Anything wrong with buying your teen an nice car? ($40,000 and up)

[Anonymous]

We bought DS a car and he takes very good care of it. Depends on the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up with several girls who got new BMWs when they were 16. They are all successful adults.

Used cars are a headache and don't have the latest safety features.

If you're concerned about safety, a Jeep is not the way to go.

[Anonymous]

I would buy the new civic fully loaded for 28k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In this thread: Jealous adults.

... and a shallow thinker in thou ...

[Anonymous]

Jeeps are known to be bad cars. But, sounds like you can afford to fix it down the road, so who cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would buy the new civic fully loaded for 28k

Agree. My financial situation is obviously worlds away from OPs but I worry about safety. A jeep is top heavy and not a smooth ride at all. Even a small non Jeep SUV would probably be a safer choice for a new driver.

[Anonymous]

Sure, why not, but for the first 6 month or so, I made my DC drive our old car, that had plenty of scratches and dents, not huge or anything. In those six months he never damaged anything badly, but he certainly added many scratches to it. There was a back wall, that wasn't there, and mostly parking lot and small issues. After that he got a new car and he takes really good care of it.

[Anonymous]

If you have the money, go for it. Why does the price matter, if you can afford it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, here's the thing ~ this is not a car she could afford. Even if she were a little older and working. As a young professional, she could not afford this car. You are setting her up to feel not-good-enough, not successful enough, in the future when she has to buy her own car. You are getting her use to a lifestyle that she, herself, can not provide. I would get her a type of car which, if it needed to be replaced, would be something more in-line with a young professional's starting salary.

+1000 The first car doesn't have to be a dream car. In fact, who wants to park an expensive car in the HS parking lot? Who wants to leave a car like that in the student parking at college?

Get her something bare bones, safe and reliable. Something that can get an occasional door ding - because it will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would buy the new civic fully loaded for 28k[/qte


+100

[Anonymous]

The September 2016 Consumer Reports issue had a great article on cars to buy for teenagers ("Teen Driving - When your kid takes the wheel"). The Jeep is definitely NOT on the list. CR does make a good argument for getting your teen a (modestly-priced, low-bling) new car vs. a used one, which surprised me.

I'm thinking OP is a troll, though. Who would buy their teenager a brand new $40K car, let alone one with 285 horsepower and a mediocre safety rating?

OP, if you're asking this seriously, and your family's values are consistent with buying your child a new car in that price range, I think you should find another model. Read the Jeep's reviews (start here - http://www.edmunds.com/jeep/wrangler/2016/suv/review/) and the CR article.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our daughter really wants a loaded Jeep for her upcoming birthday, which is about $40,000. She's an all A student, co-captain of her athletic team, elected to student government, volunteers, works part-time after volunteer opportunity offered her a weekend job, dating a sweet boy at St Albans.

She deserves a fully loaded chopper.

Cars and traffic jams are for poor or sissies.

[Anonymous]

Buy a used car. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids have cars this expensive, so its not out of the norm. Sometimes it IS the norm as many people have mentioned. My kids aren't this old. I have had a bunch of aupairs. Nearly all of them, supposedly experienced good drivers, had fender benders and what not on my cars. Point being is that I would expect an accident and the insurance to go up even more. From a money perspective, its going to be expensive (more than the 40k for insurance, accidents etc). Second, that is a car that everyone wants to go out in. She will be the driver or, worse yet, she'll let the St Albans kid driver the car. More liability there with all the friends driving around in the car. So you can add some headache and potential $$$ there. Then, add in the danger factor. I do not think this is the safest car. If $ was no object, then for safety sake - I agree - I 'd go for the volvo or the bmw. No reason for a kid with so much potential to potentially die. Now that would really suck. I'm sure a parent of a kid with so much potential can understand this risk. Then from a values perspective - I have decided that kids need to learn how to deal with wealth and money. Money is just a thing. Sometimes you have a lot, sometimes you don't. Based on your post, I'm guessing you have a lot, I would make a deal - buy an expensive car but if its wrecked, its a used honda civic or something very mundane. That would give some clarity around expectations. However I definitely agree - its nicer to work UP to stuff than have it ripped away (From accident or what not). But that is not how most parents want to play these days.

Personally, its the used honda crv for my kid when they are old enough. Not embarrassing, decently safe. Relatively cheap. Then I have promised a better if they do get some scholarship or something very good at college.

Just my 2 cents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In this thread: Jealous adults.

No.we are wise adults who do not want any more entitled and depressed young adults around. And that's what OP risks creating.