It’s that time. You know the time. The time when your son turns 16 and says, “Dad, can you buy me a car?” He’s got car fever, it’s all he can think about, and he wants it right now.
He has been texting me screen captures of cars for sale on Craigslist that have caught his eye. Most of them scare me as they’ve been heavily modified by the owners. What else have these backyard mechanics done to them?
And then there’s the cost, of course. On my drive to the airport the other day, I found myself daydreaming of bringing my son to a closed garage. Suddenly, the theme song to “Top Gun” starts, the garage slowly opens, and there in all its glory is a 2016 Subaru WRX STI on a rotating platform being blasted by blue laser lights, with SEMA girls on either side waiting to usher him into the driver’s seat. But who am I kidding? Even if I did have the scratch to buy him a brand-new car, getting him a rocket like that would be like handing him a loaded gun.
No, I’ll get him something more sensible and economical, a used Civic, perhaps. After all, my first car was a well-worn ’83 Chevy Cavalier. But it is nice to dream…
