<p>$100,000? Lord have mercy, at that price, I’d never be able to leave the thing in a parking lot! A simple door-bang would just destroy me.</p>
<p>Simple solution-- buy 2 teslas, sikorsky</p>
<p>One of the things that we like about the car we sent S is that it is used and older, so not as attractive a target for thieves & other criminals. Theft and damage are pretty common at the U he attended in LA, as well as many U towns & campuses. He has not had any problems to date–probably because his 1992 car isn’t as sexy a target as the fancier ones parked beside it.</p>
<p>Bottom line, OP, none of us think your proposal has merit and we think you have a whole lot of growing to do if you are to have a happy and successful life, in most senses of the terms.</p>
<p>Oh yea, that your education being paid for as a “given” is pretty interesting as many might consider not financing an education of a student who acts and sounds so ENTITLED to an education, fancy new car & who knows what else. Wow!</p>
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<p>Ha! That’s gonna drain the kids’ 529s. I hope they won’t mind.</p>
<p>They’ll only mind if you don’t let them drive it (if they are old enough).
The first time we finally splurged and bought a higher end car for US (not the kids) I referred to it (and still do) as “a year’s college tuition under my a$$”</p>
<p>My parents were private pilots. My mother always called my college education “the Beechcraft Bonanza I always wanted.”</p>
<p>Maybe its because I’m male, or maybe becaue I’m young at heart, I can see the <em>status</em> appeal of a fancy new car. I lived it. To some degree I like it even now. Gosh, even here in these forums many think the Ivies are the only way to go. That is status symbol to be sure.
BUT
The <em>status</em> appeal of a fancy car is - “Look how successful I am!” If mommy and daddy buy it, it only says “look how well THEY are doing.” It really loses the appeal.
And as far as “needing” a 40k car for transportation, well that is just too silly for me to address.</p>
<p>There’s one other important difference between a Lexus and a Princeton degree, Hoss: whatever value there is in a B.A. from Princeton (I happen to think there’s a lot of value), it isn’t reduced by two-thirds after 10 years.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with wanting to drive a luxury car at a young age, but you’re asking your parents to take what is theirs, what they have earned, and give it to you when you don’t need it. You’re asking them to add to their debt and affect their credit rating and dip into money that they might have otherwise spent on themselves or saved for retirement. </p>
<p>There’s no practical reason for you to have the car–you simply want it–and therefore no reasonable persuasive tactic anyone can give you to convince your parents to buy you one. If you want the car, ask for it. Let your parents decide if they want to spend the money.</p>
<p>When my daughter was learning to drive, our family car was a mid level luxury car in the if new, $55-60K range. As a learning permited driver, our insurance did not change. My husband and I both drive SUV’s for business so this was the only car on our policy. So when our daughter started to drive on her own, our insurance went up $625 a month, mainly due to collision coverage. Luxury cars are very, very expensive to repair, and the insurance premium reflects that. It took us less than a week to buy her a good, reliable, SAFE car that put our insurance at about $125 a month for her. </p>
<p>On another note, if you are actually a college student, what level of math are you using to calculate a $350 month payment? A $40,000 car with tax, tag and title will push the final bill to at least $43K. If your parents make a standard down payment of 10% that leaves a balance of $38,700. Take that number, without even calculating a penny of interest (and good luck making that happen) divide by 60 months (again, a standard amount…although much longer than we are willing to finance) and you get $645 a month. I bet with insurance, you are pushing $1000.00 a month.</p>
<p>I refuse to judge you for this request, because in our neighborhood, it may not be typical for students to drive BMW 3 series or Mercedes 220s, (entry level luxury as you call it) but it happens, so I know parents do it. But you have come to a forum, a parents forum, filled with parents who are doing everything they can to provide a great future for their children, with paying for college being a huge priority. With as much time as we all devote to that goal, having a student come here, trying to figure out how to get their parents to fork over two years worth of tuition to give you a car you feel you deserve, rubs most people the wrong way. I am sure you are probably feeling deprived that you are not driving a cool ride, but I assure you, the people you are envying, the onces driving the cars you desire, do not live in the real world. Not saying you have to live in the real world if you don’t want too…but you would certainly do yourself a much great service if you actually earned the car yourself.</p>
<p>* I don’t expect them to pay the $40,000 car in full, but that’s what financing is for. I did a little research and it should be only around $350 a month, which i think is really reasonable. Of course I’m willing to my parents pay for this. I should have money left over from financial aid over the years and can use it towards “transportation costs.” I just think this can be a early future graduation gift.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>WHAT financial aid? From a UC? UCs only give grant money to low income people…and it sure doesn’t sound you’re low income. What financial aid are you expecting from a UC?</p>
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<p>Good point Mom2…exactly what financial aid does this student think he can get if his parents can get financing for a $40K car?</p>
<p>OP…the schools cannot give you aid that exceeds the cost of attendance. In one of your posts, you indicate you plan to “commute” to the UC in your swanky car. That being the case, the Cost of attendance will be reduced to that for a commuting student.</p>
<p>My turn. I plan to trade in my around $40,000 car this year- it’s going on 8 years old, not pristine in function anymore, and we don’t need a SUV to haul and carry a college kid’s stuff anymore. I like the luxury touches and we have the money to spend. Our son was one of the few who had a Lexus to drive places when a teenager (of course, being grade accelerated he was out of HS by the time he got his license)- it was a 1991 car my H didn’t want to part with and cheaper than trading in for a used newer cheap one…</p>
<p>We have taught our son it is what something is worth, not what you can afford. For me, at my age/stage in life, a luxury car works. You don’t want my wardrobe or other spending habits- even if you are an average income person of any age. </p>
<p>Our son saved us a ton of money by attending our flagship U. This means more money for him to eventually inherit, not any more now. No college student NEEDS any car, just as no person NEEDS a car. I can’t imagine having a car on a good college campus- those have everything within walking distance and no incentives to return home weekends.</p>
<p>Zero sympathy here. Our son would likewise have none for you. There are good UCs- the good students there are not all rich, they are there for an education, not to impress someone with their parents’ wealth. btw, we have a smart relative who grew up in lala land, went to school in and prefers N Cal…</p>
<p>“How do I get my parents to buy me a $40,000 car?”</p>
<p>EASY:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Just thank them for the education you are about to receive. </p></li>
<li><p>Do well in school. </p></li>
<li><p>Then, when you graduate and get a good job, you can buy whatever car you want.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>*$5,000 used Ford Focus will do the job just as well as a $40,000 luxury car. </p>
<p>Ah but it’s hard to “keep up with the Jones’s” with a used Focus*</p>
<p>Hey, when one of our cars was rear-ended last year, we were given a Ford Focus as a rental while the car was being fixed…I swear, I fell in love with that car. LOL It had all these nice features that you would not think a “non-luxury” car would have.</p>
<p>Looks like the OP is having fun reading this thread but not posting. I do want to know about the financial aid issue. I really do wonder what kind of financial aid this OP is going to receive from the cash strapped UCs…that award grant aid to low income students and loans to everyone else.</p>
<p>* I value the fact you all are humble and live frugally, but I’m young and want to enjoy life. What’s wrong with driving a luxury car at a young age? You only live once, and i want to make the most out of my youth. *</p>
<p>What’s wrong with your plan? It’s not your money. That’s what’s wrong with it. You didn’t earn that money. And, since you came to this thread to find ways to convince your parents, that means that your parents would not be so-willing to be spending THEIR hard-earned money on a luxury car for a kid who didn’t earn the luxury.</p>
<p>BTW…do you have any idea of how expensive the car insurance would be on that car? Seriously. Your parents’ car insurance rates will probably double…maybe triple.</p>
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<p>Posted by the OP. Plans to live in the “village” which I believe is campus housing at UCSD. So…why would he need a “luxury car”. Why would he need a car at all?</p>
<p>Actually the rental car we rode in last weekend was also a Ford Focus. It’s quite a nice car, but we’re really not in the market for another car. Our “new” car is only a 2006 and runs very nicely. I can think of a ton of things to do with $40,000, but buying a new car for a kid who expects me to pay for all of their educational expenses doesn’t make the list. Heck, most of the “itches” on the thread we started probably don’t total $40K!</p>
<p>By the way, OP, have you even been ADMITTED to UCSD? How do you know you will be? Just curious. Most students do NOT need cars for college period.</p>
<p>When I started my 1st real job at a law firm, I drove the family ancient car until it was really unsafe & then I bought myself a car with the money I had saved up at that job. It NEVER would have occurred to any of us to ask our parents for a car when we were grateful for help getting through college & later grad school. Only my younger brother got a needed car for getting to his clinical practice when he was in med school & needed to get among the sites he had to be at–it was the most basic Honda Civic you can imagine–no carpet in the interior of the car (had never seen a car like it), no heat, no A/C. He drove it & when he resold it, he got back the amount it had been purchased for originally!</p>
<p>Re: UCSD Village</p>
<p>[UC</a> San Diego Housing - The Village, Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://hdh.ucsd.edu/thevillage/faq.asp]UC”>http://hdh.ucsd.edu/thevillage/faq.asp)</p>
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