Welcome. Yes, if I were POTUS, all kids would get their first car the same way I did. My father towed home a wrecked car with a blown engine and said quote "Son, if you can fix it, you can drive it." But he made me go to the library (remember those?) to check out a repair manual and other books on how to diagnose and repair car problems so I could figure it all out for myself. He would kind of supervise a little just to make sure I didn't hurt myself, but otherwise he made me do it all. I had a summer job in the nursery section at a local home improvement store which enabled me to purchase a bumper, grill, fender and a junkyard motor and then get a "low budget" paint job. By the end of summer, I had my own car. Little did dad know that was the start of a lifelong car hobby. But even if I never picked up a wrench ever again, I learned enough about how cars work that I could change a flat, jumpstart a dead battery, replace a belt and it would be highly unlikely that any unscrupulous mechanic could ever take advantage and charge me for unnecessary work. But best of all, I drove it like a grandma. After spending all my waking hours for four months and every dime I earned unloading bags of maneur to build my own car while all of my friends were playing, there was no way I was going to take any unnecessary risks with it. Just be careful with this strategy. Mom didn't get to put her new Oldsmobile in the garage again until I went off to college.
I only wish my first car could have been a mk2 Supra, but they were brand new cars back then.
