is an s5 really a good idea?
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What do you mean by "a good idea?"
On one hand, it would be an awesome first car. On the other hand, it is a lot of car in the sense that it's expensive compared to most people's first cars, both to buy and to own. (I say that in the sense that gas and insurance will cost more than for, say, a Honda Accord or even a BMW 328i).
I don't think you'd be "spoiling" yourself for future cars with the S5, but if you don't have a lot of driving experience then you may feel more comfortable buying a used car for a year or so until you feel like you are ready to graduate to the S5. If you feel you're ready, don't waste your money on getting a car you plan to dump in a year or so and just get the S5 now.
To me, the big thing to mentally prepare yourself for is that the car will very likely get scratches, dings, etc. over time from living in a dense, congested area like Brooklyn and you will have to either live with them or be prepared to pay to remove them. I say this because when I bought my own first car, with my own money, it was a 325i that I absolutely loved. But when I got my first ding, when I found my first paint scratch, etc. I was really upset since it was my first car, it wasn't cheap, and I was bummed out to have to pay to get it back to like-new condition.
And also, keep in mind that NYC streets are no friend to low-profile tires and 19" rims, so DEFINITELY plan on getting wheel/tire insurance.
I don't think you'd be "spoiling" yourself for future cars with the S5, but if you don't have a lot of driving experience then you may feel more comfortable buying a used car for a year or so until you feel like you are ready to graduate to the S5. If you feel you're ready, don't waste your money on getting a car you plan to dump in a year or so and just get the S5 now.
To me, the big thing to mentally prepare yourself for is that the car will very likely get scratches, dings, etc. over time from living in a dense, congested area like Brooklyn and you will have to either live with them or be prepared to pay to remove them. I say this because when I bought my own first car, with my own money, it was a 325i that I absolutely loved. But when I got my first ding, when I found my first paint scratch, etc. I was really upset since it was my first car, it wasn't cheap, and I was bummed out to have to pay to get it back to like-new condition.
And also, keep in mind that NYC streets are no friend to low-profile tires and 19" rims, so DEFINITELY plan on getting wheel/tire insurance.
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+ 2 --- This is very spot on.. Good advice..
My experience is that you must be prepared for things that might happen to your car.... It was 3 weeks since I bought my S5 and somebody decided to slightly key it on the front right side...
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2,335 Posts
If u can get an S5 when ur 21 then don't make the mistake of not buying one, it will be the best ever. It's an easy car to drive, it's not like ur buying a Porsche where experience is going to make a difference between u not being able to handle it or not....and the S5 is such a chick magnet LOL.
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953 Posts
Let me tell you a little story.
Seventeen year old lads in the UK get motorcycles. These are restricted to 125cc or less at that age, until they pass their test.
(Before anyone says, yes I know the test laws have changes in the twenty years since I got my bike licence but hear me out).
To get round the engine size restrictions, many young lads bought something called a 'Sidewinder'. Basically this was a bolt on flimsy third wheel and this allowed them to circumvent the laws regarding maximum engine size.
So the inexperienced seventeen year old would get a Sidewinder, bolt it onto his 1100cc bike and promptly wrap himself round a tree and die.
Over exaggeration somewhat, but the amount of deaths of lads with these fitted was proportionally high.
They weren't experienced enough to handle such a powerful machine.
I've been to RTCs in the past where a young lad has stuffed his dad's powerful car into a wall too.
My advice, don't get an S5 as a first car. Work up to it. Get something less powerful that will alow you to learn HOW to drive (I don't mean the physical act of driving, I mean reading the road, anticipating obstacles, reading other road users).
You may not like it now, but you'll agree in a few years when you get to my age and have seen the same amount of death and carnage on the roads perpetrated by young lads in cars too powerful for them as I have.
Seventeen year old lads in the UK get motorcycles. These are restricted to 125cc or less at that age, until they pass their test.
(Before anyone says, yes I know the test laws have changes in the twenty years since I got my bike licence but hear me out).
To get round the engine size restrictions, many young lads bought something called a 'Sidewinder'. Basically this was a bolt on flimsy third wheel and this allowed them to circumvent the laws regarding maximum engine size.
So the inexperienced seventeen year old would get a Sidewinder, bolt it onto his 1100cc bike and promptly wrap himself round a tree and die.
Over exaggeration somewhat, but the amount of deaths of lads with these fitted was proportionally high.
They weren't experienced enough to handle such a powerful machine.
I've been to RTCs in the past where a young lad has stuffed his dad's powerful car into a wall too.
My advice, don't get an S5 as a first car. Work up to it. Get something less powerful that will alow you to learn HOW to drive (I don't mean the physical act of driving, I mean reading the road, anticipating obstacles, reading other road users).
You may not like it now, but you'll agree in a few years when you get to my age and have seen the same amount of death and carnage on the roads perpetrated by young lads in cars too powerful for them as I have.
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Slight error here HRD. Sidewinders (and yes, I too am old enough to remember them) were about when young 17-year-olds were still allowed to ride 250cc bikes. The fact was that manufacturers then started to produce 100mph+, 250cc bikes which most 17-year-olds contented themselves with, so the sidewinder died a very rapid death. It still didn't change the fact that 1 year later the now "experienced" 18-year-old was able to jump on a poor-handling, over-powered and under-braked bike of whatever capacity they could afford. Thank god the licencing laws have changed. I agree with you entirely that "working up" to a high-performance car is the best idea. General roadcraft is something best learnt at a slightly slower pace. Of course, in the UK this has been handled by making insurance prohibitively expensive for inexperienced drivers. Most would refuse to even quote a 21-year-old on this type of car.
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Well, I had a 3.0litre Twin Turbo Supra when I was 18. Fast car, but I didn't crash it.
It depends on the person, doesn't it? You can't tar all young drivers with the same brush. The majority of young drivers do drive like idiots, and most of them learn the hard way at some point.
It depends on the person, doesn't it? You can't tar all young drivers with the same brush. The majority of young drivers do drive like idiots, and most of them learn the hard way at some point.
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The first car registered in my name was a 911 turbo (I drove a Mini Cooper and a Lotus Sunbeam before that).
Fortunately, my father taught me to drive and as his job meant that he was in the top 1% of drivers in the country, he MADE SURE I wasn't a dick when I took it out. I sold it because it was a woeful car that handled badly. I bought myself a 205GTi 1.9 instead.
I've had my share of high performance cars over the years and after seeing what happens when young inexperienced drivers get behind the wheel of powerful cars, I am strongly against it.
In my opinion, the insurance costs for these motorists in these cars should be higher to dissuade them from getting something too powerful at an early age.
Like you Rab, I am the exception to the rule, but the demographic holds water. And I realise I am generalising here too but if youngsters weren't such a high risk on the roads, they wouldn't have to pay such high insurance premiums and be the cause of so many accidents.
The problem is, as I said in my previous post, I have been to so many crashes where a young lad has killed himself on a powerful bike or powerful car that they should NOT have been driving/riding, and then having seen the heartache when the family is told that their son won't ever be coming home, that I feel very strongly about this now. I defy anyone to do that and not be affected by it.
Ageing Biker - You're right about the cc and ages, I mixed up old and new laws. :mallet:
Sorry for my strong views but this is something I feel passionate about. I shall keep quiet now! :tumbleweed:
Fortunately, my father taught me to drive and as his job meant that he was in the top 1% of drivers in the country, he MADE SURE I wasn't a dick when I took it out. I sold it because it was a woeful car that handled badly. I bought myself a 205GTi 1.9 instead.
I've had my share of high performance cars over the years and after seeing what happens when young inexperienced drivers get behind the wheel of powerful cars, I am strongly against it.
In my opinion, the insurance costs for these motorists in these cars should be higher to dissuade them from getting something too powerful at an early age.
Like you Rab, I am the exception to the rule, but the demographic holds water. And I realise I am generalising here too but if youngsters weren't such a high risk on the roads, they wouldn't have to pay such high insurance premiums and be the cause of so many accidents.
The problem is, as I said in my previous post, I have been to so many crashes where a young lad has killed himself on a powerful bike or powerful car that they should NOT have been driving/riding, and then having seen the heartache when the family is told that their son won't ever be coming home, that I feel very strongly about this now. I defy anyone to do that and not be affected by it.
Ageing Biker - You're right about the cc and ages, I mixed up old and new laws. :mallet:
Sorry for my strong views but this is something I feel passionate about. I shall keep quiet now! :tumbleweed:
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493 Posts
bcntent,
I am also 21 and I used to have a BMW 325i
and now I have an S5...
Man it's an amazing car! You won't regret it!
You will fall in love with that car!
I am also 21 and I used to have a BMW 325i
and now I have an S5...
Man it's an amazing car! You won't regret it!
You will fall in love with that car!
we dont get the TDIs over hereBuy a 3.0TDI and fit the MTM kit... Much better than the S5Cheaper car, cheaper insurance and faster car
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Nothing wrong with being passionate about something. It's good to hear the views of someone who has experienced the things that you clearly have. Trouble with the law is that it discriminates. Nowadays, if I want to ride a big, powerful bike, I have to be over 22, have passed a "direct access" course (about £500) and even then no insurance company will quote me until I have two-years riding experience. However, at seventeen I can pass a (relatively easy) car test and as long as I can find the money to insure it, drive absolutely any car that I wish - This is the law that needs changing.
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Hi HRD... What job was that then, I am intrigued how anyone knows they are in the top 1%? Sorry I love my stats and evidence based stuff. Serious question how does anyone know they are in the top 1%??
Cheers:cheers:
PS Agree with your comments about first cars, I ended up in a ditch in an 850 Mini on the way back from the W Sussex test centre!!
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I'd like to just say "Can't you take my word for once!"
My father was a Sussex Police Driving instructor, then latterly head of Traffic Police for Sussex. The three tests he had to pass needed a very high percentage pass rate. These were equated to the driving test at the time, plus the advanced driving test at the time. He scored 100%, 100% and 99%. And he was royally pissed off he missed that last 1%.
The figures were then extrapolated to pass marks across the country for Police and civilian tests.
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