"New" car for my son

[JethroTull]

What is the purpose of giving your son a car? Anything OTHER than for driving back and forth to college is a mistake.

My advice is to charge your son a nominal amount of money for the car, somewhere between $500.00 and $1000.00. He'll be more apt to take care of the car AND will learn a lesson that will last a lifetime. Plus, he won't expect you to always be buying him stuff.

[BIGDAN]

What is the purpose of giving your son a car? Anything OTHER than for driving back and forth to college is a mistake.

My advice is to charge your son a nominal amount of money for the car, somewhere between $500.00 and $1000.00. He'll be more apt to take care of the car AND will learn a lesson that will last a lifetime. Plus, he won't expect you to always be buying him stuff.

Yeah, "My Dad is a Mean SOAB"

Regards, Danny who is a Mean SOAB also.

[TypeO]

What is the purpose of giving your son a car? Anything OTHER than for driving back and forth to college is a mistake.

My advice is to charge your son a nominal amount of money for the car, somewhere between $500.00 and $1000.00. He'll be more apt to take care of the car AND will learn a lesson that will last a lifetime. Plus, he won't expect you to always be buying him stuff.

What is the purpose of breaking asshole in an otherwise easy-going and fairly inconsequential thread?

Who are you that your advice is needed how to raise my son?

I've done just fine for the first 17 years without other people telling me what was a "mistake".

What evidence do you have that would suggest I am "always buying him stuff"?

What valuable lesson would he learn paying a fraction of what it actually cost?

What gives you the idea he wouldn't take care of something he really wanted yet had no idea he would definitely get?

Until last Wednesday when I found this car in my budget, we were looking at 2002 Saturns, 1999 Blazers and whatnot.

A $3000 budget affords a decidedly limited amount of value you can expect to receive when purchasing a used vehicle.

I wasn't out looking for a 40+ year-old classic car for my son, it was a fortuitous event that I found one at such a great price.

Hence the purpose of this thread.

And FWIW, he's going to pay a lot more than "$500 - $1000" for the car, he's going to pay the entire amount paid back on the loan, i.e., not just the $3000 principle, but the interest as well.

It obviously won't be on the exact schedule the loan is on, but it will be paid eventually.

If it takes him another year after I've paid off the loan, so be it.

When that day comes, I sign the title over in his name.

We've taken out a great antique car policy that gives us full coverage (because it has a lienholder) and a $10,000 payout for replacement.

If it gets wrecked, it will pay off the loan and still leave enough to go purchase another used car outright.

We got him a car because as a Senior, he can be trusted to drive our 2 younger kids to middle school (which is about a 1/2 mile past his high school) every morning, as we are out of the school district and they can't ride the bus.

Otherwise, me or my wife would have to drive all 3 of them every morning, and pick them up every afternoon.

Maybe you weren't trying to come off like a prick with that comment, but if you weren't, then you failed.

If you were, then I've already said my piece.

If I need any advice, I'll ask for it.

And not from you.

[JethroTull]

Thanks for the explanation.

[redrum]

I figure he'll gain an appreciation for the cost of driving, and become a little more discriminating in his choices of where and how often he drives.

That shouldn't take him long to figure out.