Reply to Do I need to buy DD a Jeep?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Don't buy her a car that she could not afford herself. Starting out in the career world (in the future) if her salary could not have purchased this car, you are setting her up for unhappiness, for feeling inadequate as a young person just starting out career wise. It gets her use to a standard of living that she, alone, can not support. She will need a "next" car after this one, and you want it to be something she's proud she bought on her own, to feel she's moving-up in the world on her own. Now, only you know the cost of the Jeep and what bells and whistles it has. Only you might/might not be able to ballpark a future starting salary ---  but I think I've made my point. And I think without considering these points, it's bad parenting.[/quote]

this[/quote]
+1000
I'll assume OP is sincere - so the answer is, absolutely not. It doesn't matter what you can afford or what all the parents around you are doing. It is your responsibility to raise a capable adult, and managing to buy your own car is one of the first, most important steps into adulthood. She has access to a  perfectly serviceable and safe car now (which I hope is actually in your name, not hers), and if she wants more, she should earn the money to buy it. A reasonable compromise that many families who can afford it make, is to pay for half of a first car purchase (new or used).

We have a third car (used RAV4) that is MINE, for the use of teenage drivers in the household. Paid $10k for it, with a standing offer that a child may purchase it their sophomore year in college for $5k. Oldest child thinks the car is his, because he's had use of it for two years, despite numerous reminders otherwise. Oldest has no job and no savings and is unlikely to have $5k by next summer, which is his earliest purchase opportunity. Middle child wants the car. Middle child got a life guarding job this summer and saved $5k in three months already. We'll see where things stand in 3 years when middle can buy the car. Should be interesting. My point is, no matter who ends up with the car, they will have earned it and will have learned valuable life lessons, far beyond the temporary need to look good in front of high school peers. [/quote]

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