<p>Both of my S’s took their trucks to college. They went to big state u’s and could not imagine not having their own transportation.
S1 worked 20-25 hours/week (with a schedule that changed weekly) at an off campus gro. store that was open until 11 p.m.
He needed his own transportation. He lived off campus after freshman yr. </p>
<p>S2 also moved off campus after freshman year. Having his truck there just made life more convenient.<br>
Both trucks were older models, nothing fancy but reliable, that they drove in h.s. Both S’s are good drivers. I’d rather them drive themselves around than catching rides w/ others who might not have been good drivers.</p>
<p>If they had not taken the trucks to college, it would have been an headache for us to have four vehicles in our small driveway and having to juggle around for parking space. Also since they had their trucks, DH and I never had to travel to their schools to move them in/out of dorms/apartments,etc. after the initial freshman year move in. They handled it all themselves from there on out to graduation.</p>
Single parent household over here. My mom does not have to worry about undergraduate costs for me. I’m able to pay for it through scholarships. </p>
<p>It is just her philosophy for things. When she was raised she got things that would help lift the burden when she was just starting to go to college. Now for us, she wants to do the same.</p>
<p>
In my area, most of the kids don’t get new cars. They either buy and old one and change out all the stock parts to make it cool, have a POS car for a year or two and then for college get a new car, get a we car, or have a sucky one that they have to replace a every one or two years.</p>
<p>Our standard rule is to wait until after the first semester. We see how the grades are, how the social scene is shaping up, and how the kid is handling the things that actually NEED to be handled before adding new things into the picture. Most college campuses have pretty much everything you need on or near campus.</p>
<p>D1 was not allowed to have a car, and left college - did not do well, was not ready. D2 made great grades, responsible decisions, etc., and got her car sophomore year. With D3, we’ll wait at least one semester before we decide.</p>
<p>Would you consider the car owned by the student if the parents had to pay for the insurance, parking/storage, gas and maintenance in order for the student to use the vehicle? I wouldn’t. Insurance is the single biggest cost of owning a car for us, and I know my D could never afford to pay for her own insurance.</p>
<p>I have strong opinions on this. Just because of how I was raised. I’m a huge believer that if the kid can’t pay for the insurance they shouldn’t be driving. Same with gas, maintenance, inspections, repairs, etc. heck same with the car itself. I’m assuming you’re in NJ based on your posting name and I know car insurance is ridiculously expensive there, but still.(I remember in college I had full coverage on my car and my rates were a third of a friend with the same coverage on a car in NJ) Driving is a privilege. If kids want to drive then they better figure out a way to pay for it. </p>
<p>I hear parents say all the time oh they are doing me a favor by driving so I don’t have to take then everywhere so I bought them a car and blah blah. Trust me, if the kid wants to get where they are going they will find a way to make it work.</p>
<p>I managed to be in a club, play a sport, work a job for fifteen hours a week, and get good grades.</p>
<p>Having an extra car for the family to drive and letting the kid drive it is completely different… Assuming the kid is still paying for the gas and helping with repairs that they attributed to. That’s a family car, not an overly expensive gift to a teenager. And I’d be willing to guess that family car wouldn’t be going to college with a kid… </p>
<p>Op, my thought is If your kid owns their car and wants to take it to college, it comes down to them. You have every right to make suggestions… But bottom line, if they bought it, it’s their decision to take it and if they leave it unlocked that’s a learning experience. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, cars don’t need to be unlocked to be broken into. I had stuff stolen out of my car a few years ago and they broke the window to get in.</p>
<p>My parents suggested that I didn’t take my car first semester because I didn’t know the roads in the area and they thought I should use that time to settle in. I agreed and took my car the second semester of freshman year. Also, many schools don’t even have freshman parking.</p>
<p>If you paid for that car, then it’s up to you where it stays. It’s your car.</p>
<p>Of course, the amount we paid for “my” car fell just below the midpoint of your hypothetical range of $15-20K for a “kid” car. :D</p>
<p>Seriously, leaving aside the always-entertaining discussion about how much people are willing to pay for things, I think it is fair to say that the only answer to whether a freshman should take a car to college is “it depends,” depending on the factors listed by many preceding posters.</p>
<p>The one thing a parent should not fall for is the idea that MOST kids will have cars, or that cars are “necessary” in most cases.</p>
<p>I agree with many others that this would be a low-priority question for me.</p>
<p>But here’s my own answer, anyway. My freshman wouldn’t take a car to college–hers or mine–unless there were a compelling reason to do so. If she went to our state flagship, about 45 minutes from home, but outside the city, I would consider it. But I can’t think if many other circumstances under which I would.</p>
<p>I am inclined to think that the costs and hassles of keeping a car at college are high, that most of the benefits are of a sort that I don’t think actually benefit most freshmen, and that the risks are high. There will likely be much more consumption of alcohol (and perhaps other drugs) at college than at home. And students do lend and borrow cars. When my very responsible brother-in-law was a freshman at Harvard (he wasn’t my brother-in-law yet), he totaled his roommate’s car. I had to go get his sister’s car and retrieve him from the police station in Lincoln, Mass. He was a smart, responsible kid, but he and his roommate both had typical 18-year-old judgment. (I am sure that remark will offend many 18-year-olds, and I am sorry that it will, but it’s exactly what I meant so say.)</p>
<p>Insurance is a big factor. My well-known insurance company states that if my 18 year old takes a car to college, then she must have her own policy separate from parents. That makes it frightfully expensive. IMHO - almost no freshman should have a car on campus.</p>
<p>For me, I did have my car on campus all 4 years primarily because I lived an awkward distance away. I lived approximately 3.5 hours away from campus, and for my dad to drive 3.5 hours, load me up, then drive 3.5 hours back, it didn’t make sense. It was more convenient for me to drive myself to and from school. In addition, public transportation in my college town was spotty and sometimes unreliable.</p>
<p>Honestly, it depends on the school and the kid</p>
<p>My kids had their cars at school because, like soccergurl, there was no other way to get home except by car. My oldest didn’t have one freshman year because his younger brother was using it in high school. I would have to drive 3 hours each way to get him on school breaks which was a pain and I didn’t have that fabulous driving/bonding experience of uninterrupted chat that some parents get because he would sleep. My youngest went 4 hours away to school so we sent him with a car that he had to park in a satellite lot a 20 minute bus ride away so he never drove it except to go home. They both moved off campus sophomore year and all has been well with the cars. So, like everyone else has said, it depends on the campus! I wouldn’t base the school choice on it.</p>
<p>Regarding insurance - the insurance company took S off my car when he left for college even though he would be at home periodically due to the distance from home (he couldn’t just pop in every weekend and drive the car). This greatly reduced the cost of insurance. Then when I bought the older car for S and D my insurance company reduced my premium to less - a lot less. Their rationale was that now the kids wouldn’t be driving my much newer car so they dropped the premiums on my car considerably. So I have been paying less insurance for two cars than for one! </p>
<p>Now that my S will be taking the car to college in the Fall - not sure what will happen. On the one hand he is 21 which might help, and the college town is really sleepy which might help, and my D will be going off the insurance since she will be going away to college as well. Just hoping it doesn’t go up for some reason…</p>
<p>I do agree with this as long as “paid” is defined as not just the car itself, but the insurance, parking, maintenance, gas. If the parents are paying the insurance on the vehicle, I feel they have a say in its location and use.</p>
<p>Upthread, someone mentioned that many colleges don’t allow freshmen to have cars on campus anyway, so this question may be moot.</p>
I haven’t read the full thread, but I didn’t see anywhere that the original poster explained what their contribution was to the car. All they did was call it “her car.” I still think if it’s her car, it should be her decision, but it’s the parents choice how much they want to support the car with paying for gas/insurance/parking/… or keeping the car maintained and in good condition if it stays at home.</p>
<p>I went to college in a small town in CA where students could bicycle all year. Most students didn’t have cars, which generally worked fine. During my upperclassmen years, I had several jobs, including one off campus. Biking to work was awkward. My job included maintaining computers, so sometimes I had to pick up parts at Fry’s, which was especially awkward on a bike. Carrying groceries in a backpack on a bike was even worse. After getting a computer, the 2nd thing I did with the extra income from my work was buying a used Honda Civic from another student. My parents did not contribute anything to the car and of course they did not have any say in what I did with it. Overall the car made my life tremendously easier. However, it also was awkward to park on campus or in Palo Alto in general. I gave my roommates a ride every now and then, but I was under no pressure to do the negative things mentioned in this thread, such as let them drive the car or be a designated driver. After I graduated it became essential to have a car, so it was nice that I had purchased one earlier. While not necessary as an underclassmen, I believe my life would have been better with a car, and I would have had more opportunities for things like off campus work or research. As stated in other posts how much or little a car helps varies tremendously on the college and location.</p>
If the cost of the school is in issue, it’s fair enough to relate the financial impact of the school to the financial impact of the car, such as not being able to pay for supporting the daughter’s car with insurance/gas/… or even requesting that the student makes a financial contribution involving saving money by letting someone else in the family use the daughter’s car while she is in school. However, the original poster didn’t mention the financial impact of the car (in the posts I saw). Instead her main concern seemed to be her daughter leaving the car unlocked and a burglar getting into the car, as she heard that such events are common on college campuses. One option for the latter might be explaining her concerns to her daughter about leaving the door unlocked, having insurance that covers theft, and researching the actual crime rates for the schools her daughter is considering (such events are not commonly reported crimes at many campuses). I don’t think forbidding the student from using her car out of fears of an unlocked door is a good solution.</p>
<p>IMO, the cost of the school is always an issue.</p>
<p>I tend to believe that parents have an obligation to make a substantial contribution toward higher education for their children if they can–I can think of very few circumstances under which I’d tell a child of mine, “When you turn 18, you’re on your own”–but I also believe that the parents are entitled to set reasonable terms and conditions on that contribution. And I believe that if a parent who’s paying significant money toward college wants to say, “If the car goes to college, my money doesn’t,” that’s the parent’s prerogative.</p>
<p>I agree that this has little, if anything, to do with the OP’s original question about break-ins and cars left unlocked, but I think it has everything to do with your comment above, " I still think if it’s her car, it should be her decision." I’m just saying, I see it differently.</p>
<p>I agree that a car may not even be necessary - I’m at a large city-based college with excellent public transport. A few friends do have cars, and frankly they barely use them. Invariably by far the fastest way to get around these places is by bike - and they’re also substantially cheaper all round!</p>
One could use the same argument for saying, “I’m not paying for college, if you take that outfit”, “If I’m paying for college, you are going to the university I pick”, or “If I’m paying for college, you are going to major in …” It’s great that the parents are contributing to their children’s education, but I don’t think that contribution should have lots of stipulations that have nothing to do with financial aspect of the contribution.</p>
<p>I agree with Data10. I would not use that I am paying for their tuition as one of my cards to play. More, I would want to discuss the actual logistics. A parking pass at my S’s school is $400 year, $20 for each parking ticket (I’m told students get many) and the auto insurance goes up from being an “away” student back to a driving student plus there is gas and more maintenance.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that the car is a bonus for doing well in school if the parent is the one paying the car expenses. If the student does not do well, then the car comes home provided it is not needed for logistical reasons like driving to an off campus job. </p>
<p>In terms of others driving my son’s car. The answer is No. Unless my son is in the car while it is being driven home for school breaks or some other shared long distance drive. If I am paying the insurance on the car, then I only want to pay for accident’s caused by my own son not their friends. My son is currently on a shared policy with me.</p>
<p>Look, it’s silly to keep quibbling over this, but I’m going to do it anyway. You’re making unfairly selective use of my words. I also said, “I also believe that the parents are entitled to set reasonable terms and conditions on [their] contribution.” To pull the plug over an outfit would not be reasonable. And while it might or might not be unreasonable to pull the plug over the choice of major that a parent finds unsuitable or impractical, threatening to withhold funding unless the student chooses one particular major would, in my opinion, be unreasonable. And, to return to the issue of a freshman taking a car to college, I think that’s not an unreasonable condition. </p>