I've still got a year before my dd begins driver's ed, but I am wondering about what happens when she gets her license. Several of my friends have mentioned that they will provide a car for their kids, with the kids helping out on insurance payments through work. My dh and I have never said we'd provide a car. For one thing, I can't see taking on more payments, and the idea of her having "her" car bugs me. (Old Fogey Warning) When I was a teen, I used the family car and didn't even get my own until I was out of college and working. Which brings us to the second issue, which is that of working. I don't want dd to get a job right now, since she's busy enough with her school work and sports. Some of her friends are already working, and I just think that she'll be getting into that soon enough. Why not let her be a kid? I feel strongly about these issues, but I seem to be a solitary voice. I'm wondering what you ladies think.

By Cybermommyx4 on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 12:15 pm:

DS works full-time during the summer, and weekends during the school year. He is making payments to his grandfather on his car (a 1997 Ford Escort)...he paid for driver's ed himself ($400) and pays his own insurance ($100 per month) and car maintenance, etc. He feels good about having this freedom and responsibility, and is very mature for his age. My DD (13 1/2) on the other hand, I can't imagine being so responsible! So I guess a lot depends on the kid ;)

By Sunny on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 12:22 pm:

My DH tells me he already has a car lined up for our oldest (who will be 16 in October)! We'll see.
Whether we buy a car for him to use (and perhaps his younger brothers when they come of age) or he uses his own money, a car won't be given to him; my DS will have to get a job to pay for insurance, gas and maintenance. So, while I have no problem allowing him to get his license when he is eligible and using the family van *shudder* once in a while, he will have to work for it.

By Conni on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 01:03 pm:

I have told my kids whatever they save up between now and the time they are 16, I will match them. If they save $500 I will pitch in $500. If they save $5000 I will put in $5000. So its up to them how nice a car they get basically. But they will not have pymts to worry about in high school/college.

As for what type of car do I think they will get--I have all boys. Can we say '4 X 4'?? lol My sister and bil have several vehicles that they take excellent care of. They have a nice 1998 Jeep Wrangler that is just a toy for them. They dont drive it everyday. I told her I would help my oldest buy it if she still has it when he turns 16 (4 yrs from now). She said if she decides to sell it before then she would let me buy it and hold onto it for him if he wants it.

Otherwise, we have a 1996 Landcruiser that I use to drive. Dh says that will be the boys car when they turn 16. They can all share it! LOL The boys like my plan better for some reason. Bradley said by the time he turns 16 that truck would be 16 yrs old too!! He didnt think that was too good. lol

By Angellew on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 01:32 pm:

My DSS is 15, and my DH and I have been talking about it. In our situation, we both do not think he is mature enough for his own car... of course, his mother thinks something else, but, that's another story! So, as far as we are concerned, we will not contribute to buying him a car until we feel he's mature enough. I think there are soooo many factors in the car situation. Maturity, driving ability, personal responsibility, and, of course, family situation. I just don't think 16 is old enough to handle the responsibility! Thank God my DD is only 2... I have a looooooong time to think about her behind the wheel!! Maybe I'll be senile by then and won't have to worry so much.

By Mommmie on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 01:43 pm:

I was given a new car when I was 15. My parents were anxious for me to be able to get myself to 6:00am drill team practice. We didn't have bus service and it was too far away to walk. I picked up 3 other girls in the morning on my way to school. Their parents wouldn't buy them cars, but they were sure glad I was given one so they wouldn't have to drive their kids to school at the crack of dawn! That's one problem of having your own car in high school. People, the kids AND their parents, use you for rides everywhere. Same thing in college.

My plan is for the next car I buy to be the one my son drives 7 years from now when he turns 16. At his school it is typical for the high schoolers to drive Suburbans, Lexis SUV's, BMWs and what not. I thought I'd set my child up for a hand-me-down Camry! Since I work, I'm going to need for him to be able to get himself around. Now, if he seems like a real bad driver or not very responsible - I'll rethink that.

By Kernkate on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 02:37 pm:

When my DS was 16 and is now 18 started to drive, we did buy him a older car, but he had to pay his insurance. He has worked since he was 16 at a gas station. So he was able to pay for his ins. About 1 year ago my DH who works at a Cevrolet Dealership found an excellent buy on a 2000 Chev. Cavalier. It had a wrecked front fender which was easy to repair and it only cost $1000.00 for the car. So DS godfather-uncle bought the car for him. He still pays his own ins. It was nice for him to have his own car for soccer practices and work. He has been very responsible. He will start college on August 26th and decided he wouldn't take his car the first semister. He is big time into road biking so he is taking his bike. At least I won't have to worry about him being out in the car all the time when he should be doing school work.
For each person I think its an individual decision. Is the child mature enought?? Are they willing to pay for the insurance,repairs, gas??
JMO

By Pamt on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 05:24 pm:

Funny, but DH and I were just talking about this over the weekend and our oldest DS is only 10--LOL. We do have to financially start planning ahead. I was given a 10 y/o orange Honda Civic hatchback with black vinyl seats, no a/c (in southern AL no less), and an am radio. The gas gauge didn't work, the radio would go out when I would hit a bump, and you had to pull out the choke (it was a stickshift) to start the car. I got my car free and clear though...and I grew to love it. Everyone at school knew my car and we called it the Tangerine. My parents got the car from my aunt, paid my insurance, and my gas. I got a brand-new loaded 1986 Chevy Cavalier as my highschool graduation present and didn't pay for gas or insurance until I got married.

DH had a similar situation. Junker car for free and parents paid insurance. He was responsible for his own gas though.

We have decided, much to our children's dismay , that we had it too easy. We will probably establish a dollar amt like $1000-2000 that we will put toward a car. If they want a car nicer than that will buy, then they will have to cough up the extra cash. They do have an advantage in that my FIL has a dealer's license and can buy cars for cheap, cheap at auctions. They will have to pay for their own gas and may have to contribute to insurance. We'll have to wait and see.

As far as a job, my parents always told me that going to school was my job, so I never worked during the school year---I wasn't allowed to. I did have jobs every summer from the time I turned 17. I also volunteered weekly at a hospital during the school year. I'm kind of undecided on the working issue. With working, I think boys HAVE to work just to be able to afford to date, but Janet I'm with you that I want them to enjoy highschool and not work themselves to death. They'll probably have a job for a few hours a week and then work full-time during the summers. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

By Kaye on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 05:47 pm:

I drove the family car. However, we had a truck that my dad drove and my mom was unable to drive due to MS, so basically it was my car, but my parents took trips in it, etc. We will do this with my kids, until they gradutate high school we will provide wheels for them to drive to and from places, it will be ours though. Our current plan is my hubby just bought an 02 accord that we think will be perfect for this, my oldest is only 10 though. We will probably cover everything except gas, but I guess it depends. My hubby and i had it easy, if I didn't I probably wouldn't of made it through college and probably would have made some bad choices. The advantages of having a car to me out weight the being used part. I could always leave when I wanted, I was in control of meeting my curfew, no if's and or butts. Mine was early so I didn't usually have riders with me. Also I could meet boys places instead of them picking me up, this meant dates were shorter and not as much parking time..LOL. Plus for parents, not me really I lived out in the country though, so things are a bit different.

By Janet on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 09:40 am:

We talked about this at supper last night, and I think my dh thinks I've gone off my nut. I told him about my feelings about work and he just sat there and looked at me. Clearly, this is something we'll have to discuss further, when I'm less emotional. The thing is, we don't have any cars that will be used. We have the farm truck (thank God dh is a genious mechanic and keeps it going), and we just bought a new car, under duress. We had a car that was paid off, but it started having problems, and you probably know that these newer cars just can't be worked on in the shed! So we were forced to go into debt again with this new thing. The thought of taking on yet another car payment makes me sick to my stomach (literally). We aren't poor, but we have worked so hard to get to the place where we aren't scraping, and we are looking at college in four years, plus dh and I are starting to consider retirement (granted, we're only 42 and 45, but I don't want to have to be working at Wal-Mart when I'm 80). I know I'm running off here...I think there are more issues at work than just dd driving!

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 09:31 pm:

Yeah it sounds like some issues to me too. LOL

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 10:46 pm:

My teens will drive bicycles! LOL! Hey, I did until I bought my first car with my very own money at 22! Sorry, I just can't look that far ahead yet. Guess DH and I need to start thinking about how we want to handle this issue. I'm leaning toward not allowing a vehicle unless the teen pays for most of it him/herself. Owning a car is a HUGE responsibility and shouldn't be taken lightly. If a teen works hard enough and is able to buy a car and maintain it on his/her own that says a lot. If one is given to them they won't appreciate it so much and may not act responsibly. Ask me again in 10 yrs. and I might think differently. LOL!

By Janet on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - 10:46 am:

A bike does sound good! LOL Trina

By Mommyathome on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - 01:21 pm:

I would like to be able to purchase 1 or 2 newer model cars for my DK's once they reach driving age. DH and I have discussed this previously.

DH's parents helped him buy a "junker" car when he turned 16. He spent more time fixing it than he did driving it. I won't have my kids stranded on the side of the road with a junker. That just frightens me too much. I would like for their car to be newer, reliable and safe.

We will pay their insurance as long as they keep their grades up. If their grades fall, they will be responsible for their own insurance. I'm assuming they won't be able to afford it, so they won't be driving for awhile.

Gas will be negotiable. We will be paying them an allowance, so they can use some of that for gas money. If all their friends want to go out with them, they can all pitch in some $$ for gas.

I *don't* want my kids to work during highschool. I will discourage it. I would like for them to focus on academics and extracurricular activities during those years.

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - 06:23 pm:

If we have a pretty old car by then and are ready to get a new one for ourselves, then the old one will end up being "his/her" car. They will be responsible for gas though...unless we are feeling generous once in a while. They will not get a brand new car, if we do buy them one, it will be a cheap used but reliable one.

Once i got my driver's license (1993), the old 1984 Caprice Classic ended up being "mine", meaning it was really my parents but i drove it all the time. It was ugly as sin . When i went over the rail road tracks or hit a big bump, the radio would go out and we had to bang on the dashboard to get the radio to work again. When i graduated from high school my mom bought me a used 1991 Honda Civic. She didn't trust the Caprice anymore. I ended up bringing the Civic to college with me.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - 06:23 pm:

Haven't really discussed it and it's coming up fast. She turns 15 next week Wednesday and will be 15.5 in February of next year!

By My2cuties on Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 12:41 pm:

I may be a young mother but I still know what I went through. My parents co-signed for me to get a 1987 Honda Accord.(yuck) with Hail damage and 190,000 miles on it. I paid the car payment of $120.00 and gas and any repairs. I got the car February before I graduated. I worked at the local mall to make the payments. But my parents didn't have good enough credit to help me get a nicer, newer car and I can deal with that. But like the old saying "you learn from your mistakes" I learned from my parents mistakes. On the other hand my dh was quite the opposite and since we have been married we have only had new cars. We both agree that our children need to focus on school work instead of working, I don't know how alot of other places are but where I live I went to school with kids that worked at fast food restaraunts that didn't even get home until 11 p.m. that is not what I want for my children. We wouldn't care if they wanted to do something on the weekend that wouldn't take away from their homework time, but that is all. A 2 or 4 year old car is not too much to ask just to make sure they get from point A to point B. I guess whatever they drive I just want it to be safe, I don't want to worry about if they made it somewhere because I let them leave in a junk car. I want better for them than what I had. I do like the idea of matching what they save though. Good idea!

By Conni on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 09:35 am:

Thanks Candis--I cant take all the credit for that idea. I go the idea from a Dave Ramsey tip on teaching kids to save save save save their money. ;) Dave Ramsey has a website, he has books/tapes for sale, and they do Dave Ramsey financial classes at alot of churches. Just in case you are interested in learning more. He has some great ideas. My parents are in their 60's and are taking the class at a church, ,my sis and bil are taking the class too.

By My2cuties on Monday, August 2, 2004 - 12:21 am:

I have heard of Dave Ramsey before. thanks for the info I will look into it.