<p>We got my daughter (only child) a car when she turned 16. May seem frivolous but she also started a job the week she turned 16. Shes off to college in August and will not bring the car to school freshman year. Not sure what to do with the car or with car insurance, and would like to hear what others have done. Were a 3-car family with a 2-car garage in the Midwest (cold and snowy winters). DH needs his car for work. I work close to home and also work from home several days a week, so I suppose we could manage with 2 cars, but it will be very inconvenient when DD is home for the summer and all three of us are (hopefully) working. And while she definitely wont bring a car to school the first year, I have no idea what she will do sophomore year. If she lives off campus then I imagine she will want a car, so I dont think it makes sense to sell one right now. So do we put the car in storage? Do we leave it on the driveway the whole school year? What have you done? And what about car insurance? I think we still need comprehensive in case a tree falls on the car or something. And DD might want to drive when she comes home on breaks. Again, what have you done? Looking back at what I wrote, I guess I answered my own questions (keep the car, keep the insurance, suck up the expense) but would still like to get feedback. Thanks!</p>
<p>That’s what we did, but make sure someone drives it on a regular basis. We used the kids’ car for weekly errands and sometimes H drove it to work. In our case, oldest child was at college and younger kids didn’t drive yet, but we knew it would be needed again. Our insurance co insists that every car needs a primary driver assigned to it, so we did not get a break on insurance even though she was 250 miles away.</p>
<p>See if your insurance company allows you to rate one of you on the car while she is away at school or at least move her to an occasional driver status. I would drive the car to keep it in good running order, maybe make it your “weekend” car? Park it toward the end of your driveway so you can get in and out of your garage without moving the car. That is what we do with our 3rd car.</p>
<p>We got an insurance break because the driver (college student) was living on campus without her car and the campus was x number of miles away. Don’t leave a car for more than a couple of weeks without starting and driving it even for a mile - keeps things running smoothly and keep battery charged.</p>
<p>I also got an insurance break. I agree, you need to drive it from time to time. I lucked out and the second kid is driving that car now. It was a hassle over Christmas and we may have problems this summer if they both have jobs. So I’m facing the issue of “What to do when you only need a third car three months out of the year?”</p>
<p>I have this same “problem”, and live in New England, so get the snow issue. It turns out it is not really a problem. I actually like having the extra car, and I do try and drive it once a week to work to keep it exercised. You could say I use it as my “winter beater” and drive it when the roads are messy so I don’t get my own car dirty! Then, since it sits in the driveway, when it snows, it gets cleaner again. Earlier this week it was really nice to have when mine was in the shop. I say keep the car!</p>
<p>Keeping your child’s insurance in place makes her coverage continuous without any breaks. You may save a little money now if you suspend her coverage, but in the long run it’ll be cheaper to keep her insured.</p>
<p>Over the past few years we’ve juggled what to do about cars when D1 is back home on break, as we live in an area where it’s very difficult to manage without a car. The short-term solution was to rent another car for one of the adults to drive. This was a royal PITA, so I also say keep that third car!</p>
<p>My oldest son brought his with him as it was fairly new and low miles. Freshman were allowed to have cars. He didn’t drive it much in the winter because he had friends with big 4wd SUVs. The summer between freshman year and sophomore year he came home but did not bring the car. The college (small) graciously allowed him to park it in the facilities building lot. The nearby airport would have let him keep it there but they had a rather high “charge” for 'summer vehicles." S2 sold his car and decided he didn’t need the hassle. S2 is on our insurance as a college student without car so reduced rate to cover him if he’s home driving our cars or driving rentals, etc. S3’s car is getting towed to the junk yard the minute he leaves for college, we’re secretly hoping it holds out through the rest of the winter and summer.</p>
<p>We’ll have this problem as well. I was thinking we’d hang on to it as we’d probably end up losing money if we sold it and then tried to get another one in a year and a half. Parking will be an issue. We live on a snow emergency route, so no parking on the street when it snows. We can’t put it at the end of the driveway because it will block the sidewalk. I’m sure I’ll be playing musical cars each morning during the winter.</p>
<p>I agree with the posters who said get an “away at school” rate for your daughter. That allows her to be covered when she is home for weekends, summer, etc, and keeps her as a household member so if she happens to borrow a car or something she would have coverage. You could go down to just comprehensive coverage if you put that car in storage and no one drove it, but the away at school saves you money and allows you full access to drive that car. Maybe you could get a tarp for the car if you need to leave it for extended periods of time in the driveway.</p>
<p>If she is used to having the car at home, are you sure she definately won’t want that car while at school? I see many kids who start out without the car then by winter break have the car with them at school - especially since it sounds like the car will just be in the way at home. In the situations I see where kids don’t take the car, generally someone else (other kids or parents) need to drive that car here thus the kid can’t take it to school. Or the school doesn’t allow the car to be at school.</p>
<p>My kids have the car with them at school this year - makes it so much easier when they come home for break. Also, D had a job interview for a summer internship that she needed to drive so having the car came in handy.</p>
<p>We kept the third car at home. Our kids never took a car to college. If your daughter is far enough away, your insurance may offer an away at school discount. We had that for both of our kids.</p>
<p>We just alternated driving the third car.</p>
<p>Been there, doing that again - once for a college freshman, and now for a recent grad who has moved from a rural campus where she needed a car to the big city where it’s not at all helpful. Having that third car is really nice for those times when someone’s main vehicle is in the shop. Occasionally, D takes the train home to pick up the car for a road trip someplace on the weekend…we really should drive it more often in between though.</p>
<p>Unless it’s an old junker, you need collision coverage as well and need to have liability coverage if the car will be driven.</p>
<p>And the car should be driven. Leaving a car sitting for a year or more isn’t good for a car. It needs to be run and driven every now and then to keep everything properly lubricated, the battery charged up, etc. and when driven it s/b driven long enough to reach the normal operating temperature. This means that if you’re going to keep it you should ideally drive it every couple of weeks or so and in order to do that you need the collision and liability insurance in addition to comprehensive. Make sure you have uninsured motorist coverage while you’re at it - in other words, the same full coverage you have now.</p>
<p>Also, I assume your D will come home on breaks and she’ll likely want to drive it when she comes home so the coverage would need to be full for that anyway.</p>
<p>As others have said, check with your insurance company for a reduced ‘while away at college’ rate so it’ll be less expensive than what you’re paying now.</p>
<p>My DS will be going away to college in the fall and will not take his car with him. I am going to sell it/scrap it after he graduates in May. It’s a 2000 Blazer with 180K miles and every light blinking 
They can’t even get the hood open to change the oil. I’m just hoping it lasts thru May. When he’s at college he’ll be rated occasional on my car because he may be home 1 time month…</p>
<p>We kept her car here at home her freshman year. We got a small discount on her insurance. I drove it once a week. She now has it on campus, so the insurance went back up.</p>
<p>Over the years, our cul-de-sac has been full of cars that belonged to college students away at school. Our neighbors bought brand new cars for both of their girls when they turned 18. The only time they used them was during the summer. One is now working in a large city and doesn’t need a car, so it sits in front of their house. Why would you buy your child a brand new car only to have it driven maybe 1000-2000 miles over a period of 6 years? IMO, would have made more sense to buy a cheaper used car.</p>
<p>I agree that you need to drive the car regularly. We had two other neighbors who let their kid’s cars sit for months without driving them. Needless to say, they wouldn’t start and they ended up getting rid of them.</p>
<p>We had about 6 months where no one drove the third car. We kept it in the driveway and called our insurance company and told them the situation. </p>
<p>Now my junior is driving it and lord willing and the creeks don’t rise - I hope that baby lasts through her hs years - at 220k miles it still seems to be holding strong. Their dilemma will be how to figure out how to share the car over the summer.</p>
<p>We kept the third car and did as others driving it in rotation so all 3 were kept driving. Got discounted insurance since DS1 is more than 100 miles away. Also, DS2 was going to be a driver soon. Now DS1 is a sophomore in college and DS2 just got his license, so we have three drivers again, although DS2 isn’t driving much yet. We’ll run into trouble when DS1 is home this summer and needs the car and DS2 is working. Hopefully DS2’s job will be at the local pool where he can walk/ride his bike. We will not be getting a 4th car!!! All cars are at least 10 years old, so not as expensive as if some were newer.</p>
<p>another one who kept the third car. Discounted insurance when S away at school. Definitely needed that 3rd car summers and during school breaks.</p>
<p>My S’s car is parked on the side of the house in a gravel area. We drive it every now and then and we get the discount of him being at school farther than 150 miles and a good student discount. Not sure if he will want the car next year, parking is a hassle at his school but he drove it during the xmas break and will need it for work this summer.</p>