Ok here is the situation. 2 years ago when my first niece turned 16, her mom bought her a car. I'm all fine with that and everything, but she bought her a car she WANTED. I disagree with that whole idea. In my opinion, she should've bought her a basic CAR that can get her to where she needs to go, to her job ect....... so she can save up to buy a car she WANTS. The car was a 04' mustang I believe. So now I have another niece, who turned 16 earlier this week. Yesterday they had her whole birthday planned and were going to give her a car as well. They bought her a 05' eclipse. They didn't give it to her until around 9pm last night. I called my niece who received the car later on last night and was talking to her about how the whole thing panned out and she said around 7pm she was sitting in her house thinking... "are they not going to get me a car?!?!" because it was getting so late, and for my other niece, they surprised her with her car at a restaurant. Keep in mind my sister and her boyfriend only make around 35-40k a year. My sister also has a 6 month old daughter. When she turns 16, she better have her pilots license cause there'll be flying cars by then lol. But do you see my point? Look at the Rolloff family (Little People Big World), their income is probably somewhere in the 6 figure range, maybe even in the millions and they bought their middle boy his first car and it was like some ragged 1990 van.
Its not a bad idea if like you said, you get them a basic car. But giving a 16 year old the car that he wants? Bad idea. Once the kid shows they can handle all the responsibilities of a car, which includes more than just driving, then you can think about the one that he wants.
Buy them a safe, practical car. Or better yet, give them your old car and go buy yourself something totally pimp. And when your kid does something cool, let them drive it as a reward.
Kids are so spoiled. The whole "car in the driveway on the 16th birthday" thing has been so overplayed in movies and TV that they expect it now. My parents gave me flowers and a $30 Target gift card on my 16th birthday and used the ensuing few months to jew people down and get the cheapest (reasonably safe) car they could find. I had to buy it off them when I left for college. It's the way the world works.
Do what my parents did. Got my 02 Civic at 17, told me "We're paying the first 2 years, you pay the next 3" By then I got a job, saved up some cash, and paid the remaining 3 years.
All of this depends on the kid - there's no one way to handle this. There are kids that start maturing and take on responsibility early and others that are still 15 year olds with no clue when they're in their 20's and 30's. There is no one answer for this and no one other than the kid's parents can judge whether the kid deserves it or not.
My parents are medical doctors and when I turned 16, they bought me a pos VW. I loved that car, but more so the value of frugality they taught me growing up.
My parents bought my brother an '83 Chevy Silverado (this was in the mid 90's) as his first car, which later got handed down to me. We both bought our second used cars with our own money. My second truck was a '93 Nissan Pickup and it served me well for about 5 years. And now I have a 5 year old Tacoma that I bought new. Slowly but surely, through hard work and saving, I worked my way up to my first brand new truck. And that's thanks in large part to my parents teaching me the value of a hard earned dollar. Gonna do the same thing for my kids.
UFO's are the perfect motor vehicle/transportation vehicle for spoiled 16 years old. Will post link later.
Honestly, I couldn't believe he wrote that phrase either. I thought it was pretty racist the first time I heard it (in college)
It is an insulting phrase and should not be used. Generally speaking, it's usually not a good idea to use a race or religion or nationality as a verb.
okay, my wife and I make twice what your sister and boyfriend make & we'll never buy a brand new car for ourselves, much less for the kids. Just doesn't make good financial sense, plus it teaches the kids to NOT appreciate what they have. There's a reason why most millionaires on average buy 2yr old USED cars.
did they also teach you to use "jew" people for a better deal. "thanks mom and dad for teaching me how to earn things i get, and how to casually throw racist terms around."
classy. I am not even offended, but more surprised that you wrote it. You probably didn't notice you were saying it either, but you use it in normal conversation without thinking about the meaning.
