Recently, I had an early morning appointment that required me to take a different route to work. This detour took me through an upscale suburb, which was a definite “step up” from the middle class suburb in which I live.
On this route, I drove down a busy 4-lane thoroughfare. While in the left lane, I checked the mirror and saw an oncoming vehicle quickly gaining on me. I put on my turn signal and changed lanes, over to the right. As soon as I settled into the right lane, I saw the vehicle go barreling by me in the left lane. It was a nice looking BMW SUV.
As it turns out, the car had no reason to be in a hurry, as the light ahead was about to turn red. As I approached the light, the nice BMW was already there. I looked over at the SUV, and saw that windows were down while music was blaring. I took a half-caring glance to see this character was that was driving the SUV.
I saw a group of teenage girls in the car.
Remember, this was a BMW SUV, and it was driven by a teenager carrying a group of other high energy, loud-singing teenagers.
It looked like they were having fun, and I thought to myself: “What high school kid WOULDN’T have fun in a BMW like that?”
Then I started thinking about their parents. My next thought was: “What parents would give their high school kids a sharp, recent year BMW SUV?”
Perhaps to their parents, a BMW is like a Yugo. But for mainstream society, that’s an aspirational vehicle. Except of course for people like me, that have no intention of buying a vehicle like that even if I could feasibly afford it!
Anyway, the point is, does a kid really need a luxury vehicle?
When I was a kid, my first car was a Honda Civic that had no power steering, no power windows, and was a no-frills vehicle. Oh, and it wasn’t really mine – my parents let me drive it. When I turned 17, they let me drive the car most every day as they bought another car for themselves. I ultimately took this same Honda to college.
What’s funny is that as I close in on 40, I’m still driving a Honda. This time, it’s an Accord. Aside from the old-fashioned steering and windows aspect of it, my first car was not much different than my current car. There isn’t exactly a big gap between a Civic and Honda in terms of prestige.
Would that bother you? It doesn’t bother me much. Maybe a bit, if I think about it, but then I remind myself that this was a cash purchase and there are no car payments. That financially responsible approach is more important to me than having a bigger brand name or fancier car!
Now, as for my daughter, I will still work toward getting her a car of her own when she’s 16 or 17. It might be my car that she gets, or it could be a reliable, safe, used one. Either way, I will play a role in making sure I make the decision of what she drives!
So, with my stories as a backdrop, I ask you:
What was your first car like? Tell us make, model, and what kind of shape it was in when you got it. Did you buy it, or were you given it by parents?
Also, what are your thoughts on kids with new drivers licenses getting a car? Do you feel they should always be expected to buy it themselves, or should parents play a role in purchasing the car?
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I started driving in 1984 and my parents let me use their 1972 Ford Pinto to get back and forth to school and work. After college, I was in even worse shape financially, so I downgraded (in 1990) to a 1970 VW Bug.
Now I drive a Mini Cooper that I paid too much for and regret a little every day. It is paid off and therefore I will drive it for at least 7 more years, but that will be the last new car I ever own. From now on, I’m going the “pre-owned” route and paying cash.
As far as children… by giving a teenager an expensive vehicle, you’re setting a level of expectation that the rest of their lives may not be able to match. You’ve given them nothing to strive for or dream about.
I’ve seen these silver spoon kids never fully leave their parents because the payoff is too good to hang around. It stunts their development and competes with their marriage. But maybe that’s the parents’ underlying motivation all along. Buy the child’s love and never be alone.
Leigh – I think you have some really good insights here. For the parents, it may be a deep rooted fear of losing the child and thus being alone. This can lead to co-dependence and the child having trouble being an independent person in his or her own relationship. Giving all things unconditionaly to teenagers is probably not the way to go if one’s thinking about the kid’s best long-term interest!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mannella mark, squirrelers. squirrelers said: What Kind of Car Should a Teenager Be Driving? http://bit.ly/bPjRwW [...]
What a timely post! I am considering getting a third car now that my son is 16. Having him drive would be a huge help around the house, as I am constantly stressed about getting everyone where they need to be.
I can tell you, it won’t be a BMW. I want a car in good shape with 1000 airbags and antilock brakes.
My first car was a 1976 Sunbird. It was an awful car, and I am shocked it lasted as long as it did. I had to use a coat hanger to keep the muffler up (I did that myself). Only one door worked, and the bad door would fly open sometimes, once it happened on a freeway on-ramp. (This was 1989, so the car was 13 years old.)
My husband (who I was dating at the time) had a 1979 Camaro, and he just loved that car. It was 10 years old, but had held up better than my Sunbird. I believe he used thumbtacks to keep the fabric from falling on his head form the ceiling of the interior.
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Everyday Tips – your comment makes me smile, as it reminds me of a car that a high school friend had back in th day. It was this big ugly car we called the “Green Monster”. It wasn’t a classic like the iconic Green Monster in Boston’s Fenway Park; rather, it was a decayed, falling-apart vehicle that even had a hole made in it’s driver’s side floor, when my buddy’s foot went through the floor one day. None of us wanted to ride in his car, even back then. We knew it was on it’s last legs!
To your second set of questions,I feel cars are luxuries. They should be purchased at least in part by the young drivers regardless of family finances. If the family budget can accommodate subsidizing the purchase of a vehicle for a teenager, I presently don’t have a problem with it.
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My first car sucked. Sadly, it was also a gift from my parents. They got it from a credit union for $1400 – 1997 Mazda Protoge. No power anything, no A/C (in Houston), and it would die randomly at stop lights and stop signs even though it was an automatic. I hated it and Mr. BFS-to-be drove me more often than not for 2 years. I wish my parents hadn’t ever gotten it for me since it was a pain to sell too. I tried to give it back, but they wanted some way for me to visit from college. So, no, I do not think parents should provide a car – let the kid buy a used one themselves. If you do get them a car, try to make sure it doesn’t completely suck, please. It’s not nice to give people problems.
BFS – I agree that if a car is given to a kid, it should be functional. It’s not good to give a kid a car that could end up causing them problems. Despite good intentions, it ends up hurting the kid as much as it helps.
My husband and I were not given the opportunity to get a driver’s permit and learn to drive in our teens, let alone be gifted with a vehicle! I was 21 when my boss taught me to drive the company Toyota pickup on my way home from work. My first vehicle was a light blue Chevy Luv, which I bought for myself. We wanted things to be different for our children, and our youngest got his permit at 15 years, 9 months. One of us were with him almost everywhere he drove for a couple of years. In April, when he landed his dream job, it looked as if he may be moving away from home, and hubby put in a call to his buddy who buys good used cars, fixes them up and sells them at great prices. The guy happened to have a 1994 Buick Roadmaster Limited with a *Corvette* engine, hehe. AJ being a retro kind of guy fell totally in love with it. We bought it for him, and he’s making payments to us. He pays for his gasoline and insurance (still on our policy so quite affordable for his age). We like that he’s in a nice older vehicle instead of a newer plastic smaller one, we all feel safer with those crazy drivers out on the highways nowadays. Yeah, his gas mileage isn’t all that great (21mpg), but he only has to go into the office one day a week so it’s not that bad.
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Unless you live in the far-off suburbs or the country, kids don’t really need a car. If they must have one, let them work at getting one themselves.
I don’t judge others who decide to drive expensive cars, though I would question the wisdom of letting a pack of young teenage girls drive one! I’d stay out of the way of that car!
My first car was a really old 80s Dodge. Second car was one of those carbureted corollas. The first one got rear-ended and the second one’s body was gone to hell and it wasn’t worth buying new tires for once they blew up. I loved to beat on those cars…
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I agree with Shawn, cars are luxuries, and I’m not crazy about a kid/teen having a car unless he/she has paid for a good part of it. Now I get that it helps parents out if their kid can drive himself to activities, but after all, a car is a luxury. Teaching a child, teen, and young adult to work for what they want is really important. They will take much better care of it and appreciate it more.
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Three cheers for the Wise Squirrel! My first car was a 1970 Datsun 510 with about a million miles on it that my cousin gave to me for free. I fixed it up, put a new engine in it and drove it for about 16 years – putting over 200,000 miles on it. I sold it for $800, but now I hear they are getting over $10,000 for some of them. Dang.
I currently drive a 97 Honda Civic – a stick shift. It’s in immaculate running condition because I keep it meticulously maintained. However, the exterior is showing its age a bit. No worries. It’s a great car that is highly reliable.
All the best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
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Len – that’s fantastic how you have gotten the most out of those cars. I think your experience with your 97 Civic is another example of how the life of cars can be extended through proper care and maintenance
I had an ancient Oldsmobile Cutless Sierra. My parents let me use it so that I could drive my little sister to her lessons. My mother almost died when I told her I was considering putting off getting my license another year (I was already 17)… she had really gotten used to the idea of a break from chauffeuring. I did not have to pay for any of its expenses, but it wasn’t like I had much of a social life anyway.
Somewhere in my future blog posts there’s a small rant about BMW drivers. There is something about that brand that really encourages crappy crappy driving. I hate BMW drivers, teenage girls or middle-aged men.
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Nicole – I had a friend who once bought a BMW right out of college. Always a car fan, with expensive tastes in general. Now, many years later, he can laugh at how idiotic is was for someone his age to be driving that car. Actually, he and his wife make a VERY good combined income, yet he drives a 10 year old car – NOT a BMW, either! He’s too practical for that now.
[...] – What Kind of Car Should a Teenager Be Driving? If you ask me, the answer is simple: whatever those teens can afford to [...]
[...] Squirrelers discusses what type of car a teenager should be driving, and made me think of my first couple of cars. This post came at the perfect time for me as my son just got his driver’s license. [...]
i had a 1984 honda accord that was passed down from my parents. I drove it until it had almost 200k miles on it. But i’m so happy I started with a used car because i certainly put a lot of “teenage abuse” into it.
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CNC – I can relate to the “teenage abuse” part of being a young driver. I drove that car (wasn’t even mine!) through empty fields a couple of times, with a group of friends. Chased away some of the wildlife, as they were fleeing from the bright lights of a hard-charging Honda Civic! Those were fun days….and an example of why kids shouldn’t be driving expensive cars!
[...] Squirrelers discusses what kind of car should a first-timer get? [...]
A teenager should drive a HUNK OF JUNK that doesn’t explode! That’s it!
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Sam – that’s funny stuff. I remember a few friends having some junkyard quality cars. They didn’t explode but at least one fell apart as my friend was driving.
Ah, my first car. It was a Dodge (I can’t remember the exact model, which is horrible, given that it was only a decade ago that I first got the darn thing). It was an ’89 model, I believe, with well over 100,000 miles that I purchased with $500 cash (earned through hours of toil at McDonalds). I paid for the care and the gasoline (although my parents handled the insurance; their way of paying for my chauffeuring services, taking my sisters to and from school and numerous after school events). I drove that thing all through high school, and left it for my sisters when I went to college. I came back and used it to go to work each summer, at home after my freshman year and at college following my sophomore year. During the commute to and from my college, it decided to die on me on a fairly major highway, which was freaking terrifying. Given how little the car was worth and the expense of repairing it (it would have essentially needed a whole new engine), we decided it had served its purpose, and let it go on to used car heaven.
As for kids with new licenses getting cars, while I have no problem with the concept per se, I do think they should pay for all or part of the car ownership costs themselves; it promotes discipline, the idea of working to get what you want, and the attitude that things aren’t simply handed to you in life (just because you turned sixteen). Parents can (and perhaps even should) help out with the initial purchase and/or the ongoing costs, but there should be some strict conditions attached; ‘we’ll help pay the insurance if you take the younger ones to their after school activities’ or ‘we’ll help you buy that car, if you cover the insurance and gas costs on your own’, for example. And of course, I’m an advocate of only helping the kid out if they’re getting a clunker; none of this ‘my kid’s got a better car than me, and I helped him buy it’ stuff. If your teen wants a car that costs as much as a decent house in the suburbs, s/he can buy it without your help.
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Roger, thanks for the comment and your story. I too know that in many households the cars must be shared.
As far as kids having expensive cars, I’m not sure that it teaches them much, other than they get something for nothing. Which, as we know, is not how the world works. That said, I do want my daughter to be driving a safe and reliable car when she gets older, but that’s the extent of my interest for the most part. There’s no need for kids to drive an expensive, brand name car. At least where I live, anyway!
My first car was an MGB that was 1 year younger than I was. It arrived on a flat bed, with 4 flat tires and a bird’s nest in the seat. In other words, non-running. About a year later (after paying for many parts and hitting up many junkyards) it was running. The car itself was a gift (which cost about $400) but the parts weren’t.
I think kids should play a role in buying their own car, and I think they should delay doing so as long as they can stand to. For my son, I matched 50% of what he was able to save. Although his Grandpa is going to be giving him his old pickup, so he’ll be able to save that money for future repairs instead.
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My first car was a 91 Lincoln Mark VII that i paid for 100% by myself. My parents said they would match whatever I had saved up and put it with my money for a car, but I said no and purchased the car myself. Got it for $500 and the only problem was the headgaskets had went. replaced them myself that weekend and had a perfect car. Drove it for 4 years before sticking a 347 stroker in it and sold it for $7500
Last summer I bought my oldest daughter a Volvo. Now, before you start thinking “Volvo!” I should let you know that it is a 1991 Volvo 240 Sedan. Yup, the tank. In fact my daughter named it “Hank, the tank”.
I told her it had the 3 S’s I was looking for in a car for her 1) Safe 2) Slow and 3) unSexy. She laughs.
It was terrible looking, but no rust and $1000 later in some new parts, quite a few actually, and some Labor on the parts I could not do myself, she has a very, very good slow, safe and unSexy car to drive around locally. Is this squirreling away? I think so. Those cars were built to last a lifetime, so my 9th Grader should get to drive Hank 2 years out also.
Miolnir – well done with the car purchase for your daughter. Those cars are solid, in my opinion, and are perceived to be safe. To get two kids to drive that car at different times is a good use of money that many aren’t able to match.
My first car was a 1981 Toyota Tercel manual transmission with a caved in passenger side door. It had 200,000 miles on it and my Dad bought it for me to learn to drive on for $200. Amazingly, it ran another 25,000 miles before we sold it. I learned to drive a stick, had a car with great mpg and low insurance costs, it was ugly but it was mine. Once I had my license I bought my own car for $850 cash, and now that I’m a 32 yr old parent I finally own my first car that I didn’t buy with cash. You know what? I hate this car, and I hate that it cost us so much in interest because of our poor credit and lack of emergency funds. I miss my Toyota.
On kids getting cars: My daughter is 12 and we’ve talked over what will happen when she is old enough to drive. She has decided to start working as soon as possible and save up for a car of her own, I told her if she got a job that I would loan her our car for work if she had to work hours that the bus didn’t run. I also explained how interest on a loan worked and why it made more sense to wait on the car and pay cash. I promised to help her pick out a good vehicle, and pay her insurance until she is out of high school, after which she will be responsible for paying gas, insurance and repairs. I made a point of telling her that while a car opens a lot of doors it also is a liability and if not managed properly would cost her more than it was worth. She’s a very responsible kid so far, I’m hoping she will handle it well.
When I was 16 my parents gave me my moms old car, it was a Mercedes. I have a daughter I bought her what car she wanted because she had 100-109 in every class at school, so I took her to the car lot Abd she bought a 2009 Acura MDX, she pays for gas and insurance, we think they should get a car they deserve, and if the parents can afford it, we were blessed.
I am 17. When I got my license I had no intension or expectations of having a vehicle, although i knew we had a 1996 GMC Jimmy sitting in our driveway that only needed a windshield, battery, and fuel pump. It had been a daily driver for my dad until he decided to use his F350 pickup truck once the Jimmy started to have problems. By no means is my dad good at keeping a car clean and nice looking. The Jimmy had seen better days. Although at the time it only had 58,000 miles on it the interior was trashed. So to sum up it was about 2 weeks before i was to get my license and i decided to do a full detail on the jimmy. I took out the dash the center console and seats and shampooed vacuumed and wiped it down. it looked and smelled brand new. then i moved to the exterior. i washed and waxed it until it was spotless. I was flabbergasted because that car looked brand new! Once my dad got home and saw it he about lost his mind. he asked if i was the one that cleaned it and i explained it to him and he told me he would get it fixed up and let me drive it. It now has about 72,000 miles on it and its 2012! it looks brand new. My parents told me once I graduate from High school its mine. By no means to i take it for granted. I take care of that car like its a newborn child. Its clean and diapers free! Now some teens i see at school that drive brand new Jaguars and mustangs and nice brand new suvs are generally the irresponsible partiers. Im not saying ive never partied but i have the common sense to not drink and drive and to take care of the car of which i have the privilege of driving. It makes me sad the society we live in where the kids expect so much from their parents. A car is a car!