<p>D1 will hopefully be getting her license in January and will need a car to get herself around. I am driving a 2009 Subaru Outback which is in good shape. </p>
<p>Do I give her my car and buy myself a new one? Or do I buy a recent model used sedan with a good safety record for her?</p>
<p>Please advise!</p>
<p>Give her the Subaru. I know when I was an undergrad I was really nervous about driving a new (or even newly used) car. Especially if she lives on campus; lots of dings and unexplained dents happen in University parking lots. Even if she doesn’t, she’ll still (I assume) be parking it on campus a good deal of the time. </p>
<p>Subarus are good, reliable cars; I would have loved to have bought one, but couldn’t find one used with the low mileage I wanted.</p>
<p>I agree. If she’ll be driving it on her college campus, then a used car is best. There will be parking lot dings. </p>
<p>If I was you, I’d consider this as a nice time to upgrade your vehicle. If this vehicle was fine for you to drive, then it is certainly fine for you daughter to drive.</p>
<p>Give daughter your old car and buy a new Corvette for yourself.</p>
<p>Love it, @lizard! I’ll probably buy another Subaru Outback–this is my second one and I’ve been very happy with them I need to be able to drive in winter weather and need enough space for family vacations with my 2 kids. Not glamourous, but…</p>
<p>Sudsie, when I was car shopping this summer, I ended up going with the Nissan Rogue and I’m head-over-heels in love with it. Cheaper than Subaru but especially the new body styles that were just released have lots of cool features. Always good to stick with the tried-and-true, but just another option. </p>
<p>@HisGraceFillsMe, how much trunk space does it have (with someone in the back seat)? This is the take-the-kid-too-college car!</p>
<p>In this family, the parents got the NEW cars and the kids got the hand me downs.</p>
<p>@Thumper1, getting D1 a new car was never a consideration–more the question of having her drive station wagon that currently has 100k miles on it but is working fine vs a smaller (used) car.</p>
<p>D2 a couple of years ago got my 2007 Honda CRV and did well with it. As it went off to Chicago I said bye to it. I was thinking theft. She graduated and I got it back , one banged back left fender I am guessing parallel parking from the other guy? We will never know, she did not even know it was there. She learned to drive in this car and it had all the airbags and AWD so that worked well.</p>
<p>Sudsie, if you just have one person in the back seat, quite a bit. I was able to fit most of my belongings in the back seat when I moved from CA to CO this summer. If you need the whole back seat, it still has quite a large cargo space. I’ve never had an issue with not enough cargo space, even with the whole back row folded up, and I do very large shopping trips on a regular basis for my job.</p>
<p>Definitely pass your car to the D and get yourself a new one. The used car your D gets will have a known track record for maintenance and any problems. Consider your options in your price range instead of just automatically going with the same brand. Have some fun test driving possible options. You then will be buying a car knowing it is the best choice for you and not just sticking with the old and familiar. Remember to use online resources for learning features and details. Edmunds is a nice comparison site. You get the latest features and then when the next kid needs a car you do the same as now. Your D will also have an incentive to buy herself a new car once she graduates and gets her first professional job. Especially since she will be a new driver it will be good for her to have an old one, and you deserve a new one after the years and miles.</p>
<p>We bought our S a used Outback. Got a really good deal from our mechanic. I would give her your old one and buy new. There was no way I was giving S my car (Lexus) and H drives an Accord beater which I would be too nervous for S to drive. He’s at school 300 miles from home and drives back & forth, plus all over the NE to see friends, etc. </p>
<p>I would be wary of giving a student a car in the 100k mileage range - that is the point where major repairs can hit ANY car, and those costs can be doubly painful when the repairs are being managed by your kid a thousand miles away. I would recommend finding something cheap in the ~60k mile range, something that can absorb some dings without you wincing, but still has a solid future ahead of it. Plus, if you buy something now you can get an extended powertrain warranty or such - perhaps one of the only times those warranties might be a good idea!</p>
<p>I disagree- simply because this is a golden opportunity for the OP to finally get a new car. IF problems occur then the given away car can be dealt with. If the car makes it a couple of years, great. If not, then it can be traded for whatever works then. Why buy something someone else is getting rid of?</p>
<p>Re Lexus- our son learned to drive a 15 or so year old LS 400 when he was 16 that H kept as a third car since he couldn’t bear to part with it when getting new ones. It had passed 100,000 miles, the A/C didn’t quite work right et al, but cheaper than trading it in for someone else’s reject. That car was donated sometime later. When son got his post college job and needed a car he got a new Honda Civic- actually due to holiday circumstances and his immediate need we ended up buying it and H’s name was on it. Financially we are fortunate and don’t need to have son pay us back. I still remember when I need a car to get to hospitals halfway through medical school and my mom paid for everything, including insurance- the new '77 Ford Maverick bought off the lot in August cost her $3000 including tax and license. Times have changed, as have cars. AM only radio, no A/C…</p>
<p>Pass the car down to the kid. It’s the American Way.</p>
<p>Two of my kids drive Foresters (bought because they live in snowy areas) and one drives an Imprezza. We love Subarus.</p>
<p>Colorado loves subaru’s.</p>
<p>It’s a Subaru. 100,000 miles Isnt a huge number. We gave our kid our Subaru sedan when he went to grad school. It had about 125,000 miles on it…but as noted above…we had done all the maintenance. It was a great car. He used it for two years, and we sold it to a friend who used it for three more (by that time, it was 12 years old). That friend sold it to someone else who is STILL using it!</p>
<p>I vote for the smaller used car. Much easier for a new driver, and she won’t be driving around a lot of her friends. Is she still at home (just getting her license at 16?) or away at college? If away, how far?</p>
<p>If she is far away, then reliability is an issue. If she is close to home, you can take care of repairs.</p>
<p>I drive a 20 year old Geo Prizm. The tires are worth more than the car. It would be great for a new driver. New dings would blend right in. When the kids complained about driving it, I replied: “Do you need to get somewhere?”</p>