Car for daughters 18th, is this the right thing to do?
Discussion
The MOST sensible thing to do is give her £2500 towards the deposit on a house. Spend the other £1000 on a car that she is, (or someone else will), definitely, damage.
The insurance will also be a factor as the more you spend on a car, the bigger it's value, and consequently - the dearer the insurance.
Allow her to gain the driving experience in a vehicle that won't hit the pocket too hard. (As long as it's safe, and not a rot-box). The statistics prove that youngsters are the one's who have the most accidents.
The insurance will also be a factor as the more you spend on a car, the bigger it's value, and consequently - the dearer the insurance.
Allow her to gain the driving experience in a vehicle that won't hit the pocket too hard. (As long as it's safe, and not a rot-box). The statistics prove that youngsters are the one's who have the most accidents.
soad said:
I started reading the thread 5 minutes, and was waiting for this, you didn't disappoint. It's not going to happen mind, 'OK, here's a photo of of my first born 18 year old daughter for you lot of pervs to critique 
OP, I'm 100% in the let her me part of the decision process. She sounds like she knows the sort of thing she wants, and that is likely important to her. When learning to drive in 94 I'd told my dad I fancied a Polo, not mentioning the breadvan style. You can imagine my horror when he nearly bought me a Saloon one for sale locally, and him being him couldn't see the problem!
The MX5 is a good idea, if insurable. It could be presented as 'please just try it, for me'. If she fancied it though you'd need to be happy she had the ability to 'drive' it, or pack her off on a half day handling course (or teach her yourself) Otherwise I could see that one ending in ditch shaped tears!
I suspect a none starter though, as I guess she'll not be won over.
Please keep the thread updated.
OverSteery said:
Discuss it with her, the options and the pro and cons including
- make/model
- servicing
- insurance
- mpg
and then look/buy together.
No short term 'surprise' facebook moment, but an opportunity for her to learn how to make significant financial decisions. Help her gain the skills she will need as a adult.
This sound like the best option, nothing more fun than car hunting finding the right car. - make/model
- servicing
- insurance
- mpg
and then look/buy together.
No short term 'surprise' facebook moment, but an opportunity for her to learn how to make significant financial decisions. Help her gain the skills she will need as a adult.
We bought basic cars for our daughters when they finished uni and needed to get to work etc. The difference is that they're still our cars and they only have the use of them - they pay for their fuel, tax, insurance and contribute (a little) to the overall running costs. That way they gain an understanding of the costs involved and learn how to budget accordingly with their other outgoings.
They're appreciative of this and know that if they mistreat the cars or can't budget to run them they could lose the use of them.
Works for us.
They're appreciative of this and know that if they mistreat the cars or can't budget to run them they could lose the use of them.
Works for us.
Pothole said:
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.
^^ Thats what I did, I printed out a picture (Collage) made up of all the usual suspects for the budget from Autotrader (£3000 for the car and £2000 for the insurance) and stuck some words saying 'one of the cars pictured' and put it in a frame. He settled on an Aygo Platinum with a few extras as he needed something mega cheap to run, and invsible that he could easily park it outside college.
its probably just laziness, but the picture is still on a shelf in his room 4 years later.
As noted by others, insurance for a learner is much cheaper than it is when they pass their test and drive solo. Also some insurers will require a new policy to be taken out effectively losing the NCD accrued during the provisional period. That additional cost should also be factored in, when looking at seemingly cheaper quotes..
Ron99 said:
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.
Brakes and forward planning are a much better tool than buying a narrower car, and learning to park a bus makes life easier in the long run!
jhonn said:
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.
Is she the type that would throw a strop if it's the wrong colour or it's not as nice as her friend's car ?
Yes. To a point.
keirik said:
jhonn said:
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.
Is she the type that would throw a strop if it's the wrong colour or it's not as nice as her friend's car ?
Yes. To a point.
I was in the end never bought a car, but I would have liked to have had the right one if I was. Never demanded that you had the 'right' trainers, clothes, bike, tennis racket etc etc as a kid? I did, I was never allowed the very best, never one of those kids who rode to school on a £500 bike, but to a degree I got my own way.
Or is your angle that you rode to school on your dads hand me down bike, wearing M&S slip ons, I would doubt so.
Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:
keirik said:
jhonn said:
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.
Is she the type that would throw a strop if it's the wrong colour or it's not as nice as her friend's car ?
Yes. To a point.
I was in the end never bought a car, but I would have liked to have had the right one if I was. Never demanded that you had the 'right' trainers, clothes, bike, tennis racket etc etc as a kid? I did, I was never allowed the very best, never one of those kids who rode to school on a £500 bike, but to a degree I got my own way.
Or is your angle that you rode to school on your dads hand me down bike, wearing M&S slip ons, I would doubt so.
So you got your own way, good for you
keirik said:
Nope I walked to school every day, approximately 2 miles each way, but what's that got to do with whether he buys his daughter a car or not?
So you got your own way, good for you
As it happens, so did I, except about a mile. My Raleigh Mustang wouldn't have looked great amongst the sea of flashier bikes!So you got your own way, good for you
I wasn't spoilt, far from it, I'm simply suggesting that most kids like certain things, and dislike others. It's a little risky to suggest that the OP's daughter is spoilt, when she may well not be.
Anyways, OT, so I'll clear the way.
snake_oil said:
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.
I seem to have started a good debate here!
Let me try and put a couple of things straight. My children are no more spoilt than any other children I know, but certainly more than I was as a child. That is modern society I think.
I'm certainly not rich, and definitely not poor. My wife and I both work hard to have a reasonable lifestyle and provide for our children, we have nice holidays, a decent home and a couple of BTL's as a pension.
We have been putting money away each month for our children since they were born, and Grandparents have been generous as well over the years.
Aslo, I work in an industry where I meet severely disabled people every day, some of whom have conditions like MND, or have been in accidents that have left them paralysed. OK one day, in a wheelchair the next. Life really is fragile so get on and enjoy while you can is my philosophy.
We wanted the element of surprise with the car, but I think as several posters have said, it may be best to involve her in the decision as it will be a life lesson as well. She would not be Veruca Salt if she didn't like what I chose, but she will have to live with this car for a few years so I would lime her to be happy with it.
Also, I don't want to rush a decision. Her birthday is Sept 2nd, we are away most of August so would have a couple of weeks to find something I think she would like. A mate of hers has a 500 which my daughter doesn't like, another has a Ka which she thinks is 'kind of cute'. I don't feel confident enough to get her one based on this comment.
The poster who said about the collage, great idea and this will be the way forward I think.
Let me try and put a couple of things straight. My children are no more spoilt than any other children I know, but certainly more than I was as a child. That is modern society I think.
I'm certainly not rich, and definitely not poor. My wife and I both work hard to have a reasonable lifestyle and provide for our children, we have nice holidays, a decent home and a couple of BTL's as a pension.
We have been putting money away each month for our children since they were born, and Grandparents have been generous as well over the years.
Aslo, I work in an industry where I meet severely disabled people every day, some of whom have conditions like MND, or have been in accidents that have left them paralysed. OK one day, in a wheelchair the next. Life really is fragile so get on and enjoy while you can is my philosophy.
We wanted the element of surprise with the car, but I think as several posters have said, it may be best to involve her in the decision as it will be a life lesson as well. She would not be Veruca Salt if she didn't like what I chose, but she will have to live with this car for a few years so I would lime her to be happy with it.
Also, I don't want to rush a decision. Her birthday is Sept 2nd, we are away most of August so would have a couple of weeks to find something I think she would like. A mate of hers has a 500 which my daughter doesn't like, another has a Ka which she thinks is 'kind of cute'. I don't feel confident enough to get her one based on this comment.
The poster who said about the collage, great idea and this will be the way forward I think.
WAVman said:
Slow said:
I would avoid a blackbox even if 200-300 more without.
Elaborate please?My friend had one and got constant warnings for driving a single track lane and having to brake hard whenever you meet a car head on - he drove like everyone else on the road and not like a tit.
If you are giving her a £3500 car you just trust her enough to not rely on a box to keep the driving decent imo.
Edit: to add to this my youngest brother just passed his test and my Mum paid £275 more to avoid the box.
Roaringopenfire said:
WAVman said:
My eldest is 18 soon and we are going to get her a car for her birthday.
She is, like most teenage girls I would imagine, a fussy bugger and knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn't like.
We want this to be a surprise. I have done my research and insurance quoting, and narrowed down to a Ka of some description. She hates Fiat 500's by the way.
I nearly bought a 64 plate Ka Zetec today, a good genuine car in lovely bright red for £3500.
However, my wife has suggested tonight that maybe we should give her the money instead of the car and let her make the decision, guided by us of course.
My question really is does this take the surprise away, or is it a sensible solution for a hard to please teenager?
I know beggars shouldn't be choosers and all that, but we just want to get it right for her.
Have other people experience of similar situations?
My advice is to find out what her friends have got. My daughter turns 17 next week and we got her a 14 reg C1 for her to learn to drive in. Many of her friends who turned 17 earlier in the year also have C1s so she was delighted to get the same. There's clearly some undercurrent about Fiat 500s. While one of her friends got a brand new one for Christmas, all her other peers seem to think they are cliched for young girls to have and don't like them.She is, like most teenage girls I would imagine, a fussy bugger and knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn't like.
We want this to be a surprise. I have done my research and insurance quoting, and narrowed down to a Ka of some description. She hates Fiat 500's by the way.
I nearly bought a 64 plate Ka Zetec today, a good genuine car in lovely bright red for £3500.
However, my wife has suggested tonight that maybe we should give her the money instead of the car and let her make the decision, guided by us of course.
My question really is does this take the surprise away, or is it a sensible solution for a hard to please teenager?
I know beggars shouldn't be choosers and all that, but we just want to get it right for her.
Have other people experience of similar situations?
It's a 4 year old Ford Fiesta 1.25 for mine.
Slow said:
Penalty’s for things like driving late at night - even if it’s home from a job. If you slam on to avoid crashing they tell you off for slamming on. It’s not worth the hassle of worrying about these things.
My friend had one and got constant warnings for driving a single track lane and having to brake hard whenever you meet a car head on - he drove like everyone else on the road and not like a tit.
If you are giving her a £3500 car you just trust her enough to not rely on a box to keep the driving decent imo.
Edit: to add to this my youngest brother just passed his test and my Mum paid £275 more to avoid the box.
Both my daughters have had a black box, neither have been penalised for late night driving, both had jobs in restaurants whilst studying so often drove between 11pm and 1am, one had significant repayments in her first year which motivated her to maintain sensible driving and encouraged her sister to drive more mindfully.My friend had one and got constant warnings for driving a single track lane and having to brake hard whenever you meet a car head on - he drove like everyone else on the road and not like a tit.
If you are giving her a £3500 car you just trust her enough to not rely on a box to keep the driving decent imo.
Edit: to add to this my youngest brother just passed his test and my Mum paid £275 more to avoid the box.
Now aged 21 & 25 they both pay around £500 a year on a similar vehicle, insurance on the MG midget which couldn’t have a black box was £1500.
zedstar said:
Give her the car.
She might like it, she might hate it, but she’ll probably never forget the nice gesture.
Find a good Polo 1.2’ post 2006 model with AC and Full svs history, this will Cost you less than £1500, give it give it to her as a present and say if she looks after this one you will contribute to the next car in 18 months.She might like it, she might hate it, but she’ll probably never forget the nice gesture.
Isn't the whole point of the first car supposed to be a steaming pile of s
t which teaches you the hard lessons of car ownership and experiencing the pain of getting the exact opposite of everything you ever wanted in life so you have to work hard for the next one? Ford Ka definitely the way to go then!
t which teaches you the hard lessons of car ownership and experiencing the pain of getting the exact opposite of everything you ever wanted in life so you have to work hard for the next one? Ford Ka definitely the way to go then! Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff