Do UMC parents buy their adult kid a car after college?

[Anonymous]

My sibling bought their 2 kids each a Mercedes SUV.

Kinda sick but they don’t even get it. I didn’t say a thing.

Kids have not work s day in their life and they get a Mercedes. They have no value of money. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never crowdsourced my parenting decisions, to ensure that my actions were “normal.”

I gave my kid a car for a college graduation gift, because I knew she would need one in grad school and she had little to no savings. She was allowed to pick the vehicle, with a (pretty low) price limit and requirement for a very good crash test rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s website. She paid the fees (registration and taxes), as well as ongoing gas and insurance.

PS-my kid held off actually acquiring the car until we knew where she would be attending school (some locations might not require one/make sense). That also saved $$ on insurance.

[Anonymous]

Mine did, but they are at the upper end of UMC. By the time we graduated college, they had no mortgage or other debt and plenty saved for retirement. One sibling is still driving the same car over 12 years later.

[Anonymous]

My parents bought me a new car my senior year. I drove it for almost 10 years. We bought DS a car in high school that should last him well beyond college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A car is 20k used. It doesn't shock me people would buy their kids cars, at all. It's a small expense for someone UMC. People pay 80k/year for college, buy whole homes, pay for a down payment...Having a dependable car is important based on where you live.

Avg new car sale is $47k (!!!) at the moment. And used comes with risks like maintenance, lack of free loaner car if in for service. Even things like worrying about tires and brakes on a used car is a chore and a safety risk.

Very decent/safe cars can be had for $27K. Your figure probably includes SUVs and hybrids, which are not needed for a first car.

Used cars are risky, full of unknowns, and not exactly the steal they used to be. If you’re a responsible college grad with good credit and a nice job, get a practical new car. 2-3 years of 100% worry free transportation is worth a premium.

The bigger stresser and ding to my self esteem when I was a young college grad was my piece of junk car. Buy your kid decent wheels if you can afford to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, UMC parents buy their kids a car during HS.

If your kid goes to say Yale or Notre Dame or NYU and doesn’t drive at college, you’re going to keep their old car in the garage? No. You’re going to unload it. So they’ll need another car when they graduate.

[Anonymous]

You get dads hand me down

[Anonymous]

We gave our kids our used very basic SUVs. We would have been happy to drive them for a few more years but we felt it was the right thing to do. We transferred the title and they covered all of the insurance and expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, UMC parents buy their kids a car during HS.

If your kid goes to say Yale or Notre Dame or NYU and doesn’t drive at college, you’re going to keep their old car in the garage? No. You’re going to unload it. So they’ll need another car when they graduate.

Most people absolutely do not do this. They keep the car at their parents house or find somewhere to park it off campus. Selling a car because someone going to school is something a poor people do. Most kids going to schools like this come from families that can afford to spend a few hundred a month on a car no one is using.

[Anonymous]

Almost everyone I know at my high school was given a car by their parents when they got their drivers license. This is the norm among upper middle class and above households. These parents want their kids to focus on grades in school and don’t want a minimum wage job (during the school year) to jeopardize their chances of getting into a good college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming you got rid of their high school car and they attended a college where they lived on campus and/or in a city they didn't need a car. Now they've graduated and begin a job in a region that requires a car. Does it go without saying UMC and wealthy parents go car shopping with their college grad kid the summer after they graduate, so they can begin their career with a stable vehicle? UMC parents should pay for the entire car, or only a large down payment... or parents co-sign a lease and pay the up-fronts but the kid will pay the monthly payment? Unsure what is normal.

JFC. Our kids didn't have a car in HS, and we are not buying them one when they graduate from college. HHI $240k

[Anonymous]

The original question was not what did your parents do but what do umc parents do. At the lower end of umc, no nothing. At the higher end it uc, yes they buy a car and they keep doing purchases like this do that the kids can do other things with their money.

[Anonymous]

From a lower class family, single widowed parent. She paid for half of my used '93 Toyota back in 2001 when I graduated college. I paid the other half. All in about $4500.

FWIW that car is still working today and still used by another member of the family. Probably over 300k miles at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A car is 20k used. It doesn't shock me people would buy their kids cars, at all. It's a small expense for someone UMC. People pay 80k/year for college, buy whole homes, pay for a down payment...Having a dependable car is important based on where you live.

Avg new car sale is $47k (!!!) at the moment. And used comes with risks like maintenance, lack of free loaner car if in for service. Even things like worrying about tires and brakes on a used car is a chore and a safety risk.

Very decent/safe cars can be had for $27K. Your figure probably includes SUVs and hybrids, which are not needed for a first car.

Used cars are risky, full of unknowns, and not exactly the steal they used to be. If you’re a responsible college grad with good credit and a nice job, get a practical new car. 2-3 years of 100% worry free transportation is worth a premium.

The bigger stresser and ding to my self esteem when I was a young college grad was my piece of junk car. Buy your kid decent wheels if you can afford to help.

DP. You lose a few grand the second you drive off the lot with a new car. You can buy certified used cars at this point so there's zero reason to buy new. You can look up vins for accident history. They are leas risky purchases than they used to be when you bought used by scanning classified ads in the newspaper (how I got my first car)

[Anonymous]

I did not get a car. I bought a Honda Accord with a car loan from my credit union when I started work after graduating. Drove it for 20 years.

Colleague was given a new Honda Civic, with a middle trim level, and a small engine, by his (wealthy) parents when he went off to VT. He drove it for 10+ years and bought his next car with cash.