What should be the budget for a car for a 17-year-old?
I bought a 1985 Ford F150 in 2001 for my oldest son to use (not own) when he was a senior in high school. It was more for my benefit than his as I was tired of hauling him all over the place for various activities.I paid $1200 for the truck. It did have some rust on it but was in pretty decent shape, less than 100k miles on it. It was a manual 4 speed with overdrive. He had already learned to drive a manual shift so he was good to go. I bought it from a guy with a hobby farm who had three sons, all of whom learned to drive stick in this truck and used it consecutively in high school.When my son left for college he didn't need a vehicle. I used the truck for trucky stuff and in two years my middle son took it over. A few more miles (not a lot as I didn't drive it that much) and a little more rust. He left for school and I hung onto it. Three years after that my youngest son “inherited” it. He drove it for his senior year of HS, and his first two years of community college. When he went out of state for school I bought him a 1999 Ford Escort on Ebay for $900. He put about 70k miles on that before he bought something himself. The other two bought their own first cars themselves.That old Ford served as a platform for teaching three young men the basics of car maintenance. We did the oil changes, tune-up, brake jobs, etc right in the garage at home. After 6 boys had learned and/or honed their manual shift driving skills, the clutch was in desperate need of replacing. I didn't feel like doing it so I sold it for $500.As you can see, they had decent, basic transportation for very little investment. Taking inflation into consideration you could do the same for less than $2500. Buy something utilitarian for yourself that you could use and let the kid “lease” it. They would be responsible for gas and oil changes while you take care of maintenance, all with the understanding that you could use the vehicle if necessary.While they are using your vehicle they can be saving for something they actually want and can then buy themselves.
How much should I spend on my son's first car?
Hey everyone! So, in February, my son will turn 16. Here, he can legally get his license soon after that. That being said, I want to make his 16th bday present something special (A CAR)! My first car cost $4,000 (back in 1990ish). So, i don't really know what to spend... He is accustomed to a luxurious life, but I don't want to make him a spoiled brat. He has said multiple times that he wants an SUV. So, I looked around for safe vehicles. I would like to get him a 2014 Cadillac Escalade. Of course, I will not get the top version. A dealer close to me has one for $62,000. But, I think I could get it for around $56,000. Is that TOO much? He has a 4.1 GPA in high school, and has kept one girlfriend for 1 year. He has never really disrespected me or his mother. We didn't spend that much on his brothers truck ($30,000), and he rebelled and got his girlfriend pregnant. I don't want a repeat! Let me know your opinions on what we should spend... SERIOUS answers only please.
18 year old male buying his first car?
Hello! I am a 18 year old male looking into buying my first car and was hoping if I could get some advice! I currently have a job that makes roughly $850-$1000 a month and was hoping to spend around $500-$550 monthly on the car and car insurance now first off I am currently saving up and would like to have $5000-$8000 saved up to put down on it right away so I can have a large chunk paid off and get better interest on it. I am looking all together to spend about $15000-$18000 all together but less works too my main goal would be to get a like-new car even up to a 2015 car since I do see some of them in my price range but I would like one that'll last a good amount of time so I was also hoping y'all could give me some good car suggestions!
Safe and great used car under $5k?
For under 5K your choice is very limited. If you care about the safety more, you probably need at least a mid size car. For safety the ABS (antilock brakes) is also important. Among small cars with good safety ratings for this price, only Volkswagen Jetta comes to mind. The 2000-2005 Jetta has 5 stars for the front crash tests and 4 stars for the side crash tests and it has standard ABS, but it's not very reliable. The 2003-2008 Honda Accord has the ABS and good scores in the crash tests; it's a mid size car and it's reliable. If you are thinking about other cars, check the safety ratings here: http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers... Look for the side crash test ratings if you are planning to have your siblings in the car. Personally, I'd buy this car: http://www.samarins.com/reviews/accord_0...