Do you think it's a good idea or not to buy your own first vehicle?

 

 

My Daddy bought me a brand new 68 Mustang. It was a 16 year birthday, high school graduation present . I was thankful. It came with lots of conditions, like seatbelt use. 4 of our kids were given old family cars from us or grandparents. Not sure how I feel about  this. It would be hard for a younger person to saveenough to buy a car. Our goal in giving the old cars was for them to see that old it OK. No car payment is a goal. Worked with 2 of them. The others borrowed money for a car later. Babs

There is a definite learning curve to buying a car and you have to start somewhere. I bought my own first car and the same with my kids. In fact, when DH was ready to upgrade his vehicle, our son approached us and said he would pay us $6, 000 cash rather than use it as a trade in. Win-win for both parties.

Daddy gave me a new car when I was 17 DH parents gave him his first  .

we given all the kids first car.  we considered it part of parenting

DH bought his first car for $400 & fixed it up in high school - a 65 Chevy Malibu.  His father helped him pay for it - dad paid half.  He stil has the car & it still works.  His father used that car tot each DH how to work on cars.  

My parents did not give me a car.  I was allowed the use of a family car, but it was not mine. 

We don't consider "a car of your own" part of parenting.  Our children were allowed the use of a family car, & learned to share with each other, since no one had exclusive use of a vehicle.  They bought their own, after they were in college.  All bought lightly used, good vehicles.

I will add that our kids didnt get drivers license until they were over 18 and had a job. Then we let them have a family car. Babs

My parents bought me a car (very old but in good condition) and I paid them monthly for it. I think that worked out well, and I would do the same for my kids. I also paid my insurance.

I drove one of my parent's cars in high school and didn't have a car my first semester of college.

My first car was a 1988 Chevy Cavilier 5 speed and I split the cost 50/50 with my dad and paid my own insurance. It was titled and insured in both my name and my mom's name so the insurance was cheaper. I drove that through college until it died after my first year of law school. Dad then helped me again buy another car 50/50, a 1992 Geo Prizm and I paid insurance again.

Both cars were under $3000 so I paid $1200 to $1500 for my half. I couldn't have bought a reliable car without dad's help. They were always 8+ years old but dependable. And tiny, I could parallel park in just about anything, LOL.

My husband couldn't fit in the Prizm (he's 6'6" and the prizm is tiny!) and after we were married, my dad sold us my grandpa's 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis. Not a hip, sporty car for a young married couple, LOL, but very dependable. DH drove it to his first teaching job which was 25 miles out of town. His old car would not have been good for commuting so I drove it to school and my part-time job in town. Again, we went 50/50 and we paid $2500 for our half. I was still in law school so I think that's why my dad helped us out.

Since then, we've bought our own cars. But it was a wonderful thing to have help. Since my parents paid for part, I felt it was part their car and took really good care of it. I also felt ownership in the car because I paid for half  out my savings account and/or with my 2 or 3 summer jobs.

I know we will help our kids with their first car, too. Nothing new and nothing fancy. Reasonable and reliable.

All of my siblings and my kids bought their own cars. I never considered providing a vehicle as a part of parenting, as a matter of fact, I thought it was just the opposite. I don't think kids have the same sense of pride and accomplishment when a car is given to them that they do when they pay for their own. It's more "theirs" in a way. At least that's how I felt and how my kids felt.

 

When our boys were baptized as babies my MIL gave them each a large check. My DH purchased Walmart stock with those checks. Our plan was always for that money to be used to purchase their first car. Through the 16 years the stock split and grew and when it came time to purchase a car they each had plenty of funds, in fact quite a bit more than I expected. My oldest opted for a brand new car and used what he had in stock to pay for it and got a part time job and paid off the rest. My youngest decided he didn't want a car payment so he bought a used Jeep outright and even had enough left over for a new stereo system. This worked out very well and my SIL is kicking herself that they didn't do the same thing with her kids and their Baptism checks.