So I’m in my second year as a college student but since my last school was not accredited, I have to pretty much start all over at my new school which I don’t mind because it’s like a fresh start to me. But anyways, last October I was in a car accident totaling my old car. It was a pretty traumatic experience because I’ve never experienced anything like that before so I was very shaken up. Thankfully I didn’t have any major injuries but I did bang up my right knee pretty bad. So for a while I was not comfortable driving and since then I’ve never asked my parents for another car. It’s now August and it’s been nearly a year since the accident and now I’m more than ready to get back on the road. Me & my parents (my mom & godmom, my father is not in the picture) have already discussed me getting another car but it doesn’t seem like they’re all the way convinced that I need another car. I don’t want a brand new car straight off of the lot but I’ve been looking at used cars trying to stay below $13,000 and I’ve found a lot of nice cars for such a low price. For example, I’ve found a 2012 Toyota Camry SE for $11,725. It’s within the budget and it’s also a really nice car. But I do know that my parents can’t just magically make money appear even though I know that they’re able to afford a car at that price or a car that’s even higher than that price but I don’t want to go higher than the budget they’ve set. I have shown them a few cars and they’ve always made me believe they approve of my choices but they’ve never taken me to at least look at cars and explore my options. But since I do feel bad about the accident even though it wasn’t my fault, it costed my parents a pretty penny dealing with my medical bills and everything else the other driver didn’t take care of. So I sat them down & we came up with a deal, since my last car was in my godmom’s name, my new one will be in my mom’s name and my insurance will remain in my godmom’s name. The deal is that I’m going to be responsible for paying them both $100 a month towards my car payments and insurance once I get a job. I’ve gotten a call about an interview for dominos which will be tomorrow at 3:30. So if I get this job then I’m hoping that my parents will at least try to start the process of me getting a new car. I do have doubts that they will still try to put it off but I feel that having a car will make my life so much easier because I’m going to a technical college until I earn my credits back then I’m transferring to Clemson University. So as of right now I live off campus in student housing & my school is about 15 minutes from where I live. Having a car will make it easier for me to get from point A to point B without having to depend on others.
As a disclaimer: I am not trying to get another car just to have one or to go off and do dumb things or be where I shouldn’t be. It’s just that after nearly a year of not having a car I feel it’s now time for me to be able to get around on my own again and not feel like I have to depend on everyone around me or public transportation because as we all know you can’t control what people do in their own cars or where they go. When I had my car I felt more independent because I could get things done on my own and also could drive myself to school and work without needing someone else. So with all that being said I really don’t need any smart a** comments or negativity on my post. Just some advice on what I should do/how I should handle my situation that I’m in.
I recommend working for a few months first to see how much money you can save. I don’t recommend using your own car to deliver pizzas given that it is your mom and your godmom paying for the car and the insurance.
You don’t need to spend anywhere near that much to get a good car. The cars you’ve found cost 3x what we spent on our most recent “new to us” car, and 2x what we spent on the one before that. They’re very nice, safe cars, with all the bells and whistles, just older. Cars last a long time these days.
11k for a car adds up to about 21k w/ taxes, interest, other fees, ect. perhaps that’s why they’re not too eager.
if i wanted to buy a car, id look on craiglist for something under 5000. not some certified used car from the lot.
honestly there is nothing for you to do at this point. you pretty much spelled out the conditions of what will happen if so and so happens (job->car, ect.) it just depends on how they react, and on whether you get hired or not.
nothing is in your control right now so you should just relax. there really isn’t anything for you to do but wait.
i did find it a bit off-putting when you said that they never took you to go see cars so you feel like they dont want to buy you one. you didn’t take initiative to go look at cars with them, you sound as if you just waited for them to take you out of their own free time and will.
you need to show more initiative. nag them to go look at cars when they’re not busy, don’t just mope around like some silent schoolgirl waiting for her crush to confess to her or some shit. dont be passive aggressive like that, just ask them straight up. be persistent. and be mature about it, tell em why it’s important for you to have a car and feel independent again. tell em you have to move on eventually from the accident and it’s your only way to grow. tell em you’ve learned a lot from having no car for a year and doing public transport and that you’re ready for the responsibility again. honestly you just have to be persistent. don’t just wait til they approach you with it, you’re the one who wants the car, not them. it’s not their responsibility to give you a car or to ask you about your preferences. you have to do the pushing.
They might be waiting for you to get a job to prove you are serious. I had the same deal with my daughter that your parents have with you. She has to pay something toward the insurance. I didn’t start looking for cards with her until she had a job and some money put up.
^It depends on whether 15 minutes is the time for driving or walking. I live 15 minutes driving distance from my campus, and there is no way I’m biking that! But yes, 15 minutes walking distance is VERY do-able, either with a bike, or public transport, or just your own two feet.
As far as getting a car, try asking for something less expensive. Whether or not the previous accident was your fault or not, your parents might be hesitant to shell out cash on another car. I agree that you can find a reliable car (which is really all a car needs to be) at a much lower price, especially if you go with a private sale and haggle (but then I guess you can’t do car payments - idk anything about car payments). Regardless, from what you have said it seems that your parents ARE willing to get you a car, so I wouldn’t sweat it too much.
My kids didn’t have cars in college. In fact, 26 year old still doesn’t have one. Sounds like you live a mile or so from campus. If I were your parent, I would not buy you a car.
Why did you go to an unaccredited school? It would seem that was money out the door if you are now switching to an accredited school.
You appear to be a bit entitled…I don’t know what happened in the accident but you don’t seem to be taking any responsibility…and even if itis totally not your fault, it is still a whole pile of money that your parent paid for taking care of everything after the last accident, plus then having to pay for a new car. what college are you going to? Do you need a car? They are probably hesitant because if this happens again they are out more money.
!) If you don’t absolutely need a car don’t get one. Car, maintenance, insurance, gas add up pretty quick. Going to work at Domino’s would be working to solely pay for the car.
If you decide you absolutely need a car lower your standards big time. You don’t need “a nice car”. You need a super cheap but mostly reliable clunker to get you around town. Name the car “big blue” or whatever if a bit of humor helps. Pay cash. It doesn’t need to be pretty. Just serviceable. Save money to buy the car and some extra for maintenance, gas, insurance before buying.