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Smart Shopper Best Car for a new teenage driver
554 messages, Last post on Nov 08, 2009 at 7:33 PM
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 23, 2007 9:31 am) We seem to be in agreement, again. Heaven forbid if the child has their own car and it is used and even worse, the wrong brand. I come from the generation that if someone could see the label on your shirt, you were told that you had your shirt on inside out. Too much …. too soon…. too bad for the parent/child now and later. jmonroe |
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 23, 2007 9:31 am) my parents didn't make me buy my own car or pay for gas, but i learned about it when i needed to. we have told our kids, 'your job is to get good grades'. so far, so good. 
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Yikes, i've been reading some buick-hating coments. Let me just say that i received a hand-me-down 98 Regal with 105k on the clock in '02 and it has treated me fine ever since. I received the car when I turned 16 and used it for senior year of high school, served its purpose well and now its a great car for oncampus college duties and going to and from home. those 3.8L V6 really are bulletproof, the thing will not die and has never faltered. I think buicks are the perfect teenager car, big, comfy and fast enough. It gets you from Point A to Point B with absolutely no desire for you to exhibit spirited driving. Now any kid that demands something "better" is simply spoiled due to parenting or surroundings [associates w/ other kids that are spoiled with nice cars]. I agree with all those here deciding on the used sedan option, easy to drive cars that are fairly versatile. Now for the thread creator's question, I like the idea of a CRV w/ awd, should get the job done just fine. Im unsure of the insurance though. |
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This begs the question, are we really doing our children a disservice by handing over a car to them. Personally, I think we are. Before I get preachy (and I'm about to), I've made the same mistake. I believe my only child (20 year old son) has had it pretty "cushy". I pay for his college tuition (he pays for books and fees). He won't have student loans to worry about when he graduates. He lives at home (I'm not asking for rent). He's got plenty of food. Really, all he has to do is to do well in school, and work part time (weekends only...full time in the summer)) to cover his car expenses, gas, insurance, maintenance and incidentals. I'm not a complete ogre. When he's real tight on cash, I do flip him a $50 bill on occasion. I'm a single parent and have overcompensated at times with my son because of his Mother and I divorcing. So, I'm guilty of some of that "over compensation" at times. I believe it's easier for a parent to buy a car for their kid(s) than it is to teach them some life lessons. Does giving them a car make them a better person? I don't see how. Taking the time to teach them about a budget, about cash flow, about building some cash for life's "gotchas" (like unexpected car repairs), is much harder than just handing over the car keys to them. But, without some skin in that game, the teen learns nothing. Hopefully, the little lessons he's learning about car ownership will serve him well, not only about cars, but about life. He knows he's got to come up with an extra $75 this winter to get a new battery. Better to save for it now and replace it before he gets stranded down the road. Better to keep a clean driving record that to face astronomical insurace premiums he'd have to pay to keep the wheels on the road. It's better to keep that car tuned up to get better MPG than to pay for more gas than he has to. Giving a car, without the responsibility that goes with it, really is a disservice to our kids. Yes, it's easier (for the parent) to just hand over the keys. It's better to have them learn something from having a vested interest (financially) in the car. There's so many learning opportunities by doing so.....some of them are very hard lessons. It just takes more of our (any parent's) time to do so, though. I think our kids are worth it, though. Preaching over!!!!!!!!!!
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 24, 2007 6:32 am) I've got 3 kids (20 yo stepson, 18 yo step-daughter, 17 yo son), so I've had a chance to refine the technique. The 20yo is on his own now - well, he lives with his dad in Utah, but he pays his own way. Has a small car payment ($150/mo) and covers all his own expenses. He's got a 2001 Saturn L200 and has taken pretty good care of it. In the past year, he's put new tires, shocks and struts onto it. He does regular oil changes. He knows that this is the last car we'll help him with - car is in his name, we cosigned the note. The 18yo is a freshman in college about 100 miles from us. She is driving a new Saturn ION, which we bought last summer. We pay the note and maintenance, she covers gas and insurance. She is not working now, but will over the summer. She has enough put away to cover gas and insurance to the end of the school year in May. She, too, knows that this is the last car we'll buy her. The ION only has 4K on it in 7 months, so I suspect it will last her a good, long time. The 17yo lives in CA with his mom. As has been previously mentioned here and on other topics, he will be getting my FIL's '92 Subaru Legacy AWD wagon in June as a graduation gift. Currently, he is neither working nor has a drivers permit. He'll be 18 in June, so he should have his license when graduation rolls around. He also knows that when I sign the car over to him, he is responsible for everything - gas, insurance, maintenance, etc., so he knows that he'll need to have a job to cover those costs. |
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 24, 2007 6:32 am) You obviously realize that your son needs to learn responsibility, and you take the time to instill values in him that will lead him towards becoming a responsible adult. I think many parents would agree that there is nothing inherently wrong with helping a (well deserving) child out by giving them a good used car, or reasonable new car. I do not think giving a child a used car or reasonable new car is neccessarily doing them a disservice, as long as you do like you are doing, and make them understand and handle the insurance, gas, and maintenance that goes along with it. However, I would be quick to let the kid know that if the grades slip, or if he gets in trouble (even if the trouble has nothing to do with the car), the car is a privilege and that particular privilege will be revoked until he gets things back in line. I think the disservice part comes in when "Johnny 16 Year Old" shows up in the high school parking lot with his loaded up '07 Mustang GT. Couple that with the fact that his parents are also probably paying for the car insurance (regardless of whether he gets a speeding ticket or 2), giving him gas money, and taking care of all maintenance issues for him as well.
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 24, 2007 6:32 am) Speed? Oh, yeah, the driver was the captain of the football team and supposedly a very good kid. BTW, a study, years ago, indicated that for most HS kids who got a car their grades went down. |
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Replying to: 1racefan (Jan 24, 2007 10:03 am) I think most of this stems from the recent observations I've had with some of my son's friends. I'm fortunate enough that I can provide my son with a comfortable life. He doesn't have to worry about food, shelter, an education. I've got those covered for him. He's learned some hard and expensive lessons (as have I) along the way. I lifted his license for a year when he was 16 after he wrecked MY car. Courts wouldn't do it, but I did. After I gave him his license back, he was faced with some humongous insurance premiums (he had to work and save up for 8 months to afford his insurance premium, again). He learned a lesson from that. He's been stranded before by not keeping his maintenance (battery) up to date on his car. He learned a lesson from that, too. He worked, scrimped and saved for a couple of years to get enough money from me to match his $$$ to get a car. He learned a lesson from that. What I hear from some of my son's friends is that they're entitled to a car. I don't get that. To add insult to injury, they don't want just any car, they want the sporty, bigger buck models. And, they'll whine, cajole, cry, threaten, and browbeat their parents until they get what they want. Some of those parents cave. I refuse to let anyone to be that manipulative towards me. What's worse, the parents pony up the $$$ to get them that sporty ride, It's easier than to teach their kids what it really means to own a car. The kids learned nothing. The parents have succeeded in doing little more than placating little Johnny or Janey for a little while so they don't have to get involved. Nothing's learned or taught. That's where the disservice comes in. |
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Replying to: jack47 (Jan 24, 2007 10:09 am) i don't think a high-schooler or college-bound child needs wheels. nope. i thought most colleges didn't allow kids to bring vehicles (not only a distraction, but also a parking headache) on campus anyway. only time you'd be allowed to have them is if you lived off campus... but if you live off campus, shouldn't you be walking to / from class everyday and concentrating on studies? i know i had to concentrate on studies. i did not need a vehicle in high-school or undergraduate school. by the time i went back to grad school, i owned my own vehicle. when i was a junior in college, i got a very well-used and rusted VW Rabbit that got me through to my first job, where i bought my first (used) vehicle. my parents initially helped me with insurance while i was still in college. by that time though, I was 20 and had slogged through 3 years of engineering school, on my way to the last year and interviews. now i know there's going to be exceptions and true needs, but i think kids are given vehicles much much much too early. at 17 or 18, what do you know about the world? i know there are gonna be parents saying our child needs a ride out to college campus, but i don't buy it. i think we have an obligation to drive our children to campus and back each semester. a good way for us to review what just transpired, or review what needs to get done to get the new semester started off right. i guess i'm old fashion. a kid having any sort of vehicle in high-school? i'm with you. just say "no, sooooo sorry. that's what the bus is for". |
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The best car for a teen is a big domestic boat with the smallest engine available. This past weekend my son drove my 2000 Concorde off a cliff into the trees. Car was destroyed, kid didn't get a scratch...until he got home!
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