OT New New Random Thread...

[Just-a-Mom]

If you can afford buying a brand new car for the kid, they've probably had a more than comfortable childhood and if they're going to be the adult who still expects mom and dad to pay for things, the damage is probably already done.

This. This is it, right here. A car isn't going to make the kid think this - they've probably been taught this little by little their whole lives.

 

[shorttpai]

One positive thing about getting a new car for a teenager is that (hopefully) they will be more careful driving it, instead of driving a car that they know isn't expensive or a huge loss. They will be less tempted to text, speed, drive recklessly in a new car (again hopefully.)

I got a Prius for my 16th birthday because we were about to move out of state and now we definitely wish it had been new so it will last me longer (it had 128k miles on it when we bought it last may, now I have 153k miles on it currently)

 

[NJ Coach]

I got my license when I was 17 (legal age in NJ). I got a car when I was 18 (well, actually a month before). I paid the down payment ($1,000), the gas (it was under $1/gallon at the time) and the insurance. It was not new, though we did buy it from a car dealership. I think it was 6 years old and had 30k miles on it. I'm so thankful that it wasn't new, not that I wouldn't have killed for a new car. When you are a young driver, you make mistakes. It's not cause you're not careful, but you're inexperienced. I got into an accident a few months later (wasn't my fault, but still). As devastated as I was, it would've been worse with a new car. With an older car, the nicks, dents and scratches aren't AS big of deal as when you get your first in a new car.
I was 21 when I got a "new" car. Technically it was still used because it was a dealer car, but it was an 01 Civic bought in 01, with 3k miles on it. It got side swiped while it was parked. It was only a few months old. I was devastated. My new car no longer looked new.

Bottom line, my future children will be happy with what they get when they get it.

 

[Cheermom1969]

Here's a really random question... If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

(assume for the sake of this question that you'd be able to obtain the education necessary and that you'd get hired. Also assume that yes, you do need a real job. Lol, so "couch potato" isn't a choice!)

I'm asking partly out of curiosity, and partly because we are having some life changes in my household, and need some ideas!

A professional photographer. Or wedding planner but a high-end one. Yeah, don't laugh at me. Stop laughing!!

 

[cheernerd5678]

A professional photographer. Or wedding planner but a high-end one. Yeah, don't laugh at me. Stop laughing!!

Wedding planner would be mine too. I used to watch "who's wedding is it anyway" religiously. I'd also love to do something cheer related like own a gym or even just coach. Or work in PR/manage social media for a big company. It might not seem as fun if I was actually doing it though

 

[BuegeSmalls]

Here's a really random question... If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

Actually I think I figured it out. I'd be jockey. Weird maybe but I love horses and it would be just awesome to ride (and win obviously lol) a huge race like the Kentucky Derby.

 

[ErinS]

I think that you should get your child the safest car that you can afford. Whether it's new or used just make sure it's safe


I got my first car at 15. It was a 97 sunfire (and to vannahlexis, I believe you said you have a 96 w no air.....air was the first thing to go on my 97. I had no air for like all of college because fixing it never worked. )

I didn't get a brand new car until last summer when I was 27 (2014 Kia Forte....I'm team Kia all the way ) but id give anything to still be peddling around in my 2005 cobalt I bought at 21 sans car payment.

My 19 yr old sister is on her 4th car. She totaled 2 (neither accidents were her fault...one was totaled last June in a parking lot) and one was a 1988 BMW (so she was just called home to glory on a random Thursday during my moms house fire.....) Right now she drives a 2010 Kia Forte.


Safe car that you can afford. If my parents hadn't gone for safety realistically my sister would have died or been severely injured in a car accident on her 18th birthday last year.

 

[cheermomforever]

What do y'all think about getting a brand new car for your 16th birthday?

Sorry not practical! Look at insurance costs for a new one and depending on where you live, the taxes if you pay annually. We purchased a used one for these reasons. Remember as soon as you drive off the lot the value goes down significantly. Look at one that has been used as a demo with under 10,000 miles if you really want a new one.

 

[NJ Coach]

@HeresAThought I agree with safest you can afford. I just bought a new car 2 weeks ago. I DID NOT want to buy a new car (I really haven't missed having a car payment), but my Civic was at the point where it would cost more to fix/maintain than it was worth. I originally was going the certified pre-owned route, but cost-wise it made more sense to buy new. So now I'm poor again. BUT, I love my new car. I've never had a car that no one else drove before, so believe me I'm cherishing it. Would I have felt the same at 17? I know I would've been grateful, but it's a completely different feeling when you do it yourself.



To add a thought on insurance on a new car. New car plus new driver equals OMG high rates. At least in NJ, but we do have the highest insurance premiums in the country.

 

[ErinS]

I read her these posts, and she's decided to become a "self-employed astronaut"

Just to be in the conversation... My dream career is buyer for a jewelry store. (hopefully requiring lots of travel)

Astronaut was my childhood dream job. I was obsessed with it. Then my older sister told me in her little 6 year old words about the Challenger explosion "everyone goes to space and gets blown up and dies". My mom overheard it and thought nothing of it.

The next week my 4k class went to the news station to be on a kids program called Mr. Knozit. Mr.Knozit goes around and asks kids what they want to be when they grow up. When he got to me my mom said I had a look of horror on my face and froze up. Finally I said "I want to be an assssst.........doctor".

The video is both sad and hilarious.

And my sister killed my dream.

 

[njallday]

when i turned 17 (legal age in NJ) i was handed down my mom's 02 nissan altima (in 07 so pretty new) my mom doesn't drive out of our town. she works 2 miles away and kinda sorta has a fear of major roads so i got it with 20,000 miles on it. i got my moms old car and she got the brand new car, which i feel like is how it should be. why should my parents shell out crazy amounts of their hard earned money for me to drive a better/newer car than them?

anywho 2 years ago, while the mileage was still crazy low, everything started to die. its like the car hit its 10th birthday and decided it was finished. i had to replace the tires twice, new brakes twice, new windshield wipers, new shocks, and it was recalled twice prior to those repairs. the battery started dying and even after being replaced still kept dying, which was worrisome. so as my college graduation gift, my grandfather put a pretty big down payment down on my first brand new car. (i was 21.) hopefully, in the very near future i will receive the title to that car

 

[ErinS]

@HeresAThought I agree with safest you can afford. I just bought a new car 2 weeks ago. I DID NOT want to buy a new car (I really haven't missed having a car payment), but my Civic was at the point where it would cost more to fix/maintain than it was worth. I originally was going the certified pre-owned route, but cost-wise it made more sense to buy new. So now I'm poor again. BUT, I love my new car. I've never had a car that no one else drove before, so believe me I'm cherishing it. Would I have felt the same at 17? I know I would've been grateful, but it's a completely different feeling when you do it yourself.



To add a thought on insurance on a new car. New car plus new driver equals OMG high rates. At least in NJ, but we do have the highest insurance premiums in the country.

Yeah my poor car died last summer two weeks before I was to send in my last payment. It needed $3,000 worth of repairs. While driving to home to trade it in it stopped accelerating on the interstate and I was run off the road by an 18 wheeler. Basically confirmed that it was my best bet to trade in and not fix.

Insurance is no joke. I have a clean driving record and my insurance doubled for a 2014 car....so I switched agencies. I can only imagine the insurance for a teen with a new car.

 

[ErinS]

I think I'm the only one who had their insurance go down even though the car I have is newer.

I just looked at the emails from last summer. I had Esurance. It increased $60 when I got a brand new car. I immediately switched to Geico and for a brand new car it was half of what Esurance wanted. I remember asking over and over why it was so low...like I couldn't believe it

 

[NJ Coach]

Yeah my poor car died last summer two weeks before I was to send in my last payment. It needed $3,000 worth of repairs. While driving to home to trade it in it stopped accelerating on the interstate and I was run off the road by an 18 wheeler. Basically confirmed that it was my best bet to trade in and not fix.

Insurance is no joke. I have a clean driving record and my insurance doubled for a 2014 car....so I switched agencies. I can only imagine the insurance for a teen with a new car.

My poor Larry was dying. I didn't even trade it in, I donated it cause the potential tax deduction was worth more than I would get for it. I put $2k in it in the last 2 years, and it was going to need more work, so I was more or less forced into the new car.

My insurance premium didn't really change with the new car. I still had full coverage on Larry (I'm an idiot for that btw), so my rates stayed the same. I'm also old enough that my age isn't so much of a factor anymore. NJ is impossible with insurance rates, I can't even imagine what a new driver with a new car would be.

 

[emma_tuttle]

Iggy Azalea Radio on Pandora is playing Hollaback Girl. Yas.