<p>Buy cars which are going to turn into classics after a few decades. It will be a good investment. </p>
<p>Oh my goodness. Do you actually believer that a writer on Yahoo has a crystal ball and can predict the future?? Dont be niave.
Get your kid a IPhone and a used Prius, or some such car. He will NOT want to be known around campus as yet another “foreign rich kid from ------ country” when he gets to an American college, especially with the current ongoing recession. Many US kids now cant afford to go to college, so dont flaunt your sons good fortune with a flashy new car.</p>
<p>Prudent, on another thread you claim your parents’ annual income is in the $20,000 per year range and wonder if their $800,000 in real estate (not your primary home) will be tapped by the colleges when determining need based aid (yes it will).</p>
<p>I can’t believe you would even be considering having a car at college when you are having trouble figuring out how to pay your college costs.</p>
<p>1999 Saturn SC1 with a standard transmission, no radio, bright purple. Economical, easy to repair, not worth stealing, and nobody will ever ask you for a ride. Bright colors are easier to find in those huge college parking lots. Guaranteed to never lose its value.</p>
<p>alynor,
not having a car is very limiting. It is limiting in choices of jobs, internships, shopping, going to interviews to Grad/Med/Law schools while still at college. In my D’s case, it would not be possible to be without car at all, she drove to each single Med. School interview right from campus, while still having classes/exams and other commitments on campus. It applied to all her friends also. There is no need to burdent them with taking care of the car. You need AAA and the tel. # of trust worthy mechanic. Most girls would not take care of the car, boys might be different story.</p>
<p>Having a car is not correlated with being motivated to study. There is no good reason for most students to have a car unless they need it to commute daily from home or to a job- not the ideal way spend your college years. A good campus and its environs will preclude any need for a car. Stores needed for groceries for the apartment dweller will be within walking distance or easy transportation and students shouldn’t be making many trips home.The social scene is close by.</p>
<p>Assume you have a car. You will need to take time away from studying to check on it along with all of the costs, regardless of the model. There are fixed costs even when it isn’t used. Invest your money in your education, not presuming any car will increase in value decades later- I’ll bet the overall cost of those cars is not worth the investment either once you include insurance, parking, routine maintenance et al. </p>
<p>We could easily afford a car for our son but he never had any reason to have one on his campus. Walking to nearby grocery stores worked. In fact, we helped him with a car when he needed one for his first post college job last spring simply because he couldn’t get the job paperwork when the deal was closed. We’re practical- he chose a car that he liked, was inexpensive, got good gas mileage (environmental concerns) and had decent insurance rates. He now has money in the bank for his future if he needs it. Much better investment than putting it into a car. Someday he will buy a better car and will know HE earned it, it wasn’t his parents’ money that paid for it. We raised a kid who values his independence and ability to take care of himself. Living off of parents is not what most young adults want- they truly want to separate from being a child.</p>
<p>The best car is one that is needed on a daily basis and is affordable by the user. Extremely few college students generate enough income on their own to afford any car. Even when parents can easily afford things it doesn’t mean the child wants them since there are always strings attached. Adult age children truly become adults when they take on full responsibility for themselves.</p>
<p>It is PRUDENT to NOT have a car in college.</p>
<p>"MiamiDAP…the OP reports that his family’s annual income is $20K per year. I think he needs to choose a college where he does NOT need a car. "</p>
<p>-If OP did not need a car at college, they would NOT be asking which one to buy. We cannot suggest that the best car for them is NO car, when they are way beyond this point, they made a dicision about buying a car, they are looking for the kind of car to buy. Family income is only one side of financial aspect, we have no idea about other financial sides (inherittance, savings, gifts,…).</p>
<p>“If OP did not need a car at college, they would NOT be asking which one to buy”</p>
<p>the OP, and international student, does even even KNOW which college, if any here in the US, he will be going to. Yet. </p>
<p>OP, there are quite a few colleges in the US that dont even ALLOW freshman to have cars on campus. So this discussion is a little premature, don’t ya think?</p>
<p>The OP has mentioned on other threads that he doesn’t know how his family with a $20K annual income will PAY for his college costs. That being the case, he needs to find a college where he doesn’t have any EXTRA overhead…including a car. </p>
<p>He is an international student hoping to attend a school in the U.S. Since he can’t pay the college costs, I find it foolhearty to think he should be considering owning a car of any kind. Take that money and use it to pay college tuition/room/board/fees/books.</p>
<p>This is my opinion. Having a car in college is NOT a necessity. It is an added expense that a student who cannot pay the bills does not need.</p>
<p>D1 had a Mini in college, and she was in Ithaca - snowy and hilly. She loved her car there. It didn´t use much gas, and she had free maintenance with the car. </p>
<p>D2 will be going to the same school next fall, if she wants a car, I am thinking more of a four wheeler. One thing D1 did bring up was that I should get a car from a dealership in Ithaca, so it would be easier for D2 to service her car. If OP is an international student, it is something to consider.</p>
<p>There is something to be said about giving hand me down cars to your kids, for the following reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You know it was well maintained, without any hidden problems.</p></li>
<li><p>The retail price of a used car is much much higher than the trade-in value.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For a used car, look for a car that has anti-lock brakes and side air bags.</p>
<p>My kid has an early 90’s chevy beretta. Gets her where she needs to go for her clinic assignments and no one in their right mind would want to steal it. Bought it several years ago for about $500.</p>
<p>I doubt zipcars or any other commercial rental company will rent to students under age 25. That seems to be the magic age for car rentals.</p>
<p>OTOH, many colleges and universities have cars available for students to rent as one of the services they provide. There won’t be many cars, and they won’t be easily available (without planning in advance), but they might be there.</p>
<p>My mother bought me a 2012 Honda civic out of the blue in September. I plan to drive that car until it dies, and so far it’s been wonderful. It doesn’t stand out too much in the student parking lot, has lower insurance payments and is a great car to drive. I highly recommend it.</p>
<p>Are us parents missing our kids at college? Why do you engage a bored teenager as if his comments have any validity?</p>
<p>Have some fun with it if you will but the OP is ‘an engineering student’
‘has perfect 2400’ , ‘got into MIT and you’re just jealous’, asks how legacy will help him with U of Toronto, has a new amazing Mac, a new amazing TV, and claims his parents will pay for his education if he can’t get aid, so money is not an issue. On and on and on. </p>
<p>He’s just pulling your leg for responses. He wants to talk about favorite cars.</p>
<p>What next, which are the best video games to bring to college? lol.</p>
<p>We have now morphed the thread for our fun- who cares about the OP anymore. Parents Cafe and all that.</p>
<p>Son learned to drive on a 14 year old Lexus LS, H used it for his bad snowy weather car instead of his newer one (there was also sentiment- first luxury car, etc). By the time S was of an age for an extra set of wheels in the family it was cheaper to let him use this car- already had some cosmetic damage never repaired (parked on a residential street once and mildly sideswiped…) and other issues instead of getting a cheaper model of used car. Of course he never took it to campus, fortunately we had donated it so giving it to him for work wasn’t a possibility.</p>
<p>My first car was a new Ford Maverick bought off the lot in August (back when fall was when all of the new model years started) when I needed it for medical school hospital rotations (I had used the bus to grocery shop for 2 years- standing in line with people buying more luxuries than I could afford and using their food stamps, sigh). My mother got the car loan and paid the insurance- the car cost a whopping $3000 including taxes and license in 1977. I had few choices, maybe one- liked the red, but not the black vinyl seats (sticky hot). It had an AM only radio and no air conditioner. Of course the windows and locks were manual. My parents were concerned about safety and reliability, hence not the smallest or used from a lot. Classmates’ cars were of varying vintages. One of a married couple knew they couldn’t replace their car with any insurance payment if someone totaled it. Another you had to watch where you put your feet- the floorboards had holes, when he replaced it with another used car he forgot to turn on the heat because he was so used to having a nonfunctioning heater. Before I had my car I once walked several miles to a classmate’s for an evening- someone gave me a ride home. Of course I walked all over my undergrad campus- good exercise.</p>
<p>I agree! I would personally like to discuss the point above- is it or is not not true that teachers at college give preference to students with flashy cars!</p>
<p>I vote yes! I would much much rather grade my students on the basis of their car, than have to read another damn essay. Especially if they would give me a ride in their ferrari :)</p>