Cars for your learner driving teens

[Noeuf]

I’m just curious. We have a decent income and I have a car. Kids are learning to drive and I know a lot of their friends were given cars as 17th birthday presents. We definitely messed up not planning ahead to pay for lessons etc but we’ve had a lot going on health wise and it just crept up.
How much / how did you fund cars, if you did? New/contract/old etc?
Really prefer not to hear too much about brand new top of the range models bought outright if possible - has to be achievable!

We changed our car when DCs were just 16 and 13, so were thinking at least a little about them learning to drive in it. We're happy to pay for lessons / insure them on our car, but have never suggested we'd buy them cars and don't plan to. DD had a few lessons summer last year and in subsequent holidays, but has gone overseas for a gap year job and lessons are on hold. She may be able to use her UK provisional licence where she is, if she gets the chance to practice with a relative but isn't counting on it. I think we'll be paying for some more lessons and getting her insured on our car when she comes back, at least till she passes her test. By then DS will be 17 and I don't know whether he'll want to move along with lessons or leave it for now. There is an understanding with DD that having a car, or even access to a car, once she has her full licence may have to wait a while. The uni she's going to won't be a place to have a car at as far as I know.

I do suspect that current teenagers could be close to the last generation to learn to drive manual cars - hybrids and electrics are essentially all automatics I believe. Which is a thought!

We have 2 learning to drive currently who both plan to go to the same university next year but live at home

The plan was to buy them a car to share initially but the pandemic has moved DH home from the office permanently and he is now doing much less travel so I am using his automatic more as I’m disabled

The DC will have access to my newish Corsa until the situation becomes more clear, it may be that we need another car but I’m going to lose my sight at some point (diagnosed with a condition as Covid hit) so we don’t know how much longer I can drive

@Tomnooktoldmeto

We have 2 learning to drive currently who both plan to go to the same university next year but live at home

The plan was to buy them a car to share initially but the pandemic has moved DH home from the office permanently and he is now doing much less travel so I am using his automatic more as I’m disabled

The DC will have access to my newish Corsa until the situation becomes more clear, it may be that we need another car but I’m going to lose my sight at some point (diagnosed with a condition as Covid hit) so we don’t know how much longer I can drive

Really sorry to hear this, @Tomnooktoldmeto. That sounds very tough xx