Hi Guys. I need to buy a gift for a 13year old boy who loves cars. Unfortunately, he has grown out of lego so that is not an option. Budget is $100-$350. Would love your suggestions as I am completely lost. Thanks in advance.
Ideas for Gift for 13year Old Boy Who Loves Cars
Lolee on 10/11/2020 - 12:08
Comments
Thanks for the idea but his mum would kill me :-)
what if ur 6 or 91?
Racing games.
Merch from his favourite YouTube channel?
RC Car
Any in particular? Where is the best place to buy these?
Came to say this. Have a look at my recent thread, it'll give you some leads: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/565569#comment-9500604
$100 to $350 for a 13 year old…can I be 13!?
100 isnt a fortune anymore… specially for a teen,
Thanks very much! I reckon I will get him the first link. Thanks again
Mario Kart Live if you have a Nintendo Switch.
A bicycle
hahahahaha just buy him a car wont you? im sure it'll all work out since his into cars and im sure he will take good care of it.
F1 Racer Car Bed Red. $299
https://www.beds4kids.com.au/f1-racer-car-bed-red/
Indy Car Bed - Red $329
lol he's 13 not 3
"The perfect first bed for all kids."
Maybe this 13 year old has been sleeping on the floor up until now?
If it's good enough for Kirk Van Houten, it's good enough for a 13 year old.
Can i borrow a feeling?
If I could get a race car bed that would fit a queen sized mattress, I would sooooo totally have one. Wife would be nonplussed, but she is always free to sleep on the couch.
13 year old girl.
Ask him what game he wants for his PS5, Nintendo whatever, Xbox, PC etc.
Please, 13 year old boys are not the type to appreciate dumb things like a card, new socks or a photobook etc. Just ask him!
He doesn't have any gaming machine.
He doesn't have any gaming machine.
STrange kid….
Get him one then! Sounds like a perfect gift for a 13 year old
Gran Turismo on playstation
Only $100-$350 for 13 yo boy ?
lol 😂I was lucky to get a $35 present growing up, let alone $350!
Yeah, I don’t get marcsie’s point… is $350 too much, or not enough???
Used to live in shoebox…
Oh, you were lucky to have a shoe box… We lived in a hole in the road…
Another +1 for an RC car. If you had the space, I'd get him an old go kart and help him rebuild it.
He will probably want to earn some money for parts too.
I think the idea of getting into the nuts and bolts of a car (or a RC car) is a great idea. Pointless just driving things, you have to know how they work.
Electric scooter
An xbox with Forza Horizon 4 should entertain him for a few hundred hours.
Does he like F1? Trip to Melbourne + Grand Prix next year? Obvs more than $350 so you’d be putting in for the F1 ticket and maybe some merch (guessing not your kid right?).
Problematic age, let me know if you find out.
I can't buy toys for my 13yo anymore. We already have some serious RC equipment (everything on land, water, or air), and he's not really into that stuff. Not so fussed on Lego, and toy cars haven't had a look in for a long time.
Still, if he hasn't been exposed to serious RC cars before (hobby grade, not K-Mart stuff), then you could give it a try as somebody suggested above. You should probably do it with him though, so will need two RC models :o)
Mine likes gaming, gaming, and some more gaming. It's always and argument to get him out to do other things.
Edit: If not your child, then maybe scratch the RC idea.
His mum doesn't let him game. Why should I scratch the RC if he is not my child. Sorry completely ignorant aunt here,
RC cars can be a bit tricky, and expensive - as a doting aunt though, maybe you'd be up for it! Think $200 minimum for say a halfway decent 1/10 RC car (ready-to-run) from Banggood or the like, up to $500 or so for a Traxxas ready-to-run car bought at your local hobby store (if you have one). Lots of options, but there is a learning curve with these 'hobby grade' RC vehicles.
Of course, if he's mechanically minded, then it can be an absorbing and fun hobby. These cars can have linked suspension, anti sway bars, shaft drive etc - somewhat like a real car. There are different cars for different driving styles, and upgrades are possible on the better ones. My son and I have models with fluid filled dampers and differentials. They can be tuned with different geometry for different driving conditions. The rabbit hole can go quite deep!
There will be a bunch of motor racing merchandise from Supercars and F1 on sale about now, does he follow racing and have a favourite driver?
Good idea. I will ask his mum
How about an electric skateboard that can be modded into a (go) kart?
Christ… I’m in my late 40’s and still have not outgrown lego…
Perhaps some books on the types of cars he likes? I have a shit load of old mechanic text books that a young budding car enthusiast might like to flip through. Maybe a repair manual for a car that he likes?
If you were closer, I’d let him hang out here for the day and help me with the restoring and repairing of some motorcycles I have here. Maybe a few hours work experience with a local mechanic to show him how cars work and what they look like from underneath?
Look on gumtree for something car related that he can pull apart. Should be able to find a lawnmower engine for a few bucks that he can pull apart and see how it works?
Reminds me of my nephew at about that age. He loved Ford escorts and his parents had just got the internet so as any young lad would do he googled escorts, Think he got educated…….
Getting him watching "mighty car mods" on YouTube. Two great guys from Sydney that also love cars…
Maybe buy him a beat up unregistered car that he can learn to fix up
He's only 13, but I guess a start's a start.
They were great back when they started out, but not so much any more. They have just gone down the drain that all YouTube sensations tend to go down and just get more and more unrealistic projects to flaunt their new found YouTube wealth.
One of their last episodes was just an excuse for Moog to be flashing off his new limited edition Lotus Exige (@ approximately $80,000) and then getting another $20,000 worth of work and mods done to it. Now their latest project is a BMW conversion they are just throwing 10’s of thousands of dollars at and making it sound like it’s in the same league as what they used to do.
It’s gone from being a “hey, that’s great, I could do that” to “(fropanity) me, that conversion/mod/update would have literally cost them well north of $40,000…”
At the end of the day, it's entertainment. It's no different to Top Gear etc, driving supercars that the average joe would love, and nitpicking them.
Or watching Linus build a $20k+ PC knowing you'd never own it.
Or your step-sister getting stuck under the bed.
Entertainment :)
Yeah, I still watch them from time to time, but now it's more about "what ridiculously expensive project are they attempting this week?" It used to be fun watching them grow and learn and share knowledge from their experience. Now it's just all product placement and humble bragging.
I watch Cleetus McFarland for the same reason. Cashed up redneck that started out with reasonable videos and now just makes "look how much money YouTube has given me" videos… Could lump Rich Rebuilds into this category as well.
I like all of Chris Fix's earlier videos, but lately it's all been about buying Hummers and Maserati's. Starting to become a bit unrelateable from where he used to buy shitters and fix them.
Should have suggested he watched Scotty Kilmer's videos…
Now their latest project is a BMW conversion
That was pretty annoying when they put the COD promotion in there :/
Ok, they basically just agreed to remove all the COD stuff from the car 😂😂
His enthusiasm does not consist of a one day event like Xmas.
Start taking him to Go Kart tracks; Drag Racing events; Motor Racing days; Vintage Car display days… and the such.
Buy car magazines for him…
Remember… it goes beyond one day!A basic starter tool set, screwdrivers, ratcheting spanners and a socket set and maybe a basic tool-box. The auto shops have deals on basic kits from time to time. And a hammer, don't forget the hammer.
Hammer and a shifter, that's all that the good mechanics use…
And really good mechanics can also use the shifter AS a hammer…..
nah. WD40 and duct tape is all you need.
The on/off controller includes a sound chip which reproduces the noise of a V8 engine starting as the model begins to work.
Ah yes…..so you can't work with the real thing, you need (Crappy) speakers to emulate the grizzly start up, idle and revs…. I think I saw a guy on youtube who created the smallest v8 engine that works apparently 40cc or something equivalent to the power of a scooter motor, maybe get a kit off him? And then make a car out from there or something…
My uncle took my brother and I to a Holden car show (organised by a local club with over 100 vehicles on display) when I was about 10. Also got us a poster each, which went straight on the bedroom wall. Both of us loved the 70s Holdens. We absolutely loved the show and nearly 30 years on, I still look at it fondly as one of the best Xmas presents we ever got.
Even if you know nothing about cars, if you know what kind of cars he likes, you could contact your closest city based car club and see what events are coming up. Show and Shines are good (often annual events with a group of like clubs), and there’s also Cars and Coffee, which take place monthly on Sunday mornings at your local Woolies or Coles carpark before opening hours for a couple of hours, where you’ll get a mixture of cars from all Marques. The car owners at either of these will mostly be happy to talk to anyone about their car, even a 13 year old.
Best part is the Show and Shine events will only cost you about $10-20 each for a ticket and Cars and Coffee is free.
and there’s also Cars and Coffee, which take place monthly on Sunday mornings at your local Woolies or Coles carpark before opening hours for a couple of hours, where you’ll get a mixture of cars from all Marques.
I actually wanted to go there to check out all the supposed cool looking cars in person….albeit the last time I checked, they canceled their monthly(or that specific month) meetups due to some issue….forgot what it was…
I know you said he has grown out of lego but they make some pretty amazing cars these days. Do you know his favourite makes/models?
Eg.. If he's a Porsche guy https://www.lego.com/en-au/product/porsche-911-10295
This thread was nearly 2 years old
Has he driven a go-kart?
Or how about being passenger in a rally car?