So if your teen has a car, did you buy it before they turned 16?

[KpbS]

I too have a DC turning 16 this fall. Probably not buying a car for DC since this is not the year financially and we haven't ever planned on buying one for a new driver. But DH's car is worn out (needs serious work) and I prefer something larger than a small sedan for a new driver so it's not a great candidate to be passed down to the teen. If we had the means, maybe we would purchase a car so DC could drive to work, etc. We do have the space to park one which is handy! The teens in our neighborhood drive super nice/cool cars and trucks, but that's not too much on DC's radar thank goodness.

[smilequeen]

Nope, hockey sticks don't fit in a sedan trunk or back seat. They would have to stick in the front seat of a sedan.

I think they can fit if there is a pass through from the trunk to the backseat but an SUV is easier to load and unload IME. He’s also already 6 ft and his stick is crazy long. And he plays D in lacrosse so another long stick.

He goes to a private school so no bus. A car for him will make my life easier. His school is only 2 miles down the road so an easy drive but a lot of traffic. That alone will save me 30 minutes there and back in the morning.

[Jeanne]

We did. A newer used Mazda sedan with airbags. Nothing fancy. My kids are 2 years apart. The older leaves for college in August and the younger one is about to get her license. The car gets a ton of use. She helps drive the younger one around and runs a good many family errands. It was cheaper to buy a car and insure her on that car than insure her on our cars. Mine was brand new at the time she got her permit. Both our cars are more expensive than the used Mazda.

[gatorsmom]

We bought a Volkswagen alltrac for our son to drive. We wanted something safe and reliable for him. It fits his and his siblings' down-hill ski gear. He drives his siblings to school and back each day, drives them to activities when I"m busy and runs errands for me. It's a manual shift but he used his driver's ed instructor's car to take his test which was an automatic.

This car belongs to us and we can take it away if we need to. However, he already knows it's the car we intend to give him to drive to college.

[mom2binsd]

My boyfriend sells cars, mostly Cadillacs, Buicks, GMC, he says that a lot of people will buy a car ahead of time to give the kid a chance to really get to know the car before they are driving on their own which totally makes sense. SO if you can, buy that vehicle now so that he has a lot of practice and knows how it handles, especially as he will get his license in Nov and the weather will be bad, and we know that vehicles handle differently in the winter and it's good to feel comfortable in a vehicle.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We bought a Volkswagen alltrac for our son to drive. We wanted something safe and reliable for him. It fits his and his siblings' down-hill ski gear. He drives his siblings to school and back each day, drives them to activities when I"m busy and runs errands for me. It's a manual shift but he used his driver's ed instructor's car to take his test which was an automatic.

This car belongs to us and we can take it away if we need to. However, he already knows it's the car we intend to give him to drive to college.

Many colleges don’t allow freshmen to have cars. Just so you aren’t surprised!


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[KrisM]

DS turned 16 in April, but driver's ed schools are closed, so he can't take the road test yet. But as soon as he can, he will and then get his license. Hopefully soon!

We will likely get him a car at some point, but not right away. We have a lot of road construction in our little town right now and there just aren't a ton of routes for detours, so the detour goes right past the high school. I just don't think I'd want him to drive in that in the fall. I also think adding cars is a bad idea at that point, too. But, maybe after that? I would hope by spring and robotics season for sure. I'd like to not have to cart him around for robotics next year.

But, honestly, we usually have a car at home when he's gone. I drop him off and pick him up. He could easily drive my van to his evening things.

He has practiced mostly on my Honda Odyssey. No issues.

[belovedgandp]

My ages are a bit different because I live in a state that starts younger. DS drove with his permit which meant with one of us with him for a year. This was always in my Odyssey or DH's Mazda 5. The Mazada is certainly close to a sedan for handling. He had a restricted for two months which did mean he could drive solo to school/work. We still only had two cars. He did drive DH's Mazda solo to work a few times at 15.

I did not see the point of having three vehicles when he could not drive solo. We started to look in the month before he turned 15 and found a very used very good deal on a four door sedan from a friend when DS was 2 months into his restricted license. He adjusted just fine to driving. I think going to a smaller vehicle is easier than going to a larger one.

I have friends who will only let their kids learning to drive the "kid" car but that makes getting hours behind the wheel harder. DS1 drove us absolutely everywhere we went together for a solid 14 months. It made him a better driver and me more comfortable with him going solo. Plus, I don't want to ride in his car. It really is cruddy, but he wrote the check for $1,900 and bought it himself.

For insurance, do double check. All of the restrictions on his license do not lift until he is 16 1/2 here. Since there are still restrictions on times to drive and number of passengers the insurance rate has been way lower than I was expecting. So from 15 years and 2 months to 16 years 6 months; only $20/month. Hit 16 1/2 and jumps to $80/month.

But it has been so nice to have him drive. He goes to a high school in our district but in a program so not the one 2 miles from our house. It's 8 miles and all the activities and back and forth were killing me.

[carolinamama]

We aren't quite there but close enough that we've talked about it. We are thinking we will buy something for DS1 - either a small-mid SUV or sedan. DS1 will be 15 in September when he gets his permit. I drive a large car too - Yukon XL and he will most likely need to drive it to get his hours in. DH has a mid-sized sedan, but he's not not home as often and it sits really low to the ground. If he can drive my car, he can drive and park anything.

[gatorsmom]

Many colleges don’t allow freshmen to have cars. Just so you aren’t surprised!


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Yep, my college was like that for the first year. It won’t go to waste. We have 3 other drivers coming up!