I'm 25.

My background shows that you can give kids things and have them still appreciate the value of things.

First car was a 99 Grand Caravan that was mine till the lease was over.
Paid nothing on it.
Second car was a 2000 Camaro SS my father leased...and I drove all the time.
Paid nothing on it.
Third car was a 2003 C5Z06 which my father leased...and I drove all the time.
Paid nothing on it.
Forth car was a 2006 C6Z06 which my father and I bought and split the payments...and I drove all the time.

My father doesn't have much money just really likes cars. Has no wife to tell him this or that is a bad idea.

So I had everything thrown to me.

After the C6Z06 was hit by someone blowing a red light (popular i see) it had problems and we got rid of it. Now I leased on my own my Mini Cooper S and couldn't be happier. Not expecting handouts in any way. Was shocked when my dad said the other day he was going to help pay for my wedding. I figured that was all my doing.

So when raising kids I think it's fine spoiling them.....just don't pop a selfish dumb kid out of your woman.

 

In college I was on my 2nd car, a 71 Opel. I paid my way through college also.

 

Bought a strippy 68 Mustang (V8) after I graduated from HS in '69 with my own $$ I had saved from gifts, jobs. That was a cool mobile. Paid my gas and portion of the family ins policy. My dad (doctor) paid for my entire education (doctorate). My 3 kids each got a $5500 used car when they turned 16 from me and their mom. They pay half their ins. We pay their college. They are good students and work hard. I went to what was considered an affluent HS, but almost noone had a car until graduation (then the Camaros and stuff came out!). Where I live a lot of kids get a used car at 16, some nicer than others of course. It's just different times, because the parents of my friends could afford one, it just wasn't the thing to do to get one that early. You walked to school. Now you drive. Funny comment from someone how in their HS the beaters were the teachers' cars!

 

I'm not sure why you would buy someone in HS a car of any great value as:
1. During the first years of learning to drive (~16-19) people do stupid things, we have all been there and done that almost to a person. Add to this the distraction of cell phones and it gets REALLY scary. This doesn't have much to do with the car, the craziest drivers I knew in HS had cars with < 80hp! (ugh, mid 80s Escorts)
2. Insurance other than liability has to be very prohibitive.
3. It's really hard to drop back to a car worth less, and this step may be needed later to save on finances. Starting really nice (i.e. new MCS or the such) could set them up for failure.

 

Being a bit of a geezer, I may have a little different perspective. I've gone through school to a PhD., and was always a good student. My parents gave me quite a bit of financial support through my BA, but the MA and Ph.D. were at my expense. I really appreciated not having to work at a job when younger and was better able to focus on school, and also on interests outside of school such a photography, wood working, etc. I did not have a car that cost more than $150 (really) until I was married.

I have taught at the university level, and was often saddened to see students who were so pressed for money and the struggle to earn it that they really had little time or energy left for school work. Some even tried to explain substandard work by citing the many hours that they worked. I was torn; I respected their desire to get a degree and teaching credential. But, I also felt that I would not want some of them to teach my child or grandchild, and that I would not want some of them as colleagues in a teaching situation at any grade level.

I also see high school students who are so busy working to support their car and their social life that there is really little time or energy left for school. Whatever parents decide to provide for their children, I really feel that a strong emphasis on getting a good education should rank very high. And by education I don't just mean getting a degree. I mean love of learning, a valuing of scholarshlip, and a respect for intellectual life. I realize that I am old fashioned in some respects, but like Minis, I'm quirky.

By the way, I did a lot to support my two children in schooling and getting started in life. My son is a wood worker and only went to college for two years. My daughter is an architect. By choice, she worked about 12 hours per week during her undergraduate schooling. She got some great scholarship help, basically full tuition at a private college, with some loans. Both of my children has a strong independence streak and wamted to do a lot on their own.

When I look at the children of my friends I realize that there is no one right way to raise children. Fortunately, most children turn out pretty well even if they come from radically diffrent backgrounds. I work with families as part of my profession and I've learned to respect and value a lot of different ways of going about raising children. Strong values and self-confidence can come about in different ways.
cheers,
Joe

 

I like this thread, it's what draws me to forums like this. My wife and I have 5 kids between us, and they all started driving within a few years of each other. Kids hit stuff. Our 5 had 10 accidents pretty fast. 2 of the girls' cars were rearended and totalled within a month of their getting them (not at fault). One boy bumped 2 different cars and paid the damage cash. The other boy scraped a wall then slid into a rock in the snow (totalled with front end damage). The other girl rearended a car at a light, backed into a car in the driveway, bumped a 14 wheeler who pulled out in front of her (not at fault). Believe it or not there was no cellphone involved in any of these. But they do run into stuff, at least mine did.

 

He he wow, that statement is almost a form of birth control!

 

Just chiming in, I'm 20 years old and purchased my 33K MCS, with about 1K of mods in it and another 3K coming soon, just over 3 months ago. Put money aside for it (actually not the MINI in particular, but a car) in a high yield savings account since I received my permit at 15.

Also I studied my butt off and graduated from a prestigious high school with a 3.6 GPA, which rewarded me with a full tuition scholarship at a top 40 private college. Now I work part time on campus, of my own accord, to support my school-related expenses that the scholarship doesn't cover.

As a result of my extreme dedication to my education (what can I say, I have big plans for my future ), not to mention the fact that I'm saving them well over 40K/year, my parents supply with $500/month to cover other expenses: cell phone, insurance, gas, gym, social life... So although they did not pay for my MINI directly (I purchased it in cash from savings; no credit as I attended high school outside of the US) it is a result of their financial contributions that I'm able to afford it, given my other expenses.

I'll openly admit, I am spoiled. My Dad has a great job and his primary aim is to provide his family with just about whatever we want. I've honestly never desired something, within reason of course, which I didn't get.

Even so I have a great work ethic and a strong streak of independence. So at the end of the day I get much more pleasure out of using my own money to purchase the things I want, than asking my parents. Would my Dad have purchased the MINI for me if I asked for it? No way, but I'm sure he wouldn't have had a problem getting me a stripped one.

 

Congratulations on the scholarships to support your education, these are hard to come across.

You must have had a great job to save up that much money, I worked hard through high school and college and I never had more than $5K to my name (and often <$100). Then again, a number of my friends were given huge cash at any holiday, graduation or drop of the hat but they somehow felt they "earned" it.

May your good fortune continue, if you have any hickups don't frett as any number of us have been penniless at points during our lives.

I have a great job now and do OK come payday, but my early days of struggling keep me ever vigilant in increasing my savings as in the end cars are just about the worst investment (financially speaking) you can ever make.

 

Interesting comment. My father used to say the same thing when he was a professor at a commuter branch of a major university. Cars required to get there--no public transportation.

 

I think students struggling to complete their studies with work and other conflicts is an excellent experience for the rest of life. There will always be areas in your life which require your attention, even when you don't have the extra energy to give.

 

Certainly we all need to learn how to manage our time and make good choices as to how to shape our lives. However, I, and perhaps your father, have seen students who don't complete their educations. Sometimes they drop out, or even worse in some respects, they get a degree or certification, but are not really well educated. They met the basic requirements, but because of the choices, forced or otherwise, they did not get the depth and breadth of learning that they could have if they were able to devote a larger share of time and effort to school work.
Cheers,
Joe

 

It would depend, I have meet many incredibly studious book smart people that I would never want to work for me, and I've seen them have their "behinds" handed to them in real life situations by the people you are calling "not well educated".

Education isn't simply academia (unless you hide in academia your whole life, but then again that's an escape all it's own) it's the handing of real life situations which often involve the greatest unknown variable PEOPLE!

 

Well, after reading through the other posts, I figured I would toss my thoughts in as well.

I'm not going to go through my history of my first car and what I drove in college (it doesn't matter anyway). My wife and I have a single daughter who is 16 and is doing wonderfully in school. We are looking at likely paying for the majority of her college education which will begin in just under two years. We bought her first car (2007 Honda Fit) and my wife drove it for about 10k miles before my daughter got her license. I struggled with the idea of giving my daughter a new car for her to drive...but I ended up concluding that, yes, she is driving a new car, but it should last her for quite some time (well through college). And, if that helps her concentrate more on school and being successful in college, then great. True, it's more help than I received when I was her age, but I figure that's my job as her father...to help make life a little easier for her if I can.

That's it...sniff, sniff...now I gotta go motorin'...

 

i got a honda accord as a graduation present when i was a senior in h.s, got a R6 when I got into 2nd year of college in 2000, then a brand new R1 in 05, then the Mini in 07. I paid for the R1 and Mini on my own, the other 2 my parents helped me out.

 

That's one of the best quotes I've ever read on this site. And thanks for posting something that goes against the mass belief that it's always bad to provide for kids. I'm your age and have had to pay for my cars, but I understand and respect that it doesn't have to be that way. Actually, I did get one car for free, but I had to earn it.

mb

 

i'm 21, started off with an '04 focus that dad bought me for a hs grad present... i then traded that in for an '06 mc, when that got totalled i bought an '07 mcs and now have a HUGE car payment, so now i'm working more and going to college...

 

Thank you very much for the kind words, means a lot.

I worked every summer from 16 on up (actually still do) alongside my Dad. He works for an international oil services company so it's a great learning experience and also very generous pay for me. Additionally I work part time during the school semesters.

Although certainly willing to spoil, my parents were never ones to give their children outright cash. Always thought we'd spend it on the wrong things and that's probably true. So everything in savings is earned from my own hard work.

Being an economics major, I totally understand the ups and downs in finances, as well as the horrible investment cars generally are. That said I've been a car person literally since age 7, so it's quite hard to resist.