I find it odd that parents go out and buy cars...

[IHateMyJob2004]

Oh, and to answer your question as a follow up to my previous post ...

My in-law's overall have spoiled there kids. Why? Growing up my wife's parents had nothing. They want their kids to have a good life I suppose. Now I have to deal with a wife that has no grasp of reality. She wants to teach specal ed ... now she's dealing with dilinquents. I grew up with them and know how to handle them ... bt my wife going to private school all her life has no idea whath the world is really like.

 

[Strk]

I had to buy my HS car -- a 95 Grand Am -- and the SOB won't die! I can't complain though. It's cheap to maintain and works. But yeah, I could never figure out why anyone would spend such a large sum of money on a car for their kids. Let's face it, teenagers suck at driving.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: jds2006
My parents bought me a car and never asked me to work because they wanted me to focus on my studies rather than working.

My parents had a similar philosophy. About working in high school.

Bascially .. my dad told me to enjoy my youth because I'm going to be working the rest of my life. At 0, I have ot say he was right.

 

[latino666]

The only people that had nice cars at my HS where the people made some street money other then that people had 5 or 6 year old cars. It must of be nice to go to HS with a pimped out new car.

 

[Journer]

i cant stand it when parrents pay for their childs ****** like that....i dont feel like going into a big debate about it but they just dont learn respect for a dollar >(

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Journer
i cant stand it when parrents pay for their childs ****** like that....i dont feel like going into a big debate about it but they just dont learn respect for a dollar >(

my parents replaced the car i drove when it died. i paid gas and insurance though, and now im paying rent for my apartment (till i run out of $$)... college is yet another wake up call to make people realize how much money it costs and the responsibilities required to make it on your own. fwiw, $20-30 gets me 2 weeks of food. so for going out with a group twice, that's 2 weeks ic ould have fed myself. madness!

 

[dotcom173]

kid at my school (junior/senior years in HS) drove a 5-series, sold it, bought a G35, modded it, totalled it...bought an IS250, sold it, bought an M3....totalled it monday night and died....true story. he had two girls in the car, both in critical condition, breaking their backs, legs, necks, and some other bones too. not good.

P.S. - it was street racing.

 

[jds2006]

Originally posted by: dotcom173
kid at my school (junior/senior years in HS) drove a 5-series, sold it, bought a G35, modded it, totalled it...bought an IS250, sold it, bought an M3....totalled it monday night and died....true story. he had two girls in the car, both in critical condition, breaking their backs, legs, necks, and some other bones too. not good.

P.S. - it was street racing.

:Q

 

[Albis]

i think at my high school the average car value was around 22k according to a survey done by the school newspaper

this was like 5 yrs ago so not sure how much it has changed since

 

[amol]

Originally posted by: jds2006
My parents bought me a car and never asked me to work because they wanted me to focus on my studies rather than working.

Same here. I don't see anything wrong with their philosophy.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: nkgreen

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
some people are just sickening. one girl at my HS wrecked her car and had a brand new one within a week. i mean jesus, teach your kid some responsibility.

i know what you mean. one girl i knew wrecked her lexus sport car (don't remember) and then got a fully "tricked out" lincoln navigator. her parents were divorced and i think her dad was trying to buy her love.

Two kids at my high school went through approximately five cars each because they kept wrecking them and the parents kept buying new ones. One of them allegedly threw a hissy fit when he got the Eddie Bauer Limited Edition Ford Explorer instead of the brand new Ford Mustang.

I was driving my brother's hand me down '85 GMC Jimmy in high school and was pretty happy with it too. It had personality and was great at the beach. My Dad bought a used '92 Chevy Beretta for me when I went off to college because he was worried about the Jimmy making the drives between Corpus Christi, TX and Tuscaloosa, AL (14 hours). I asked him to take it back because I liked the Jimmy and didn't think my parents needed to spend the money since they would be helping me through college. Ironically, the Jimmy was pretty reliable while I had it in high school but the Beretta turned out to be a hunk of junk - the ABS was constantly going out, I had to replace just about every hose in the cooling system, and on and on...

 

[thomsbrain]

most people in my HS drove 10 year old japanese cars, except for the usual douches in 10 year old camaros.

 

[erub]

my favorite on this board are the people who absolutely refuse to buy their kids anything, even if they themselves have been successful - "I had to work for ___ (college, car, gas, insurance, food?) myself damnit" -- or even better are the people who would charge their own kid rent after they graduated from college and are now working a job trying to save money to get out on their own (isn't this kinda detracting from the point?)

also, what type of message does it send to your kid if you are driving around in a 40K car and you make him/her get a job that pays $7/hr, and tells them to spend that money on gas, car, insurance -- oh and btw save for college on themselves? high school and college are for studying, not for working..granted i did work some in HS during the seasons when I wasn't playing sports (HS really isnt that hard to prevent a part time job) but still, that $100/week post tax isnt going to go real far

 

[imported_Lucifer]

My cousin got an 06 Tundra for his graduation gift. Before that he was driving a 98 Accord.

My older brother bought me my first car, 87 honda accord 5spd. I still drive it.

 

[amol]

Originally posted by: erub
my favorite on this board are the people who absolutely refuse to buy their kids anything, even if they themselves have been successful - "I had to work for ___ (college, car, gas, insurance, food?) myself damnit" -- or even better are the people who would charge their own kid rent after they graduated from college and are now working a job trying to save money to get out on their own (isn't this kinda detracting from the point?)

also, what type of message does it send to your kid if you are driving around in a 40K car and you make him/her get a job that pays $7/hr, and tells them to spend that money on gas, car, insurance -- oh and btw save for college on themselves? high school and college are for studying, not for working..granted i did work some in HS during the seasons when I wasn't playing sports (HS really isnt that hard to prevent a part time job) but still, that $100/week post tax isnt going to go real far

i think because most people here are younger and don't have kids ...

 

[QueBert]

just my 2 cents, but a parent who will buy their 16-17 year old a Benz or Beemer, the kid already probably had a wacked view of money. How much are you willing to bet that 16 year old spoiled brat who gets a 50k Benz for her birthday, doesn't have a bunch of Louis Vitton bags and Prada clothes.

She think's it's normal to have multiple $700 purses $500 shoes and tee-shirts that probably cost more then a lot of parents make in a week. What's a 50k car?
Can't say I'm for it, or against it, as I don't know if the kid busts their ass at pops company or something. But, I do know if I was 16 today and my pops wanted to buy me a X5, No would be the first word out of my mouth. followed by "fvkin way!"

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: QueBert
But, I do know if I was 16 today and my pops wanted to buy me a X5, No would be the first word out of my mouth. followed by "fvkin way!"

huh?

 

[amol]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: QueBert
But, I do know if I was 16 today and my pops wanted to buy me a X5, No would be the first word out of my mouth. followed by "fvkin way!"

huh?

"No fvkin way!" ?

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango
for their kids... It's weird, I usually either see this poor kid driving a beatup '89 taurus or '93 windstar minivan that is probably going to puke and choke on it's own vomit at the worst time and then I see these kids driving H2s, Mercedes SUVs, and other high end vehicles, while the middle car seems to be a lot less common. Am I the only one to find this odd? Remember I've seen beatup cars exit hs parking lots right after a row of fancy cars that are clearly driven by kids..

Another thing, what makes a parent believe that their child should be driving a brand new vehicle that costs more than some people's houses? $50K vehicle for a kid in HS is absurd, anyone agree? Sure you can say 'it's not my money' but I think it's a bit ridiculous considering that starting your kid off with expensive things will only set them up for failure..

Which cars are you referring to when you say they cost more than some people's houses? Whose house costs $50k????

 

[funboy6942]

My dad bought me one car only because he felt bad when my 77 Lesabre threw 3 rods and till that point was bugging the hell out of him for at the time was a mechanic and I knew hardly anything, to look at my car because it was always poping out of the carb. When it blew the engine I got a beautiful 76 Plymouth Duster heldtogether with rust and sheet metal he paid $50 for from the dealership he waorked at as a mechanich and it had no rubber left on the tires, brakes went to the floor, steering was sloppy, and ran on 5 of the 6 cyl. Got me back and forth but I think he was hoping I just died in it so there would be one less child in his life.

Other then that I wont buy a car for my children they will have to do what I did and mow laws or other stuff to find the funds but will gladly help them work on what ever it is they buy to keep owning it down.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Duddy
When I turned 18 I bought my own Mazda3 Hatch for $22,000. My dad was the co-signer because I had no credit and he had awesome credit.

I pay for every $280 a month bill and pay my own insurance.

Just because a kid has a nice car doesn't mean they are spoiled. They might have worked very hard for it like me.

A Mazda 3 hatch is not the same thing as a G35.

 

[Juno]

at my high school i graduated in '03. i drove a top-notched '00 nissan maxima but high percent of the seniors were driving brand new bmw, mercedes-benz, audi and lexus. i do recall one senior was driving an american muscle car and his muffler screamed really loud. another senior was driving a brand new cadillac escalade. nearly every senior was driving a brand new car while i drove a three-year old maxima.

 

[hoorah]

I'm sure the kids in Guatemala think the same thing about kids here that are given a $3000 heap that the kids that get the $3000 heap think about the kids being given a $50k car.

Can't take the $ with you. Now, if the parents are putting themselves into debt to give the kids a car, thats a different story.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: JBT
I think its because rich parents buy their kid a car and normal people have thier kid buy their own car...

Mhm

Even if I were rich, my kid wouldn't be getting a brand new expensive car. They'd be lucky to get a new car and it wouldn't be expensive or nice. It would be practical and safe.

Nevermind, I wouldn't buy them one. They'd be workin' for that sh!t somehow, but raising ~$10K (give or take a few grand) is kind hard for teenagers.

thats why you buy something for less than 10k. you buy a 1-3k or so car

 

[jhayx7]

If I had a kid in High School and were loaded, I would probably buy them a newish Volvo. Very safe cars and well built. There was a big stink around here about changing the driving age because some rich parents kid was killed only a couple of month after get his license. They bought him a brand new Camero SS... That much power under the butt of a new driver is scary..