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.

I have never had a car this expensive in my life. Nobody needs a brand new 47k car, and most people never have them. There's room between a constantly breaking down 20 year-old car and one that's a few years old. The loaner thing is not a reason to spend 30k more.

Exactly. I am upper middle class and old, and would never spend that much on a car!

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.

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

+1

And it’s a nice new car too!

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.

We either gave our kids a hand-me-down car or bought a used Toyota for them while they were in college so they could drive to school.

No be we offered our college grad a down payment as a graduation gift. She is unemployed so she is still without a car since she won’t be able to qualify for a loan. She can borrow one of ours until then.

I was given a basic used car with no tape deck. I was thrilled. It was not an expectation. Lots of friends had to buy their own cars.

If the kids have not landed jobs/savings that pay well enough to fund their own car purchase, but they have a job that requires them to commute by car to work -- then yes, I would help them get a safe, reliable, but not over the top vehicle. Maybe offer them an older car that's already in the family while DH or I upgrade.

But in my experience, many UMC kids have healthy savings from college internships and sign on bonuses in new jobs that allow them to buy their own cars and/or (more likely) they want city life that does not require a driving commute.

My umc parents (barely umc) gave me 20% down on a new toyota corolla when I graduated and co-signed the loan. I paid for everything else

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see my kids settling anywhere that they would want a car. Honestly, the only reason we have a car was to shuttle the kids to their activities and take road trips. Now that is almost at an end.

We may seriously consider ditching our car and just using Ubers and metro and renting for road trips (though I suspect we will just drive it into the ground).

Young professionals need a car in California, Texas, Florida, Charlotte and Nashville. And lots of successful young people in the District still have their own cars.

Considering my kid lives in San Francisco...no, they don't need a car and in fact would find it a pain in the a** to own one. Lots of successful people in general have a car, but we are talking about young people where their parent has to buy them a car. If my kid is living in Navy Yard or The Wharf or wherever and works in downtown DC, why would I buy them a car?

Similarly, many successful people in Manhattan own a car, but the last thing most of us just starting out working in finance or whatever, wanted or needed was a car.

But surely you understand some people do in fact NEED a car to get to work. This discussion is turning silly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see my kids settling anywhere that they would want a car. Honestly, the only reason we have a car was to shuttle the kids to their activities and take road trips. Now that is almost at an end.

We may seriously consider ditching our car and just using Ubers and metro and renting for road trips (though I suspect we will just drive it into the ground).

Young professionals need a car in California, Texas, Florida, Charlotte and Nashville. And lots of successful young people in the District still have their own cars.

Considering my kid lives in San Francisco...no, they don't need a car and in fact would find it a pain in the a** to own one. Lots of successful people in general have a car, but we are talking about young people where their parent has to buy them a car. If my kid is living in Navy Yard or The Wharf or wherever and works in downtown DC, why would I buy them a car?

Similarly, many successful people in Manhattan own a car, but the last thing most of us just starting out working in finance or whatever, wanted or needed was a car.

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.

I have never had a car this expensive in my life. Nobody needs a brand new 47k car, and most people never have them. There's room between a constantly breaking down 20 year-old car and one that's a few years old. The loaner thing is not a reason to spend 30k more.

Most popular car for the yuppy demo is probably the Tesla Model Y, which isn’t exactly a flashy car. Those are mid 40s to mid 50s, so $47k isn’t an astronomical sum on a new car anymore.

I am not saying it's astronomical, just that there are many cars that can be bought for much cheaper, including brand-new ones.

My parents bought me a car when I graduated college. We were LMC and I had been on financial aid at college and work study. But having a car as an adult for most jobs is a necessity. Unless you work and live in Manhatten or similar, you will be crippling your career and life without a car.

Anonymous wrote:I don't see my kids settling anywhere that they would want a car. Honestly, the only reason we have a car was to shuttle the kids to their activities and take road trips. Now that is almost at an end.

We may seriously consider ditching our car and just using Ubers and metro and renting for road trips (though I suspect we will just drive it into the ground).

Young professionals need a car in California, Texas, Florida, Charlotte and Nashville. And lots of successful young people in the District still have their own cars.

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