<p>I agree - the economies of a car depend on location-- as well as the school policies (cost of parking, etc.).</p>
<p>My used 2001 PT Cruiser with 107,000 miles isn’t exactly a luxury, but better then nothing. I know kids with brand new cars who wreck them, SMH.</p>
<p>You simply cannot afford the cost (maintenance, gas, parking, etc) of a car. In fact, if funds are tight, you might be better off considering selling it and putting the funds towards the tuition bill. As others have said, most students do NOT have a car at college.</p>
<p>Look, it’s your decision. BUT I personally would NOT even allow my kids to take a 10 year old car far from home. The issues of upkeep and costs of necessary repairs are real. I seriously think you need to reconsider this. You claim that finances are tight but you plan to take a car to college? Sorry…doesn’t add up to me.</p>
<p>I will say that every acquaintance/friend I know in college in Georgia brought their car with them. I don’t know anyone who didn’t, but then again they would be driving back home and not flying. If I went to Millidgeville, Hickory, or Saint Augustine, I would need it to drive back home.</p>
<p>Actually, I think that it is a luxury. The fact that someone has something newer/better does not mean anything. There will always be people who have more “things” than you have or are better off than you are, and there will always be people who have much less than you have.</p>
<p>It comes down to dollars and cents. Cars cost money to operate, whether they are newer or older. Insurance and gas costs money. Repairs cost money too.</p>
<p>NO YOU WOULD NOT. You can EASILY get a ride from someone else in the area. That the beauty of going to a school where other folks from the area also attend.</p>
<p>Please don’t tell us you are using the “everyone else does so I should too” argument. Seriously?</p>
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<p>And the very vast majority of my kids’ friends did NOT take cars with them to college.</p>
<p>Another consideration…how much driving have you done on snow in Georgia? Most of your colleges are in snow country…another consideration.</p>
<p>Whatever…I have to say…on one hand you are worried about college finances and on the other hand you want to take a trip abroad this summer (spending money…not working, etc) and you want to take a car to college. Most students with financial concerns wouldn’t even be considering either of these things.</p>
<p>Its not e-c’s decision, its his parent’s decision. And the cost of insurance when the car is out of state more than 6 mo out of the year can go up (depends on the state and the insu company). Have been through this with both my s’s. Older s did not take a car to school til soph year (he lived off campus, not by choice) and younger s did not take a car until second semester junior year. And we do NOT have the financial concerns e-c does.</p>
<p>Younger s usually gives someone a ride to/from school on breaks. VERY COMMONLY DONE.</p>
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Yes, when I was a college freshman I “survived” without a car very simply: I had a boyfriend who lived in the same dorm… and he had a car. </p>
<p>It really does depend on location. My son attended a college that was a 5-6 hour drive away --and an absolutely beautiful drive as well. Served by a regional airport that would have cost double what it cost my daughter for RT from NY, and probably only had 1 or 2 flights a day. I had flown up there on business once, years ago… and quite frankly wouldn’t have wanted my son in the grasshopper-thingy that passed for an airplane – and I understand that particular airport to be one of the most dangerous in the nation. So I gave my son my car.</p>
<p>Because my son had a car, he was able to get a half-time job in a nearby town, larger than the college town, and earn enough money to support himself. Insurance costs were cheap compared to what I paid, because (a) no need to carry collision coverage on the old clunker, and (b) rural insurance rates are often far less than urban rate. I’d note my son was older at the time (I think he was age 23-25 the years he was there) – but the point is that having a car saved money under the circumstances.</p>
<p>My daughter has never had a car while in college in NYC, where of course it is insane to own a car – nor does she own a car now (lives & works in Brooklyn). If my d. had opted to attend UC Santa Barbara or UC Santa Cruz instead, I probably would have let her keep the car. I really don’t think you can figure out the economics of student-car ownership without considering both the college location & the proximity from the student’s home.</p>
<p>What others do should not be the litmus test as to whether you NEED a car.</p>
<p>Most students from our area also have their own cars and they either sit on their parent’s driveways or they are taken to college. Our kids knew that we would not be providing the same thing. We did not feel that we could take on such an expense. our kids did just fine without cars.</p>
<p>I agree with calmom. My family has four cars. My dad got a gently used HHR recently. He didn’t need it, he works from home. But he wanted it for “freedom”. My car didn’t cost much and the insurance isn’t bad for my car at all. The money issue for cars haven’t been a problem. I needed a car because I go to a school where I live outside the district. It has always been very inconvenient when my parents had to take me, etc. And they wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have a car. </p>
<p>And I don’t think many people from Lenoir or Flagler live where I do BTW.</p>
<p>It may be a good idea to leave the car behind for the first semester or two. You’ll have a better idea on the real need for one once you’ve lived on campus a little while.</p>
<p>Having a car on campus can be a curse just as easily as it can be an advantage. Our son had a side view mirror busted off his car one year while it was parked in the student parking lot. This Fall, his car was totaled when a flash flood from a creek located well behind the residence area caused the parking lot to flood. In a 15 minute time span, his car went from being fine to being submerged up to the windshield in water.</p>
<p>That being said, both of my sons brought their cars to college after their freshman year. It wasn’t so much a need for them as it was a need for us. This way, they could drive themselves to and from college. It is very difficult for us to leave the area because my husband owns and operates a local retail business. </p>
<p>Consider things such as: flat tires, cracked windshield, inspections, vandalism, and general maintenance. It’s also not very fun shoveling your car out of the parking spot after a snow storm.</p>
<p>e_c – are you planning to work while you are in school?</p>
<p>Unless e-c plans to get a job off campus, it simply makes no sense to have the wear and tear on a 10 yr old car, the cost of driving it to/from home and these schools (lodging and gas is often more than the airfare) and he is struggling as it is to cover the cost of CSS applications. Most colleges, if they even let a freshman have a car, charge to park it. It is often several hundred dollars a semester. These are NOT insignificant numbers . And again, isn’t there a younger brother approaching driving age at home?</p>
<p>I def plan on doing work study. I would probably wait until 2nd semester to get a real job because I don’t know how I would handle a full course-load and a job. I would have a better idea after the first semester is finished. I also plan on being heavenly involved with theater and the schools newspaper.</p>
<p>I have a brother who is a freshman…</p>
<p>My opinion…if you plan to work while in college, the money would be better spent to pay for your books than to pay for a car.</p>
<p>I know some local kids who go to Flagler (though I think they are graduating). Regardless, flights from Jacksonville to Atlanta are CHEAP.</p>
<p>If you are anticipating getting FA, won’t it likely include work-study? If you have a campus job, how would you also manage an off campus one?</p>
<p><em>cross posted</em></p>
<p>Also, lets say I wanted to get an internship in either Providence or Boston. A car would be more convenient. However, I could use the train. But if the internship is in a suburb or somewhere more rural, I would need a car. And my car won’t last another four years. So, it would only be good for two or three. I would have to get another cheap jalopy. But I would also have to find somewhere to store the car when I go home which would cost a lot of money. And no, I’ve never driven in snow lol.</p>
<p>Oh and right now my parents don’t have any objections for me taking it. However, my father just said my car isn’t meant to drive back and forth from the northeast to Atlanta.</p>