omicron1792
WKR
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2024
- Messages
- 774
Awesome. Good for you. Sounds like you’re very proud of it.My kids did also.
They bought their own vehicles.
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Awesome. Good for you. Sounds like you’re very proud of it.My kids did also.
They bought their own vehicles.
No. It's just part of their job in becoming responsible adults.Awesome. Good for you. Sounds like you’re very proud of it.
This is very true. The first post from the OP says a “$10k beater”. There’s a ton of vehicles in the $7-10k range that I wouldn’t consider beaters. I paid $13k for my wife’s car and $15k for my truck and they are both the nicest, newest vehicles we have ever owned. For my kid, I would probably be shopping in that $5k range. It would be good for him to learn how to fix minor stuff and build some character.A lot of conversation in this thread makes it seem like the two options are unsafe, falling apart beater or brand new. There's plenty of options in between.
I disagree. Plenty of time for them to work for money. I’ll let them stay kids for a bit longer. More time teaching them to hunt.No. It's just part of their job in becoming responsible adults.
Totally agree with all of this living in a similar place as you.There are different opinions, of course.
I don't regret buying my children safe and reliable vehicles. I started with a beater myself, but I could afford to buy them solid economy cars. Those cars took them through college.
One of my daughter's car got totaled when she was hit on the interstate. Totally the other persons fault, but she spun several times and was hit on all sides. The other hit a deer. Neither suffered significant injuries, but both were pretty scared after. The airbags deployed.
The cars don't have to be expensive, but safe and reliable are very important if you can afford them. I never had to worry about their cars breaking down.
I sold a truck that had been totaled twice with a clean Carfax. At least one other wreck, several blown turbos, a couple sets of head gaskets... I beat on that truck like it owed me money, but the body and interior were real clean.I am anti beater for a kids first car. I had a beater for my first car and it was horrifically unsafe. Had the death wobble when you would put it on the highway and the brakes were not reliable either at higher speeds. I can’t believe i didn’t die or get into an accident in that thing to be honest.
I would buy something reliable and safe at the age of vehicle you think is appropriate. And it’s hard if you’re not mechanically inclined when cars are older and have high mileage. Get a car fax to verify a used cars history is correct and hopefully everything works out.
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My kids will be getting our hand me down vehicles in the next 6-7 years. Oldest son will get either the 2020 Tundra or wifes 2013 Land Cruiser both will have 200k plus by then, wife will get a new car. Daughter will probably end up with my 2024 F-350 Tremor, with 300k miles on it. I'm not putting my kids in economy cars so they can take the worse end of an accident.
That’s one way to look at it. Or you could consider the fact that the stopping distance on an f350 is 162 feet and a corolla (economy car mentioned) is 119 feet. Also, new drivers who are inexperienced are much more likely to over correct if a dog runs in front of them. That f350 is a rollover magnet in the wrong hands. Let’s face it, the chances of a 16 year old getting in an accident that’s self induced is MUCH higher, plenty of statistics to back that up. Putting them in a vehicle they can’t handle is just making it worse.
It’s like the stupid caliber debates on here. Just because it will work, doesn’t make it the best choice. No need to go from 1 extreme to the other, f350 to economy. Find a happy balance.
Edit to add… what happens when she drives that f350 up someone’s ass?
You wrote what we all thought…. Well said.I have to go on a mini rant here.
If you put your kid in a full size (especially ¾ or 1 ton) "for their safety" you are a selfish asshole (or maybe more diplomatically, you are contributing to the problems you are recognizing and trying to solve for). It results in a world where everyone with means puts their kid it the biggest worst handling turd of a truck they can, and the rest of us are SOL.
Putting the demographic most likely to run into someone else into a vehicle that stops slower, steers worse, and blocks visibility for others, specifically because it's big and heavy and going to win in a collision (ie crush whatever is being driven by the poor sap they ran into) is borderline immoral. You're dramatically increasing the chance that they'll crash into someone, and dramatically increasing the chance that when they do it kills the person on the other end.
The last thing a kid needs when learning to drive is a sense of invincibility.
Rant over.
To the OP, I'm definitely in the "buy something older and learn to work on it" camp, but I do get the desire for something newer and more reliable. I think you'll help your kid build skills, confidence, and resilience if you allow them to learn to figure out how to fix things that break, and first car is the perfect vehicle for that skill set.
Nobody's born with the knowledge to fix things, and there has never ever been a better time to learn how to fix stuff. Dryer needs a new heating element? Car has a bad alternator? Toilet has a leaky flapper? Chainsaw keeps bogging down? YouTube for the diagnosis and repair process and Google for the parts.
I think we as a culture shield our kids from adversity too much. Struggle and adversity builds resilience and security. The kids who were given the easiest time and the nicest stuff early on rarely turn out to be the most thankful, kind, and healthy balance of confident/humble/secure people in my experience.
I didn't intend for the second half of that to be another rant, but it kind of turned out that way. Now, rant over.