Teenager and Car

**freedeal** · 01-09-2006, 10:53 AM

My son will be ready to have a car at the end of the year. I have been following Dave Ramsey and don't want to just give him a car with him having no responsibility in paying for it.

First of all it will be a car that we can pay cash far.

My plan is to give him this contract and if he follows it we will help pay.

1. He must read Financial Peace
2. I will match however much he saves - for example if he saves $2000 I will give him $2000.
3. I will give him $500 next Christmas to go toward the car (a gift).
4. He must begin researching cars, along with insurance rates, reliabilty, and saftey ratings.
5. Complete Driver Training

In saying all of this he may be excited to look at cars but I am sure that he is not going to want to save money etc. We live in an upscale neighborhood where the next door neighbor just bought his daughter a 2006 BMW for Christmas. The neighbors across the street bought their son a Volvo that he totaled within 3 months.

Can you add anything else that I have forgotten?

I am currently saving for his car so that we will be able to show him CASH so he should be motivated to save.

**canadian gardener** · 01-09-2006, 11:03 AM

Be sure that you have some way of taking the keys if he is acting irresposibly.

Our son earned his car totally. It was a rusty truck that he kept going for years. It taught him back yard mechanic lessons that will keep his money in his pocket for years to come.

HOWEVER if I'd caught him driving irresposibly (drunk or even just going over the speed limit or having too many in the vehicle) then I would have confiscated the keys till he earned the driving priviledge back.

**pammy** · 01-09-2006, 11:28 AM

We bought our daughter an older used cheap car with cash. It was good on gas and got her where she needed to go, and was pretty cute. We had the understanding with her that this gift will be the only vehicle we were buying her, it was up to her to take care of the car.

She did decide to sell it to get something a bit roomier and newer. It took her a month to get that different car, but in the mean time she saved her money to add to the price she got from the sale of her old car. She appreciates her current car so very very much. I believe her having to earn a third of what she bought the car for really helped her appreciate it more.

Get ready, insurance rates are shocking for teens. Least it was for me. Dd did have a minor fender bender not 3 months after getting her license. The rates went up, naturally. That's it, if any more fender benders or any accidents are caused by her then she will be responsible for her own insurance. As it is right now, she pays for her own gas. As much as she drives I think we are breaking even with each other, she paying her own gas and us paying the liability insurance. I won't just hand everything to her on a silver platter, like so many other parents. I'm still reeling from some of the vehicles parents buy their children without them earning any part of it. You're doing right.

Paid for is the only way to go, IMO. Sounds like you on the right track!

**lanford66** · 01-09-2006, 11:30 AM

I agree with making your son take responsibility for his vehicle. Our son got a hand-me-down 17 year old car that he totally restored & kept up with when he turned 16. He's 17 now. We require him to make the insurance payment & pay his own gas as he likes to "run" a lot. I give him $10 a week towards gas for him to drive to work & school. He's totally responsible for the rest. I work with a lady who doesn't believe he should have to pay for anything as long as he's in school, but me and my husband both believe this will make him appreciate the car more. We've also given him strict requirements too. If caught drinking and driving, car would be parked for an undetermined amount of time. If his grades slip, car is parked. He is required to call me when he leaves one place and goes to another. He knows this & abides by the rules. Some call us too strict, but I know where he is at all times & know who he's with.

**ACEHearts** · 01-09-2006, 11:30 AM

All those sound good. I didn't get a car until DH and I were together and it was either get some wheels, or quit school. My parents didn't help (couldn't I don't think), so DH and I did it ourselves before he was my DH.

I learned an awful lot about cars with that first beater, but it did the job!

Cindy

**AmyBoz** · 01-09-2006, 01:06 PM

freedeal, I have no advice on this matter (my kids are WAAAY to young) but I wanted to offer you good luck! I can't imagine thinking about this!

**homesteadmamma** · 01-09-2006, 01:11 PM

freedeal I can't think of anything else to add. It sounds like you've got it well thought out. Good luck!!

**Hollyhandi** · 01-09-2006, 03:48 PM

My DS 16 bought is own car and paid cash for it. He pays for his own gas and parts. my fiance does any labor.
DS pays his share of the insurance. he has had othes ask him for rides home from school and says No.
He does go pick his DGF up and takes her home but calls before he leaves there so we know he's on his way home.
Good Luck and you have the right thinking....

**MandiDawn** · 01-09-2006, 03:56 PM

When I was 16, my parents gave me a car (it was a 1980-something LTD - no heat on the passenger side, and it leaked oil like it was going out of style!!! lol) but it ran!!
The requirements were:
I must get and keep a job.
I pay for all insurance, gas and upkeep.
They can take it away at any time, it was not mine, it was theirs.

one time I quit a job, and they took it away until I found another one (3 weeks later).

I fully appriciated that car, and the fact that they were so generous to give me my first car, because I couldn't work without a car, so I would of been in a catch-22 if they wouldn't of done that.