Does buying a brand new first car for a 17-year-old make sense?

[TheAzurePeer]

This came up in conversation with DH and I’m interested in others opinions.

A family we know, grandparents have bought their 17 year old grandson a brand new small car to learn to drive in.

DH was saying how ridiculous this is. I initially agreed but thinking about it I’m not so sure. Logic seems to be he’ll bash/scrape it so no point buying new. But why does it matter if you bash a new or old car? End result is the same no? And 17 year olds (boys in particular) do tend to crash so surely want them in the newest car possible (if finances allow) because newer cars are safer?

And the parents drive larger cars (SUV) so he couldn’t learn in their car cause of insurance. It’s not as if grandparents can’t afford to buy the car.

Am I missing something or does this seem to make sense?

I think it's more the power of the car that's important. Assuming cost isn't an issue I think a 17 year old in a very powerful car is not sensible
I absolutely agree with this.

He'll run it into a ditch at some point. Why waste your time money on a new car
Well my two have both been driving since they were 17 and they're 30 and 26 and neither have had an accident penalty points or ended up in a ditch. They really looked after their new cars. The money was not wasted, nor was any time.

I can’t understand this. That’s like saying “I bought one with a crank on the front so they’d know how to start it”.

If they are never going to drive a car without all the “bells and whistles” why would they need to have them in their first car?

Most of these additions make a car safer. Why wouldn’t you want that for your child?

Newer cars can be cheaper to repair as spares are easily available. That means that insurance isn’t necessarily more expensive.

Choose a low insurance group (check that exact registration) and if the GP’s can afford it then why not,

fwiw, not all first time drivers insurance is over £1,000. Ds’s was just under £900 on a small Peugeot with a black box. It’s a low insurance group, DH and I are named drivers and we didn’t go mad on the number of miles that we estimated he’d drive in his first year. It’s with Hastings direct

The SUV makes no sense and no one needs one.

Far worse than the new small car.

I was given an old car for my 17th which had immaculate bodywork and v low mileage
my dad said no accidents, no speeding fines, not even a parking ticket and if I did that for a year I could have a brand new car
I think he expected me to scrape it. I drove like I had my gran in the passenger seat for a year…

Depends on the teen I think .
A colleague spent 25k on a new car for her dc and was then complaining about them lazing around and not trying very hard to get on an apprenticeship. If you're handing out cars like that and they haven't had to work a day in their life for it, some teens will think they can cruise through life with it all handed to them on a plate.

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My kids were given their grandparents old cars when they bought new ones, so 10-15 years old. Not a frill in sight - well actually one of them had a CD player and the other has a heated rear windscreen! It was a godsend as they could hear the engine, hear when they needed to change gear and they had to learn to park without beepers. A couple of years running them into the ground, filling them with rubbish and reversing into tree stumps while their insurance is £££. Then they can save up to buy something much nicer with Android Auto, GPS, 5 doors and reversing cameras that they are going to keep clean.

I actually did this last year! Had kept savings to buy DD a car when she passed but honestly second hand cars are extortionate. She liked a Polo or a A1 initially 😂Then they are out of warranty, you worry about repairs etc. instead I used those savings to get her a brand new car with service plan. The money that would have been spent on an older car is now used for the monthly payments on a new car. Insurance was a killer but came down with NCD in 2nd year. Having a 17 yr old DD driving constantly and often very late at night I felt comfortable with my decision that she had a new car with all maintenance included.

If you’re going to buy them an expensive car, buy it three years old. Someone like you will have spent 40k on the PCP, then you’ll pick it up for 20k. It’ll only have 16,000 miles on it and basically be new, but at a fraction of the price.

We don't buy new cars ever, for ourselves or DC.

"But why does it matter if you bash a new or old car? End result is the same no?"

Well, what do you mean by "end result"?

End result of getting a largish scrape in an old car that already has multiple scrapes = resale value of the car will be reduced by a tiny percentage, perhaps a tenner, and annoyance factor will be minimal as you've already got multiple scrapes/dents so one more won't alter how 'nice' the car looks.

getting same sized scrape in a brand new car that was otherwise pristine = huge proportionate impact on potential resale value, likely up to several hundred, even thousands of pounds. Annoyance factor is huge as you have a pristine, lovely looking car apart from the scrape, which will annoy you every time you look at it.

I mean it's up to them, if they can afford it it's their money. I wouldn't do it, for the same reason as I don't like the idea of giving kids brand new iphones etc - if they get used to the best, top of the range thing as their first ever version, either they are going to have to keep getting the best ever version of everything for the rest of their life (which might be hard when they eventually have to start paying for stuff themselves), or they have to once they are no longer subsidised by the bank of mum and dad (or in this case grandma and grandad) and, rather than feeling the pride you get in buying your own stuff out of your own paycheque, just feel a bit crap because it's worse than your previous version.

I remember when I was growing up, we mainly had a primark/matalan budget for clothes. Topshop/Miss selfridge etc. was an occasional treat, but I looked forward to when I was working and could buy my own clothes at the 'nicer' places. My sister always talked about when she was working and could buy herself an Audi, etc.

Starting your first full time job can be exhausting, confusing, stressful etc. but the main payback is supposed to be that you have independence and more money to spend than you ever have before, to spend on treating yourself to things you've always wanted - if you only end up with the same, or even worse, level of 'stuff', what's the incentive? No wonder Gen Z hate the idea of 'adulting' = if they've been given the best versions of everything as kids then they only get the negative elements of paying their own way, and none of the benefits.

I guess if they can afford it and help with insurance let them !
our daughter was bought a £3000 car 20 years ago by grandad - it was then passed down to three grandchildren!

I think it’s useful to be able to park using your own eyes and having your wits about you instead of relying on a screen and sensors.

Approximately 9 in 10 (around 80% to 90%) new cars sold or privately registered in the UK are financed, with Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) serving as the most popular method for private buyers to acquire a vehicle. 1, 2, 3]

This sums it up! My kids working and saving means they value things more. She was so proud buying her car herself!

I couldn't agree more. Unbelievably spoilt and entitled.

I would never buy a new car as they lose so much value as you drive them off the forecourt. Buying one a year old that has been a dealer’s demonstrator gives a much better value car with most of the benefits of a new car.

Personally I don’t even buy new for me. Even a 6 month old car is much better value. We bought DS an ex demo car and that was the best of both worlds- high spec, v few miles but without the brand new price tag.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would buy their teenager a car at all, let alone a new one.

If you're getting rid of a new car after 4 years you're generally seeing a financial loss of roughly 20% over buying one thats 12 months old and getting rid of it after 3 years. If you're fine with that, that's fine, lots of people find the advantages and feeling of having a brand new car is worth that extra cost. The issue with a 17 year old boy getting a brand new car isn't that his dings are somehow more of a loss than yours. It's that he is more likely to total the car, or cause some other significant damage that will see the new car depreciation realised sooner than the planned four years.

So, if he damages it, it would be a loss of 20% over a shorter time frame, meaning the annual cost of the car could be significantly more.

Well I certainly wouldn't! Then again I bought my own car after DPs paid for driving lessons for my 18th birthday but years later. I found it a learning experience to buy an old banger as get to know how a car works amd then move on to newer ones.

Have never had a brand new car, it loses value immediately. My newest was a year old but that was after many years of driving and a few scrapes and accidents!

Insurance will be huge, are they paying for that too? Also, it sets a precedent for car expectations and yes the GD is indeed being spoilt.

Absolutely agree! When your first of everything is brand new and expensive then it's a standard set but not realistic of you don't continue to be subsidised by wealthy elders.

I’ve bought DS16 a car, lessons booked starting his 17th in September. He’s been working for a few months now and is investing all his wages in a S&S ISA - everything will go to him eventually so I don’t have any issues with supporting him while I’m here to see and enjoy it with him.

Assuming fixing a new car will
cost the same as fixing an old one is one the most baffling things I’ve read today.

My 18yr old drives my 2.0 suv. It’s old though so insurance isn’t anymore than a smaller newer car. I like that he’s in a safe car as all the roads around us are 60mph rural roads.
Id never buy a new car but each to their own.