<p>our “old” car – the one H drives to work and back – is a 1988. Worse yet, tonight he’s on the road on his bicycle, helmetless. I worry enough for both of us. My youngest is safely sequested on a rural campus with no car – but then again, one of their students died a couple of years ago when a pickup truck loaded with kids stalled on a dirt road, rolled back and overturned. Freak stuff happens.</p>
<p>Yes, celloguy, freak stuff definitely does happen. In my lifetime I have been a car passenger in three major accidents in which the car was totalled each time. (Other driver’s fault each time as well). The last time around was in late 1988 and I was pregnant with my younger son (older son had just been dropped off at day care) when a telephone company truck ran a red light doing about 40mph and struck our car’s engine compartment so hard the truck flipped over and we nearly rolled ourselves. I know for a certainty that had we been a split second further into the intersection the truck would have hit my door and I do not think I would be sitting here typing this and our son would not have just finished sending out his college apps. (My husband was driving and had only minor injures. I had a broken jaw and broken arm. Baby was fine!) Our Toyota Camry was brand new but did not have air bags or ABS brakes and they would not have helped anyway due to how the truck hit us. On bad days, I try to remind myself that but for the grace of God and a split second, I might not even still be here.</p>
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<p>my injured toddler grew up strong and fine too; in the ICU, when he came out of surgery, his nurse handed me an equipment-care brochure that read, “your child almost became an angel, and has the halo to prove it.”</p>
<p>kathiep,</p>
<p>“The way I see it is we need four cars right now, why should our kids have the newer, better ones?”</p>
<p>maybe vanity isn’t the right word; however, that statement to my suggestion of leasing your kids a cheap car leads me to believe that you wouldn’t consider it simply because “they can’t have a newer something or other than i can because i’m the adult.” i didn’t mean it to be offensive. I’m just simply stating an alternative to buying your kids a used car. they could lease a car and pay for it themselves - and the payments are more than reasonable. everyone wins - they get a new car - you don’t have to front the money and they can afford it.</p>
<p>$1000 a year in upkeep isn’t at all unreasonable - maybe i’m living in a fairy land, but my first car was a 1993 bmw (which was my moms old car and was always kept in good shape) - which when brought in regularly for maintainence - cost the 'rents about 1000-1500/year to upkeep. old cars need new brake pads, or new shocks, or new struts, or new tires, or tune ups. those things cost money. we finally sold it for $5000 about 2 or 3 years ago. I just took that $1000 number off of my experience. economically it doesn’t make sense that if a car needs $1000 of work, to go out and buy a new one for over $1000 - maybe i’m just missing something.</p>
<p>personally, i don’t believe in used cars, or even really buying cars. my family hasn’t bought a car in about 12 years. theres no point in buying old cars - or even new ones - when you can lease a brand new car every three years or so. if your worried your kid is going to get in an accident - then i wouldn’t suggest letting your kid behind the wheel.</p>
<p>and, btw, what does that little question teach us? never buy an american car. they’re the worst.</p>
<p>our son bought his first car the summer before his senior year, paying for it out of his college savings fund. Ohhhh, the shame of it.</p>
<p>However it was a low mileage Dodge Neon for less than $2000. And almost 4 years later that thing is still ticking. Not a bad investment for him.</p>
<p>And because he does not require collision coverage and the liability limits are at the minimum, his insurance cost is not that much different. And he has a car at college.</p>