[arwin]

IMO. Just remove the front tint for safety concerns and it's golden!

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by P1et

Cute little SUV, your son should be grateful. You know him better than anyone else, so if he's deserving, then good on ya.

Personally, I would have given him the modifications as rewards for being responsible. So if he drives it for six montns or a year without tickets or incidents, he gets new wheels, etc. etc.

are you and OP taking applications to adopt a grown man with his own family? B/c I need some of this kind of loving... At my rate of being a responsible person, I can probably earn up to a F430 in 2 years? I got a 401k! How many kids you know have a 401k?

[HawkeyeGeoff]

A lot of haterade in here. We all come from different situations...but as long as your kid doesn't mess up there's no reason not to help him out.

My folks have always driven BMW's (I'm currently 27) and just bought my first one. My first car was a 01' Maxima 5 speed MT.....split half and half with my folks. I think I'll do the same thing with my kid just so they have a little invested in it.

[50shadesofhockenheim]

Your son is lucky to have a dad like you.. The car looks amazing!!! And to the people that say "oh he should work for it" or "he won't appreciate it or understand the value of money".. I got a nice car as my first car (BMW 328i) when I was 16 and I now recently finished college, got a good job, and bought an F30 335i with my own money @23 y/o

[CO_Steve]

My first car was a '68 Ford Farilane. Had a 200 cubic inch engine and would top out at 25mph going up I80. Things have gotten a lot better since then.

[oolas3]

The grapes you can't reach are always bitter for many people.

[greenthumb]

SUVs should be lifted, not lowered. Lol.

[scostu]

You guys had some nice rides!!!!!!!!!!!.....

My first ride was a 1982 Toyota Corolla station wagon (hand-me-down) for high school.

5spd....8 track.....but I could fit 4 surfboards and 4 people internally for surf trips!

We jammed out to the CURE, Flock of Seagulls, and all the other Underground Rock bands.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by -JLT-

ok, let me clear things up so people will understand my son and my situation better. my son just finished his freshman year in high school and he's enrolled in all honors and AP classes. he got straight A's in all his classes except a B in AP Geography (which equates to a normal A) and a B in Drivers Ed (which is very hard and entitles him to not have to do the driving portion when he gets his drivers license). his overall GPA for the year was 4.50 out of 4.00 scale. I was a very good student at his age as well but he's in another league compared to me.

regarding the front windshield tint (hot debate), he only has his permit so when he drives, my wife or myself, will always be with him. if it interferes or he doesn't like it, I will remove it and maybe go with a very light tint that will block out the rays. his car is black and his interior is black also so I want to keep his car cool as possible. unlike his dad, he's a very calm, by-the-speed limit type of driver so I'm not concerned about his driving. in fact, sometimes I have to tell him to speed up a little to keep up with flow of traffic.

he never asked me for a car or to mod it but I believe he deserves it for being a great son and doing so well in school. I enjoy modding cars so I asked him and he said: "Sure, I don't care but just don't go crazy (find my build thread for my M4 'vert, lol)". nothing I have done is irreversible so relax people and just enjoy life

It sounds like you are a great dad and you are raising a fine son. There's absolutely nothing wrong in my mind giving a kid a nice safe reliable car as their first ride. So, good for you. You've tricked it out so he will get more than his share of attention over it, but he will figure out a way to handle that. My only hesitation is the windshield tint. But you are aware of it and have a plan to change it if it doesn't work out.


Just know that buying kids neat cool things doesn't change your relationship with them at all. Based on your comments I am pretty sure you know that you cannot buy love or respect. It sounds like you have that covered already.

In my case, I handed my first BMW down to my son as a gift. He was thrilled. I told him it was the last car I would buy for him so he'd better figure out a way to take care of it and not abuse it because the next one is on him. I did the same for my daughter. They both started in very nice cars but they also learned something about responsibility in the process.

[-JLT-]

more pics I took this morning:

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by -JLT-

more pics I took this morning:

Nice.

Next thing you know you are going to be borrowing it from him.

[-JLT-]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Nice.

Next thing you know you are going to be borrowing it from him.

I did borrow it this morning, haha. went to driving range this morning and took his Q5 (first time driving it after the mods). have to say, drives very good and flat with the coilovers and wheels

[greenthumb]

The wheels contrast nicely with the blacked out everything else.

And here I thought I had it good when my parents handed me down a 15 year old Maxima. Haha.

[jmg]

Re: all the criticism about a kid's first car being this nice

Only you know your kid and how he will handle his first car, who are we to say if you are doing him "more harm than good"? As the oldest son in my family, I found myself buying my little sister a car for grad school. Got her the cheapest Civic I could find that was still under warranty. Why? Because she doesn't care about cars and her priorities in life is grad school. She doesn't need nor want to worry about a nice car.

It's very freeing when you don't give a sht about your car. Young adults have a lot to worry about, and adding a nice car to the mix can be a distraction. Maybe your son is different, only you and your family knows. When my son is of age in about 10 years, he's getting a used economy car.

[Matt@EuroJerks]

Originally Posted by Matt@EuroJerks

Honest questions. The decreased visibility of the windshield is of no concern to you to a new driver? Don't you feel like you are putting looks in front of your child's safety as well as the general public's?

Looking at the new pics the windshield doesn't look that dark. I apologize for the post. I think it looks great all around.

[-JLT-]

Originally Posted by Matt@EuroJerks

Looking at the new pics the windshield doesn't look that dark. I apologize for the post. I think it looks great all around.

no worries. it depends on the lighting when I take the pics. but like I said, when ur driving the car, it doesn't feel like the windshield is really affected with the tint

[crabu2]

I can't complain on what you do for your kids.. That's up to you... Maybe I'm thinking this way because I got a brand new car when I turned 16, then at 17, my old man bought me another new car ... My fav of all the cars I've owned.. a 5.0 Mustang GT convertible. LOL..

The only thing I don't like about what you did.. although I must admit it looks good, is tinting the front windshield.. For me, that's a big NO NO.

Congrats to your son on his new ride.. One day, I'll probably do the same for my boy (6yo)... But he's already asking me for the 230 vert I just got... which he probably won't want when it's 10 years old. Hahaha.

[Bizall]

Originally Posted by oolas3

The grapes you can't reach are always bitter for many people.

...and the grapes you pick yourself are so much sweeter.

[Animal Farm]

Originally Posted by -JLT-

for those with kids ... time sure goes by fast. I can't believe my son just finished his drivers ed class and will be getting his drivers license this September when he turns 16. I was going to get him a new BMW, probably an X1 or 2-series, but instead gave him the ride we bought my wife's mom in 2011, an Audi Q5 2.0T. and for her mom, we got her a 2017 BMW X3.

I always modify my rides so this was no exception. even though it wasn't my ride, u would think my son would be so grateful and excited about me modding his first ride. well, he sorta is, and told me: "Dad, just don't go crazy." I guess he knows me to well . the first 3 things I always do to my rides are: tints (including windshield), lowering (springs or coilovers), and wheels (spacers if I really like the stock wheels).

so as soon as I knew he was getting the Q5, my modding research began. I immediately took my ride to Wrapped Chicago to get the front windows and windshield tinted. for lowering, I love how my M4 'vert feels with KW V3 so I decided to go with KW V1. as for wheels, I went with Vorsteiner V-FF 103 in silver finish 20x10 squared and Continental DSW06 275/40/20 tires. mad props to Mops and Eric at Supremepower for the coilovers and wheels. I also, didn't like the front grill so I ordered a S-Line one and had it painted gloss black (except for the Audi logo).

I just want to say how much I appreciate the folks at A&L Autobody, especially my man Anthony and Dylan (keeping me updated with status and pics) for taking great care of my rides. those peeps there are like my family! anyways, here are some pics:

before:

No words - watch the video

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Honest question, why keep the dealer license plate frame in the rear? The first thing I do to every car is remove/replace the dealer license plate frame (even if I like the dealer). I see you removed the front plate, which looks great (although depending on state, can result in attention from police).

The only time I feel it's an issue is if somebody bought a luxury car used. Nothing is more lame than seeing a fancy car with a "Honda of X" dealership plate frame on it. Stop being cheap and spend $20 on new frames otherwise people are gonna laugh at you.

[Germanauto]

Since everybody is sharing I'll chime in too. I got a 15 yr old beige Toyota as my first car lol. My parents could afford a lot more but my pops is just, dare I say, cheap sometimes? It was a good decision in hindsight though, I learned that just b/c mommy daddy can drive nice cars doesn't mean I'm entitled to the same thing.

With that being said, it would have been wiser to get me say a 5 yr old used car rather than something that old, due mainly to safety concerns. That old Toyota had a propensity to hydroplane and skid when it was wet out, and boy the doors were paper thin. The worst part, however, was that I looked like a stereotypical fobby Indian guy driving it.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Animal Farm

No words - watch the video

Are they saying that driving an Infinity is like coming out to your dad? Strange analogy.