Best way to give your kid a car?

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skyvue
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Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by skyvue »

I am divorced and my 17 year old daughter lives with my ex in a different state (Mass) than me (ohio). She is going to a private school that is 23 miles from her home so she needs to have some reliable transportation.

I bought a 2011 Chevy Cruze a year ago. Rather than me buying her a car I am thinking of just giving her my Cruze and then I would buy a 2nd vehicle for me later this winter. Can or should I keep the car in my name and just let her drive it? Or should I sign it over to her so it can be properly registered in Mass?

What is the process by which I would transfer ownership to her? Would any sort of sales tax need to be paid or can I really just "give" it to her?
texasdiver
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by texasdiver »

Are you planning to pay her insurance costs as well?

If you keep it in your name with her as a listed driver that could reduce the insurance rate relative to her owning and insuring it herself. Might want to ask your insurance agent about different scenarios and see how they would play out.

Out of state plates are common on college campuses as many kids bring their cars from home and aren't really expected to transfer over the plates unless they set up residency after college. But your kid may not be in that situation if she doesn't live with you now. So legally you'll probably have to have her re-register it in her home state and get local license plates. Probably has to do with where her drivers license is from. If she had an Ohio drivers license and listed her permanent residence as Ohio she could probably get away with keeping Ohio plates while in college. If she has a Mass drivers license and a Mass permanent address then I suspect not. There are hefty fines in most states for not transferring over the title and license within x-number of days when you move. So she won't want to get pulled over with Ohio plates and a Mass drivers license.
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skyvue
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by skyvue »

No, she is on my ex's policy.
sscritic
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by sscritic »

skyvue wrote: What is the process by which I would transfer ownership to her? Would any sort of sales tax need to be paid or can I really just "give" it to her?
Registering Vehicles Acquired from Family or Friends
http://www.mass.gov/rmv/regs/reg3.htm
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yukonjack
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by yukonjack »

My bigger issue would be giving a young person a relatively new vehicle. As a parent with two teenagers and one who lives in a neighborhood with lots of young drivers I am constantly reminded of the many accidents kids seem to get into. I have had to deal with four accident involving just my kids. I would put an inexpensive, safe vehicle at the top of the list. One that you won't mind seeing a few dings in. Good luck.
texasdiver
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by texasdiver »

yukonjack wrote:My bigger issue would be giving a young person a relatively new vehicle. As a parent with two teenagers and one who lives in a neighborhood with lots of young drivers I am constantly reminded of the many accidents kids seem to get into. I have had to deal with four accident involving just my kids. I would put an inexpensive, safe vehicle at the top of the list. One that you won't mind seeing a few dings in. Good luck.
She'll driving 50 miles/day to school and back throughout the Mass winter which probably means lots of driving at night, in snow and ice, and through some isolated rural areas. And you won't be there to help her out in a bind. That is an entirely different situation from say my daughter who wants to live at home and go to our local college that is 10 minutes away and will never be anywhere where I can't go help her out in 20 minutes if she has car trouble.

I would say a car like the Chevy Cruze is exactly appropriate. A safe economical front wheel drive car that should handle well in snow and ice and should be reliable. The comparable Japanese and Korean offerings would be fine too. But I don't see where you gain anything by trying to swap the Cruze for some older Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic just to put the daughter in an older car. I wouldn't want my daughter making that kind of daily commute in another state with anything less than a relatively late model car.
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Watty
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by Watty »

My son is out of college now but a few things you might want to add;

1) Make sure she has plenty of spare keys. I don't know about that model but some models have anti-theft features built into the key so to make a duplicate you have to have some numbers that came with the paperwork when you bought the car.
2) A car cell phone charger that is right for her phone.
3) Jumper cables.
Gustie13
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by Gustie13 »

Watty wrote:My son is out of college now but a few things you might want to add;

1) Make sure she has plenty of spare keys. I don't know about that model but some models have anti-theft features built into the key so to make a duplicate you have to have some numbers that came with the paperwork when you bought the car.
2) A car cell phone charger that is right for her phone.
3) Jumper cables.
Another tip/alternative is AAA. I live up in Minnesota and AAA helped me out quite a few times in my teens when my car wouldn't start, when I slid into a ditch, etc. :happy
What about getting her an older, used Subaru (or something of that ilk)? Safe, reliable, AWD, not too expensive. Looking at prices for 2011 Chevy Cruzes on Autotrader they average about $15,000 - $20,000, which would have been the most expensive car of anyone in my graduating class (albeit 10 years ago).
Topic Author
skyvue
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by skyvue »

texasdiver wrote:
yukonjack wrote:My bigger issue would be giving a young person a relatively new vehicle. As a parent with two teenagers and one who lives in a neighborhood with lots of young drivers I am constantly reminded of the many accidents kids seem to get into. I have had to deal with four accident involving just my kids. I would put an inexpensive, safe vehicle at the top of the list. One that you won't mind seeing a few dings in. Good luck.
She'll driving 50 miles/day to school and back throughout the Mass winter which probably means lots of driving at night, in snow and ice, and through some isolated rural areas. And you won't be there to help her out in a bind. That is an entirely different situation from say my daughter who wants to live at home and go to our local college that is 10 minutes away and will never be anywhere where I can't go help her out in 20 minutes if she has car trouble.

I would say a car like the Chevy Cruze is exactly appropriate. A safe economical front wheel drive car that should handle well in snow and ice and should be reliable. The comparable Japanese and Korean offerings would be fine too. But I don't see where you gain anything by trying to swap the Cruze for some older Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic just to put the daughter in an older car. I wouldn't want my daughter making that kind of daily commute in another state with anything less than a relatively late model car.
She will also be the lone driver in a carpool of four other girls. I feel some responsibility to the other parents to provide a safer reliable vehicle. I actually wish I was able to give her an AWD option.
Topic Author
skyvue
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by skyvue »

Gustie13 wrote:
Watty wrote:My son is out of college now but a few things you might want to add;

1) Make sure she has plenty of spare keys. I don't know about that model but some models have anti-theft features built into the key so to make a duplicate you have to have some numbers that came with the paperwork when you bought the car.
2) A car cell phone charger that is right for her phone.
3) Jumper cables.
Another tip/alternative is AAA. I live up in Minnesota and AAA helped me out quite a few times in my teens when my car wouldn't start, when I slid into a ditch, etc. :happy
What about getting her an older, used Subaru (or something of that ilk)? Safe, reliable, AWD, not too expensive. Looking at prices for 2011 Chevy Cruzes on Autotrader they average about $15,000 - $20,000, which would have been the most expensive car of anyone in my graduating class (albeit 10 years ago).
I already own the Cruze so I am simply looking at letting her drive my current primary vehicle. I would buy myself a less expensive beater as a replacement for me to drive.
texasdiver
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by texasdiver »

skyvue wrote:
Gustie13 wrote:
Watty wrote:My son is out of college now but a few things you might want to add;

1) Make sure she has plenty of spare keys. I don't know about that model but some models have anti-theft features built into the key so to make a duplicate you have to have some numbers that came with the paperwork when you bought the car.
2) A car cell phone charger that is right for her phone.
3) Jumper cables.
Another tip/alternative is AAA. I live up in Minnesota and AAA helped me out quite a few times in my teens when my car wouldn't start, when I slid into a ditch, etc. :happy
What about getting her an older, used Subaru (or something of that ilk)? Safe, reliable, AWD, not too expensive. Looking at prices for 2011 Chevy Cruzes on Autotrader they average about $15,000 - $20,000, which would have been the most expensive car of anyone in my graduating class (albeit 10 years ago).
I already own the Cruze so I am simply looking at letting her drive my current primary vehicle. I would buy myself a less expensive beater as a replacement for me to drive.
For what it's worth. That is exactly what I would do in your situation given the length of her commute and the fact that you won't be nearby to help in an emergency or break down. This is a totally different situation than the typical student living on or near campus who might bring a broke down beater car to college just to use for weekend recreation and beer runs.
texasdiver
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by texasdiver »

skyvue wrote:
texasdiver wrote:
yukonjack wrote:My bigger issue would be giving a young person a relatively new vehicle. As a parent with two teenagers and one who lives in a neighborhood with lots of young drivers I am constantly reminded of the many accidents kids seem to get into. I have had to deal with four accident involving just my kids. I would put an inexpensive, safe vehicle at the top of the list. One that you won't mind seeing a few dings in. Good luck.
She'll driving 50 miles/day to school and back throughout the Mass winter which probably means lots of driving at night, in snow and ice, and through some isolated rural areas. And you won't be there to help her out in a bind. That is an entirely different situation from say my daughter who wants to live at home and go to our local college that is 10 minutes away and will never be anywhere where I can't go help her out in 20 minutes if she has car trouble.

I would say a car like the Chevy Cruze is exactly appropriate. A safe economical front wheel drive car that should handle well in snow and ice and should be reliable. The comparable Japanese and Korean offerings would be fine too. But I don't see where you gain anything by trying to swap the Cruze for some older Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic just to put the daughter in an older car. I wouldn't want my daughter making that kind of daily commute in another state with anything less than a relatively late model car.
She will also be the lone driver in a carpool of four other girls. I feel some responsibility to the other parents to provide a safer reliable vehicle. I actually wish I was able to give her an AWD option.
I drove a front wheel drive Camry for 4 years in Juneau Alaska which has MUCH worse winter snow and ice conditions than anything in Mass. She'll be just fine. The more important thing is making sure she has good tires.
sscritic
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by sscritic »

I thought the topic was "how to transfer title?" not "what is the right car?" but what do I know, it's not my thread.
sscritic
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by sscritic »

Note that if she is on her mother's policy, a new car will increase the premium. Are you going to pay the increased premium? If not, you shouldn't be making this decision by yourself (my suggestion).
Topic Author
skyvue
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Re: Best way to give your kid a car?

Post by skyvue »

sscritic wrote:Note that if she is on her mother's policy, a new car will increase the premium. Are you going to pay the increased premium? If not, you shouldn't be making this decision by yourself (my suggestion).
Good point. Her mother and I are in conversation about premium increases.
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