliable vehicles you can buy. There will also be decisions such as whether or not you are going to live at home after you graduate. I know that having a nice truck is great for your image, but I promise you that living on your own in your own apartment with a beater car is better for your image than living at your parents house with a sweet truck. And showing up in an old beater car to pick up a girl for a nice date is much better for your image than sitting at home and washing your Titan in your driveway cause you are too broke to go out. Anyway, I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but you have to think about your priorities after you graduate.
 
#46 ·
It might not be what I want to hear but it's good that you are saying all of this. Everything helps make a decision on whether I really want it so thanks. I'm only 15 now though so I've got a couple years still. I guess it all depends on how I am doing job wise.
 
#48 ·
When I was in high school my parents gave me a toyota corolla, had 260k miles and was flat worn out, I detailed it, rebuilt brakes, carb and so forth and sold it for a good price and went a bought a base model used toyota pickup (out of pocket costs were about 1K). My best friend went out and financed a lifted toyota, very nice truck but he fought making payments for the next five years and no extra money ever. My point is if you can pay it off and afford it, go for it but get bit by the its really cool and I want it at any cost bug.
 
#49 ·
I had a paid off car when I started college and thought I just HAD to have a Titan, which meant I would have a payment. Nothing sucks worse then friday after class when everyone heads to the river but you have to go to work to make your payment. If I could do it over I would have drove a pos and had more free time.

As for the advice about the truck being part of your image, no one cares what you drive. The guys I know who pull more girls in hs and college didn't have nice vehicles at all. Look at it this way, do you want to be the guy who has a sweet truck but always has to work or the guy with the pos car but never looks back and says I wish I would have had more time to go chase girls or get in trouble with my buddies.



As for insurance idk why everyones was so high? At 19 full coverage for me was $90/mo. I am 24 now and pay $70 a month for my impala.
 
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