<p>Sopranomom2, if your name is an indication of what your child is planning to study, you are one us Performing Arts moms and we’ll be waiting a long time before our kids buy us a car. </p>
<p>If you read my post about my kid and his car experience, I have zero bragging rights on how I raised my kids. I just pray that they don’t hurt themselves or others and manage to take care of them selves. But, none of them would ever even consider asking DH or me for a $40K car. The idea has me ROFL.</p>
<p>blkbox…I see you are online. Could you at least clarify some of your contradictions?</p>
<p>i signed a transfer agreement guarantee with a couple of UC, so i should be fine. Why do i need a car? i need it for transportation. I don’t want to rely on others when i need to get somewhere. Public transportation in La Jolla, San Diego is a nightmare. As for you who asked about my financial situation, no my parents are not well off. My dad makes just above $70,000 and my mom does not work.</p>
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<p>And you expect them to finance a $40,000 car for you? This is beyond greedy. You should be grateful they are able to help you pay for college. </p>
<p>I’m sorry but I am the parent of two kids who lived off campus. NEITHER one of them had a car when they were undergraduates. They survived. One lived where the public transport was excellent…it was a CRITERIA for college selection as he knew he wasn’t getting a car. The other was in a city (at an expensive college where a LOT of kids had nice cars) where there was so so public transportation. Guess what…she survived too.</p>
<p>You need to look a LOT more carefully at your priorities. Expecting your family to buy you a car that is worth more than 1/2 of their yearly income is beyond greedy. It is selfish and greedy.</p>
<p>Oooohh call on mee!!! <<<raising hand=“” wildly=“”>>>> I know, I know!! I get it!! You aren’t being ridiculous. You need a nice pimpmobile. Totally understood.</raising></p>
<p>There is only one criterion that would have mattered to me, had I chosen a car at age 18. I’m sure your parents will understand.</p>
<p>Wow, that is really amazing. Are you saying that because you have signed a transfer agreement, UCSD GUARANTEES you will be accepted by them? </p>
<p>Also, do you realize that this $40K car plus taxes and insurance you’re talking about is the majority of your entire family’s take home pay for an entire year??!?!?! Wow, if I had raised a child as immature, entitled and selfish as you, I would truly be heartsick.</p>
<p>And just for the record…I am now more convinced than ever that this OP is simply ■■■■■■■■ for responses. He’s having a lot of fun yanking the chains of folks. The story doesn’t wash and that’s that.</p>
<p>Wow, blkbox.</p>
<p>I’ve typed out four different responses to your latest post, and canceled them all because I wouldn’t want to leave such nasty words associated with my name on the Internet.</p>
<p>I hope you’re a ■■■■■. If not, your chutzpah leaves me speechless.</p>
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<p>yes, as long as i fulfill the requirements, which i have.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>But what financial aid would you qualify for?</p>
<p>Do you know how much you will have to pay to UCSD yet? Why don’t you wait to see how much this transfer is going to cost after all of the financial aid and loans are on the table? Then figure out the costs of driving a car to school. With gas prices the way they are going, that commute is going to be expensive. When you have the numbers, sit down with your parents to discuss what they can afford in getting you a car. I suggest you look for some work too. You will have to pay for insurance, maintenance, maybe parkings, gasoline on top of car payments. It would probably be a good idea to get a good used car, rather than leasing a new one with the miles you are going to put on this thing. </p>
<p>You do realize, don’t you that folks who make $70K a year generally do not have $40K cars? They can’t afford them. You are asking for something that is not affordable to your parents.</p>
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<p>Some UCs have a Transfer Acceptance Guarantee program for community college students. Here is [UCSD’s</a> TAG](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/transfers/prep-programs/tag.html]UCSD’s”>http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/transfers/prep-programs/tag.html) description. One of the criteria for UCSD’s TAG is a GPA of 3.5 or higher.</p>
<p>Actually, my reading of the transfer process is that while transfers who sign the agreement are given priority, they are reviewed when there are more applicants than spaces. As was also posted, there is not much FAid given in any case and much of it is loans for school, NOT buying fancy wheels.</p>
<p>blkbox</p>
<p>I think you overestimate how many kids in the “social elite” you so crave to be a part of drive 40K cars. Plenty of parents who CAN afford to give their kids a 40k car (which it doesn’t sound like yours can, particularly if they’re financing your $1450/mo 1bedroom – no need for a roommate, huh?) don’t because college kids with nice cars are more likely to get in accidents, nice cars are a target for breakins in many college neighborhoods, insurance premiums are through the roof for luxury cars (I wouldn’t be surprised if your luxury car, with tax, title, insurance, gas, etc, would amount to 1/2 of your family’s take home pay in a year), and also, there’s something a lot of parents want their kids to learn about that first ****ty car that has 160K miles on it, the driver’s side door handle is broken so you have to climb in through the passenger side, etc. Character building. I’m one of those kids and I knew a whole bunch of them in college- multimillion dollar homes and they drive a Subaru or a fifteen year old Camry. </p>
<p>Yeah, maybe some people when they see this fantasy fancy car parked in the college lot, will think you’re rich. But so what? Your family ISN’T turn-heads-wealthy and that’ll become pretty clear when you can’t do turn-heads-wealthy things, aside from owning the car. It’ll also probably become annoying when you give people rides and they don’t throw down for gas, or expect you to pick up the pizza and beer, because they assume you’re a hell of a lot richer than you are/that your parents pay all your bills.</p>
<p>I understand if you live 2 hrs from home, that a car would be nice to come back and forth with. So what would be wrong with a used Camry, for example? Get one from 2007 or so, you could honestly probably cover it on your own but I bet your parents would try and help, way cheaper to insure and not something you’ll need to upgrade from in the near future (to your concern about spending money now to junk it in soon).</p>
<p>And if your parents DO feel compelled to drop 40K on you to thank you for saving them money, for some reason? Ask for a down payment on a starter condo in an up and coming area with good schools. A hell of a better investment, for you and them.</p>
<p>And a lot of people who make way more than $70,000 per year have for themselves cars that cost much less than $40,000. (What car(s) do your parents have?)</p>
<p>My kid is driving one of those cars OP would like to drive. The only reason she is driving it is because it was a family car and the lease is up this June, and due to our family situation we no longer have a need for it. D1 is quite embarrassed driving it around her campus even though her car is not the most expensive one on campus. She doesn’t like the image and she feels it takes away a lot from who she is. She leaves it at the parking lot quite a bit, and only drive it when she needs to get off the campus.</p>
<p>I can’t understand why someone would expect a parent to buy a $40k car, especially when it’s the family annual net income.</p>
<p>Oh, my daughter shares an apartment with 2 other girls to cut down on the cost, and it’s a lot less than $1450. We only agreed to pay for same cost of dorm on campus.</p>
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<p>You have just described our 2000 Odyssey, right down to the broken door handle. Ours has 178k and the transmission is dying. As for replacing it with a $40k car – ha! </p>
<p>We told our kids years ago that a car was not included in the CountingDown Family’s EFC. The only exception was if they chose to take a full ride to college – and the we’d take a ride to CarMax for a reliable used vehicle. </p>
<p>OP, what would your parents think if they heard this from you?</p>
<p>“With all the money saved and the sacrifice of attending a university my first two years, I feel I at least deserve a new year. A lot of kids here drive entry level luxury cars and i feel as if it would serve me well if i had one too…I’m looking at something before i transfer in the Fall, either a BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus. How should I approach them?”</p>
<p>I didn’t read the whole thread, so I don’t know if anyone made these suggestions yet. </p>
<p>Have you tried laying on the floor, screaming and kicking your feet, or threatening to hold your breath until you turn blue?</p>
<p>I have read this thread in its entirety. Very interesting read…… from both the parent’s perspective and from the OP’s perspective. My thoughts below:</p>
<ol>
<li>The kid (OP) is not entirely dumb (we still have hope). He(she) has some “wants” and wish to get support from parents on this forum. However, like it was pointed out, this is not the right place for getting support like this.</li>
<li>The OP may be under peer pressure and trying to be as “cool” as other kids. Trying “to be the best you can be” is not wrong. However, what is wrong, is how you trying to go about it. You need to earn it yourself, with your own sweat and blood, not with your parent’s $70K/yr income. That is neither “cool” nor just by any standard. In fact, you will be judged as selfish and immature, which is exactly the opposite to the image you wish to project with your $40K car.</li>
<li>This question may not be the right place to ask, but I will ask here anyway: Is $70k all your parents have to report to the IRS? </li>
<li>To parents: There are plenty of kids who came to school with new BMW’s and event Bentley’s. Their parents can afford them and willing to pay for them. Does it may financial sense by doing so? Let’s leave it to the OP’s parents.</li>
</ol>