re: I need some truck buying help...looking to get a truck for my teenager

quote:

---

Spoil the child and you’re only doing them a disservice.

---

Spoil? Why do you arbitrarily draw a line at vehicles?

Are your kids allowed nice shoes? Clothes? What about toys? Lots of food (too much at times)?

There are many ways to teach the values of hard work, discipline, frugality, etc. There's nothing wrong with never buying your children nice things. There's nothing wrong with buying your children nice things. It's what they do in the absence of those nice things, or with those nice things, that matters.

quote:

---

Buying things like a new vehicle does not automatically make a child spoiled. Shitty parents do that.

---

inb4 only terrible parents would buy their kid a new vehicle

quote:

---

Well where do I find a beater?

---

I've bought a few cars off eBay

quote:

---

I am not very worried about insurance cost

---

Have you called and got a price on insurance for a 16-year-old boy on a brand new vehicle.

Apparently, you have not.

quote:

---

t's just a dumb antiquated way of thinking that the only way to teach your kid to value nice things is to not buy them nice things. That's one approach - make them pay for nice stuff if they want nice stuff because they will value it more.

But you could also buy your kid a nice car and tell them that they have to take care of it because they aren't getting another one if they damage it. You do this to teach them to take care of nice things.

---

Aren't you the moron that's always starting threads about what other people should be doing. And haven't you said repeatedly you don't have kids.

Yes, you are.

All anyone on this thread, with kids, is saying, from experience, is that buying a kid a brand new vehicle is pretty dumb 99.9% of the time.

For the most part, kids don't respect stuff they haven't earned. All these parents know that from experience. Maybe this guys kid is different. Only the OP knows. But most kids aren't going to respect a 50k vehicle when you tell them to take care of it.

And yes, in theory not replacing the vehicle or fixing it when damaged is a good THEORY. But if/when that kid hits another car OP's insurance will pay, then will go up, then if he doesn't fix the vehicle in order to teach junior a lesson he'll have a 50k truck sitting in his driveway that's not being fixed. Now you just spent 50k to teach junior a lesson when you could have taught him that lesson by buying him a 15k vehicle.

quote:

---

For the most part kids don't respect stuff they haven't earned. All these parents know that from experience. Maybe this guys kid is different. Only the OP knows. But most kids aren't going to respect a 50k vehicle when you tell them to take care of it.

---

Yea, not agreeing with this at all.

quote:

---

Yea, not agreeing with this at all.

---

Maybe respect isn't the right word. But kids are just harder on stuff.

For example, we gave our 18-year-old my wife's 6-7 year-old car when she started driving. She's the most responsible kid I know. Works, goes to school, etc. She took care of it, kept it clean, got the oil changed when it was time etc. No issues there.

She also curb checked a sewer drain and busted 2 tires. Got rear-ended twice in it. Left the sunroof open at night many times. One day, the wind was gusting and blew a street sign into the car and damaged the car. Not even joking about this.

So a lot of that stuff was her fault, but some of it wasn't. It just happens. And yes, it happens to kids more than adults. So would the OP want all of that to happen to a brand new vehicle? I wouldn't.

quote:

---

Sure she is. Funny how everyone says this about their child.

---

Well she is. And if you have a kid I promise she's better than yours ever will be.

But thanks for the reasonable discussion

I'd go with a used but reliable Tacoma, GMC canyon or Chevy Colorado first. Just so long as it has good A/C and decent stereo, he'll be okay.

A 4 banger with a straight shift should be good enough.