How picky are you when it comes to cars for your son and daughter?

[PJSprog]

Why buy the child a car? Let him/her work and save and buy their own. Maybe they'd appreciate it then.

This is my thoughts, too. That's how it worked for me.

Unfortunately, mine are step-kids, so I don't have as much say in the matter. The older one has always been very responsible. My wife bought him his first used car before we were married. The younger one, though, he's a mess. One of those kids who thinks other people exist to do things for him. To be fair, we bought him his first as well; a nice '06 Ford Ranger with a manual transmission. I had to teach him to drive it, because apparently they don't do that in schools anymore. Five weeks after his 16th birthday, he rolled it through a field half a dozen times taking a turn on a country road too fast and completely totaled it (no major injuries to him, amazingly). With the insurance money (and against my better judgement), we bought him an older and less-nice '97 Chevy S10. He abuses the you-know-what out of that truck. Thinks he's invincible because he survived a hideous roll-over with scarcely a scratch. He doesn't care, because he has nothing invested in it, and isn't made to pay for the constant repairs. (there's a deeper story behind this that involves other family member on his Father's side, which I won't go into here)

I'm still trying to convince the wife that we need to sell that truck and make him buy his own.
a) There's a better chance he'll appreciate it more, and
b) he'll be a bit older by the time he can save enough money ... and hopefully a bit more mature.

 

[Bird]

Lots of different opinions AND different financial abilities, etc. I was the oldest of 5; have 2 sisters, then 2 brothers. My Dad NEVER took a kid out driving to show or teach them how to. And he NEVER allowed one of us to drive his and mother's car. But each of us had to take drivers ed in school and he then gave each of us an old clunker when we got our drivers license; said there was our transportation, if we could keep them running. If one needed repairs or service of any kind, we had to do it, but he'd tell us how to. But his oldest sister started letting me drive her car before I was 10 years old, so I'd been driving enough that drivers ed was a snap (in a manual transmission 1956 Ford sedan). And my first car was a 1946 Chevy 2 door with just a little less than 100k miles on it, and Dad gave $75 for it in 1956.

Now I grew up in small towns in Oklahoma and Texas. If a car broke down and we had to walk home, it wasn't that far of a walk, and we had no concerns about being attacked while walking.

But it was a bit different when our daughters learned to drive. We lived in a Dallas suburb and I did not want them to have to walk home from a stalled car. There were no cell phones in those days. So I got them older and cheaper, but good, dependable cars. And I paid for the cars and insurance. Fuel was their problem. However, both of them found jobs on their own when they were 16.

 

[4570Man]

One of my co-workers just bought a new car... to replace her bought new 2001 Tahoe... never off road, no snow and she was meticulous with maintenance... I offered to buy it and she said it sounds good... this morning she said they are giving it to their nephew in New Mexico who is flying out to California to pick it up... 154k miles and not a scratch on it... 2wd and I offered her 3k which was $800 more than the trade in the Dealer offered... it had the bigger V8 and ran sweet. There are some really nice older cars... especially if you know the history.

I was going to buy my grandpas 1500 Sierra. It was a 4x4 2005 with 70,000 miles. It had been well maintained and was in excellent condition. He was offered $15000 trade in value. I couldn't afford to match that so I let him trade it in. I ended up buying a much more beat up Silverado 1500 4x4 with 219,000 miles for $1500.

 

[KubotainNH]

Lots of opinions here, some I agree with and some I don't. The way I see it is a car is the perfect learning experience for handling money, an item that needs maintenance and a means of independence. My oldest who is now 23 wanted a Civic so when he was 15 we bought a non running 1992 Civic EX with 194k on it, the cost was $450. It was older than him. He paid half, I paid the other half. We worked on it together to get it running (igniter and coil were bad) plus other items that had been neglected by the prior teenagers that drove it, again we paid half of the initial part costs. It also needed rust repair. All future items including insurance were paid by him but he was on our plan with minimal insurance coverage so it was actually reasonable. Eventually he moved into an Altima that I got from a friend for free, also not running and that one was fixed up.

The Civic then went to my daughter who had to buy 4 new tires which she paid for in order to get the car plus some other small repairs. In return for the Civic, my oldest got the Altima and my help getting it running and rust repaired (the fuel pickup got unhooked from the bottom of the tank so it ran out of fuel). My daughter drove that car for years until I found a deal on a 99 Accord that I couldn't pass up and we sold the Civic for $500, half the cost of the Accord. She was sad to see the Civic go, it was coming up on 250k and ran like a top. I am glad she's in the Accord because it is in much better shape and I'm not afraid of her driving it long distances.

My youngest son also learned to drive on the Civic but wanted a truck so similar deal as other kids but got a 98 Ford Ranger 4x4 for $700. He is still driving it a couple years later and it's also around 250k. We've replaced numerous things including the transfer case and rear end, both learning experiences. One went because of miss-sized tires front to back and the other because of lack of differential oil. Live and learn. All my kids had jobs early on, daddy is not a money tree. Because of things like this, all 3 of my kids are extremely good with their money.

My oldest has an apartment, a newer paid off Mazda and just finished getting his bachelors with all debt paid off. My daughter is coming into her 4th year of college, her college is kinda expensive so she will end up with a bit of debt but should be able to pay it off in a year or so after she graduates. She has 3 or 4 part time jobs plus the full time school and runs around a 3.9 GPA. My youngest starts collision repair soon at the local tech college, he paid for his first semester and will be buying all his tools soon. He will continue what is close to a full time job and should be fine to pay off his tuition for the spring semester. Mom and dad do not pay for college, we give them a place to live and food on the table while in college. We have bought books but that's about the max. If they are not in school then they need to pay rent. Except for the oldest who lives on his own, the family cell plan is all basic phones that they pay their part of. Life is not free, my opinion is it is best they know this early. They were all introduced to the Dave Ramsey course early on also. I grew up with debt as being ok which hurt us early on, I didn't want them to be in the same mindset.

As for really old cars, too many variables. Is it an around town car or a highway runner is one variable. My youngest bought a 67 (my YOB...lol) IH B1200 4x4 he is working on. I've told him from day one that it may never be a daily driver. He'd like it to be but we'll see. Any car 94 and newer has an airbag but if the car has a normal 3 point belt and it's used that is a huge safety item. My 99 jeep is the only car in my driveway that doesn't have ABS. The newest car is a 00 Honda van. As long as the car isn't costly and is dependable we keep it. Most repairs are at max 2 car payments but doing your own work helps a bunch. It's also a good learning experience for the kids. My daughter will be helping with an oil change on her car soon. I talked her through replacing the wipers over the phone one time. None of my kids have been in anything more than a fender bender and no insurance claims.

Sorry for the long post but I think too many kids are missing out on life lessons during this very teachable time of their lives.

 

[ultrarunner]

I agree fully... it can/should be a learning experience on many levels...

Too many times I personally know of a kid with a new car that trashed... often by neglect.

Latest was on a 2011 Toyota... she never checked the oil saying Dad takes care of it... she drove over a parking stop and put a leak in the pan... and drove home... the engine was toast with 55,000 miles.

Maybe simply making owner's manuals required reading and then demonstrating how to check fluids and put air in the tires and spare would go along way.

A little off topic... I know a girl that was given and very nice Mazda Miata by her aunt... she didn't want the car and did everything she could to kill it... that way she figured she would get the car she wanted.

 

[dstig1]

Have been reading but not posting on this one....yet. Our daughter started driving a year and a half ago. My plan had been to give her the 04 Accord I got from my Mom when she wanted to trade it in on a new Buick 2 years ago. For the last few years, I had been driving the 98 Civic I picked up for next to nothing from a neighbor moving away back around 06 with 125k on it. I call it the "Maintenance-Free Honda" since the neighbor told me - oh ya - I never have to do anything on these until they hit 200k. Well I had to spend a couple grand fixing all the stuff he had neglected over the years, but it was still a good deal overall...thus the nickname. It was our backup car for a while, then my daily driver for several years. Now it has 230k on it and the Accord has ~40k (literally driven by a little old lady to church and the grocery store for 10 yrs...). After teaching her how to drive, I realized that most kids don't "get it" yet, and giving her a decent car was a bad idea...so I flipped my plan and took the Accord as my daily and gave her the old civic. It has front airbags, but no ABS, and certainly nothing fancy (but it does have a tape deck!!!). I had my concerns as the Accord does have a lot more safety features (ABS, TCS, Airbags up the wazoo, and a larger vehicle), but I wanted to see that she could handle driving solo on an expendable car first. Yes there is some risk, but still compared to what I learned to drive on, it is a lot lower. Just like many others have noted. So far, so good, overall. It got hit once - not her fault - Dad of a friend backed into it in their driveway while leaving in a rush to the airport early one day while she was on a sleepover, so good thing it was that car for that issue...

I have also thought that not having ABS is a good thing for now. You need to learn what ice feels like to know what to do and how to handle it. She had a couple incidents with ice last winter, which was good. It was also a mild winter, so that was good to help break her in without major trouble. Myself, I have had issues with the traction control system. I almost wish it wasn't there as I have a steep driveway, and it can stop me cold trying to climb it in the snow, before I have plowed. Fortunately it has an off switch for those times, so I have learned to kill it ahead of time. Of course, with a guy like me with my experience, that took only 1 time to go "OK, that goes off" With a kid? No clue.

So the downside, as some have mentioned similar issues. Her car uses oil. Getting to be a lot. I would check it weekly when I was commuting with it as I would run 250-300 mi a week. She has put on only 5k in a year. I would have to add oil every 1-2 weeks. How often do you think she checks it? Those of you with teenage girls know the answer: When I yell at her about it. Being that I am not driving it daily and am still building a house plus working full time, I don't think about it often enough myself. So far OK, but I see it coming.... As for fixing it? She is way too prissy for that. I tried. I know it isn't going to happen. I have even tried to make the point that you don't need to do it, but you need to have a clue so you don't get hosed. Still nothing. Girls. Few seem to be the type that get this stuff or care to bother. Yeah there are exceptions, but I only know of one in all my years.

So my only kid is driving an older small car with only airbags and no ABS. Child protective Services should probably take her away, right? She's gotten to be a better driver, as pretty much all of them do. Another year or two on the beater will help more. She has nothing invested, and so the issue remains of not caring enough, but at least we make her pay for her own gas. And if the engine seizes from lack of oil it will be a hard call. Like lots of folks, we gain from not having to cart her around to every little thing anymore, so who actually gets punished if she loses her car? But maybe I can find an nice 1984 F150 to give her better perspective if that comes to pass

No easy calls. Just what works for you and your situation.

 

[WM75Guy]

We supplied the cars for our kids but they had to pay insurance and any extra gas above the one tank a week I supplied. Sure beat having to take them to early practice or music lessons. I wanted them in something reliable and safe so I either bought 4 door sedans from Enterprise for around $6K 10-15 years ago or they got our old vehicles. People think that rentals are abused, that's usually not the case. They get regular service and any needed repairs. We never had any major mechanical issues with any of them. When they graduated college we titled the vehicle over to them. Son got our 97 Yukon when we bought a new truck for my wife, he still has it. Daughter sold her Enterprise 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix last year.

 

[clemsonfor]

We supplied the cars for our kids but they had to pay insurance and any extra gas above the one tank a week I supplied. Sure beat having to take them to early practice or music lessons. I wanted them in something reliable and safe so I either bought 4 door sedans from Enterprise for around $6K 10-15 years ago or they got our old vehicles. People think that rentals are abused, that's usually not the case. They get regular service and any needed repairs. We never had any major mechanical issues with any of them. When they graduated college we titled the vehicle over to them. Son got our 97 Yukon when we bought a new truck for my wife, he still has it. Daughter sold her Enterprise 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix last year.

I can promise you when I rented a car when younger I sure abused or should I say ran it hard.

The rental companies, no they don't abuse or neglect them, they do all the service needed and check things out and fix when they arise, only smart on their part to protect their investment. Customers will abuse them, not all but some. But in the scheme of things it really doesn't matter.

 

[cpttuna]

Did the same thing. We have 5 jeep Cherokee's in the family

 

[Diamondpilot]

I can promise you when I rented a car when younger I sure abused or should I say ran it hard. The rental companies, no they don't abuse or neglect them, they do all the service needed and check things out and fix when they arise, only smart on their part to protect their investment. Customers will abuse them, not all but some. But in the scheme of things it really doesn't matter.

I'm with you. I R to about 10 cars a month being a pilot. Not a one of them has ever had over 30,000 miles and they look and drive like they got 150,000 miles. They lead a hard life.

No thanks!

Chris