Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
NP. No, it can also be about convenience and not just status. Some busy teens need to get themselves to school and their many activities on their own. Call it their car or an extra family car, it's all just semantics. Hondas are solid choices. Very reliable and fuel efficient. If 40K were no big deal I'd much rather buy a Honda than a ridiculous Jeep.

All the kids driving nice new cars is 100% a status / ego thing for upper middle and rich families.

The truth is simple: new cars are safer and don't have the hidden issues of used cars. If you have lots of money and can easily afford to buy your kid a new car, its really no big deal. The only people, honestly, who make a big deal out if this are jealous people who cannot really afford to buy a new car. If you rereading this and saying "no, thats not it, its tacky," to yourself, try and be honest, at least with yourself. You owe yourself that. The only people who get upset about what other people buy their kids are people who cannot do the same.

DD just turned 6 and it cost me maybe $10 to buy her the stuffed animal she really really wanted.

I'm so not ready for the teen years...

Anonymous wrote:
NP. No, it can also be about convenience and not just status. Some busy teens need to get themselves to school and their many activities on their own. Call it their car or an extra family car, it's all just semantics. Hondas are solid choices. Very reliable and fuel efficient. If 40K were no big deal I'd much rather buy a Honda than a ridiculous Jeep.

All the kids driving nice new cars is 100% a status / ego thing for upper middle and rich families.

Y’all are spending $40k on Jeeps and Civics?!?! No wonder all the squabbles about money on here - can only imagine how bad it is in your houses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. If you want your message to be "I suck as a parent."

My DD is getting a car at 16 and it is about 2 years old, low mileage and a Honda and her comment was "If I get a car at 16, I am going to be excited about whatever car it is!" She is getting a car because I am tired of being the chauffeur and yet I want her to continue being involved in so many awesome activities.

But you're GIVING her a car?? She's not just borrowing the family car sometimes??

Yup. She’s mature. Has awesome grades and has activities that take her and her sibling around the area a lot. How can she borrow the family car to get to school at 6:45 am? How can she borrow the family car to get home at 5 pm from activities? And to her various jobs and such? I got a car at 16 and it was a great experience for me. And now I will do the same for my daughter but I won’t get her a 40k Car or some stupid perceived status symbol.

A Honda Civic can also cost 40K. A teen having their own car regardless of what it is, is about status. Drive your own kids. Sibling should not be parenting her siblings You should. She gets to school the same way she got there before age 16. 16 year olds don't need cars. Their parents want them to have cars as it makes your life easier. Yes, she can borrow a family car - you have three cars or share. I don't get buying a car at 16 given they are going to college (one would hope since you can afford a car, you will also pay for college).

What a simple life you lead.

The car’s value is about 12k- like I said, it’s not brand new. I work full-time plus. I am a single parent and have a significant health issue. Not that I need to justify anything to you.

Don’t worry about my college fund. Despite being a single parent with virtually no child support- it’s fully funded. For both kids. Sorry you are such a poor financial planner. And that you feel the need to hover over your 16 year old. I don’t. I raised my kids right.

I saw a Halsey commercial for Jeep yesterday.

That explains it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. If you want your message to be "I suck as a parent."

My DD is getting a car at 16 and it is about 2 years old, low mileage and a Honda and her comment was "If I get a car at 16, I am going to be excited about whatever car it is!" She is getting a car because I am tired of being the chauffeur and yet I want her to continue being involved in so many awesome activities.

But you're GIVING her a car?? She's not just borrowing the family car sometimes??

Yup. She’s mature. Has awesome grades and has activities that take her and her sibling around the area a lot. How can she borrow the family car to get to school at 6:45 am? How can she borrow the family car to get home at 5 pm from activities? And to her various jobs and such? I got a car at 16 and it was a great experience for me. And now I will do the same for my daughter but I won’t get her a 40k Car or some stupid perceived status symbol.

A Honda Civic can also cost 40K. A teen having their own car regardless of what it is, is about status. Drive your own kids. Sibling should not be parenting her siblings You should. She gets to school the same way she got there before age 16. 16 year olds don't need cars. Their parents want them to have cars as it makes your life easier. Yes, she can borrow a family car - you have three cars or share. I don't get buying a car at 16 given they are going to college (one would hope since you can afford a car, you will also pay for college).

NP. No, it can also be about convenience and not just status. Some busy teens need to get themselves to school and their many activities on their own. Call it their car or an extra family car, it's all just semantics. Hondas are solid choices. Very reliable and fuel efficient. If 40K were no big deal I'd much rather buy a Honda than a ridiculous Jeep.

I agree that getting a 3rd car when you add a teen driver can be about convenience. I think my parents handled it well -- although it annoyed me as a teen. Dad got a new car when my sister started driving. She was allowed to drive his old car which included driving me to school along with her. This was not "her" car. It was my parents car that she was allowed to use. When I started driving a year later I also got to use that car. It did not go to college with my sister because it was not her car and still needed at home for me to use. They did eventually buy her a used car when her college required her to have a car (she was in a nursing program and a car was necessary for public health home visits). About mid-way through college I was allowed to take the 3rd car (which was a different car by this point) to school to make it easier to balance my work and extracurricular activities. I was still not allowed to call it 'my' car. When I graduated they signed the car over to me and at that point it was "mine".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. If you want your message to be "I suck as a parent."

My DD is getting a car at 16 and it is about 2 years old, low mileage and a Honda and her comment was "If I get a car at 16, I am going to be excited about whatever car it is!" She is getting a car because I am tired of being the chauffeur and yet I want her to continue being involved in so many awesome activities.

But you're GIVING her a car?? She's not just borrowing the family car sometimes??

Yup. She’s mature. Has awesome grades and has activities that take her and her sibling around the area a lot. How can she borrow the family car to get to school at 6:45 am? How can she borrow the family car to get home at 5 pm from activities? And to her various jobs and such? I got a car at 16 and it was a great experience for me. And now I will do the same for my daughter but I won’t get her a 40k Car or some stupid perceived status symbol.

A Honda Civic can also cost 40K. A teen having their own car regardless of what it is, is about status. Drive your own kids. Sibling should not be parenting her siblings You should. She gets to school the same way she got there before age 16. 16 year olds don't need cars. Their parents want them to have cars as it makes your life easier. Yes, she can borrow a family car - you have three cars or share. I don't get buying a car at 16 given they are going to college (one would hope since you can afford a car, you will also pay for college).

NP. No, it can also be about convenience and not just status. Some busy teens need to get themselves to school and their many activities on their own. Call it their car or an extra family car, it's all just semantics. Hondas are solid choices. Very reliable and fuel efficient. If 40K were no big deal I'd much rather buy a Honda than a ridiculous Jeep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that kids like the look of jeeps in general but that one is a super fancy, pretentious jeep. How much would that set you back?

MSRP mid 20k but you know you NEVER pay MSRP.

You're sadly mistaken if you think you can buy a new, 4WD, Wrangler Unlimited for $25K. Maybe 10-15 years ago they were going for that, not now. These things are hotter than pistol and they're charging accordingly.

+1. DH really wants one and we can’t afford it. Our upper limit is 30k all in. We’ve tried negotiating and going without options. It’s just not happening.

Wait till the new version. You can get one but not fully loaded. We just priced one out for that price but are waiting till the new ones come out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. If you want your message to be "I suck as a parent."

My DD is getting a car at 16 and it is about 2 years old, low mileage and a Honda and her comment was "If I get a car at 16, I am going to be excited about whatever car it is!" She is getting a car because I am tired of being the chauffeur and yet I want her to continue being involved in so many awesome activities.

But you're GIVING her a car?? She's not just borrowing the family car sometimes??

Yup. She’s mature. Has awesome grades and has activities that take her and her sibling around the area a lot. How can she borrow the family car to get to school at 6:45 am? How can she borrow the family car to get home at 5 pm from activities? And to her various jobs and such? I got a car at 16 and it was a great experience for me. And now I will do the same for my daughter but I won’t get her a 40k Car or some stupid perceived status symbol.

A Honda Civic can also cost 40K. A teen having their own car regardless of what it is, is about status. Drive your own kids. Sibling should not be parenting her siblings You should. She gets to school the same way she got there before age 16. 16 year olds don't need cars. Their parents want them to have cars as it makes your life easier. Yes, she can borrow a family car - you have three cars or share. I don't get buying a car at 16 given they are going to college (one would hope since you can afford a car, you will also pay for college).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Koons has 33 unlimited Wranglers for under $33k. Only one over $40k. No idea why people insist they are $40k plus

Some are, but it depends on what you pick and how well you negotiate. The ones we are looking at are around 40K, maybe more.

I knew PP was wrong, so I actually checked: Nearly a dozen of their *NEW* 4-door Jeep Wranglers are near or over $40k. The ones in the $30s are crap interior, cloth seats, plastic soft top, no LCD display.

The current model is pretty dated. The new ones are coming out soon. They will have all the safety features and LCD screen.

It's the most unsafe vehicle that a teenager could drive. It has a high center of gravity and added with a teens inexperience will put this thing on its roof in a heartbeat. Having said all of that its the ideal car for Potomac/Bethesda/"hey look at us" types.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Koons has 33 unlimited Wranglers for under $33k. Only one over $40k. No idea why people insist they are $40k plus

Some are, but it depends on what you pick and how well you negotiate. The ones we are looking at are around 40K, maybe more.

I knew PP was wrong, so I actually checked: Nearly a dozen of their *NEW* 4-door Jeep Wranglers are near or over $40k. The ones in the $30s are crap interior, cloth seats, plastic soft top, no LCD display.

Anonymous wrote:Most uncomfortable car ever.

.

This. They are tin cans and horrible in crash tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. If you want your message to be "I suck as a parent."

My DD is getting a car at 16 and it is about 2 years old, low mileage and a Honda and her comment was "If I get a car at 16, I am going to be excited about whatever car it is!" She is getting a car because I am tired of being the chauffeur and yet I want her to continue being involved in so many awesome activities.

But you're GIVING her a car?? She's not just borrowing the family car sometimes??

Yup. She’s mature. Has awesome grades and has activities that take her and her sibling around the area a lot. How can she borrow the family car to get to school at 6:45 am? How can she borrow the family car to get home at 5 pm from activities? And to her various jobs and such? I got a car at 16 and it was a great experience for me. And now I will do the same for my daughter but I won’t get her a 40k Car or some stupid perceived status symbol.