My neighbor got her son a 2010 Volvo sedan recently. Pretty sure it was under $10k.
D21 (hopefully) getting her license later this month and she will take my 2012 RAV4. It has a ton of miles, but it’s never had an issue outside of routine maintenance so hopefully it will last.
We did the same with S17. He took my hubby’s 2010 Subaru Forester (this was 2016). What a disaster!!! Should have dumped that car and bought him something used! What a money pit!!! He’s actually ended up keeping it because at this point we’ve put so much money into it, we’d never recoup it. Praying with the limited miles he put on it, it gets him through college and then he can lease/buy his own new car.
Be careful with used Subarus. Ask about oil burning, gaskets and other things i don’t fully understand! Google it and you should see.
The 2012-2018 Focus Powershift automatic transmission had a bad reputation for rough shifting and reliability, although brief personal experience with a rental showed no such issues. But those considering that model may want to prefer getting one with a manual transmission. The same applies to the 2011-2019 Fiesta.
Earlier years also had the option of MyFord Touch center console controls (touch screen) that had a reputation for bugs and general difficulty of use compared to the lower trim with traditional buttons.
@NJWrestlingmom Many of the high mileage Subaru listings mention considerable maintenance performed, like head gaskets. I agree completely about exercising caution with them.
We purchased new, high-end cars for our children when they turned 17 (driving age in our state). Seems really spoiled, and the neighbors probably sniped, but we felt good about having them drive comfortable, reliable cars with all of the latest bells and whistles and most importantly, safety features.
It’s been less stressful for H and me, and we’ve had zero car problems all around. 27 year old D is actually on her second nice car (courtesy of mom and dad), and she drives up north to ski several times a winter. I feel good that the car can handle the bad roads.
They all appreciate having such nice cars and take incredible care of them. Not a choice that everyone can make, but another point of view.
^We didn’t buy our kids brand new cars, but we didn’t get them clunkers, either. We would rather drive those, ha. I don’t want my daughter stuck somewhere with a broken-down car.
Same here. Lightly used cars with 5 year CPO. 18 months old, less than 20K miles at less than half of original sticker. I like the ease of knowing they have something reliable. I realize not all can swing. I ask them to take good care of them and if they do, there is no reason they can’t drive them for 10 years easy.
I THOUGHT I had told D about her responsibilities regarding the car she got last Christmas. But when she drove me someplace today, I realized her inspection sticker had expired, the registration needed to be renewed, and she was past due for an oil change! Ack. I took her to town hall and paid for the registration (I told her this is the last time that’s happening since she’s a college senior). Then I had to beg our mechanic to fit her in for the inspection and oil change before next Wednesday, when she drives back to school.
My oldest drives 500 miles back to school tomorrow. He had his truck at the dealership yesterday for lots of maintenance and it was in a buddies shop today to replace the exhaust components. He had a month to get it done…I feel your pain.
BTW, the number of posts in the “For Sale by Owner” section of Craigslist that are obviously car dealer listings is bonkers. You’d think they could regulate things a little better.
I’m poor so we needed a real unicorn. I bought a 22 year old Camry with 180K miles off my uncle for $500 and 200 bales of hay. He’d had it for quite a few years and I knew he took care of all the maintenance.
So far, so good. He’s driven it for almost 2 years and 20K miles now just replacing the brakes and brake lines for about $800 and a new set of snow tires. Tabs are only $35/year and insurance $50/month, which is pretty good for a teen boy. I highly doubt he will be taking the car along to college this Fall so it will just be my spare when he’s gone.
Good point. My D bought a one year old Honda Civic (with her own money) that had all of the safety features (air bags, back-up camera, side mirror warning lights, etc) which gives us comfort. Because it was lightly used with 5K miles they knocked 3K off the price. It will hold it’s value if she decides to sell it before college next year. If not, she will have a great car that she can drive for the next 10 years, no problem. We love Japanese cars (Honda, Toyota, Lexus) and have owned many over the years. You can’t go wrong with them if you take care of them. My Lexus sedan was a champ, and recently traded it in with 180K miles.
When D19 turned 17 D got himself an new X3 and let her use his 2014 X5. The truck looks indestructible, gives me peace of mind.
My dilemma with S23. He will be ready in 2022. I am itching to get a Tesla. Been driving Minivan and SUV since the kids were born, i am sick of gigantic SUV. It was nice when I could take 6 girls to soccer practices and eared drop on their gossips. Now DS isn’t as social, the SUV just feels so big (2015 Lexus GX460). My dilemma is that he won’t want to touch my Lexus with a 10 feet pole. They always make fun of my giant Lexus it’s kind of annoying. And I don’t want him to drive the Tesla either. If it did it would just be for a year until he goes to college and I will take it back. But I need him to learn how to drive on a REAL car! The Tesla would make him a bad driver if he had to drive someone else’s car.
Please Put aside your judgment (Know that I do feel bad not having other more moderate option for him), and let me know your thought if my concern is valid? Would driving an electric car with auto features make him dumb?? I mean I feel like he needs to learn classical mechanic before learning quantum mechanic, that sort of thing.
Yeah you are right. He just has to deal. But do you think it’s a terrible idea for a teen to drive an electric car? Will it make him not a sharp driver ?
I still have to own a car new enough to have a backup camera. Automatic headlights and aux port are luxurious to me lol.
I also worry about them keeping up with maintenance if they take a car away to school.
Registration can be renewed online, but inspection and oil change you need an appointment for, and take the time to get it done.
D does have jiffy lube and such in the city.
But parking is also limited and costly, one of the reasons she hasn’t brought a car so far. As a student she has a free bus pass.
S can come home the occasional weekend but it can be tricky around here to find a shop that’s open on the weekend.
But they shouldn’t put that many miles on it, so we can probably take care of that during winter and summer break.
I don’t think it’s a terrible idea, but all the electronics inside the car will provide ample distraction. I also believe it’s important for new drivers to learn to correctly utilize their mirrors rather than relying on a backup camera.
He’d had it for quite a few years and I knew he took care of all the maintenance.