<p>Good or bad idea? Any thoughts? She will be 1800 miles from home</p>
<p>It depends on the college, or more specifically whether a car would be necessary or desirable for a student there. Colleges often discourage residential students from having cars, due to limited parking availability. If the school is in an urban area, having a car may be more trouble than it is worth.</p>
<p>Both of our S’s took their trucks to college as freshman. They were three and four hours away from home. DH and I both work so it was helpful for the boys to have their trucks when they came home to visit. Also helpful just getting around their college towns. If they had left them at home, the trucks would have been in our way. We had no problems them taking their trucks to college…no wrecks,no tickets, no prob. with friends wanting to borrow them,etc.</p>
<p>It depends on the college but also depends on the kid. My child was academically strong but immature about life. I knew she would have her hands full trying to manage daily life and I didn’t think she needed the additional responsibility of a car. Her school has mild weather and she could easily walk to town and had many services on campus. She fussed about it a bit but managed to find a ride when she wanted one.</p>
<p>Well, at 1800 miles away, I doubt she’d need it for regular trips home. We do not send a car first semester. The kid can have that time to acclimate to the school and not be everybody’s new best friend because she has wheels. Second semester, it’s up to the kid. Oldest took hers so she could work off campus. Youngest? We’ll see. She may not want the hassle. </p>
<p>Neither went/is going to a school with decent public transport, so at some point, the car will be necessary if there are practicums, clinicals, or internships. I just don’t think think they need a car right away as a freshman.</p>
<p>My kids both had cars their senior year in college and it was a pain frankly. It was a pain to find a “good” parking space and once they found one they didn’t want to use the car and give up the “good” parking space. We had problems with both kids and the car breaking because it wasn’t being driven. My nephew seems reluctant to also bring a car to his university because it’s so hard to find parking. </p>
<p>We had problems trying to get the car fixed (easy problems, dead battery, new brakes). Kids had too much to do to try and arrange car repairs. And they ran into parking tickets and one kid parked their car in the wrong place and had the car towed. Pain in the butt things that my spoiled kids didn’t want to bother with. </p>
<p>OP, I think I remember reading that your daughter will be at Rice. My son graduated from there in 2011. He had a car in his senior year but he did fine without one up until then. Parking is expensive at Rice and the cheapest student lot is on the far side of campus. You can get a parking pass for the lot nearest the individual residential college but those are the most expensive. Here’s a link to the rates - <a href=“http://parking.rice.edu/parkingrates/”>http://parking.rice.edu/parkingrates/</a> . </p>
<p>Students can get a free Metro card that gives them access to the light rail. </p>
<p>I agree with the other posters – cars at college are a pain and a big drain on finances. I recommend waiting at least until after her first year to see whether a car is a good idea.</p>
<p>S1 graduates from college May 10. We intended for him to have a car after his first semester, but due to a series of unfortunate events, he did not get one until the end of last semester. Things have gone well and I really wish he could have had one sooner. S2 goes to the same college, 50 miles away, this fall. We hadn’t intended for him to take a car right away, but due to some family circumstances, we might … different kids, different situations. </p>
<p>@patsmom - thanks - yes, she is going to Rice & boy I did not realize that there was surcharge for undergrads - $550 for a semester for the west lot. </p>
<p>@Bestfriendsgirl - my older one did not take her car till her final year - but she was in a university town & I was concerned about winters. Houston from my understanding has limited public transportation and going anywhere outside of the museum district is a challenge.</p>
<p>My concern is that like @deb922 – my kid is also very naive about car mgmt and does not posses any skills outside of driving it. My spouse thinks we should just get a new car to ensure that she has a reliable vehicle and does not deal with maintenance issues. I think that would be setting a very bad precedence and if anything, taking the old car will teach her some responsibility</p>
<p>Maybe I will wait for a semester and then decide if it is really required. Thanks all for your inputs.</p>
<p>$550 can buy a lot of cab/bus/metro rides…with no hassle of finding parking, dealing with maintenance, etc. I’d offer a transportation fund. Another thing to consider: if your D has a car, she will be asked to schlepp others and will be asked for use of her car. </p>
<p>S did not have a car first year, but did drive a lot of cars owned by others (fraternity Designated Driver). Made us nervous for many reasons…</p>
<p>Rice has zipcar. She can rent a car for short term use whenever she needs it.</p>
<p>There is no way that the majority of students at Rice have cars, so there is no way that it is “necessary” unless she has some extraordinary circumstances. Time to learn how the other half lives.</p>
<p>I am with your wife on this. If you are going to let her have a car at school, get her a new car or a car which is in very good condition. Being 1800 miles away, would you want her car to break down on a highway in the middle of night? D1 had her mini up at school freshman spring, after she figured out where she could park inexpensively (she managed to get a frat house to allow her to use their parking lot for free), and we did all of her car maintenance at home because we lived 3 hours away. It was very convenient because she could get herself home and she was able to go grocery shopping whenever she wanted. D1 also worked at an off campus dance studio, so having a car was a great help. If you were to get a new car for your D, make sure there is a nearby dealer where she could bring her car in for services.</p>
<p>D2 now is at the same school. She can’t drive so she doesn’t have a car at school. This is her second year and she is not complaining. She knows enough people now, she can always get a ride with someone to the grocery store or any off campus events (bars). We give her some spending money so she could always get a taxi if need to.</p>
<p>Houston is a very big city. Have a car would be more convenient and parking there is usually not an issue except in downtown and medical center area. Nevertheless, I did survive that the first year studying in the medical center (across the street from Rice) without a car. I did carpooled with other students that had a car to do grocery shopping in the weekend. Sometimes, I took the bus with token. During the week, it is not likely one would need to use the car.</p>
<p>@Dreadpirate makes a good point about having Zip car available. You may want to check it out before you decide. </p>
<p>They have Zip car at my son’s school and I think it cost only $10 for him to register with the Zip car service - plus the rental rates if/when your student uses the service (mine never did all year). </p>
<p>The rental rates are very reasonable and you can rent by the hour or day, and the cost includes all the maintenance, gas, and insurance - so in our case we were able to drop our son from our family auto insurance plan. He is still covered for occasional use when home for breaks, but I would encourage anyone interested to check with their own ins. company to verify their specific policy terms. </p>
<p>OP you could have your daughter sign up for Zip car to see how much she uses the service throughout the year, and then do a cost/benefit analysis of Zip car vs. giving her a car. </p>
<p>Neither of my kids had cars in college and both somehow survived. I would wait and see. Some kids actually need cars at some point for off campus employment, and the like. </p>
<p>My opinion…if this is for pleasure only…wait. If your kid has a car, she will likely be the floor chauffeur for all excursions. I personally would NOT want that liability.</p>