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!

I took my car with me to uni but ended up reluctantly taking it home after a few months as there wasn't much parking space around by student halls and I kept getting parking tickets.

I say that I reluctantly took it home because like you, i knew my dad wanted to drive it as his was on its last legs. Eventually he had to scrap his and he drove mine full time. He never did give it back, I just bought another one in the end.

I had a friend at Kent Uni –there's plenty of parking on campus and a few people had their cars. I'm not sure about the cost of a parking permit but I know the cars were very useful for trips to the 24-hour Asda! Saying that, it is a campus uni with a great bus service to the city centre, so a car isn't essential.

Well she needs to look into a parking space issue. If she can get a parking space for no extra cost and the increase to the insurance isn't much, a car might be very useful for her to have, particularly if your change in finances means shes' going to have to work to get through uni. Having a car will mean she can go for jobs that other students won't because hours/distance means it doesn't work for public transport. It means if she's sporty she can travel easily to do that. If she has friends at other unis she's not spendnig her life on train stations.

If after the first term she's finding she's not using the car in the term time, you could offer to cover the tax and insurance if she leaves it at home for your use. But be prepared that if she moves out of halls in 2nd/3rd years, she's more likely to need the car.

I am another who 'coped fine' without a car at uni, and even without for the first few years I lived in London. Life would have been easier and I'd have had more options about what to do with my time if I did have a car though.

We have buses but they don't run after a certain time and not at all on weekends. Having a car means I'm not stuck when the buses aren't running.

I agree with others that I wouldn't take a car to Manchester. Perhaps to Kent, but probably better not to take it straight away. Anyone I know with a car at university has just ended up getting their friends around. She might regret taking it!

*driving

To all of you saying 'she won't need a car at uni' are you omnipotent or something? How the fuck do you have a clue what she will or will not want? As for comparing now to when you were at uni in the 70s you can't be serious - do you honestly think that's remotely comparable?

Why doesn't she go, see if she needs it and then bring it over if needed

Oh and I would highly recommend you don't make a big thing of this (although sounds like too late!), because then she'll feel she has to keep her car at uni even if after the first term it becomes obvious she doesn't really need it and might as well leave it with you.

Even if she does leave the car for the first year, be aware that she'll need it more for the 2nd/3rd when moving futher out, and might feel she can't "take the car off you" once she's given it to you.

Obviously she'll 'get by' without a car, most students do, but even back in the old days, those who did have a car found it easier to do stuff and could take jobs further out from student areas/work later after buses have stopped being frequent.

We probably live in big university towns SilverySurfer and know what a pain in the arse it is to ever find/afford parking//have had cars scratched too many times

Current uni student in a city with a car. I think I have a bit of experience in this.

Kent - take the car
Manchester - leave it behind

I'd check if her university has a policy about cars first as that might make the decision for you both. My university didn't allow first year students to have cars on campus or outside their halls of residence.

I took my car to uni. I didn’t use it all the time but it was nice to have it there

Dd should take her car as it is hers, if you want to use a car then get your own

If it's her car it's her decision. You can't make her leave it with you just because you want to use it.