<p>Kiddo is home from first semester at school, where she is doing very well. College is about 2 1/2 hours away from home. Medium-sized university, midwestern town that's not incredibly vital. So-so bus service...but it can take an entire afternoon to do a Target run, etc. A couple hours' drive from some great cities.</p>
<p>Kid is finally getting around to taking her driver's exam next week...and is beginning to poke around wanting/"needing" a car on campus (she can get to all her classes, etc) for convenience' sake.</p>
<p>She is not currently working (is a full-time student). Does not have the funds on hand to purchase a car or pay ongoing for insurance, gas, etc.</p>
<p>Because of generous scholarship awards, it could possibly be possible to afford to purchase a car for her...but I am wondering about what other families have chosen to do about college students and cars. She is allowed to have one on campus. She currently is able to get rides home from school with a friend's dad, so transport to and from school isn't an issue.</p>
<p>I think the main issue is frustration/boredom on weekends, as well as the convenience of just being able to get to the store, etc on her own terms. It's true -- the place is pretty quiet, and she is not a partier. It could open up some options for employment this summer as well, since she would be able to get to a job.</p>
<p>Does your college kid have a car of their own? If so, did they pay for it themselves? What about insurance, gas, etc? Does your student work to pay for the car/insurance, etc? If they do have a car, how "new" of a driver were they before you were confident in their skills to really head out safely on their own?</p>
<p>Our oldest is at our state flagship, which is mid-city, with very limited parking on campus. The spots available whe he lived on campus were at a stadium garage. Whenever there is a home basketball game the students have to move their cars. He did not have a car at school until he moved off campus his junior year, and actually needed it to get to a job. He needed to purchase a city issued parking permit to park in front of his house.</p>
<p>Our second is a freshman, five hours away, He does not have a car. He carpools back and forth with a couple of other kids we know who also go there. Parents do the driving so far. He lives on campus and does not need a car at this time.</p>
<p>In my limited experience, kids who have a car at school when they don’t really NEED one become the drivers for everyone else… To stores, to the airport, to the bars, to the nearest exciting city… Do you want your child to take on that role?</p>
<p>My D is at college about 6 hours drive from here. She does not have a car, though she has become van certified and can drive the school’s vehicles as part of her job. My husband and I will help her get a car when it’s time for her to student teach, unless she comes back home to do so. I don’t want her to have to rely on the public transportation up there (I am spoiled by NYC transit - most places are nowheres near as comprehensive) when weather is bad or it’s dark out so I’d rather she have a car for getting to work.</p>
<p>Neither of our kids had/have cars at college. One went to a college in a city with great public transportation. The other is in a small college town and seems to be able to find enough to entertain herself with campus activities (some of which provide transportation to off campus events).</p>
<p>I’m glad–what with insurance, registration, maintenance, etc., cars are a big expense and headache.</p>
<p>I’ve had my car since I was a freshmen on campus. It was a pain the first two years. I bought my current car and have always paid gas and such. My parents pay my car insurance. However, I’ve always had an off-campus job. Even if I didn’t though, I probably still would have had it with me. </p>
<p>If you are going to let her have a car, make her contribute to it. If she doesn’t have a job, I don’t see any reason for her needing one.</p>
<p>One point – she is a brand new driver, just taking her test next week. I would wait at least until next fall to even consider letting her have a car on campus. She needs time behind the wheel alone before she jumps into having a car on campus. We all seen the kid who is a great driver when he is driving with his parents, but loses it all when he starts driving on his own. My advice is to take this next summer to assess how she does as a new driver before buying her a car to take to school.</p>
<p>I agree with lololu. Being a brand new driver she needs to get expereince under her belt driving alone before she takes a car off to school. I agree with the other poster that kids with cars at school become the go to person for other kids needing trips to stores, ice cream runs etc. Since she is just a freshman I would see how things go this summer and than make a decision for sophmore year. I would put it off as long as possible. Neither of my kids have a car at school.</p>
<p>Our son did have a car (very old hand me down) on campus for undergrad and grad.
It really just made OUR lives easier, no trips back and forth for move in/out.
And he did have teaching rotations off campus to get to and gigs.</p>
<p>But it is very expensive. Insurance is astronomical and parking permits are also pricey.
We decided the convenience for him to have it and reduces stress on us was worth it.
And otherwise, we’d have had the old clunker in the driveway at home unless we decided to part with it.</p>
<p>BTW, the old clunker is still running fine, now 12 yrs old and is DS transport to his ‘real job’. Hoping it holds together until he can purchase his next vehicle.</p>
<p>I agree with the posters above who caution against a new driver having a car. There’s much more to driving than having a license. When you are confident that she’s a good driver, buy a new inexpensive car, not a clunker. We made that mistake and spent way more on repairs than it was worth. Finally donated the car and bought a new one. I see ads on TV for leases at $150/month.</p>
<p>My S does have a car, relatively new hand me down from Grandpa. But, he leaves it at home when at school. He goes to school in an urban setting and while the bus is not convenient, it is available. As others have noted your D will be asked to shuttle other students around for this and that if she has a car. I take S off the insurance (a big savings) when he is at school. Insurance, at least in the Boston area is very expensive for inexperienced drivers. The added cost of insurance with S having his own car vs just having him on our insurance is not huge, maybe $600 a year, but is a consideration. I think he cost about $1800 a year just being on our insurance without his own car. There are pros to them having their own car, last summer S’s car got him to and from work, which would have been horribly inconvenient for us to do. He pays for his own gas and routine upkeep, but we take care of insurance and anything major.</p>
<p>We bought a new (used) family car during the Spring of Ds freshman year of college because we wanted her to have a car for the summer, as she had a course and a job lined up. We have her the well maintained SUV with 200k miles on it.</p>
<p>She had to get permission to keep her car on campus as a sophomore. She’s an athlete and had a number of off campus medical appts during the first year, so one of the school docs signed the form. The sports fields are also a couple of miles from the campus, and while the school provides a shuttle, the team tends to carpool to practice.</p>
<p>School is about 4 hours from home and she hasn’t driven that distance alone. At Thanksgiving, she had a couple of other students with her. What we do at the end of this break will depend on the weather.</p>
<p>We pay for the insurance and one tank of gas each month. She understands the car is only for local use and team activities. During her sport’s season we visit often and her Dad checks the car. Before she goes back after break our mechanic will check it. So far, so good.</p>
<p>Many campuses have Zipcars that students can rent by the hour/day, which makes more sense than buying. Having a car at school often means you’re running others errands and are the designated driver for nightlife. Kids do silly things that result in tickets/fines for the driver - an open container or cramming more people in than there are seatbelts for have been recently discussed here.</p>
<p>My kids always had a vehicle to share while they were in HS and they were responsible for gas and regular maintenance. Driving privileges were suspended for things like failure to check/change oil, excessively dirty, cell phone use, coming home with the fuel light on, etc. and would have been permanently revoked for a single moving violation so they all learned to take car ownership seriously. Except for the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, they didn’t take one to college until it was time to move off campus. So far we’ve managed to find nice used AWD/4WD vehicles for very good prices and the money saved by moving off campus pays for the car within a few years. I match whatever they have saved to buy a car (but will not take/cosign loans) and call my insurance company before each purchase to make sure their rates for particular models are affordable. Once they have their own vehicles they bear all costs including insurance, though they have been known to request new brakes or a set of tires for birthday/Christmas!</p>
<p>D#2 attended an OOS flagship where >half of her friends had cars on campus, so she had plenty of social outings without the burden of being “The One (with the car).” And her last two years she had a job that required independent transportation. But it’s true, it’s a significant expense.</p>
<p>PS, If you ultimately decide to let her have the car, get a Family AAA subscription. (Think flat tire at night … or dead battery one winter morning.)</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s any reason for a college student not to have a car if there are legitimate reasons for doing so. However, I would be hesitant to do it for a brand new driver. All of my Ds started the graduated licensing process as soon as they were of age, so that by the time they went away to college, they had an abundance of driving experience in all types of weather. Their driving habits, and expertise, were monitored by us until we felt that they had reached a level of experience where we could trust them to continue to make good decisions. They all also had extensive private instruction with a driving school and a defensive driving/driving in snow and on ice course. Two of my Ds had cars at school for part/all of their time there. There was never an issue of them being the drivers for others to shop, etc. because they didn’t allow for that to happen. They occasionally gave a couple of local friends a ride home on a weekend or break.</p>
<p>For a brand new driver, away from home and unfamiliar not only with the roads in the area, but also unfamiliar with driving, in general, I don’t think that’s a wise decision.</p>
<p>She is a new driver. If it were me, I would not want MY new driver to be the “taxi service” for her friends who need rides places…and that is what will happen if your daughter takes a car. Are those trips she needs to take essential? Probably not. Most college freshmen do not need the added expense and distraction of having a car on campus. If your daughter had an internship off campus with no way to get there, I’d think differently of this. BUT this sounds like it is not an essential thing for her to have.</p>
<p>ITA that it would not be wise to allow a brand new driver to have a car on campus. I admit that my POV is that of a person who thinks that it is RARELY a good idea for college students to have cars on campus. There are exceptions.</p>
<p>D1 had her car up at school after freshman fall. It gave her a lot of convenience. But she had been driving for 2 years. The first year she was driving, she did get few tickets and a major accident. By the time she went off to college, I knew D1 was the kind of person who had no problem in saying no to people sometimes, she wouldn’t drink and drive, and she was a very good driver (better than H and I sometimes). We paid for all associated costs for D1’s car, she was responsible for gas, which she paid for by having a job on and off campus.</p>
<p>If you are going to let your kid have a car on campus, I would wait until next fall. It will allow her to become a more experience driver over the summer, and you could also see how responsible she is with a car while she is home.</p>
<p>D1 took her used car (gift in HS from grandpa) to school as a junior when she needed it to get to her internship, and she did become taxi service to her friends. It all worked out well.</p>
<p>The shiny new license is what would put me off. Maybe after the summer when she gets some miles under her tires?</p>
<p>D2 (now a college senior) bought a car this year for internship purposes. Her campus is in the middle of nowhere, and a simple errand that might take 15 minutes total by car was taking more than three hours with the campus shuttle. Still, she’s not the world’s best driver (by her own admission) and really wasn’t ready for a car until recently.</p>
<p>She has become the taxi service for her friends, who at least offer to pay for gas or buy her share of the pizza when they go out. But her school doesn’t charge for parking, either.</p>