I know a lot of you on here are going to flame me for this, but I want to say it anyway. Recently a lot of people on here have become critical of those that are given help by their parents with the purchase of a car and insurance on or shortly after their 16th birthday. Some of it is probably jealousy (I feel it too...), but some of it is the belief that teenagers (incl. Dr. Laura, just FYI) should have to take car of all the expenses related to a car. I for one believe that while it is important for teenagers to take care of expenses to learn responsbility, having to pay for everything does more harm than good.
First of all, I am not trying to justify that Mr. Richie Rich that receives an M3 on his 16th deserves it. I don't even think the same would be true if it was a Mustang instead of an M3. I am talking about someone who receives a slightly late-model (mid 90s) acceptable car (accord, camry, contour (my case), or even an older mustang/camaro/firebird) that they pay, in part, for. Let me explain how my parents do it:
98 Contour was purchased in 5/99. I turned 16 in 9/99. My dad had the car until 5/00; after I turned 16 but before the summer break the next summer, my dad had it in the days (I was forced to ride in with friends who had cars) and I had it in the evenings. When he got his replacement car that summer, I started paying for the Contour. I pay $200/mo to my parents, which includes a portion of car payment, gas, and insurnance.
So why is it a bad idea for students to have to pay for everything? First of all, if a student has to buy everything more than likely the car they will get will be extremely old, high milage, and not safe. What prompted me to write this was the death of two people I know who, if they had been in an adequtely safe (air bags, impact protection) vehicle they would have survived. Furthermore, if a student has to pay for everything than that means he will be working a ton, and having no extracurricular activites. Work time means no study time or time for athletics, volutneering, or things that look good for a college application. 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. Working for $7 or $8 an hour as a teenager just to pay off your car isn't worth the difference between getting into a top state school and a community college. I am not saying it would happen, I'm saying that a student who has to buy everything as a teenager may underachieve simply because of lack of time. 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.
First of all, I am not trying to justify that Mr. Richie Rich that receives an M3 on his 16th deserves it. I don't even think the same would be true if it was a Mustang instead of an M3. I am talking about someone who receives a slightly late-model (mid 90s) acceptable car (accord, camry, contour (my case), or even an older mustang/camaro/firebird) that they pay, in part, for. Let me explain how my parents do it:
98 Contour was purchased in 5/99. I turned 16 in 9/99. My dad had the car until 5/00; after I turned 16 but before the summer break the next summer, my dad had it in the days (I was forced to ride in with friends who had cars) and I had it in the evenings. When he got his replacement car that summer, I started paying for the Contour. I pay $200/mo to my parents, which includes a portion of car payment, gas, and insurnance.
So why is it a bad idea for students to have to pay for everything? First of all, if a student has to buy everything more than likely the car they will get will be extremely old, high milage, and not safe. What prompted me to write this was the death of two people I know who, if they had been in an adequtely safe (air bags, impact protection) vehicle they would have survived. Furthermore, if a student has to pay for everything than that means he will be working a ton, and having no extracurricular activites. Work time means no study time or time for athletics, volutneering, or things that look good for a college application. 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. Working for $7 or $8 an hour as a teenager just to pay off your car isn't worth the difference between getting into a top state school and a community college. I am not saying it would happen, I'm saying that a student who has to buy everything as a teenager may underachieve simply because of lack of time. 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.