<p>Ok so I'm going to college in a couple weeks and my parents have just allowed me to have a car...which is great don't get me wrong-but my mom is super overprotective and is insisting that a GPS tracker be put in my car so she can keep an eye on me. She also only wants me driving to a place off campus where I have some classes and church. And I'm not allowed to drive anyone anywhere. I really feel like I'm going to be the laughing stock of the school because I'm being treated like I'm 13... I have a car but I'm not able to go anywhere with it and can't take anyone...? Like who would even want to be friends with me? Anyone have any advice on what to do?</p>
<p>Did they buy it?</p>
<p>Let them keep the car. It’s not worth it.</p>
<p>Nobody will laugh at you (and unless people are constantly trying to bum rides off of you, why would they even notice?). Not like you’ll have gas money to go cruising off campus very often unless your parents are rich. Most campuses have some sort of cheap public transportation to substitute that.</p>
<p>My advice is to go along with it at first and gradually start ranging further once she’s calmed down and knows you’re safe. She’s human. She’s worried now but after a semester when you’re still alive it will wear off. </p>
<p>Panicking and thinking you’ll have no friends and nobody will like you because you can’t give them joyrides is kind of going to prove to her that you aren’t completely mature yet… No offense intended.</p>
<p>Well, when you want to be with friends, your car is just going to sit in a parking space. That will happen a lot. If your parents are paying for the insurance, that’s their wasted money. If you have to pay for the insurance, I would keep the money and give back the car. You probably can live without one very happily unless your school is in the middle of nowhere. It will be awkward, when you say, “I’m running to the store” and someone asks to go with you, and you have to say no. From insurance, liability standpoint, I can understand why, but from a realistic viewpoint, that is going to be embarrassing and make people wonder a little.</p>
<p>Look at it this way, many college students do not have a car on campus, so you are already ahead of the game. I think your parents are letting you have a car to make your life easier, it is not meant for you to be a chaffeau to your friends. It is one of the down side in having a car on campus, everyone will ask for a ride or to borrow your car. My kid had a car when she was in college. She just told her friends that she wasn’t allowed to let anyone borrow the car and she didn’t like to drive people around, so she used us as her execuse.</p>
<p>You may not think it’s a big deal to drive people or letting them borrow your car, but if anything should happen then your parents would be liable for all damages. It is especially the case if your parents are well off.</p>
<p>No one laughed at my kid (she was rather popular at her school), they just secretly thought her mom (me) was crazy. I didn’t put a GPS in her car, but I was able to tell based on the car mileage.</p>
<p>You won’t be laughed at. At least you’d have a car. Some colleges don’t allow freshmen to have cars on campus. Some students on your campus won’t have a car. Don’t work about it. A car is a car and since you’re not paying for it whatever your conditions are is worth it.</p>
<p>When I started the CC I currently go to atm. My mom drove me to school for a few nights until I was able to drive my own car. So dont worry about it.</p>
<p>Just use the car for class and such and then go to other places by other means.</p>
<p>I’m sorry your mom wants to do that. It’s creepy to follow your kid imo.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t have a real need for a car as a freshman. It’s not that unreasonable that she only wants to limit your car usage for when you actually need it, and not for you to drive around everywhere. Gas isn’t expensive, but if you’re filling up once a week as a freshman and not paying for it yourself, that’s just wasting your parents’ money.</p>
<p>The GPS tracker is too much, though. That’s unreasonable.</p>
<p>^I must have missed when the OP said mom was paying for gas…?</p>
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<p>I don’t think it was mentioned. I made an assumption based on the tone of the post (“allowed me to have a car”); it sounds like the parents are paying for gas. Bolded the if in my post, requoted below:</p>
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