Your kids 1st car - who pays what?

[Yellowboat]

I bought all of mine, my parents did pay for the insurance up front, but I had too make monthly payments back too them. Only thing they paid for was aaa membership.

 

[lebel409]

Speaking of insurance, ours went down when the kids had their own car to drive. Sure , they are still listed on our cars, but as the primary on a $3K car with liability vs cars with comprehensive...

 

[Singleton]

We had a third car in the house, so we allowed our oldest son to drive that as long as he maintained a 3.5 GPA in HS. We paid gas and insurance, but he knew it was our car and if he did something wrong he could not use it. He had about 6 months of no usage for not following house rules. Purchased him a CPO Chevy when he graduated college and got a job.

Middle son just got permit. Same thing we have a third car at house, but he has said he does not want to drive it. Both my wife and I told him, it is either that or walking, your choice. He has decided to keep walking.

 

[McRib]

Bought a 600 dollar tow yard special. 91 Camry stick shift power everything no A.C.! Called it the bumper car. Didn't give to shits about it. Bought it for parental convienance. Eldest drove it first. Burned the clutch out of it (orignial) learning how to drive it and it was to and from school only. We covered gas and insurance. Grades and attitude dictated if they got gas or they walked to school. Bought wife a new car 2 yrs later and gave the eldest the wife's old car and the youngest learned the Camry. Once the oldest bought his own first car after spending 2 yrs building credit we gave the wife's old car to the youngest and I sold the Camry for twice what I paid. By this time both kids had jobs and were building credit. Keeping them in the shit boxes made them thrive for better. Both bought new to them cars with zero down and 8%. They drove those for 2 yrs and today they both have 2016 and 17 Honda's bought new from Honda dealers with zero down and both under 4% interest. Through all this they learned the value of a dollar and the want of better in life. Both kids now have credit scores over 730 at 23 and 21 yrs old. They put their own fuel, they pay there insurance to me as I carry them and will carry them till they are 26 or they move out. I never had to cosign for anything they have today.

 

[ltbaney1]

my old man owns a construction company, i came home from the dmv pumped up because i had my license. he tossed me the keys to his beater regular cab short bed toyota with a lumber rack and said your hired. i had to keep a b+ average and i cleaned jobsites after school for him. but that truck was mine.he paid gas and insurance and i took care of the wrench turning. i beat that truck to hell, i drove it like that lumber rack was roll cage on the weekends, but on my 18th / graduation gift, there was a nice lifted chevy truck in the drive way for me. as long as i went to college, that truck wasnt brand new, couple years old, but it had 33" muds and i thought it was the best. i plan to do something similar when the time comes.

 

[DLC]

Things were a little different for me. We went to the desert a lot (ocotillo wells ) during the winter and I had a paper route saved some cash and bought an 83 200x for $800, then the 85 ATC 250R came out and my buddy got one for Christmas.... I ended up buying one also with the help of my dad, I needed about $1,000.00 and he let me make payments on his credit card, every month we would sit down and go over the credit card bill, I had it paid off in 7/8 months from the paper route cash.

On my 16th birthday, I got a job bagging groceries at Alpha Beta saved my checks! I got to drive the family 3rd car.
I had a nice cream puff to drive, turd Brown family station wagon wood grain paneling and all, 73 Ford LTD w/ 429. Dad allowed me to fill up once a week with his company Shell gas card. I never dealt with the insurance part and I was just an average student. I do remember helping out with family duties / errands.

I couldnt go to the desert and spend the night by myself until I was 18. I ended up buy a 83 Ford ranger 4x long bed when I was 19 for $6,300 cash 💰

Thinking back I had it made, but I worked from 12/13 years old with the paper route. I also liked to ride bicycles, BMX and a road bike to get around town. I would ride my BMX bike up to 7-11 and spend hrs looking thru the Truck Traders.

My younger brother played sports and got an 1970 Chevy pk up from my grand father.

 

[Riverbound]

My son is turning 16 next month. We got him a ford ranger. I pay for gas, insurance and maintenance His job is to be a student, if his grades fall......Truck sits in my driveway. If the truck is not kept clean and maintained, it sits in my driveway.


I also bought a manual transmission so he will know how to drive stick.

 

[Big B Hova]

Car, insurance, gas, maintenance

Anyone get creative with having your kid contribute $. Just don't want him in an unsafe beater

I paid for Car, maintenance, fuel and my parents helped me pay insurance.

 

[welldigger00]

I bought my boy a 2000 wrangler 4.0 stick shift. He has to have grades no less than b?s, and he works three days a week at a garage after school. If he fucks up the jeep, he has to pay for it. He twisted the driveline out of it trying to do a burnout, and bent the output shaft in the t case. He had to pay for the new parts, and do the repair himself.

 

[TCHB]

I bought both of my daughters their first cars.
They were both involved in school, sports and had part time jobs.

I bought them old MB 240D cars with many miles. They were reliable, safe and slow.

 

[J DUNN]

We have one 16 yo and 3 younger ones. We told all the kids we'll do the "Dave Ramsey deal" which is we'll match their contribution dollar for dollar up to $10k toward their first car. They can take advantage of that at ANY age. So basically at 25 they can come take the deal and put in their own $10k and get a $20k car with our $10k contribution or any amount lower if that's all they have.

That being said, until then we got a "family car" meaning any kid can drive it at any time as more turn 16. It is a 2000 Toyota Avalon with 70k miles bought it off wifes Grandma for $3k. It's got leather, sunfroof and airbags and gets great gas mileage. Even is the typical oldy cream color with tan interior, a serious looker. We pay ins and reg and they pay gas as they need it. Working out great so far.

Two added option by Dad, a fleet tracking device logged into by each driver, matches what is on my work trucks AND got daughter for Christmas a license plate frame that says, "Yes, this was my Great Grandmas Car" and now it's perfect.

Haven't had to use the tracker so far, my daughter is an angel. But when my sons start driving i"m sure it will come in handy.

My kids do decent in school so I provide them with a decent mode of transportation. If they did AMAZING in school I'd still only provide them with decent transportation. School and good grades are important, but learning humility and hard work are equally important or their education will be wasted. Teach your kids to work for what they get and to be humble, if you buy them everything they want then they'll miss out on valuable lessons in life.

 

[mesquito_creek]

I am going to upset the apple cart here and go against the "you pay for it and earn it and learn life's lessons" theory. Because I have tried to both ways.

My oldest kid went against my advise got a job at 16 in high school and paid for gas and insurance etc on her car so she could have more "freedom". She is a great hard worker and financially independent at the age of 24. She is going back to community college at the age of 24 because she is learning the lesson about the doors that get shut on you because she is competing in a world full of 22-23 year old's with college degrees. Never in a job interview has she been asked if she got a free car from her parents. She will do great and I am proud of her and try to help out now but she's paying the price.

My other daughter has watched her older sister and is on the full bore you pay I perform graduating high school in the top 15% of her class in honors classes, heading straight to a 4 year university.

So I am not knocking anyone's strategy, I am saying that you have to adapt to the kid and the condition as they change... As some parent's of adult children will admit to after raising a couple of kids, "you don't have as much influence as you thought you would when you started the journey of parenting"..

 

[oldschool]

I am going to upset the apple cart here and go against the "you pay for it and earn it and learn life's lessons" theory. Because I have tried to both ways.

My oldest kid went against my advise got a job at 16 in high school and paid for gas and insurance etc on her car so she could have more "freedom". She is a great hard worker and financially independent at the age of 24. She is going back to community college at the age of 24 because she is learning the lesson about the doors that get shut on you because she is competing in a world full of 22-23 year old's with college degrees. Never in a job interview has she been asked if she got a free car from her parents. She will do great and I am proud of her and try to help out now but she's paying the price.

My other daughter has watched her older sister and is on the full bore you pay I perform graduating high school in the top 15% of her class in honors classes, heading straight to a 4 year university.

So I am not knocking anyone's strategy, I am saying that you have to adapt to the kid and the condition as they change... As some parent's of adult children will admit to after raising a could of kids, "you don't have as much influence as you thought you would when you started the journey of parenting"..

You mean, there's not one hard fast rule to this parenting deal?

 

[mesquito_creek]

You mean, there's not one hard fast rule to this parenting deal?

The largest "work in progress" when it came to raising kids was ME... not my kids!

 

[DWC]

You mean, there's not one hard fast rule to this parenting deal?

Walking out of the hospital with our first was surreal. I remember thinking that you can?t let us take this thing home. We?ve only read a couple stupid books.. holy shit. It?s harder to adopt a dog or get a drivers license.

 

[TX Foilhead]

Great thread, I?m may be adjusting my approach.

So far, I bought a 03 Beetle TDI with a stickand 130000miles, with a new tires and rims I?m into it for about $4000. Its 25 miles to school, with football and band he needs to be at the school 6 days a week in the fall so mileage and something that can run for a long time was the idea. At this point the plan is my car that he can use when he pays the insurance and takes care of the maintenance and he?s on his own if he wrecks it or tears something up, I will take care of the fuel to get to school and back, but no more.

I cut him a little slack because he?s top 10%, plays on the Varsity Football team and is 1st chair trumpet in the band, so there?s not a whole bunch of time for him to get in or cause trouble, and a job should take up that time in the spring and summer when there is no football.

 

[Your ad here]

Parents showed up with a truck and payments back to them. I worked for the family business. Paid the debt off and paid for insurance and registration. Company paid for the fuel and maintenance.