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Teenagers

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

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Original poster

How do you cost Car ownership at 17

18 replies

Hedgehog6 · 07/05/2023 15:48

Son is 17 next week. He has 6k saved for a car. We really need him to drive as we live very rurally with no public transport and he has a sister and brother with a disability that go to school in the opposite direction to his college. He knows we need him to drive and that we want him to have a decent car due to how unsafe the roads are around us. How do people go about getting sharing such a high cost between themselves and their 17 year old. Obviously will be reviewed at the end of a levels. He has a part time job.

OP posts:

FromAustin · 07/05/2023 15:53

It totally depends on your finances and what you’re willing to do.

We bought our son a car and we’ll pay his insurance until he’s finished education.

tootrueblue · 07/05/2023 16:04

They save as much as they can and we'll triple it. But they cover their own insurance and fuel.

Floralnomad · 07/05/2023 16:10

We were quite fortunate that my sister was getting a new car around the same time as our eldest did his test so she kindly gave him her old car ( it was 4 year old) rather than trading in . He then upgraded himself a few years later . We paid his insurance for the first couple of years and then he paid it himself .

Hellocatshome · 07/05/2023 16:13

Everyone will do it differently depending on their personal circumstances. We cant afford to help DS at all. He has approx £5,000 in savings from child trust fund etc that grandparents have added to at Christmas and birthdays etc. So he can either buy a car with that or put that towards a more expensive car and finance the rest. I will put the finance in my name if necessary but he will have to pay it.

Rainydaysgetmedown · 07/05/2023 16:16

I bought a car and tax insure and service it and will until they start work

HydrangeaFairy · 07/05/2023 16:19

We also live rurally. It depends on your finances, I bought the car and paid for insurance etc right through uni until they started full time work.

NoSquirrels · 07/05/2023 16:20

I think if you need him to drive - i.e. he’s really got no choice because you’re saying you’re no longer willing to support him with travel if he chooses not to drive, and he’s still in education - then you need to pick up most of the tab for a second car.

Polik · 07/05/2023 16:24

We paid for lessons. DC saved and paid for a banger (only considered insurance group 1-3). DC pays own insurance, monthly, from part time wages

somewhereovertherain · 07/05/2023 16:29

We live in the countryside side so my two both bought their own cars at 17

one paid £1700 for a 2004 Mini Cooper cost £1100 to insure in year one. And now nearly 5 years later still going strong and insurance was £300 - £230 a year in tax and servicing around £200-300.

other paid £5k for a 2015 Toyota Aygo cost £800 in first year to insure but she was also named on her sisters policy so that reduced her premiums. Still going strong insurance now around £300 also. Free car tax and £150 - 200 a year in servicing. Much better fuel economy than her sisters mini.

for us service history and looking after the car far more important than age.

as an aside we looked at putting our daughters on one of our cars but the insurance is still nuts expensive.

somewhereovertherain · 07/05/2023 16:30

They also paid for their own lessons.

we paid for the first test. I

jackstini · 07/05/2023 16:33

Bought driving lessons for Christmas

Dd has saved from her job for 18 months and got just over £3k

We wanted a newer/safer car and have been saving since birth for both dc thinking car/Uni/house deposit etc...

We could afford to, so bought her a car and first few months insurance - £10k
When she passes her test, she will then pay for insurance and petrol going forward

Really depends on your circumstances - everyone is different

Out of our friends - 1 told their dc to save, then they would match whatever she got to - £4.5k each. Another bought them a brand new car for their 18th - £17k. Another, the ds has been on decent wages for a couple of years and bought it himself £4k

Patchworksack · 07/05/2023 16:39

My oldest DS will turn 17 this year. He’ll get driving lessons as a birthday gift. We don’t currently have a suitable car for him to practise in. We are thinking of purchasing a small second hand car which will remain ‘ours’ and be used subsequently for his younger siblings, and contributing what we currently spend on school bus for him and younger sibling (£1.5k/yr) to his running costs. He has a part-time job which can cover the rest. It will make our lives a lot easier not to have to ferry him about!

Cantthinkofaname2203 · 07/05/2023 16:39

NoSquirrels · 07/05/2023 16:20

This.

paid for lessons, got dc insured on my car. We haven’t bought her own one as fortunately I can commute to work by cycle easily enough.

shared car works well enough. I am insured on dh’s car should we both need to be somewhere at the same time.

i don’t really see the need for a 17 year old to have their own car, unless they don’t have access to one at all.

BrokenWing · 07/05/2023 20:49

We bought ds an 8 year old, low mileage used fiesta and his first years insurance for his 18th/Christmas. This years insurance he has paid half, he pays running costs from his PT job and he knows he needs to save up and have some money banked in case he needs it. So far he has been ok, though he needed discs/break pads the other week which I think was a bit of a shock (although from the nudge/nudge/wink/wink looks its likely dh bunged him a few quid towards them) 🤣

We have told him we are ok to pay for insurance for now, but if he has a bump, gets points, etc from being stupid then we won't be paying for anything.

We have gone down to one car for dh and I which helps with the cost. With ds's car in the household now there is still usually one car sitting and he doesn't mind if we borrow it to pop somewhere if he isn't using it (he commutes to uni on free bus) - I mostly WFH so it is there and handy if I need to go to dentist/shops etc. It also means he is the main driver and building no claims.

OliverKitten · 07/05/2023 21:06

Well I would say it's your responsibility to pay for him to get to school/college until he's 18 and finishes. If you physically can't drive him yourselves, or find him a lift share, then you need to pay the whole cost of his transport. If he wants to use the car for other trips too, like socialising, he can then pay you a mileage rate for fuel and a fair proportion of insurance/wear and tear? When he finishes college he could buy the car off you, or you sell it.

I assume it's too far to cycle? What about a moped? He's more vulnerable to other cars' poor driving, but possibly safer in that he can't take his mates as passengers (higher risk than when he's driving alone).

SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 08/05/2023 09:08

Similar position here. We thought that I might not be able to drive by the time DC1 hit 17 due to a progressive condition.

We said if that was the case he'd have my car and we'd pay for lessons and insurance.

As it happens, my condition is progressing much slower than expected so thankfully I'm able to still drive but he's had insurance paid and the majority of lessons.

He didn't get his own car, we share mine.

Mumtofourandnomore · 09/05/2023 23:05

We bought my son an old, low mileage and fully serviced car for his 17th birthday and also paid for his lessons and insurance. I said I would pay his insurance costs until he leaves education which is likely to be soon as he doesn’t want to go to Uni.

My view on second hand cars is that once they get to 5 years old, they will need parts fixing, so buying a 10+ year old car is about the same maintenance cost - only everything is getting replaced for the second time (or more !). So we bought a Peugeot 207 for £1k with 40k miles on the clock. Little acceleration, which is a good thing ! My sons insurance was £1.5k for his first year and I’ve just had a quote for his second year at £900.

My son has been saving up from his part-time job and birthday money etc and has about £5k saved up so he wants to upgrade his car. I’ve said that he will then need to pay for all repairs and his own insurance.

I have to say that driving a car has brought out the boy racer side of my ds, he’s a terrible driver and I wish I’d waited until he was more mature - I wait every day for a knock on my door and worry about him constantly even though he was always very sensible and level headed before passing his test.

UsingChangeofName · 09/05/2023 23:36

As everyone else has said - it depends on your personal circumstances.
Yes, your finances, but also taking into account how many dc you would need to offer the same for, but also factoring in things like the fact you live rurally.

I figured if they are wanting to run a car, then they had to have saved up enough / be earning enough to do so, but we live in a City with train and bus options and plenty within walking distance, or cycling if they chose. It is a different circumstance.

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