DD and taking car to uni

[mostlikelyanunpopularviewpoint]

After being disappointed with her A Level results, my middle DD has finally got her act together and has thankfully received offers from Manchester and Kent for after her gap year is over.

We are having a bit of a disagreement over her car.

DD wants to take it and potentially rent a parking space

I think she should leave it, she won't really need it at uni and can get the train home and drive it in the long holidays. I may then use the car myself during term time as I can't afford my own car- I will also then put some money towards her insurance

She has savings to pay for her car at uni

Who is being unreasonable? Or more sensible?

I think DD is just wasting her money!

Her car, her choice - that is, if it really is 'her' car, she paid for (or at least substantially towards) it and pays for its upkeep. If it's your car in all but name and this is clearly understood by you all, YANBU.

If she leaves it at home and you use it, you pay proportionally for all costs involved - tax, insurance, maintenance. If it were my child and they had paid for the car, I would probably pay them a small monthyl 'hire fee' too, tbh.

I had mine at uni and it was useful for shopping in the big supermarkets (other people were wasting money on taxis back) middle of night a&e visits (thankfully only twice in 3 years) and almost daily commutes between different campuses!

I took mine to Kent and used it loads... shopping, trips out with friends... it was great. Let her take it!

She should also be aware that, while very convenient, having a car could make her vulnerable to CF fellow students wanting lifts/courier services and she may end up constantly being designated driver.

Let her try it for a term and then review. She will likely find she hardly uses it and will welcome the money not spent on the parking space.

While it is her car I assume the op is covering a lot of her living expenses and the car will really add to that.
Have you done a budget together and agreed how much you are supporting her with?
I’d say it’s only her choice if she’s willing to go without other things to cover it.

Well if she needs to tax and insure it anyway, she might as well take it. She can take the train home for weekends, but that's expensive compared to driving, even more so when she's already got the big cost of a car.

If she doesn't take it with her, she'd be better off selling it, unless you are prepared to take on the full cost of taxing and insuring it.

I think your reasons are selfish I am afraid

However, depending where in Kent, she may well need it. Public transport in lots of Kent is very poor and very expensive, the train service is a pain as if you don't live in Kent you pretty much have to go into London to get anywhere which is a pain in the arse frankly. Especially if you live north of London as you have to get across the city and often on prebooked trains there is not always enough time if the tube is busy and you get any delays.

If she goes to Kent she'll be grateful for it.. I remember hauling shopping up that bloody hill and I'd have given my right leg for a car.

Isn't Kent a largely car free campus? Few allow student cars unless there are mobility issues. There is a very good bus service.

DD is at Kent at the moment, you are not allowed car on campus unless you live outside Canterbury, so whilst she is in her second year and has a house off campus and has her car there she only ever uses it at weekends and has the very cheap bus pass for uni days. I think last year when she was living on campus having the car would have been a right pain as I have no idea where she would have parked it and certainly wouldn't have felt that comfortable it being off campus when she wasn't.

I think she should take it and see how it goes.

DS1 is at Uni where first years aren't allowed cars on campus. It would be more of a hindrance. He might change his mind next year, but he enjoys walking and getting the bus with a group of his new found friends.

I owned a car when I studied at Manchester. The insurance for my slightly dodgy part of town cost 50% of my student loan. The car lived in my parents garage. Home was only a couple of hours away so I could always go back and borrow it for a weekend.
Public transport was so good that I really didn't need it often.

Please get her to leave her car at home. I live in a university town and it's impossible to park near my house in term time.

She will eventually find it a pain - so let her take it first term and see how she gets on = people take the Pee and you end up being an unpaid taxi, never having a drink as you are driving and having your time eaten up by taking people shopping.

When i went to uni renting a space wasnt even an option, i could end up parked a 20 minute walk from my house share and the uni wasnt a 20 minute walk away!

If she wants to take it its her choice but check the practicalities before commiting to anything, i ended up taking mine home and leaving it there second term.

Does she want to be everyone's taxi service? That's what will happen if she takes her car to Uni. She won't need it and she probably won't be allowed to park it on campus anyway unless she's got a disabled badge.
You should definitely have use of it during term time if you don't have your own car. How much rent/board is she paying you?

Isn't Kent a largely car free campus? Few allow student cars unless there are mobility issues. There is a very good bus service.

Ah, yes, now that I look, if she's living on campus she's not allowed a car (in my day a lot less people had cars!)..

My DS didn't take his car to Uni as I advised him against it for lots of the reasons mentioned by PPs. He is also in a city and manages fine using a combination of public transport and walking. We also live in a very low cost insurance area so his car insurance would go up massively if he took the car to a city.
Those of you saying that it would be much more expensive for the OPs DD to come home without the car, is that necessarily true? My DS is 150 miles away from home and pays £45 for a return train ticket which gets him home in 3 1/2 hrs - it takes 3 hrs in the car on a good run. With petrol costs (300 miles) and wear and tear on the car, I'm not convinced the train is more expensive.

I was in London and took my car sometimes. My friend had hers there and we did use it a lot, so yep even in London useful.

But my parents were strict about it because they felt i was spoiled in having my own car (paid for by them) at uni (paid for by them). I can totally see that!

You do know if the car insurance policy is in her name and you are driving it most of the time as a named driver, it is insurance fraud. The policy should be in your name as only as the main driver can you drive the car the most often. The insurance companies are really tuned in to this now as it gives the main driver benefits of looking like they have experience but in reality they are driving very infrequently so they are more of an insurance risk than they look on paper.
To answer your q, our eldest dd has just gone to uni and whilst in halls this year she isn't taking it but next year she will be. This year. We've taken it off the road for a bit.Not looking forward to letting the insurance company know about that though as it will then be parked on road in a studenty area where car crime is high. Might be worth her checking two things, firstly how much the policy will cost to switch you to main driver and her a named driver and also how much the policy would be in the uni areas - by getting a few quotes online using some postcodes in and around campuses.

You don't need a car at the Uni.

Says you. Most people don't need a car at all, they have one because it makes life easier.

I had my car at uni and it was bloody brilliant for taking myself and other people in my sports club who were not lucky enough to have a car to our sport which was a 1h+ drive away.

Also for weekends away for our sport that were all over the country.

And for going to a big supermarket all together as a house share (appreciate this was pre- internet delivery days).

Also for going home on a whim, much cheaper than a train.

My DD is at uni in Ipswich (four hours from us). It's actually cheaper for her to drive home than get the train.

She bought her car herself and we helped with the insurance. She parks on the road near uni and relies on her car to get her to placements.

They (her and flatmates) also do a 'big group shop' at the supermarket once a month.

Let her take her car, she will either use it or will decide to bring it back and leave it at home but it needs to be her choice.

LET HER TAKE THE CAR

If it’s her car and she can pay for it then why not? I think it’s more so sounds like a controlling thing

So ex and I bought DD the car in 2016 for her to learn to drive in. It was a present and I don't intend on 'taking it back.' Maybe I am cheeky to wish to drive it some of the year but will be honest- it would be helpful! Especially if DD won't use it.

Financial situation has gotten considerably worse since divorce and after my last car broke I realised I could not afford the upkeep or maintenance.

DD is on a gap year so is working full time, getting about £900 a month.

She pays for car, phone and some food. I don't charge rent as the way I see it is this is her savings for university and I want her to have that.