<p>Should a parent help a college student to pay for a new car?
Did you make your kid pay for it?</p>
<p>-Did you buy a car for your kid in high school or college. Did he or she has to pay for it?</p>
<p>Share your experiences: deciding, selecting the car, and problems (insurance, classes, time with friends, gas expenses, and agreement with your kid…)</p>
<p>We have NEVER bought a car FOR THE STUDENT. We did buy an extra car (which the parents own) for our kids to use while they are here. We own it…they have to put gas in it and take care if it (keep it clean etc). They are on our insurance policy right now.</p>
<p>If my kids want to own their own car, I’m afraid they will have to buy it themselves. We’ll cut them a good deal on the used cars they are using which are ours:)</p>
<p>We bought a car for our son when he was in HS. To buy an “extra” car with only one child would have been quite transparent. Paying for the car meant that we could ensure that it had airbags and was safe in other aspects. Son had to pay for insurance (our policy, but split out ) and gas. If he got a ticket or had an accident, his insurance costs would go up substantially.</p>
<p>This worked for us: he had no tickets, no accidents.</p>
<p>Senior year in college, there was an accident (police and insurance agree that it was the other driver’s fault) that totalled the car. Son took the insurance settlement, added some of his own money, got a small loan from The Bank of Mom and Dad, and bought a very sensible car for his new job.</p>
<p>During DS’s freshman year, he would take a bus to a mall near our home on Friday evening and I would give him my car for the weekend. DW would take me to his parking lot on Sunday pm.</p>
<p>When he moved out of his dorm, and still held a job not too far from campus, I gave him my car. He pays for gas and oil and I pick up the insurance. He had a perfect GPA till this current semester so we didn’t put any conditions. We haven’t probed on his car usage other than asking him to tell us if he leaves town for the weekend.</p>
<p>When he went for his internship this summer on the West coast, we felt the current car with 168K miles wouldn’t make it across the country so we got him a car to be sold when he returns in August.</p>
<p>Our D split the cost of a good used car with us for her freshman year. The only reason she got one is because of where she is going to college. Being in Potsdam but home in Canada meant that it was a 20 hour bus ride or 1.5 hours by car. In the long run it has worked out really well because when she did come home it meant she was here quickly and we did not have to do the trip twice on a weekend. She pays for all of her own gas, splits repair costs and we pay for her insurance. If she was somewhere with good bus service home she would not have a gotten the car but we had to be realistic too, it was a need rather than a want to have a car.</p>
<p>We had a deal with D1 when she was a sophomore in HS - if she kept up her grades, didn’t party (drink or do drugs), then we would get her a car when she turned 17. We also did that for selfish reason, with her driving and an extra car then she could driver herself and her sister to and from school, and to ballet classes. For 1.5 year, it was great for us. We saved a lot of time to have her as a chauffeur. When she left to go to college we really missed that convenience.</p>
<p>We got her a new mini cooper with a stick shift because it is a fun car and age appropriate for her. We paid for everything while she was in high school. We decided to let her take the car up to college because she was working off campus and it was easier for her to come home on breaks. She started to pay for gas when she went college. There is no repair bill because there is a maintenance package with the car.</p>
<p>Our agreement with D1 was she couldn’t drive the car off campus (road trips) without our prior knowledge. The car was for her to do errands around her campus. She couldn’t let anyone else drive her car, even her boyfriend (or ex now), because of liability. No DUI. If there is violation then the car privilege is gone. She’s had a car for 4 years. Happy to say, no problem so far.</p>
<p>Once D1 is out of college living on her own, we will not be buying her a car. We will expect her to support herself. I would co-sign a loan for her or help with down payment, but I wouldn’t pay for a car if she couldn’t afford it.</p>
<p>We have three boys, all have different needs. All were/will be handled differently. Fair does not always mean everyone gets equal.</p>
<p>S1 didn’t have any desire to drive and worked his Sr year less than a mile fm home. We were sure the walk in heat, rain, & snow would make him budge. Nothing doing. He had his learner’s permit, was a fine driver, just didn’t want to do it. July after graduation he finally cracked. I informed him that I was not driving him to college daily and the public transportation to CC he was going to was tricky…light bulb! Driver’s license obtained very quickly! We gave him some $ towards the car for graduation, however he paid well over 75% of the used car price himself. H helped him shop, pick out and purchase the car. He in still working while at CC, so he pays all gas, insurance, maintenance, and keeps a buffer in his account in case he has expensive repairs.</p>
<p>S2 is a totally different case. He is a rising Sr. who has just gotten his license. He has just applied for an internship that is 20mi from the house. I don’t work outside the home, however it will be a bit tough to have him take the car every day. He has a really hectic EC schedule that keeps me running back and forth from the school from 6am-11pm & weekends. Frankly it would be nice not to do that all the time. His goal is to go to a good public university to study engineering. He has worked hard to get the GPA/scores/ECs to make him a decent candidate. He will not pay insurance, however he will pay gas and be expected to make a decent savings (provided he gets a job) to use as spending $ in college. The car will stay at home…sit for a year until S3 can drive. We have been rezoned from our original school (which we LOVE) to a new school which is further away. S3 has been grandfathered and can stay because he will be in the IT program, HOWEVER he will have no transportation. He’s our youngest…I can carpool with a few other mom’s, but by his Jr year I will be MORE than ready to wave bye-bye to him from underneath my cozy covers at 6am! He will be a Jr driving, but with a summer b’day he will be 17. We will cover insurance and gas. Obv. this is subject to change IF he is not responsible. Driving is earned, not a right.</p>
<p>SO, each has different needs, we provide differently. We don’t feel it is favoring one over the other. It is responding to each individually. They seriously don’t seem to care… :)</p>
<p>Prior to our sons senior year in high school he was able to take the city bus to and from school. But during his senior year he started earlier and got out earlier so had no transportation. He also had sports practice every day after school. So we helped him buy a car the summer before senior year. He paid for half the cost and gas. We covered insurance and maintenance. Next year he will be going away to college on the other side of the country and will not be taking a car. So I’ll be giving my SUV a rest and driving his car some of the time.</p>
<p>Our S had a car during his senior year of high school. He used his UGMA money to buy the car, and paid for the insurance differential (versus having him as an additional driver on the 2 family cars) and gas. He had a part time job at a restaurant, and often worked late on the weekends, so he needed the car for transportation. He left the car behind when he went away to college, and sold it to help fund his education. He didn’t own a car during college, but was always able to borrow one as needed from his girlfriend or his fraternity brothers. He bought himself a car after he graduated last year. Our D also had her own car during her senior year of high school. She was far more involved in EC’s than her brother, so letting her have the car saved my husband and me a lot of time that would have been spent providing taxi service. Again, the car was purchased with her UGMA money. She paid for gas, but we picked up the insurance. She did some baby sitting and pet sitting for income, but her schedule was too full for a part time job. She went off to college this year without the car, but wants to have it for her sophomore year. We’ll let her take it, if she covers the insurance differential and gas. Both kids had minor accidents that were expensive to repair. They accepted the responsibility of repaying us for the repairs. I think there were some good life lessons learned.</p>
<p>oD got a used Corolla when she graduated from college. I personally made a used Corolla just for her :). Now I’m making a second used Corolla - for yD. yD told me to drive carefully and take good care of her graduation present. 
I hope DH will buy me a Tesla when I’m done. Just kidding. Riding a bus to work is just fine by me.</p>
<p>Last year many of you were very supportive when I needed your help eliminating a curfew of 10:00p.m imposed to my Kid. </p>
<p>Now I need support for allowing my K to drive. I have paid approximately $900 in driving lessons. I’m still nervous and in panic to allow my K to drive. Now a freshman and I just started to be frustrated knowing all her friends have the skill of driving.
Oh I feel as a super protective and bad mom. I know I’m a good mom, but because my fears…I’m affecting the normal skills of a college student. I cannot be in the car when the K is practicing [almost never] because I have the feet in the brakes and it seems I’m dancing in the front seat (so now when she comes for summer, I decided I will not be in the car when she practice). </p>
<p>Some of her friends have offered to practice with her. Is that a good idea?</p>
<p>I think I’m almost there and starting [just starting] to letting the fear go…but I want the kid take more lessons next semester and then for X-mas will help buying a car. The kid is working so K will share the cost.</p>
<p>So, in the same way you help me to overcome the fear to allow my K to be with friends after 10:00 P.M. please help me to overcome the fear to allow the K to drive…many thanks to all of you. Need a push in this one again.</p>
<p>We bought my daughter got a Prius fairly soon after she got her license. It was a present TO ME. It freed up so much of my time not taking her everywhere she needed to be and allowed me to cook dinner and spend time with my younger daughter.</p>
<p>She’s in college now and the car is home. I like having the smaller more fuel efficient car to drive around town when I’m not lugging my younger daughter and her friends all over in the minivan.</p>
<p>The right time is when they need one. My brother’s kids in small town NH have cars because you can’t get anywhere on public transportation and their college towns are similar. Both my boys are attending big city colleges - no cars for them! Since neither my husband nor I were given cars by our parents I see no need for the rush. My husband got his first car in grad school - mostly because I wanted it. (I had joined him and was job hunting.)</p>
<p>Greenery. I applaud you wanted to make sure your daughter is really ready to be driving. I understand the feeling of ‘dancing in the front seat’ when you are in the car with them :). I taught one to drive, couldn’t get in the car with the other… just different personalities, different children. Who knows with the 3rd.</p>
<p>I agree that if YOU are uncomfortable, you are probably making your daughter nervous without meaning to. I would question weather having her friends drive with her is the best idea. They can be more of a distraction. Do you have an adult relative, or neighbor that would be willing to spend a bit of time with her? If she has had lessons, she is probably more than ready, she may just needs experience that can only come with time.</p>
<p>How does your daughter feel? Does she want to drive solo, or is she comfortable with gaining some more experience?</p>
<p>Every family does things differently. But my answer to the question - When is a good time to buy a car for a student? is “When they can pay for it themselves” - including the cost of insurance.</p>
<p>I bought myself a used car the summer between junior & senior year of college with my summer job earnings. Kept that car for 6 more years - through grad school and the start of my first job.</p>
<p>I’d be willing to sell any one of my kids our older car at Blue Book trade-in value (a deal for them), but none of them are in position to buy a car or really need a car at present. Maybe when they go to grad school…</p>
<p>My dad bought me a car when I graduated from college (new, but I had a brother who worked for a car company, so he got a great deal). And it wasn’t a high end model. But he thought it was good for a young adult to start out life with reliable transportation and not having to worry about a car payment. He advised me to start saving the amount of a car payment monthly right away, and then I would be able to replace the car without taking out loans. I did, and with one exception when newly married, have never had a car payment.</p>
<p>D1 (20) has never had a car, but I got a new car this year and kept the old one (160K+ miles on it) for her to use this summer. Haven’t decided whether to sell or not once she leaves at the end of this year (D2 is 15, doesn’t even want her license).</p>
<p>I do hope to do something for my Ds regarding cars when they graduate. Probably either give them my current car if blue book value is near $10,000 (and buy a more recent model for myself), or offer them $10,000 toward the purchase of a good used car.</p>
<p>We have two cars that are each 10+ years, but they were high end safe cars when new, and they have been maintained, and are still good cars with a lot of use left. D will drive one of these when she gets a license at 17, but it will be our car, with our rules. It will be for going to school and approved outside activities. I don’t know how she would pay for insurance, and she will go on our policy, so we will pay for that. If she doesn’t like the rules, I guess she can get a job and pay for her own car and insurance, but that would take quite a while to save up.</p>
<p>I am not a fan of getting a new car for a hs student. If someone gets a new car, it will be H or me. I don’t know about you, but I had a few bumps etc. when I was learning to drive, and there is no need to damage a new car with a new driver.</p>
<p>I also am nervous about D getting her license etc., but after months of riding along with her on the permit, I am finally beginning to relax. I really thought that my DH would do the heavy lifting on the driving instruction, but guess what? I did it. What I did for love…</p>
<p>blueiguana…My daughter is not happy that I don’t take her to practice. Now we are far away because she is in college. I talked with her recently and some friends offered to help her allowing to drive their car. </p>
<p>I told my daughter I’m eager to pay extra driving lessons in October and November. The extra driving lessons will be closer to the time she gets the car. The plan is that we can buy her a car during the holidays or that she can take one of the family cars as suggested here and then we can buy another car. </p>
<p>Curfew, tuition, and getting driving skills has been the biggest stressors in my life concerning my kids.</p>
<p>Greenery,
Only you can be the judge of who your daughter should have the in the car with her. I don’t remember how old she is. Make sure your state laws are followed here.
If you have already paid for lessons, she may not need more lessons, just practice time with a responsible person. Again, only you know what you and your daughter are going to be comfortable with.</p>
<p>These are stressful decisions as they effect your daughters safety, which has been your number one concern. Lighten up on yourself, that will cause stress alone. Try to decide if the lessons are needed, or just something you are more comfortable with. Only you can decide the value and logistics of that.</p>