Two Issues With Your Old Car You Might Have to Address Before Letting Your Teen Learn to Drive in It
If your teenage son or daughter has asked if they can use your old car whilst they learn how to drive, and this car, whilst functional, has a few issues, here are the most essential steps you must take before handing the keys over to your teen.
Find a mechanic who does clutch replacement work if the clutch pedal feels loose
If, when taking the car out for a drive in order to check that it was safe for your teenager to use, you noticed that the clutch pedal felt loose and yielded under your foot a bit too easily, then you should consider getting this clutch replaced.
Many young people find it hard to learn how to control the clutch and to change gears when they first start learning how to drive. Even when a clutch is in perfect condition, it can take time for a new driver to master the art of smoothly releasing it at the correct speed when they change gears so that they don't stall their car. This is a frustrating learning curve that almost every novice driver has to go through.
However, if you don't get this replacement work done and instead give your teenager a car with a loose clutch, it will make it unnecessarily hard for them to learn how to use the clutch correctly whilst they're changing gears, as the pedal's looseness will reduce their ability to control it. The difficulties they experience as a result of this faulty component may then result in them taking longer to prepare for their driver's test. By investing in a mechanic's clutch replacement services before you hand the keys to this vehicle over to your teenager, you can make this important step in your child's life easier for them to handle.
Replace any worn tyres with inexpensive new ones
If the car's tyres are visibly worn, then you should buy some cheap replacements and get them installed by an auto service shop. Threadbare tyres can drastically increase braking distances. This can be problematic for any driver, no matter how experienced they are. However, for a new driver like your teenager, who probably has not yet learned the importance of braking sooner, rather than later, this could be disastrous. The effect that a set of bald tyres could have on their car's braking distances, combined with their own tendency to wait until the last second to use the brakes, might lead to them causing a collision.
As such, any tyres on the car that look threadbare should be replaced. It is, however, best to stick to cheap replacement tyres, as the mistakes that your son or daughter will inevitably make whilst they're learning (like skidding to a stop and accelerating too abruptly) will mean that these new tyres' lifespan will be short. Given this, there is no point in splurging on high-end tyres.
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