FTO AUSTRALIA

righto, there's a young fellow who is quite interested in my car, and ralliartboy and i went out to his place to show him the car yesterday. turns out he's only 17 and doesnt even have his P's yet.
He's really excited to get it, and his dad doesnt seem too bothered about it, but i know he wont have a true appreciation or respect for it, and as soon as he gets his P's, we are all going to see him wrapped around a telegraph pole on channel 9.
My problem is, i have my trip and new car to pay for, so my wallet says sell it, but my heart and mind say no coz he'll probably kill himself. You'll all say yes so you can buy the wing, gearbox and stereo surround, but seriously.... what's the overall opinion?

(i had a mate that bought a GTO for his first car, and i think you're all smart enough to figure out the rest)

BTW, i'm going to talk to his dad to send him to the advanced driver courses if they go through with it, as they taught me a hell of a lot.

Well, in all honesty... I think you can get into trouble for discriminating who you sell to, can't you? I mean, not that you realistically would, but still.

I think, if he has the money you should sell it... and I've already got the same spoiler as you, and my stereo surround ain't cracked. You don't know that he's irresponsible, and to say he is just based on the fact he's still on his Ps isn't good, ya know?

We all want our cars to go to good homes, but I'm not sure you could morally decline to sell the car based purely on your own judgement call.

Also, come to think of it - you've got airbags right? (Nice car btw )

I'd feel a lot more comfortable selling him an FTO than a big V6 commonwhore (possibly with extractors / exhaust / terrible rear tyres - pretty lethal combination).

Lets be honest, how much more trouble can you get into in a FWD FTO than your standard new big RWD family car that puts out close to 200kw in standard guise?

considering that it's pretty hard to sell an FTO these days
without dropping to a ridiculous price,

if the price is right just be happy you've got a buyer.

if he wraps it around a pole that's his problem.
if you're not related to / or friends with the kid...
why worry about him?

a bit stereotypical about the p plater thing...i am a p plater and drive an fto. But if you got a buyer, then you should sell.
I think for you its prob letting go of the car ? more than who your selling it to. Must be quite attached to it ?

I was on my Red P's when i bought mine...

I say sell it... If he loves the car He'll take care of it... unlike a sh*tty 1980 Corrolla that he'll thrash into a pole

Id be selling it. People that wrap themselves around poles come in all ages. Sure the chances are higher for someone with less experience, but thats not a guarantee. If he is going to wrap himself around a pole, it will happen irrespective of whether you sell to him or not. Also, if he has his heart set on an FTO, hell just get one off someone else if you dont go through with it.

also with all that stuff you see on the news nowadays about p platers being killed in car crashes...you also need to remember that now p platers are on their p's for 3 yrs ( red and green)...as opposed to say 10-15yrs (even 5 yrs ago) when new drivers got their full license after say 6 months or less than a year.

im 18 on my p's in victoria ,i did the adavanced drving courses etc its safe to assume that a 18 yo p plater is a hoon there is the odd 1% (me) that looked forward to getting a fto since i was little so i take care of it idont thrash it and i don't push it only with mivec on highways getting to a 100, look my opinion is sell it but make sure they get the advanced driving course if oyu tell the dad he wont do anything about it hell agree then the son wont do it i think you should buy it for him when oyu hand over the keys that way uve done the best you could.

amacha

i wasn't discriminating against P platers, because he's still on his learners, and yes, i am attached to the car but its a sacrifice i have to make to be able to travel.
There was one message he sent me today which worried me, which said "i like the fact that it feels safe, i can actually fit in it (he's quite tall) and even when its not moving, its FAST".

I know no matter which car you have, you can turn it into a weapon. a suzuki mightyboy with a motorbike engine can still hit 120km/h, but everyone knows these have potential, especially if they can keep up with most standard turbos and V8's.

I dont know why i'm worried, but i just have conflicting issues about someone with 80 hrs driving experience get behind the wheel of cars like these. I know that the high performance cars are also better equipped for a crash as opposed to a VL turbo or series 1 RX7 with a 13BT dropped in like most .

understandable mate i bought my fto whe ni was on my L's.That msg owuld be a bit concering you wouldnt want to see him wrappe d around a pole on the news just tell him whe nyour sellign the car warn him try give him a bit of al ecture and in my opinion give him tickets to advanced driing course so he does go and mayby not just save himself but someone else out there.

I think the driver training courses are a tops idea? Have you mentioned this to him already, you might find he is very enthusiastic and wants to do it.

On the message front I can think of two things he might have been trying to say that would not concern me. I've had people tell me the styling of FTO's make them look like they are going fast even when standing still, he could have meant this. Or other people that have only ever been in commodores etc. and not lower cars get in a car like and FTO and because of the lowered height (especially if lowered) and think the car is going a lot faster than it is, the height of a car can effect your sense of speed. I get and four wheel drives and think I'm standing still. for example.

i did my 50 hours of learner driving in a toyota landcruiser...then the first time i drove a lower car was when i was driving my fto out of the dealer. never had a problem adapting.

harry90 wrote:i did my 50 hours of learner driving in a toyota landcruiser...then the first time i drove a lower car was when i was driving my fto out of the dealer. never had a problem adapting.

You're just a driving machine harry
Just jokes.

Sell it. FTO is slow anyway, so he wont hurt himself

harry90 wrote:i did my 50 hours of learner driving in a toyota landcruiser...then the first time i drove a lower car was when i was driving my fto out of the dealer. never had a problem adapting.

I'm not saying it's a problem. It just feels faster at 60km's an hour than other cars do that sit higher. I think it may have to do with certain people though, for example those with middle ear issues (I have balance issues ) or alcohol problems

In all seriousness though I often have people looking over to see what speed I am doing because they think I'm going too fast only to see that I am doing the speed limit.

Yeah but mate you're arguing against your own point now -

You're saying that in an FTO he's more likely to get into trouble than, say, a standard commonwhore.

But then you're saying that the sensation of speed is greater in an FTO at same speeds.

Hence, in an FTO he isn't going to need to go as fast to get his kicks, and being so low to the ground he'll appreciate a hell of a lot more just how quickly he is travelling.

Whereas in something higher up, he's just as likely to try and take bends at 80km/h just because it doesn't feel as fast.[/i]

I say sell ... How he treats the car, or what he does to it, is out of your control ...

Try telling a young fellow now days how to treat something or be careful ... They won't listen anyway ... It will just be a shame to see the car mistreated... But what can you do...

Would be funny after all this if the young guy wanders off and buys an ITR or something haha

rock_it

where you? suvo?