The title of the thread is "Would you BUY YOUR KID an STI".
My answer would be an emphatic "HELL NO!".
You may be an exception to the rule. If my son or daughter saved up 15-20k to buy their first car with, they are probably adjusted differently than a common 16-17 yr old. I was there. I saved up to buy my dream car (at the time) a blue 89 Dodge Daytona Shelby. Souldn't have been allowed to. I racked up soooooo many points on my license. I was in double digits for a long time. I almost killed myself many times with that car. Of course, I have almost done the same in the Escort, an 88 4dr Golf, AMC Eagle, 92 T-bird, etc....