Car for daughters 18th, is this the right thing to do?

[dvs_dave]

Sir Bagalot said:

dvs_dave said:

once she realizes her choices are essentially limited to a Ka, 500, or Up.

Why are you ignoring the C1/Aygo/108?

I’m not particularly. I just didn’t realise that you had an expectation for me to provide an exhaustive list of viable little stbox cars.

Sounds like you’ve got it covered though so have at it.

[zedstar]

Give her the car.

She might like it, she might hate it, but she’ll probably never forget the nice gesture.

[Kolbenkopp]

Getting her involved in the decision process sounds like the best bet. Personally,.I'd be tempted to steer the result towards something that is a bit faster and a tad more enjoyable to drive than what her peers have. Gotta set standards. Mk1 Swift Sport?

[tigger1]

dvs_dave said:

Sir Bagalot said:

dvs_dave said:

once she realizes her choices are essentially limited to a Ka, 500, or Up.

Why are you ignoring the C1/Aygo/108?

I’m not particularly. I just didn’t realise that you had an expectation for me to provide an exhaustive list of viable little stbox cars.

Sounds like you’ve got it covered though so have at it.

Because they offer all the crash protection of a bubblegum wrapper?

Good luck OP. There is no right answer...

except for the chap who helpfully suggested avoiding the 69-plate.

[crofty1984]

Let us know how it goes!

[sawman]

ninepoint2 said:

WAVman said:

I have. Around £800 for Ka, 500, 108. Her as main driver, Mrs and I as named.

Guess that is her as a provisional holder, once she passes her test I would expect that to rise significantly.

I paid 800 to get my daughter added to insurance for our 500 when she came home from uni, thats essentially 5 months. I’ll be taking her off again in sept when she goes back. I think at renewal last year it was going to to be 2k with her as a named driver, i am the main user of the car

[SturdyHSV]

Where's 300 when you need someone to suggest you buy her a Chevy Blazer or an 80s Jaaaaaaaaag?

I'd echo arranging it with her, and then once she's chosen, buy her a Volvo 960

[Pothole]

Don't give her the cash. Give her a voucher for a car - you can get something printed up on fancy paper etc. That way it definitely gets spent on a car.

[TheLuke]

I would never buy a child something large like a car for a birthday, gifts like that need to be taught that they are earned. Giving someone a car for their 18th is your daughter subconsciously hearing "I get things from my mummy and daddy" not "I earned this with my hard work".

Give it 7 years and she'll be begging you for a house deposit.

[Tumbler]

TheLuke said:

I would never buy a child something large like a car for a birthday, gifts like that need to be taught that they are earned. Giving someone a car for their 18th is your daughter subconsciously hearing "I get things from my mummy and daddy" not "I earned this with my hard work".

Give it 7 years and she'll be begging you for a house deposit.

I bought my daughter an MG Midget for her 16 Birthday, she then had to restore it from the ground up, she loved the surprise on the day and then learnt a whole batch of new skills restoring it.

[jhonn]

As the father of two daughters (now in their 20's) I would say that's too large a sum (cash or car), even for a significant birthday like her 18th.

Spoiling her excessively now may cause problems for you and her later in life.

We didn't, but my BIL did, and it hasn't worked out well for them.

[CS Garth]

jhonn said:

As the father of two daughters (now in their 20's) I would say that's too large a sum (cash or car), even for a significant birthday like her 18th.

Spoiling her excessively now may cause problems for you and her later in life.

We didn't, but my BIL did, and it hasn't worked out well for them.

The spoiling is done in the prior 18 years, not by the giving of a generous gift on one birthday

[snake_oil]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You say that not sure if in jest, but I think it's a good idea. They are super cool, noone else in that age group will have one, it'll teach them to drive properly, and they won't end up giving lifts, driving around a gang of peers to nightclubs etc.

[boyse7en]

snake_oil said:

You say that not sure if in jest, but I think it's a good idea. They are super cool, noone else in that age group will have one, it'll teach them to drive properly, and they won't end up giving lifts, driving around a gang of peers to nightclubs etc.

I reckon as a teenager I'd have managed to get four people in an MX5 if I needed to...

[Ron99]

tigger1 said:

Because they <108/C1/Aygo etc> offer all the crash protection of a bubblegum wrapper?

That's true, but the small size of our Viva (Vauxhall's equivalent) has allowed me to dodge out of the way on numerous occasions where my Insignia (1ft wider) would have not been able to avoid some kind of collision.
Small cars are a lot easier to park, too.

[jhonn]

CS Garth said:

The spoiling is done in the prior 18 years, not by the giving of a generous gift on one birthday

We don't know if this is one generous gift on this special occasion, or if the OP has being spoiling his daughter all her life.

My point is - it's not necessarily a good thing to do with one so young - my experience anyway, YMMV.

[ntiz]

How about pre selecting a couple of cars and arrange to go view them on her Birthday?

That way she still gets a surprise and feel like an adult choosing her car. You still get an element of control as well. Only issue is if she hates all of them you are in an awkward position of a disappointed daughter on her birthday.

Ignore people saying you shouldn’t buy her a car at all. It’s totally normal to buy there first car and help them out financially through life. Who doesn’t want to see there kids happy with nice things. If you have it in your power to make life easier why wouldn’t you?

This will annoy some on here I’m 28 only purchased one car myself which was for my wife. Daddy so far has blown 206k on cars for me since I was 18

[randlemarcus]

boyse7en said:

snake_oil said:

You say that not sure if in jest, but I think it's a good idea. They are super cool, noone else in that age group will have one, it'll teach them to drive properly, and they won't end up giving lifts, driving around a gang of peers to nightclubs etc.

I reckon as a teenager I'd have managed to get four people in an MX5 if I needed to...

Insurance. Throw in a dodgy Uni postcode, and you're looking at 2700...

[DuncsGTi]

My lad started driving at 19. When looking at cars and getting quotes, a 59 plate 1.6 Clio GT came in at the same sort of money as the usual 1.0-1.2 typical first cars (1.1K FC, 850ish TPFT)

This came as a bit of a shock to me, I'd expected it to be a fair bit more.

My personal feeling was that I'd rather he was in something Clio/fiesta sized rather than Aygo/c1.

Another surprise was mini cooper s (the 1.6 turbo ones) coming in at about 1250 FC

[E65Ross]

ninepoint2 said:

AJB88 said:

if she hates FIAT 500 is she likely to hate KA as well?

Give her the money.

Indeed basically the same car underneath

You do realise that it'll be more to do with styling than how it drives for an 18 year old girl, right? I'm sure if your car was bright pink rather than the colour it is now it'd be less appealing, even though it's the same car underneath the paint.....