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Getting a Car for your kid - New or Used ?

tahoebum said:
Lol, most here likely don't know what that is. The one my parents gave me was gray/light blue with the woodgrain side panels, lots of rust, and it got about 12 mpg. :p



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They got pretty bad after 1972 but I would roll in either of these two!!

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That's easy: Used

I have never bought a new car. We buy 2 year old used vehicles because they are nearly always coming off leases with around 20,000 miles on them. Depreciation has happened, the car has been dealer serviced as a requirement of the lease, and if something was wrong with it, that has been discovered already. We then drive it for the next 100,000 miles or so. My kids won't even get one that new though.
 
Thread hijack alert but @Bunker Snot you should tell her she is getting a station wagon.
 
Definitely used for a new driver. There will be fender benders involved.
 
Whatever they can afford the payments and insurance for. Basically, like I told them about college... if they wanna go, then they'd better figure out how they're gonna pay because there's no way we can afford to send them.
 
We've gone (and will continue to go) used for our kids. We will match up to $5000 that they've saved to help in the purchase.

My insurance agent told me that teen girls have more accidents than boys, but rates for boys are higher because they typically do more damage.
 
My son is 3 years away so I'm trying to figure out what to do as well. I don't have 10-20k sitting around to purchase and don't expect any grandparents to help him. I'm almost tempted to have my wife drive whatever he will end up in for a year or two while I pay it down/off.

If you finance used it's for a shorter term and 6% or so interest. New cars can be had for 0%. That makes me wonder if I'd be better off buying him a new car and tell him he's stuck with it through college.
 
When you consider that most any late model car will go 150k miles with regular maintenance and oil changes, take a look at the value of a used car with 20k miles, 36k, 50k, 75k - the price drops dramatically, even though @ 75K the vehicle is only "middle-aged". The biggest drop is from 0 - 20K miles. Factor in the lower cost to insure the car too.

With a teenage driver, obviously you'll want to put her into a vehicle with little chance of breaking down. So look at the cost savings that can be had with a car that has 20k - 50K miles on it.

We just bought a 2011 Mazda CX-7 (same 2.5-liter engine as the CX-5, a really good engine) with 72k miles on it for $7200. I used to buy new always as I had grown comfortable with a $750 car payment - now I just kick myself thinking about it...
 
badolds said:
Thread hijack alert but @Bunker Snot you should tell her she is getting a station wagon.
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She actually drove a wagon... but it's not her Daddy's wagon, no wood paneling or the word Safari involved... Audi A3 wasn't sure about the diesel

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badolds said:
Used and cheap. She is female and responsible, two things my kid was not but chances are good that she will knock a corner off her first car anyway.
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This! I have a 16 year old and we just got him a 2008 Subaru Impreza w/ 105k miles for $4500. Every kid we know that has preceeded him in driving has had some kind of accident, from small to devastating. Every. Single. One. I did as well. And that's not to say all the accidents were their fault - but as a new driver, you just don't have the experience to know how to avoid situations that could lead to accidents, even if caused by someone else.

No reason to get them a new car out of the gate.
 
My fav type of car is salvage title. If you look you can find very very good deal on salvage title cars that have been restored and are in perfect working order.
 
My three boys all started on a very used Ford Contour and 2 of the three got into accidents with it. So moral of this story, start low and work your way up after 6 months. Most new drivers have their problem in the first month, then are mostly ok.
 
college and a reliable car are two of the most important and hardest debts to pay off. If a kid can get through college with no debt and a reliable car, it sets them up for success and makes buying a home much easier.

our cousins did just that for their two daughters. They paid for college and bought them a brand new car once they graduated. Both daughters are home owners and well on their way to financial security.

if youre in a position to do that, I think it makes alot of sense.

That being said, I think everyone should have to earn their way to a new and fancy car. My children will learn about responsible ownership from inexpensive beater cars that I dont care if they get beaten up or ruined lol!
 
It's been said many times already, but go used. I'd also add to set your price range based on what you can pay cash for. No reason to have a payment on something that unfortunately will likely get in a fender bender if not worse within the next few years. My son got his license last summer, and we got him a 2010 escape with about 70,000 miles. Small SUVs seem like the best choice from my point of view, and there are a million of them for sale at any given moment.
 
Used car. The depreciation on new cars is the dumbest financial move you can make unless you have money to just throw away. I learned of a new website today usedfirst.com that has quite a bit of depreciation details and highlights what your best bet is (usually 3-4 years old)
 
tahoebum said:
Lol, most here likely don't know what that is. The one my parents gave me was gray/light blue with the woodgrain side panels, lots of rust, and it got about 12 mpg. :p



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Ahh, very close to a Volarie (whoa oh oh oh oh ?).

We had a couple of them growing up. I always ended up in the rearward facing third row seat. It was like the manafucturer said “how many kids can we get to barf from carsickness?” It was kind of cool to be able to wave and pick your nose when someone was following too close though.

As far as the issue at hand.... I crashed and totaled the car that was supposed to be for my kids to drive a week before my oldest got his license. I’m hoping I saved him the trouble.

I’ve told all my kids I will sign/co-sign for exactly one car in their lifetime. From then on it’ll be up to them to maintain their credit. If they want their next car to be 5% interest or 20% interest, that’ll be up to them. My oldest is no longer involved in any extracurriculars with school so I told him once he gets a PT job, I’ll help him out some $$ wise finding something used and old that we can buy outright since me signing for a car for him now would help his credit none as he can’t sign for it anyways.
 
used, but the newest and lowest mileage you can afford. Look for vehicles own by retirees that might not drive anymore.
 
OGputtnfool said:
Whatever they can afford the payments and insurance for. Basically, like I told them about college... if they wanna go, then they'd better figure out how they're gonna pay because there's no way we can afford to send them.
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Unfortunately with the pending divorce (hell probably even prior) I’ve told them they better get good grades as college will be on them. How much in student loans they want to have to repay will be the question?
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
used, but the newest and lowest mileage you can afford. Look for vehicles own by retirees that might not drive anymore.
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Ahh, the old “I forgot to turn in the company car” trick. Sure takes that price right down to half of retail.
 
When I got my license, I was insured on my folks vehicle for the sole purpose of ferrying around my younger brothers. Beyond that, if I wanted wheels it was on me.

My first car was a 1987 Honda Accord and it cost $1200. I had that for a couple of years and saved up $5k for a 1993 GMC Sierra... my next vehicle was used from a dealer and by that time I’d built enough credit score on my own.

I don’t know anyone whose parents gifted them an auto. We all went the used route first.
 
Smiter said:
Unfortunately with the pending divorce (hell probably even prior) I’ve told them they better get good grades as college will be on them. How much in student loans they want to have to repay will be the question?
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I know a good way to get full tuition, $1,000/year for books, and a housing allowance based on the zip code if the college they attend. Just sayin'...
 
Both my kids got certified-used. My daughter a Civic EX, my son a Scion TC.

"Kids" are 24 and 22 now, still driving the same cars now both well over 120k miles. Both still trouble-free with only the usual parts prone to wear needing replacement.
 
Used. We got our 3 kids used cars to drive for work and college. None of them survived 2 years before getting wrecked. (Miami is not a safe city to drive around.) THEY replaced them. None of them has ever bought a new car to this day, always used.
 
Have 4 kids all in 30's now. The deal I cut with them once they had their license was they can get any car they want....We go 50/50...Want a 30,000 car no problem, you are covering 15,000. So a used Camaro, Mustang...older. One went for a new Civic, but on a lease...I had to front and he paid 1/2 along the way. My only daughter went Land Rover very used...And oh what a money pit that turned out to be...
 
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