When Your Teen Wants a Car
There's a great probability that, sooner or later, your teenager is going to want to have his own car. The question is, will you agree to let him have one?
Let's dispel the notion right up front that every teenager needs to have his or her own car. Plenty of kids do just fine without a Jetta of their own. They walk. They keep riding their trusty bikes. They skateboard. They take a bus. They bum rides from their friends (and that's another issue), or from you.
Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the brothers who host National Public Radio's Car Talk, polled 5,000 listeners a couple of years ago on whether or not a 16-year-old should have his own car. Sixty-seven percent of those listeners answered with a resounding “no.”
We all know, however, that plenty of kids do own cars. Check out any suburban or rural high school parking lot. Chances are that it's filled with students' cars. When contemplating whether or not your child should have one, consider these points:
Money Morsel
Remember that buying the car is only the first expense. Fueling, maintaining, and insuring a car is expensive business, too.
Does your teen need a car, or just want one because all her friends are getting them? If she goes straight from school to her job at the assisted living center every day, and right on to her dance lesson after work, then it may make good sense for her to have a car. If her primary motivation to getting one is to load up her friends and cruise around on Saturday nights, however, she doesn't need a car.
Is your teenager responsible enough to have his own car? We'll discuss this at length in the next section.
Will letting your son or daughter get a car make your life significantly easier? If your child's school is 20 minutes from your house and you're making two round trips a day, you're spending a lot of time as a kid chauffeur. Letting her drive herself to school could take a lot of pressure off your schedule.
Is there money available to buy a car? Even used cars can be expensive. If buying a vehicle is a strain on your finances and your teen doesn't have money to pay for a car, postpone the purchase until she can buy it herself, or your financial position improves.
Carefully considering these questions, and discussing them with your teenager will get you started in deciding whether or not he should have his own car. Be sure to read the next section carefully before deciding whether he's responsible enough to own a vehicle.
Knowing If He or She Is Ready
We all know that kids mature at different rates. For that reason, deciding whether or not your child can handle the responsibility of having his own car is a judgment call.
Some kids make it easy to decide. They're either obviously mature and responsible or obviously immature and irresponsible. If your kid is typical, though, he's probably basically trustworthy and sensible, but subject to frightening lapses in judgment.
Car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States, accounting for 36 percent of all deaths of persons aged 15 to 19 years. Obviously, you don't want your child to become a statistic.
Don't Go There
Parents should be aware of car surfing, an incredibly dangerous game that resulted in about 500 deaths between 1995 and 2000. Car surfers stand on the hood of a moving car. The person driving the car slams on the brakes, causing the surfer to fly off the hood. Most of those killed car surfing are between 16 and 24 years old.
Remember that teenagers often change quickly. If you have doubts over whether your son or daughter is responsible enough to own a car at age 16, wait for a year. Tell her that if she continues to mature and exhibit responsible behavior during the next year, you'll re-address the car thing when she's 17. Meanwhile, you can make sure she gets plenty of driver training, and you can let her use your car and observe her level of responsibility.
You also should observe her friends' behavior concerning autos and driving. If you ever observe, or hear about any of them driving irresponsibly, address the issue immediately. Think about limiting the number of people she can ride with in one car. It's a known fact that accidents happen more frequently when a lot of kids are in the vehicle. Some states have passed laws limiting the number of teenagers in one car without an adult present.
While we're on the subject of safety, consider these safety tips from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
Give beginning drivers as much supervised driving time as possible.
Teens should wait six months before driving with other teenage passengers.
Don't assume your teen drives the same way when you're not around as she does under your supervision.
Restrict unsupervised nighttime driving.
Select safe cars. Large cars with safety bags are extra safety features to consider when purchasing a car your teen will drive.
You know your child better than anyone, and you'll have to decide whether or not he's mature and responsible enough to have a car. If you decide that he's not, don't feel bad about denying him. Explain your reasoning and tell him you'll reconsider the matter in six months. Keeping your teenager safe is more important than keeping him completely satisfied.
Ann Landers, the syndicated answers lady, recently included in one of her columns a suggested driving contract between you and your child. The reason for the contract is two-fold. It serves as a reminder that driving a car is a serious responsibility, and it addresses potential driving situations before they occur. The contract, Landers says, should include the following stipulations.
If your child gets a traffic ticket, she's responsible for paying the cost of the ticket, as well as the difference in the insurance premium for as long as the premium increase is in effect.
At no time will your child ever drink and drive, or carry any alcohol in the car.
Your child must agree to pay for any damage he causes to the car that is not covered by insurance.
- He will never have more people in the car than there are seat belts, and he will not begin driving until all passengers have buckled up.
She will keep the car clean, refill the gas tank, check the oil, and so forth.
We think that this, or a contract between you and your child that you come up with on your own, is a great idea. Be sure that your child understands the consequences of not living up to the agreement, and be sure that the consequences are serious enough to get his attention.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 40s and 50s © 2002 by Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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