If you had a teenager who just got his or her drivers license, would you buy them a brand new car if you could afford it?

Hell no.

Yes and that's what I'm actually working on right now. Good used cars cost just as much as some of the new ones, so you might as well go new, in my opinion. That way, in 5 years, the car will be 5 years old, not 5 years plus however many old it was when you got it, and at least you know the history of it--repairs, etc.

We currently have it narrowed down to the Toyota Yaris, Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla or VW Beetle. I'd rather see my daughter in a new, reliable car so we don't have to worry about her getting stuck somewhere because we went the cheap route and got her an old clunker that's always breaking down.

I actually just paid off my husband's truck, so now we own both our vehicles, and it's a good time to take on another car payment since we have none right now.

They'd have to be one hell of a kid. I'm talking straight A, honor roll, and great attitude. Plus they'd have to have a job, cuz even I could afford buying them a new car, I wouldn't fit the whole bill. I'd put down a reasonable amount down payment, and make them pay for their monthly car payment and insurance.

I did. I bought my son a new car when he graduated high school 2002. His mother said I should just get him a used one, but hell, she wasn't buying it and it's my money. My son only disappointed me one time when he was a teen, but we got past that and I think he deserved the car.

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

Yes and that's what I'm actually working on right now. Good used cars cost just as much as some of the new ones, so you might as well go new, in my opinion.

I agree. My very first car was a used car and I paid a lot for it and it was shit and I vowed after that as long as I'm able to do it, I will always buy new cars when it time to change up.

Nope.

tmontyb wrote:

I agree. My very first car was a used car and I paid a lot for it and it was shit and I vowed after that as long as I'm able to do it, I will always buy new cars when it time to change up.

Me too--my first car was a 1982 AMC Spirit which I bought from my Grandmother in 1985, so it was already 3 years old. I drove it until 1991, but had many major repairs on it because back then, American cars sucked and earned their reputation of sucking. I loved the car, though, because it was unique, then drove it to trade it in for a 1991 Chevy Corsica while the transmission was literally dying and not shifting!

The Corsica was a former dealer-car and lasted until 2000 when I switched it out for a new, 2000 Chrysler Concorde. That was an excellent car and still running great when I traded that in 2009 for my current Toyota Rav4. The only reason I got rid of it was because a tree-top fell on it during a huge ice storm we had, and after the body work, it just wasn't really the same, frame-wise.

So the American-made cars got better as the years went by, but I'll still only buy new, will probably just stick to Rav4's now because I love mine, and make sure my daughter has something reliable and decent to drive. Maybe some day I'll get a "fun" car as a second one to tool around in--an older, restored, "muscle car" LOL.

I wouldn't buy new. Maybe as a college grad present if he has done well, so he can start life with a new car and not struggle with a payment plus student loans. He could save that money and get in the mode of having enough cash in the bank to always buy a new car with cash. (If he was responsible)

Nope. When mine graduated I gave her a heckuva down-payment towards a car (well, it was enough for a used one).

I MIGHT. They would have to be a really great kid.

Absolutely not. Maybe a nice, certified pre-used because it has a warranty and they can take it straight to the dealer instead of dealing with seedy shops.

And this may be me being bitter, because as the straight Honor Roll student all throughout school, my parents gave me a random teenaged Honda Civic when I was 17 that was more of a deathtrap than transportation. Meanwhile, my "I failed every class including gym" delinquent cousin made off with a brand new Hyundai. Yeah, it was a Hyundai, but it was brand fucking new and at least she could take it into the neighboring county.

Two years later, her car looked and ran worse than mine because she never learned how to take care of it! Nowadays she bums rides because she has killed many a car; meanwhile I learned to save my dough and appreciate being able to buy a nice, reasonably priced car.

(Now that I think about it, certified pre-owned might be too extravagant for my teen, since I'm still working my way up to that level and I'm damn near 30 LOL)

No. I don't think a first time driver, especially when they're a teenager, should have a BRAND NEW car. Most teenagers act stupid with their first car, so get them something used to bang up and scratch. Let their 2nd car be the new one....and chances are they will ask you for help buying it.

Well, update: we might be buying that new car today! The husband is on his way to the Volkswagon dealer in RI to make a decision on a Beetle. We figure the car is going to be in our names, insured by us, so technically, it's ours right now with just our daughter driving it. Someday, we'll transfer it into her name, but there will be times coming up when she's in college that she'll rarely be driving it, save for on weekends. So we're basically looking at a 3rd car for her use, but something that all of us are comfortable driving. More on that probably tomorrow!

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

Well, update: we might be buying that new car today! The husband is on his way to the Volkswagon dealer in RI to make a decision on a Beetle. We figure the car is going to be in our names, insured by us, so technically, it's ours right now with just our daughter driving it. Someday, we'll transfer it into her name, but there will be times coming up when she's in college that she'll rarely be driving it, save for on weekends. So we're basically looking at a 3rd car for her use, but something that all of us are comfortable driving. More on that probably tomorrow!

LOL! Good for your daughter. I say go for it. It's your money, it's your child, you live once and if you believe your kid is responsible enough to handle it, why not?

tmontyb wrote:

LOL! Good for your daughter. I say go for it. It's your money, it's your child, you live once and if you believe your kid is responsible enough to handle it, why not?

Yeah, it seems to be the one that keeps falling into place no matter what else we run numbers on, test drive, etc. It's a damn good deal and they dropped the price to a little over $19,000, and it's the one my daughter fell in love with and said she was going to "name it" LOL. I'm hoping he just puts the deposit on it this afternoon so I can finish the rest and be done with it. The VW was actually, too, the car with the best all-around visibility, and where my daughter has a blind eye, we have to go with that first--what can she see and not see/car blind spots.

Ok, here's the update: We bought a Mazda 2, yesterday, and will be picking it up tomorrow! Turned out to be a better deal, money-wise than the VW (about $5000 cheaper!) and I liked it much better than the Beetle. My daughter doesn't know we bought it yet, so it'll be a surprise, though she does know we're looking and has gone on test drives with us. Pics to follow on Monday, but here's a link to some online ones in the color we got--"Aquatic Blue" :

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=aquatic+blue+mazda+2&qpvt=aquatic+blue+mazda+2&FORM=IGRE

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

Ok, here's the update: We bought a Mazda 2, yesterday, and will be picking it up tomorrow! Turned out to be a better deal, money-wise than the VW (about $5000 cheaper!) and I liked it much better than the Beetle. My daughter doesn't know we bought it yet, so it'll be a surprise, though she does know we're looking and has gone on test drives with us. Pics to follow on Monday, but here's a link to some online ones in the color we got--"Aquatic Blue" :

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=aquatic+blue+mazda+2&qpvt=aquatic+blue+mazda+2&FORM=IGRE

Nice, I'm sure your daughter will love it

And here it is--the new car! We picked it up on Saturday morning and surprised my daughter with it. She knew we were looking and came on the hunt at times, but didn't know we bought until we pulled it into the driveway. LOL Got a fantastic deal and it's easier for her to handle than the trucks.