<p>I responded earlier, but in our “town”, there are countless 17 yr olds (some 16) that get cars for their birthday and they’re not used. Or they get Dad’s 2 yr old Lexus that just came off lease or there is one kid with a hummer. Its not funny. Whats left for these kids. ? But anyway, my daughter has our 6 yr old Honda Civic with 107,000 miles. She is happy with it and it gets her to school, work and other “events”…</p>
<p>P.S. almost non existent public transit here, schools aren’t around the corner, and some fairly wealthy families around = definitely some new cars in the high school parking lot…
I guess it depends on the area. Its pretty interesting.
25 something years ago, I got a used car after I graduated high school so that I could commute to college. Both my parents worked and it was the best they could do. I paid half from my savings account, and they paid insurance but I paid gas with my part time job.</p>
<p>Personally, I almost choked when I saw this thread.</p>
<p>To each his own.</p>
<p>Both kids received the largess of extended family members who gifted their clunkers to us for the kid’s use. Both were 1990’s, one a Dodge pickup, the other a Ford Probe. Both were average mileage vehicles in good mechanical repair.</p>
<p>These were the “newest” cars in the family fleet. The missus and I were driving a couple of specific purpose '87 & '88 Chevy trucks, and an '87 Honda wagon.</p>
<p>The Probe ran till the tranny gave up the ghost. D replaced it with a low mileage '90’s Buick, and subsequently replaced that with an '05 Hyundai. Son ran with the Dodge, bought a new Yaris, and we transferred the Dodge from his name back to us 'rents.</p>
<p>The 'rent owned fleet now consists of the 88 Chevy truck, the reclaimed 90 Dodge. The '87 Honda was replaced in '04 with a new Scion XB. The wife thought she had won the lottery.</p>
<p>Perhaps the kids will give us each a new one when we retire. Fifty years from now, when we’re done paying for their edumacation. ;)</p>
<p>I choked on my coffee when I read this thread, but it’s heartening to hear all the parent responses.</p>
<p>If either of my kids chooses a full ride, we would contemplate a used car. No takers so far.</p>
<p>Heh why? Parking on campus is pretty bad. DC has good public transportation, flights home are under $200 and Amtrak is under $150.</p>
<p>We may think about the new car when she graduates from college.</p>
<p>However at her high school it was not unusual to see kids driving Mercedes and Range Rovers. She drove our (then) new Ford Edge - lol</p>
<p>We bought a third car for our daughter to use when she got her license…mostly to save me from having to drive her to and from sports practices and work. It was used when purchased (over 110000 miles). This car went with her to college, partly so she could drive herself home on breaks and save us airfare. </p>
<p>I had begun worrying about the reliability of the car after a few strange mechanical issues which could not be properly diagnosed. Then, this summer she was in another city on an internship and the car broke down late at night on her way home from the airport. I was in a panic worrying about my 20 year old alone on the side of the road at 11:30 at night. AAA told her it would be awhile until they could get to her.</p>
<p>The next day I began shopping for a new car…I could not take the anxiety of having her stuck again. We took out a loan for the car in both of our names and we are helping to make the payments while she is in school. Once she graduates and is employed, the payment will be her responsibility.</p>
<p>I can sleep at night…for me it was a great decision. </p>
<p>BTW, the police arrived at her car shortly after she called me and were so nice to help her get it off of the road and wait with her.</p>
<p>We bought nice safe cars for ourselves 6 and 3 years ago (and they’ll have to last until both S1 and S2 finish college in about 5 years). The got their learner’s permits a few weeks after their 15th birthday. We figured that by the time they went away to college they’d have about 3 years driving experience under our watch and relative control. No cars of their own, but we’ve always managed to have one of the cars available when they need one. for S1 it would be a burden to have a car in college. When he came back for Christmas last year, it must just suddenly have hit him because he said “wow, I can’t believe I have not driven for almost 4 months.”</p>
<p>By the way, they’ve never asked for a car of their own and we are of the “they don’t ask, we don’t offer” persuasion.</p>
<p>DS, still in HS, drives 2000 Subaru with >120K miles on it. We talked about updating to a 2004 with mere 87K (practically new) but he declined as he’d just put a Darwin fish on the oldie. If he goes to college in a big city, no car. If boonies, maybe he’ll have the Subaru.</p>
<p>We did get our kids the old clunkers when they turned 16. Both boys worked and played sports. Having the old junkers for them made life much easier for us. ’
We live in a sprawling suburb without public transportation.
There are quite a few wealthy families in the area who buy their kids brand new cars upon turning 16. S2 knew a kid who got a new car with his Learner’s Permit at 15 and tired of it by the next year so got another new car for his 16th b-day.</p>
<p>to the OP’s question … absolutely not … we’re paying for school so the kids can figure out the car thing for themselves.</p>
<p>Actually Mom3togo and my car buying patterns have a lot to do with why we can afford to pay for our kids to go to a private school. We each bought used or last year’s cheap models (Civics, etc) and drove them until we needed to shoot them on the side of the road to put them out of their misery. Over 20 years between the two of us we’re on our 5th and 6th cars both of which have 5 years or so left to drive … with all the cars bought with cash. While we know lots of familys flipping 3-4-5 year leases on expensive SUVs or imports. The difference of the cost of 20 years of serial leases and driving relatively cheap cars until they die is just about the difference of 4 years at UMass and at a private school … in other words our car choices provided the incremental money for two kids to go to private school. My Civic is well on the way to being a heap at this point but it sure looked good at the front gate of my daughter’s school when we dropped her off! Cars are about the biggest cash drain in a family budget … controlling the drain opened up big possibilities for us.</p>
<p>Friends of ours bought their kid a new Prius – but it was a bribe to convince him to attend the cheaper state university instead of the more expensive liberal arts college he wanted to go to. He’s at the state school but, in my opinion, would have been happier without the car and at the smaller college.</p>
<p>“Officer I’m not parking it! I’m abandoning it.” What movie is that from?</p>
<p>Onthefly–nobody got angry with you about your “rite” of passage statement. At all. We all actually know about that. I think most of us just find it humorous.</p>
<p>To the mom who bought her D a car for the peace of mind? Now THAT I get. D takes public transportation. I don’t think it’s ever occured to her to want a car. Now, younger D? She’s the type to be asking for a car. That should be interesting in about a year.</p>
<p>
.</p>
<p>midmo – yes, thank you! I was trying to figure out a way to say that myself!
OP, welcome to one of the ongoing issues on the parents’ forum on CC.</p>
<p>What about people who land in the middle? We do not live in any kind of McMansion, do all sorts of interesting, intellectual, and engaging activities both individually and as a family; we also pay for college (anything after merit scholarship) – and yes, we bought a third car when first child turned 16. No putting a big bow on it like in the Lexus commercials and handing her the keys. It was the family’s third car.
First year of college, she didn’t need a car. Now it is clear there are advantages to her having one, and since H recently picked up another gently used car, she will take our oldest one (a 2003) with her so we do not have to play bumper cars in our driveway (yes, we only have a two car garage!) Younger D will go off next year – if they end up at same school ( a distinct possibility), they will share the car. If not, we will evaluate if she needs one.
Sheesh.
You know, I bet there might actually be some Nobel winners and orchestra members and what not who enjoy nice cars, not just the unwashed suburban masses – just a thought.</p>
<p>Should have added, too, that both girls are amazingly excellent drivers, responsible kids with part time jobs, and that I had no interest in ferrying them around any longer.</p>
<p>Speaking of the OP…what happened to the OP? He/she started this same thread on the College Life area and has gotten very similar responses. I guess the opinions here aren’t as important as putting it out there that HE/SHE got a new car.</p>
<p>[Edmunds.com</a> - 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid Car Pricing Guide](<a href=“http://www.edmunds.com/new/2009/nissan/altimahybrid/101047086/prices.html]Edmunds.com”>http://www.edmunds.com/new/2009/nissan/altimahybrid/101047086/prices.html)</p>
<p>Starting at 26K…</p>
<p>Yes that thumper. Gosh I hope he/she does well in college or he/she will need that car to get to and from a J-O-B or can sell said vehicle to pay rent.</p>
<p>Well, it depends. If my kid was attending community college and needed a car to commute, I would buy him a car, but probably not a new car. Then again, I felt that recent deals on new cars were better than used so I might be persuaded to buy a new car. I also know people that bought their 2nd year student a car so the student could easily come home for holidays and even weekends. These were kids that went to school 2 to 3 hour drive from home. First car, in my opinion, should always be used-nearly-clunker. ABS + airbag, but otherwise cheap and old to absorb learner driver dings bumps and maybe crashes. Perhaps by the time kid goes to college he has enough good driving history to warrant a new car. But there is just too much anguish with a new car getting that first nick, scratch, or totally smashed front end.</p>
<p>Yes we did buy our daughter a new 2009 YARIS this year. No, we’re not rich or stupid. She worked her butt off to get a full 4-year ride to her university. The Yaris cost us much less than one year of her college education. Our 10-year-old cars are unreliable. She’s a sophomore and is 3000 miles from home. Her scholarship requires her to volunteer in remote areas and she tried all of last year to get to her assignments by public transportation. Needless to say she got lost or missed the times or had to bum rides from questionable people. We made her sign a “fair contract” about use and maintenance of the car. Because our car insurance in California does not cover certain things on the East Coast, she’s fully aware that she’s responsible for added rates. During the summers she takes classes at a CC, works hard in 12-hour shifts, and volunteers at a clinic. She’s thrifty and a miser about her gas tank. She also knows that she has a brother and sister who will be sharing that car in 2 years (part of the contract). We scrimped and saved our money and paid for it in cash. She knows that we have sacrificed things from the family to purchase that car and is saving to buy it off of us. Is it a rite of passage? absolutely NOT.</p>