GUYS who know about cars-Is this a good first car for a teen?

I have kids and my concerns would be safety & reliability.

Reliability - hopefully you had a car this old thoroughly checked out by a qualified mechanic.

Safety -

1) does it have airbags and if yes, due to age, I'd be a bit concerned about their status.

2) good handling to avoid accidents - it does have, assuming suspension is fully functional.

3) ride height/seating position - this car rides a bit lot - id feel better with a car where you are sitting higher, both for your and others' visibility and because all other things equal, injuries tend to be lower in higher car.

4) power - while this is a sporty model, unless it has the Turbo-charged 4 cylinder engine, it is not a real high power engine that might get a kid in trouble with too fast acceleration.

5) ABS (anti-lock) brakes - this is something we now take for granted in new cars since they are standard. ABS brakes are a very important safety feature since they help control the car in an emergency stop. I believe they were part of an optional package on this model/year.

It sounds like you have the most important part covered - your son is responsible. No car will protect a crazy kid.

The Nissan 240SX was a sport coupe that has a 2.4L engine making about 140 HP. It's a pretty quick and capable little car and was very popular in its day. The Toyota Celica and Honda Prelude were its competition.

It is not fast, but it is a very popular car amongst drifters because it is rear-wheel drive. You should look on Youtube and watch some of the videos with him, and explain to him that you do NOT want him trying that (because he's probably already seen a few of them anyway).

A '90 model will have a driver's airbag and probably a passenger airbag, but otherwise it's just him and the seatbelts. Nissans are very well put together, although I hope your husband got the car inspected before he bought it. The KA24 is an engine known for blowing head gaskets, rendering the engine a big heavy lump of metal that won't start.

I would let him keep the car, give him some good driving lessons, and try not to worry too much.

The car only has a lil' 4cylinder. Meaning it has a very small engine in it. If it remains stock and well maintained it can get really good gas mileage. Look closely at the car and make a mental note of any scratches or dents on it, if there's a bunch of new ones then there's reason to get concerned!

My kids learned to drive in my 2000 Dodge Van, it's BIG, when they get in a little car they can really handle it. My first car was a '69 Ford Galaxy 500 (BIG, REALLY BIG four door) I learned to drive it and now I can park a car in a coffee cup!

Any car can be a death trap if the driver let's it be. Tell him if the phone rings let them leave a message, if they don't leave a message it must not have been important! No, I refuse to even talk on the phone while I drive, I keep my eyes on the road. I drive in very bad weather (snow/ice) I've been driving for 32yrs, last ticket in Aug '91, last accident in Nov '89

you are right,,but wrong..almost ANY car can go over 100 mph,,,,even a 4 cylinder...My first car was a 1966 GTO,,big v8 engine 4 speed,,and it was red.....but i got tickets and accidents in a mazda and a VW bug.....

bigger danger

1 phone and texting

2 fooling around

3 speeding

4 drinking

the car is not the problem