How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

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amandalmoore65
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How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by amandalmoore65 »

I am purchasing a car for my son (he is 17) for when he graduated high school. He recently got accepted to a college out of state and I want to make sure he is able to get to work and class as needed (or drive home of course :D ). My husband and I keep going back and forth on what car we want to buy him. We know we want something used from CarMax since that is where we have purchased all of our cars but the options are hard to narrow down.

I would love to hear your thoughts on buying your kids cars after high school graduation and what cars you purchased or wish you would have purchased. Any and all feed back is appreciated!

Here is what we have been getting our ideas from so far: https://www.carmax.com/articles/cars-co ... mate-guide
bloom2708
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by bloom2708 »

No easy answer. Is winter driving part of the mix? AWD or FWD? How important are safety features? Budget? $10k or $20k will make a huge difference.

Sedan vs. SUV. You might find a better deal on a sedan. Some brands have higher maintenance costs due to their name/luxury status (Infiniti, Lexus, Acura).

Do you want to have full coverage or just liability insurance? Self insuring with a lower value car. Around that $6-7k range I tend to just put liability only on.

What brand of cars do you drive? Do you have a "go to" mechanic? Any bad experiences with makes/models?

All of these past experiences will narrow your scope. Maybe hand down a current vehicle and one of you get a "new" one? I wouldn't buy many of the models in your link. All too small (for the most part) for me.

If winter is in the mix, I'd maybe look at mid-sized SUV in your mileage/price range. Subaru Forester (Legacy, Impreza, Crosstrek, Outback), Ford Escape or Edge, CRV, RAV4.

We have some milder winters and then get brought back to earth with some really harsh/snow/cold/slippery winters. I probably won't buy another non AWD car for anyone in the family and I will put good quality tires on. Been putting Toyo Celsius on our cars.

If winter is not in the mix, then FWD is fine. Some will say FWD with good tires is just as good.

Is Uber/Lyft available in the city he will go to college? Other options for getting home? Bus or Train? I might be tempted to say use Uber/Lyft up to $X/month for the first year.
Last edited by bloom2708 on Wed Jul 31, 2019 4:21 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Reamus294
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Reamus294 »

Lucky kid, that's a nice thing to do.

It would help to know what you were going back and forth on to get in the same ballpark. Knowing the priorities (cost, safety, low/easy maintenance), mpg, looks cool enough for a 17 year old to want, awd) would also help.

A sportier looking camry or accord should last many years (accord looks better in my opinion)
The mazda cx-5 looks pretty good too if you are looking for a small suv
I'm a fan of subaru

A truck could make him a professional mover in college.
Jags4186
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Jags4186 »

I got my first car when I turned 17 near the end of my junior year of high school in 2003. It was a FWD 1972 Datsun 510 5 door hatchback. It was free and donated to me by a family friend. It lasted about 6 months. I then got a RWD 1993 BMW 318is--I think I paid $3500 for it. Got a $750 speeding/reckless driving ticket for going over 100mph. Fortunately I managed to get out of it with no points so my insurance didn't go up. Loved the car--that lasted me through my 3rd year of college and I sold it for what I paid. In fairness, I did have to do about $2500 worth of work to it for the 4 years I had it. After that I had a 2004 FWD Honda Civic LX lease ($0 down, $97.XX/mo with CD player!) which lasted me 3rd and 4th year of college and my first year post college. How could you go wrong--3 full years of a brand new car for under $3600!
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by JediMisty »

amandalmoore65 wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:05 pm I am purchasing a car for my son (he is 17) for when he graduated high school. He recently got accepted to a college out of state and I want to make sure he is able to get to work and class as needed (or drive home of course :D ). My husband and I keep going back and forth on what car we want to buy him. We know we want something used from CarMax since that is where we have purchased all of our cars but the options are hard to narrow down.

I would love to hear your thoughts on buying your kids cars after high school graduation and what cars you purchased or wish you would have purchased. Any and all feed back is appreciated!

Here is what we have been getting our ideas from so far: https://www.carmax.com/articles/cars-co ... mate-guide
In addition to other points made, I'd advise to buy him something you can afford for him to total. Ask me how I know. :oops:
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Sandtrap »

I gave son #2 one of my old work trucks. A 20+ year old "base model" 1975 Toyota pickup truck. Standard shift. Power steering. Power brakes. Bench seat. 4 cylinder R. motor. He drove it carefully through high school and college. Never broke down. Great truck. Later, I gave him another of my trucks, a Mazda B2000. He drove that for years to his first job. Never broke down. Great truck.

I bought son #1 a car for school and thereafter. He broke the motor and/or transmission in the first 6 months. I bought him a replacement. He crashed it (no injuries) in the first 6 months. (late at night coming home from a "party") (see a pattern?) And, that was that.

You never know what's going to happen between your child and his/her car. But, then again. . . you kinda know. :shock:

*At some certain point in life, you have to draw a line and say. . . . "no more cars".

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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by willthrill81 »

I would suggest that you first determine how much you wish to spend, inclusive of all taxes and fees, and then your let son make the choice of the available vehicles at your local CarMax.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by psteinx »

So, especially for a kids' car, one is typically trading off among the attributes of price, reliability, safety, and style. You'll have to think about what mix of these is appropriate for you and your kid, and what your budget is.

Price: Fairly obvious, but keep in mind insurance costs, and also the higher possibility that this vehicle will be damaged/totalled in an accident, and/or just take abuse in a college environment

Reliability: Presumably you don't want something too old, and/or with too many miles, and/or with a general reputation for unreliability. If this car will be driven to and from college for ~4 years, and if the college is in a smaller town, think about going with a mainstream brand, for ease of service

Safety: Check IIHS for details here. Yes, definitely try to inculcate safe driving habits in your kid, but recognize that typical kids are not the greatest drivers and make mistakes. I'm a big fan of automatic braking, but this may be harder to find in an inexpensive used car. I would also be cautious about the smallest sized cars.

Style: Your kid may care about this a lot, you perhaps not so much, but it'll likely factor into the equation in some form. In particular, I'd avoid a car that a kid will be overly tempted to drive fast (a sportscar) or off-road (a Jeep Wrangler).

There are other factors as well (especially if the car will have to drive in snow a lot), but the above are some of the key things, IMO...
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by megabad »

If my budget was unlimited and I had a non-vain child, I would buy something like a brand new Subaru Forester. I know, I dream big. I would want something bigger than a sedan (safer for my kid, more dangerous for everybody else yay) but something slow and completely unimpressive. And I get pre-collision braking, pre-collision throttle management, lane-departure and sway warning, lead vehicle start alert, and lane-keep assist and the distracted driver system thing.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Afty »

Are you sure you son will want or need a car at college? My (now dated) experience was that having a car in college would have been a huge PITA, and that it was pretty easy to get around by bike, public transit, and Zipcar. Now students also have the option of Uber/Lyft.
chentastic
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by chentastic »

IIHS has a list of safe vehicles for teens.

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/safe-vehicles-for-teens
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by livesoft »

Our kids were given the oldest car in the family at the time they graduated from college. Before that, they had no cars.

So the question was not "How do you decide what car to buy for you kid?" but "What kind of car do you buy for yourself?"
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by willthrill81 »

livesoft wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:06 pm Our kids were given the oldest car in the family at the time they graduated from college. Before that, they had no cars.

So the question was not "How do you decide what car to buy for you kid?" but "What kind of car do you buy for yourself?"
Same here.
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Trader Joe
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Trader Joe »

amandalmoore65 wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:05 pm I am purchasing a car for my son (he is 17) for when he graduated high school. He recently got accepted to a college out of state and I want to make sure he is able to get to work and class as needed (or drive home of course :D ). My husband and I keep going back and forth on what car we want to buy him. We know we want something used from CarMax since that is where we have purchased all of our cars but the options are hard to narrow down.

I would love to hear your thoughts on buying your kids cars after high school graduation and what cars you purchased or wish you would have purchased. Any and all feed back is appreciated!

Here is what we have been getting our ideas from so far: https://www.carmax.com/articles/cars-co ... mate-guide
My criteria was safety, reliability and cost effectiveness (in that order). I purchased a Toyota Corolla.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by 7eight9 »

No firsthand experience in this matter. Teenagers are not necessarily the best drivers. Accidents happen.
Data on teen drivers --- https://www.geico.com/information/safet ... tatistics/

Maybe something like a Ford Crown Victoria. It is a good size car and has a long established track record for dependability (think taxi fleets and police departments). You could probably pick up a clean relatively low mileage one for not that much. And if you don't have a lot into the car you might want to consider insuring for liability only.
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Atilla
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Atilla »

If the boy is 17, buy him a 17 year old Civic. It's what I did for my 16 year old back when.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Hulu »

My parents gave me their worst Honda/Toyota and bought themselves a better car. That set a good tone, kept me safe and taught me to appreciate reliable cars. And so for my first car I bought a Chrysler minivan haha. So far so good
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by H-Town »

amandalmoore65 wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:05 pm I am purchasing a car for my son (he is 17) for when he graduated high school. He recently got accepted to a college out of state and I want to make sure he is able to get to work and class as needed (or drive home of course :D ). My husband and I keep going back and forth on what car we want to buy him. We know we want something used from CarMax since that is where we have purchased all of our cars but the options are hard to narrow down.

I would love to hear your thoughts on buying your kids cars after high school graduation and what cars you purchased or wish you would have purchased. Any and all feed back is appreciated!

Here is what we have been getting our ideas from so far: https://www.carmax.com/articles/cars-co ... mate-guide
Each situation is different, but I don't think buying a car for teenagers is a good idea, especially if they don't work for it or earn it. At the very least, they should pay for insurance, gas, registration, and routine maintenance.

For the car recommendation, if you don't have any "hand me down" car, I'd recommend old car that is less than 10k in value. Any 5-10 year old Civic, Corolla, or Sonata should work. They only need to get through college and their first few years at the job.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Kenkat »

livesoft wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:06 pm Our kids were given the oldest car in the family at the time they graduated from college. Before that, they had no cars.

So the question was not "How do you decide what car to buy for you kid?" but "What kind of car do you buy for yourself?"
+1

My two kids are driving my mom’s old 2004 Monte Carlo and my old 2005 Camry. I replaced my Camry with a (used) Camaro...
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by cshell2 »

H-Town wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:35 pm
amandalmoore65 wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:05 pm I am purchasing a car for my son (he is 17) for when he graduated high school. He recently got accepted to a college out of state and I want to make sure he is able to get to work and class as needed (or drive home of course :D ). My husband and I keep going back and forth on what car we want to buy him. We know we want something used from CarMax since that is where we have purchased all of our cars but the options are hard to narrow down.

I would love to hear your thoughts on buying your kids cars after high school graduation and what cars you purchased or wish you would have purchased. Any and all feed back is appreciated!

Here is what we have been getting our ideas from so far: https://www.carmax.com/articles/cars-co ... mate-guide
Each situation is different, but I don't think buying a car for teenagers is a good idea, especially if they don't work for it or earn it. At the very least, they should pay for insurance, gas, registration, and routine maintenance.

For the car recommendation, if you don't have any "hand me down" car, I'd recommend old car that is less than 10k in value. Any 5-10 year old Civic, Corolla, or Sonata should work. They only need to get through college and their first few years at the job.
My son couldn't work unless he had a car. Having said that, I bought him a 22 year old $1000 Camry, so he's not exactly styling. I also fill his tank for him once a month. Most of the driving he does is stuff I would be shuttling him to and from anyhow. It's saved me a ton of time at 40 minutes a round trip.

I wouldn't suggest going that old for a college kid having to drive a long ways though. My kid never goes more than 50 miles from home, so if he breaks down it's not a huge deal. Knock on wood, we've got a year of trouble free out of it so far.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by junior »

My parents gave me the hand me down car and got themselves a new one.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by celia »

We never bought a car for any of our kids. They figured that out for themselves.

They all went to colleges that didn't have room for student parking, except maybe for the students who were seniors. Thus, there was no pressure for them to get a car. I suggest you confirm that there is parking for anyone who wants it at the college your son will attend.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by decapod10 »

I also got a hand me down from my parents when I turned 16. It was a not-too old Camry, I think 5 years old or so. I loved that car. It had manual locks though, so all my friend got annoyed because they had to manually lock/unlock my car doors, lol. Your kid might not actually mind a hand me down as not as it's not a clunker, I certainly didn't. I think most kids have a soft spot for their "first car", no matter what it is.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Doom&Gloom »

I gave DS my 10 y/o Toyota when he was in HS. He surprised us and made it last him through college. DW is now driving it with >270,000 miles until the new Subarus come out.

I would give him something reliable. I would not give him anything new(ish), high-powered, sporty, or big enough that it will be the vehicle of choice when he and his friends decide to make a road trip.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by JBTX »

Within the last year bought daughter Nissan Sentra- 1 year old, very low miles, only a couple of thousand miles. The reason is that it was one of the cheaper smaller cars out there, was small enough to be easy handle, but bigger than sub compacts, and new enough to get many of the newer safety features and still be under warranty and be reliable for a while. They ran around $12k.

She actually totaled the first one but protected her well (airbags deployed). So got another one.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Watty »

It might seem obvious but make sure that he will be allowed to have a car as a freshman and he will be able to get a parking space for it. At some colleges parking is in very short supply and there is a lottery to see who will get one. At some colleges parking can also cost hundreds of dollars a semester.

Even if he has parking this year needing to find a place to live next year may limit his housing choices.

If he will need to work during the school year to pay for things like gas, insurance, maintenance, and parking then that could require a lot of hours each month working some minimum wage job. That time might be better spent studying.

One of my son's roomates worked at a Taco Bell largely to pay for his car toys and that often involved working well past midnight and also working during finals week. That impacted his grades and he would have been better off without a car.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by willthrill81 »

Watty wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:13 pm It might seem obvious but make sure that he will be allowed to have a car as a freshman and he will be able to get a parking space for it. At some colleges parking is in very short supply and there is a lottery to see who will get one. At some colleges parking can also cost hundreds of dollars a semester.
It can be worse than that. Many universities do not allow freshmen or sophomores to have vehicles parked on campus at all unless they are disabled. The reason for this is partly availability of parking spaces and partly an effort to avoid a 'commuter culture'.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Chris K Jones »

Two daughters totaled their first cars. Both were late models. One was a Toyota Corolla and the other a Ford Fusion.

My son is currently driving a 2007 Honda Accord with 230,000+ miles on it. I intend to buy him a late model car in the next few months and hope to find a deal on a Camry, Corolla, Civic or Accord. I like reliable Japanese cars. Best wishes.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by medic »

You also don't want junior to be the taxi driver for his dorm or be in the position to have to tell friends that they can't borrow his car.

If you do buy a car, in general, Nissan's are reliable cars, but have horrible depreciation so you can get something newer and reliable vs a Honda or Toyota. We bought this for my sister in law when she was doing to school and living with us with a 30 minute commute (1.25 hours via bus) commute. Having her drive home late at night after being in class/working all day was always a bit worrisome with a higher chance of drowsy driving.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Megamill »

DH bought a 2006 Accord with 96k miles for 6k for DS on the coldest day of Winter (every school and practically every business was closed except this car place.) It was very well maintained as per the entire service history that was included in the paperwork. He will probably be able to put another 100k miles on it.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by abuss368 »

Our university had all freshman with cars park at the far side of campus.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by invest4 »

Two teenage drivers thus far...more on the way.

Have been fortunate to purchase cars from family (offered me same price as what the dealer would offer in trade value) to utilize first for myself and then handoff to the first two kids (2001 Acura which we recently set out to pasture at 250K miles and a 2012 Honda Civic still going strong). As for the replacement for the Acura, I am looking for:

Price: $4-6K
Miles: <150K
Years: ~2006-2009 (note: critical item for teenager was that the car have a jack for an aux cord)

Toyota and Honda at the top of the list. Hyundai also looks pretty good. Nissan Altimas were also heavily scouted, but widely reported CVT transmission issues are a concern (believe the Nissan used to be reliable until Renault bought them). I prefer something like a RAV4 with AWD (winter driving here), but strong demand. As highlighted by others, these are teen drivers who lack experience...thus looking for moderately priced, safe and reliable vehicles.

I fully support others comments about teaching responsibility. For myself, I try to walk a tightrope...finding a balance of paying their own way while also wanting them to enjoy this small window of life before full time work, future spouse / family, and all the other responsibilities that come with it.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by msk »

My two eldest daughters insisted that
a. the car must not look like a Mummy's car (i.e. no family sedan)
b. Must have a good stereo

Basically their attitudes were, engine optional.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by cadreamer2015 »

We didn't buy a car for any of our 3 kids. They eventually bought a car with their own money after graduating. They each went away to college that was anywhere from 100 to 2500 miles away from home. They didn't need a car at college. For the one who was 100 miles away, we picked him up and dropped him off if he wanted/needed to come home. For the one who was 2500 miles away we bought plane tickets.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by tadamsmar »

chentastic wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:04 pm IIHS has a list of safe vehicles for teens.

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/safe-vehicles-for-teens
These are good criteria. ESC cuts fatalities by 1/3 and makes for safer driving on slick roads. It is standard since the 2012 model year. It is standard many trims for years before that, absent on some economy cars.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by mike_in_ny »

I'm going to propose a different option that while not Boglehead-like is worth considering:
lease a new low end car. If you look at stripped down cars Civics, Hyundai, etc, you can
often get a brand new car with all the latest safety features and without any headaches
of maintenance for less than $200/m.

The total cost for three years even for a $200/m payment is ~ $7k....In my view this
isn't bad.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by cshell2 »

mike_in_ny wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:23 am I'm going to propose a different option that while not Boglehead-like is worth considering:
lease a new low end car. If you look at stripped down cars Civics, Hyundai, etc, you can
often get a brand new car with all the latest safety features and without any headaches
of maintenance for less than $200/m.

The total cost for three years even for a $200/m payment is ~ $7k....In my view this
isn't bad.
Until you have to turn in that car that a teen has been driving and pay a premium for every ding and spilled coffee stain. :happy

Also, I found insurance on anything but a beater for a teen boy was crazy expensive. We're talking $200/month plus for full coverage on a car a few years old. We pay $65/month for just liability on a car not worth paying for collision.
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tadamsmar
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by tadamsmar »

Check out the cars that you are considering here:

https://informedforlife.org/
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by tadamsmar »

cshell2 wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:40 am Also, I found insurance on anything but a beater for a teen boy was crazy expensive. We're talking $200/month plus for full coverage on a car a few years old. We pay $65/month for just liability on a car not worth paying for collision.
You can call your insurance agent and get quotes. I think you would be surprised. Features that prevent a large proportion of accidents like ESC reduce rates a lot.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

A car old and cheap enough so that when they wrap it around a tree, it doesn't bankrupt you. Perhaps no car at all. At my son's college, they have a sponsored zip car membership. Free to join and reduced rates to use a car. When my son wanted to go to grocery store or someplace else, he'd reserve a zip car.

Think about whether he's going to need a car at college. In my 2nd year, I transferred to a college in the city. I had a car and realized it had not moved in 6 weeks. I sold it. When I wanted to go into Boston, or back home to western Massachusetts, I'd walk to the bus station or get a ride there from a room mate and take the bus. I did buy a car again when I ran out of money and took a co-op job, but once the job concluded, I sold the car again. So what I'm saying is that at any city college, you don't want a car at all.
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by cshell2 »

Even though my son has a car now in high school, he will not be taking it to college. The schools we're looking at have very good public transportation that is free to students as part of tuition. If he had a car on campus we'd have to pay $500/year for a parking pass and most of the time it would be sitting in a lot in sub zero temps. The one school in the city is way more than that and you can only get a pass by lottery. A lottery that commuters get priority for. I can't imagine a freshman even being allowed one.

About the only time he'd ever use a car at college would be the occasional trip home (and the schools are all 2-4 hour drive away so that wouldn't happen a lot). Chances are he'd have more problems with the car starting after sitting for weeks in bad weather. For the $500 we pay in parking and the cost to insure the car he could get a LOT of bus tickets home...like way more than he would ever use.
Last edited by cshell2 on Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
cshell2
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by cshell2 »

tadamsmar wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:50 am
cshell2 wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:40 am Also, I found insurance on anything but a beater for a teen boy was crazy expensive. We're talking $200/month plus for full coverage on a car a few years old. We pay $65/month for just liability on a car not worth paying for collision.
You can call your insurance agent and get quotes. I think you would be surprised. Features that prevent a large proportion of accidents like ESC reduce rates a lot.
We did. In fact, I asked him exactly what to buy. That's how we ended up with an old mid-size sedan with liability only.
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A440
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by A440 »

chentastic wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:04 pm IIHS has a list of safe vehicles for teens.

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/safe-vehicles-for-teens
+1 If we were buying a car. It wouldn't be a new car. Teen drivers are 3x's more likely to get into an accident vs. drivers over 20 years of age. Price notwithstanding, the safety features of the vehicle would be paramount.

Our plan is to give (or have him pay us the current trade-in value) our oldest (but safe) car to DS when he turns 18 and replace it with a new(ish) car for Mom and Dad. NJ car insurance rates are through the roof for teen drivers, so keeping 2 cars with 3 drivers for as long as possible is preferred. Such is the cost of living in the most densely populated state. I've also seen plenty of dense drivers as well. :happy
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Liberty1100
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Liberty1100 »

I highly suggest a car that is safe.

Check out the IIHS safety rating.

Check out the NHTSA rating.

Research and test drive the safety features: Blind spot detection, adaptive cruise control, pre-collision detection braking.

Getting into an accident could cause serious harm to him and to others. Pay the money to do your best to prevent it.
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Watty
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Watty »

One more thought.

You might delay getting the car until he comes home for Thanksgiving.

That would give him a few months to try living on campus without a car and to get used to living on his own for the first time. Having a car during that transition would add to the chances that he would make some bad choices about drinking and driving. If he does not have a car then taking Uber to and from parties would be more likely.

By then he might even decide that he does not want a car yet.
Dottie57
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by Dottie57 »

My parents let me buy their old AMC Gremlin when in college. I loved that car!
stoptothink
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by stoptothink »

Dottie57 wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 9:14 am My parents let me buy their old AMC Gremlin when in college. I loved that car!
My grandfather let me buy his '87 corolla when I left for college in '98. Drove it through undergrad (which was hardly ever), gave it to my mom and my little sister totaled it a few weeks later. Man, I should have kept that car.
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tadamsmar
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by tadamsmar »

cshell2 wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:57 am
tadamsmar wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:50 am
cshell2 wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:40 am Also, I found insurance on anything but a beater for a teen boy was crazy expensive. We're talking $200/month plus for full coverage on a car a few years old. We pay $65/month for just liability on a car not worth paying for collision.
You can call your insurance agent and get quotes. I think you would be surprised. Features that prevent a large proportion of accidents like ESC reduce rates a lot.
We did. In fact, I asked him exactly what to buy. That's how we ended up with an old mid-size sedan with liability only.
That's a good way to do it, you get a cheaper rate and it would tend to be a relatively safe car (I think).

What is the make, model, and year of the sedan?
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KlingKlang
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by KlingKlang »

We purchased a new 2013 Hyundai Accent for my daughter when she needed a car to commute to her summer internship job after her junior year. Low cost, compact, great gas mileage, four door with a surprising amount of interior room. Still using it today. She actually suggested that I give her my 2004 Chevy Malibu and get a new car myself, but by that time the Malibu was having reliability issues (finally traded it in this February).

We normally drive American cars out of respect for my father who served in WWII and I thought that we would get her a Chevy Cruze, but the difference in price and quality was too much to ignore.
mak1277
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Re: How do you decide what car to buy for your kid

Post by mak1277 »

Hand me down, for sure. Mom & Dad get the new car, kid gets the old one.
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