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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

Did you/will you buy your 17 year old a car?

119 replies

Robertsmithdoesmyhair · 24/05/2019 18:09

My DD is 17 on Mon. She wants driving lessons and a car to drive to college in! Lots of her (wealthy) friends are now getting them! I've explained that we could afford to buy a car if she could tax and insure it. She doesn't even have a PT job so that's a no then.
Since when did 17 year olds expect their parents to pay for a car? Is this a thing now? It's utter madness! I thought she'd want a new iphone!
Did you get your DC one??

OP posts:
Aquamarine1029 · 24/05/2019 18:11

I did.

UrsulaPandress · 24/05/2019 18:11

I did.

HirplesWithHaggis · 24/05/2019 18:12

I got bangers for both my boys. We're rural, driving is safer than being on foot. And I'd had enough chauffeuring duties. Grin

Sparklingbrook · 24/05/2019 18:13

No we didn't. DS went to University where cars weren't allowed at halls. I insured him on my car in the meantime. He used it to drive to school.

DS2 is currently learning and I will do the same for him. He can drop me at work if he wants the car.

There was a mix here of some not learning to drive, some like us who didn't need a car of their own but borrowed their parents' and some got bought one but not a ££ one.

m00rfarm · 24/05/2019 18:13

My
My mother, sister and I bought him a car for two birthdays and two Christmas presents. His dad paid for the insurance for the first year.

Justathinslice · 24/05/2019 18:14

My dd just bought her own car. Her dad gave her some £, she had some from her great grandad as well.

She works, so she has to tax and insure it.

She hasn't yet passed her test, but has bought it early to practice in. She can't practice in my car, as mine is a lease.
She is hoping it will save money on lessons ( she pays for those too... I can't afford it!)

Fabellini · 24/05/2019 18:14

I did. He taxes, insures, and fuels it himself though.

SleepingSloth · 24/05/2019 18:16

We plan to. We will probably insure it for the first year and then hopefully they'll be able to afford it for themselves. 😬

A relative, not my parents, bought me my first car at 17 and insured it for a year and I really appreciated it. It made getting to college and work so much easier.

Floralnomad · 24/05/2019 18:18

Ds got a car from one of his aunts when he was learning to drive and then she upgraded it for him when he passed , it wasn’t new though it was about 4 yrs old .

newjobnerves · 24/05/2019 18:20

I got one, we lived rurally and it was a god send for my mum to be able to drive myself around. As for my own children, if we choose to stay here then yes I will do my best to buy them a car as I'm choosing to live rurally (if we can afford it of course) if we move to the town I'm thinking of moving to then I will feel less obliged though may still help, depending on how much they do. If they don't work part time I will be less inclined to help.

UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 24/05/2019 18:22

I brought a car for my oldest. He’s now almost 22 and still has the same car. He didn’t have any savings as he spent all of his cash from his part time job. So he had a £3000 Ford Fiesta.

Ds2 turned 17 in January and has a 68reg VW polo. I put £3000 towards it and he had the rest of the money saved. He saves from wages and previous Christmas and birthday money. He’s always been better with money than his brother.

He did scratch it though and as he had no savings at that point I paid the £400 repair bill and he is paying me back.

As the boys have been brought a car, will have to buy DD a car when she turns 17/passes her test as well.

The condition has been though that they pay all own running costs so fuel, tax, insurance, servicing etc.

Most of the boys friends have new cars or almost new. Think ds1 has the oldest car. We don’t even have that rich a circle of friends and aren’t super well off ourselves. Hence thinking £3000 is more than enough.

BlueCowWonders · 24/05/2019 18:31

No! Never even thought it was a thing!
I can’t see a reason why they’d need one at 17 when they don’t need at 16.

Sparklingbrook · 24/05/2019 18:42

The good thing about them driving is not having to be a taxi service any more. The advantages for parents are many.

lemoncrisp · 24/05/2019 18:49

We did.

shouldwestayorshouldwego · 24/05/2019 18:55

Might get one for them to use sequentially as the family car is big and powerful so wouldn't trust them with it. Hopefully one before will be at uni before the next one needs it and they can fight over it in the holidays.

kerkyra · 24/05/2019 18:57

No
Both my daughter and son had part time jobs at 16( primark's and a pet store) and had to save. I paid half their lessons.
Both passed once they were eighteen and were given a bit of money which paid the insurance.
Daughter bought a 15yr old polo for a grand and son has saved for a 3k fiesta.
Wonderful if the parents can buy,but I'm a single mum. Both my DC have great work ethics and I feel it has done no harm in saving.

derekthe1adyhamster · 24/05/2019 18:59

No, we can't afford it. We live in a town with a very good bus service. When he goes to uni in September there's no parking so it's pretty pointless.
He's failed one test so maybe i won't have to worry about it Smile

kerkyra · 24/05/2019 19:00

Btw we live 10 miles from any town,in a small village. Son is loving the fact he can get to college and the gym and show off the car he bought.
Daughters managed another year of passing mot!

GreyBasket · 24/05/2019 19:02

I will!

We have two old cars. We'll swap one for an insurance group 0 little manual this summer.

We'll pay tax (minimal or nothing) and insurance and petrol. In return, once passed test, I expect full cooperation with driving siblings places as needed and doing errands.

I have planned this since she was born tbh, so it's not a recent thing I don't think.

TeenTimesTwo · 24/05/2019 19:03

Sort of.

We bought an old car for her to learn to drive in, she passed a couple of months before finishing college and starting apprenticeship. We paid all costs of learning to drive.

We paid for first year's tax and insurance but she then had to pay for fuel. After first year we added to what she had saved to buy better car which went in her name.

We expect to do something similar for DD2 when the time comes.

But we can afford it, public transport here is patchy, and neither DD is university bound so a car for work is very helpful.

forkfun · 24/05/2019 19:06

Unless you live very rurally, I don't think it's in any way necessary. A bike should do.

FVFrog · 24/05/2019 19:07

Just bought one today as old one both his siblings had learnt in and drive has died. We are also semi rural, shite expensive bus service and he needs it to get to college and the sports centre to pursue a hobby he does 4x per week. Small engine so low insurance and £30 road tax per year. Very hard to get around where we live without one. And I am looking forward to coming to the end of 20 years of car pools!

MoobaaMoobaa · 24/05/2019 19:11

We will be soon, but it'll be a banger. We paid for some lessons but DS will use some of his wages. We live semi rural and college is a few miles away.

My parents paid for 1/2 my lessons I paid the other half, and bought me a banger, I think they insured it for the first year but the petrol and tax was up to me.

We lived rural so it was a life line for getting to work.

titchy · 24/05/2019 19:15

No - put them on our insurance and they have free use of the car if we don't need it.

Purpleartichoke · 24/05/2019 19:15

We will buy dd a car and pay to operate and maintain it. The other option is that I keep driving her everywhere, which will only become more demanding as she ages. We have no public transit and nothing within walking distance. Driving is not a luxury here, it is an absolute necessity.