Why I don't think it's a good idea for kids to have to buy their own cars...

[Valhalla1]

<< Becoming a pysch major now, Val? That must be some double major you have going on there! Please don't analyze me. You don't know me, don't try to make an assumption on my life without knowing me as a person. I got pissed off when my girlfriend of two years and friend since elementary school used to try to analyze me. I still said to her that SHE didn't know me. Obviously, you don't. >>




dude chill.. I'm here to help man. not to analyze.. thats how I would feel if I was so deep in the whole that I had to have the old man pay for something.

 

[divinemartyr]

<< When you are working 30 hours a week then you obviously can't be taking many AP classes and this in turn will cost you MORE for college and it could hurt your chances at getting accepted >>



Actually I was working *35* hours a week during high school, maintained a 3.57 GPA overall (which went down significantly when I stopped trying as hard for lack of caring really), had a 1360 on my SATs, and took only honors and AP classes. It's very possible and the chances for getting accepted into college have no bearing on how much you work.

Having a car is a privilege, that's right isn't a RIGHT it's a privilege. You do realize there are people older than you, MUCH older than you, who can't even own a car as nice as your 98 contour? Say what you will, only the strong survive, well in your theory only the rich are safe. That isn't how it's meant to be, you just have to be safe in how you drive. You and I both know people in Dallas drive way too fast. Why? Because police don't really patrol the highways in and around Dallas for speeders, there are not enough officers and too many other things to worry about.

If it's really so necessary for someone to have airbags, side impact beams, and crumple zones, then those people are going to have to work extra hard at it. If you want to do extra-curricular activities, honors programs outside of school, and participate in sports, outside of doing your homework, those activities should take up 35 hours of your week alone (like my work did) and there should be NO reason for you to own a car.

It's really a matter of balance, whether or not you're willing to take on the responsibility of working a job and working hard at it, paying for that nice car, and having added safety and security. If you want a job, a nice car, and extra-curricular activities, you're either going to have to be phenomenal at time management, or have rich parents who will buy everything for you.

I know the whole point of your thread was to talk about your friends who suffered because they didn't have the nicest car out there, but there are MILLIONS, that's right millions of people driving cars without those ammenities, and your friends just happened to be unfortunate enough to be in a tragic car accident. While I empathize with you, I disagree that everyone should have a car with these safety features due to help from their parents. I had help from my parents, yeah, but I can't complain with what they provided for me. What I had was adequate for the time, and what I have now serves the same purpose.

Again I'm sorry for your loss, but don't feel it necessary for every teenager who wants to drive recklessly to have additional safety features in their car, because that's what it all boils down to in the end. Kids don't drive safely as a whole. Believe me, I know. I went to a high school where MOST of the student body drove like maniacs, and that isn't the only school I've seen like that.

dm

 

[Whisper]

I don't really see anything wrong with high school or college students working part time (20 or so hours a week is a good number), and requiring them to pay for at least some of their expenses. However, I don't believe it's fair per se for the parent to require their student to pay for EVERYTHING while still in school (or at least high school).

In essence, if the student isn't required to work, then don't offer them a car. If the kid is being forced to get a job by the parents (as the majority of us here were/are, heh) then I feel the parents should at least help out a little bit...even if only at first. I don't agree with the whole, &quot;you're 18 now and so are no longer my responsibility...now git yoself out mah house fo' I smack ya upside the head, boy&quot; mentality, but that's just me.

Now don't get me wrong...I definitely don't feel parents should be paying for a great many things when a student is old enough to work (haircuts, food, etc.), but there are just some areas that I personally feel a parent should be responsible for if they're expecting their student to do well in school. But hey, like I said...that's just me.

 

[khaosspawn]

Dude i feel for ya. I had to bus it for ages but I'm still a student and I've just bought a Lexus SC400. I agree about the GPA, since I started working it has dropped (not that I care anymore, I've got lots of experience with VERY good firms).

It finally boils down to the person. If you work hard enough you can do both (study and work) nd then get that car.

 

[beer]

Whisper, you said it best. That summarizes in ten lines what took me ten times as much to write.

 

[cxim]

>>>> Unfortuanately that lost time now could hurt your GPA and acceptance into a college, and the difference ten years down the line will be considerably more than the 30 hours a week worked at $7 an hour. <<<<

cry me a freakin river !!!! &amp; while you are at it have em wash behind your ears &amp; wipe your tail for you....

 

[beer]

dm -



<< maintained a 3.57 GPA overall >>



And that would get you BARELY in the top half at my school. I have a 3.89 GPA - ranked around the 18%. In order to be in the top 10%, your GPA must be 3.99 on a 4.0 scale. Top quarter is 3.81 or so. Top half is 3.55. That doesn't seem to hot if you consider that those that graduate in the bottom half of their class very rarely get into decent schools (take a look at the acceptance percentages in The USNews College Guide - virtually all schools have 90%+ that graduated in the top half).



<< If you want to do extra-curricular activities, honors programs outside of school, and participate in sports, outside of doing your homework, those activities should take up 35 hours of your week alone (like my work did) and there should be NO reason for you to own a car. >>



Great, and how are we going to go to and from those activites. Take our futuristic hoverbike, perhaps. You don't actually think any parents, if they are representative of mine, would drive their near-adult all around and deal with a constantly changing schedule, right?



<< It's really a matter of balance, whether or not you're willing to take on the responsibility of working a job and working hard at it, paying for that nice car, and having added safety and security. If you want a job, a nice car, and extra-curricular activities, you're either going to have to be phenomenal at time management, or have rich parents who will buy everything for you. >>



Or trying to achieve the medium that I am doing now - paying for what I can, right?



<< Again I'm sorry for your loss, but don't feel it necessary for every teenager who wants to drive recklessly to have additional safety features in their car, because that's what it all boils down to in the end. >>



How dare you say they were driving recklessly. They were hit. It wasn't their fault. For all you know they could have been the poster children for the DMV.

 

[beer]

Cxim -

You have, once again, demonstrated an overwhelming ability to grasp the man ideas in an essay. In addition, you have also sucessfully provided a strong counterpoint to the thesis of the essay, and you for sure have the author beat, as he must strain his brain to come up with a response that will top yours.

Don't worry, I expected this type of response from you. Of course, since you make no valid point whatsoever, or even any point for that matter, I'll chuckle at your stupidity and move on.

 

[Whisper]

Heh...3.89 got me #18 out of the class. Then again, there were only around 350 or so students left by the time I graduated, and about half of those were only in school because they had to be

 

[Demosthenes]

Hey guys, after reading this entire thread it's all mind-boggling to me. I have a GPA of around a 91, work maybe 15 hours a week as well as play varsity football, and I thought I had it rough.. but you guys seem to do it all though with no problem.

I've got a question though.. do you guys ever take time off to just relax and have fun? It sounds like between all that work, sports practices and studying to keep that GPA up, it's impossible you guys ever just spend a day in front of the TV or go out at night with friends. I really don't think it's that crazy for a 17 year old to spend a day or two a week doing _nothing_, and hey that's what we're best at right? Ah geez, that sounds terrible.. I really don't mean to say anything bad by that, it just seems like if you're working 20-30+ hours a week, with school with sports.. holy bageezus, I know I couldn't handle that.

 

[divinemartyr]

<< And that would get you BARELY in the top half at my school. I have a 3.89 GPA - ranked around the 18%. In order to be in the top 10%, your GPA must be 3.99 on a 4.0 scale. Top quarter is 3.81 or so. Top half is 3.55. That doesn't seem to hot if you consider that those that graduate in the bottom half of their class very rarely get into decent schools (take a look at the acceptance percentages in The USNews College Guide - virtually all schools have 90%+ that graduated in the top half). >>



My school was on a 12-point scale, quite a bit more accurate than a 4 point grading scale and when you did a direct conversion, it came out to 3.57. My school also didn't consider 90% an A, 93% was an A-. If you actually figured up what my grades where, based on a 4 point scale, and 90-100 being an A, I would have been much closer to a 4.0, I just didn't do that. When colleges look at your grades, they will.

I graduated in the top 15% of my class from a North Central accredited school (very few get this, only the most highly-performing in the nation do) so I think I did pretty well.



<< How dare you say they were driving recklessly >>



I never said THEY were, I said the vast majority of teenagers do, what I said was



<< and your friends just happened to be unfortunate enough to be in a tragic car accident >>



When I said it was unfortunate they were in this accident, I automatically gave them the benefit of the doubt that they were hit.

dm

 

[beer]

This past week was my spring break. Tomorrow will be the first day I did not work since the Friday I got off from school, except the last Sunday, since I tpyially don't work Sundays.

 

[Whisper]

I know what you're trying to say Demo, don't worry...and I actually agree with you. A 17 year old should have time to be just a 17 year old (as opposed to a student, an employee, an athlete, etc.). Maybe not as much time as they'd like, but a day or so a week can do wonders to prevent burning out.

edit: and I thought my school was one of the few still around that considered an A to be above a 90. At least I know I wasn't alone, heh.

 

[beer]

dm -

While your car may not be the greatest, keep in mind your apartment. I think the simple fact that it is gated, with a parking garage, barely on the outskirts of downtown dallas, says a lot. It's a matter of balance. I know some people that have $500/mo apartments and drive brand new cars. And then people like you who have badass aparments, stereos, but only have decent cars. Unfortunately both rent and vehicles are depreciating assets, unlike a house that is actually more of an investment, so the balance between rent and cars is up to the person.

 

[divinemartyr]

<< While your car may not be the greatest, keep in mind your apartment. I think the simple fact that it is gated, with a parking garage, barely on the outskirts of downtown dallas >>



That's funny you say that, I used to live in the hood (for about a year) and my car never got touched. 21 days after moving in here, my car was stolen and I lost 160 cds and my stereo equipment.

 

[beer]

You told me once before. That sucks. But your apt kicks. Anyways I'm off to bed....

 

[loogie]

Delusional self effacement.

 

[khaosspawn]

Awesome post Val(halla1) I couldn't agree more. This becomes more of a reality once you leave the states and the price or cars increase by 1.5, the cost of fuel triples and insurance companies refuse to have anything to do with under 25 year olds (the place I speak of is Australia).

 

[mztykal]

I'm 19. My parents gave me my first car when I was 16. Then at 18 I let my friend borrow it and he crashed it. He gave me a grand total of 3,800 dollars. I bought me a '90 Honda CRX. It has 125,500 miles on it. It has a whole lot of things to fix up. I'm currently going to school and looking for a job so I can afford to either fix it up to where it's safe, or to buy me a new one. I know my parents can't afford to buy me a car, that's why I don't ask. Not everyone's parent's can afford to buy them cars. My parents are paying off two brand new cars that they DESERVED. I've done nothing to deserve a new one. If anything I'm perfectly happy I HAVE a car. It beats walking.

 

[cxim]

No Elemental007, you are an egotistical little prick, that wants to leech off your parents.

you, rather than work for what you want ... spend your time here .... &amp; argue to have some one else give you the sweet tit to suck on.

You will probably be 40yrs old living at home with mother paying your bills &amp; washing your underwear. I expect your mother still holds your little peepee for you so you won't wet yourself.

You obviously think the world owes you something because you are in school. Crap .... you get what you earn...

Why do you want to steal retirement money from your parents ???? You want to borrow from them now &amp; pay them back later ??? that's fine...

Otherwise you are just another bottom feeding scumsucking leech !

 

[Electricice]

element i completly agree with you. im going through this as we speek, im paying 2500 out or the 9500 for the cost of the car. it will alwyas be mine but i only am going to repay my parents slowly over time so that i wont neglect my classes

 

[beer]

cxim -

And you are now resorting to character assassination, that you have done to other people and I've grown to expect from a handful of members on this board, of which you are one.

<FLAME ON>
You know if you're going to be a dickhead you can at least tell me why you think it. Until you can give me reasons why you think what you think stay the fvck out of my threads. If you're going to be a prick then stay the fvck away from me. I don't give a rats ass what you think. You could fall off the face of the earth and I'd throw a kegger before I shed a tear, based upon your responses that I have grown to expect from you. Don't even bother replying to this, I'm not going to read it. Until you can provide me with some reasons behind your flames (and they are pitiful flames at that), don't expect me to deal with you.

 

[virtuamike]

cxim -

Dude what is your problem? Were you abused as a child? Do your parents lack the morals to teach you some manners? I've seen dumb and then there's this. So far this has been a very constructive thread, very valid points made here about financial responsibility and independence. What it does not need is the crap you keep jawing off. If you've got something constructive to say then let's here it. If all you can do is make immature comments then take it someplace where they'll give a rat's ass.

And yes, the world eventually does owe you something for getting through school. Working only gets you so far. You expect some highschool dropout flipping burgers is going to get anywhere in life? Getting though school requires a lot more dedication and responsibility than you make it out to be. Employers recognize that. School is work for the mind. And in a society that appreciates intelligence, your lack of it clearly shows.

Frankly I don't know what's worse, flaming with unintelligent comments or doing a piss poor job at it. Go away. Learn some manners.

 

[virtuamike]

And to those of you working on getting into college, best thing to do is to WORK ON YOUR ESSAY. GPA only says so much about who you are. Colleges will not dismiss you solely on how high your class rank is, or how many A's you got. What they will do is dismiss you if you can't make them understand how hard you worked to get where you are, and how hard you're willing to work to get where you're going. GPA does not tell them what drives you, what motivates you, what makes you tick. GPA is just a number that falls well short of telling a college who you are.

The essay is where it all is. Make it personal. Make it insightful. Make it truthful. Make it articulate. And if you can communicate all that in 2 pages or less, you will get in. Bring it.

 

[beer]

Oh, one more thing:



<<
You will probably be 40yrs old living at home with mother paying your bills &amp; washing your underwear. I expect your mother still holds your little peepee for you so you won't wet yourself. >>



Yes, and that's so true because at 16 I was working on five-figure projects. That's why I can remember AS/400 terminal procedures from the back of my head. That's why I can explain the differences between layer two and layer three switches, without having taken a class.

I think cxim gets off to being an asshole.