As for DH and I, we both got cars from our parents when we went to college (DH actually had access to a car in HS too but it wasn't his to keep, it was just the old family truck). Our parents covered the car cost and insurance, but we paid for gas. We both also had scholarships to cover tuition at our college so perhaps this contributed to our parents willingness to pay for cars/insurance.
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I guess technically, my parents "bought it"....but it had been my uncle's, then aunt's car (bought new) - and they got new cars, so they gave it to my Dad. then I got it..when it was KBB valued around $500, lol. I paid my own insurance under my dad's policy (gave him the money each month).
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Dad gave me his old car and they paid insurance and gas.
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I saved up $3000 from my first job and my dad signed a loan for another $3000 for me to get my first car. I paid the loan payments and gas. Insurance was through my parents but I paid for that too. All this at 16!
I thought it was unfair in the moment but it was all a life lesson. Very thankful! Plus I got my own car.
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@Danizaur: holy crap! That's amazing! How did you get back and forth to work before you had the car? What age did you start working and how long did it take you to save the money? Also do you mind if I ask where you worked (no specifics needed, just a general idea?). As you can imagine, my husband and I are in a debate about whether it is important to get your kid a car, and I am very curious about how different parents handle this.
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Well we just bought our first car at 28 years old, so we bought it ourselves!
ETA for future kids, I would guess that we would buy the car (not a brand new one though) and they would pay for gas? I guess it depends on whether they need a car (unlikely in NYC) and whether they're working/have money to pay for gas.
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my first car was my dad's gmc jimmy (oh how i miss her so!)... i drove that throughout high school, and part of college. my parents paid for insurance for hs/college/part of when i started work. they paid for gas through hs.
then my parents leased a honda accord for me... drove that through my first job. then i took over my bro's honda civic after he moved to nyc and when his lease came up, i bought my own car through financing and paid for insurance, etc. (still drive it today)
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My very first car in high school was my parent's hand-me-down. I was responsible for paying for all insurance, gas, and repairs/maintenance.
My first car of my own I financed.
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Parents paid for the car, insurance and gas.
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I financed the car and paid for the insurance, gas, and repairs myself. My dad would change my oil for me, but I had to pay for the oil and filter myself.
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Had to save up for drivers-ed myself, so I got my license late (17). Parents matched my saved up $1000 for a down payment and then I paid for the rest. I paid my portion of car insurance and all of my own gas. I worked as a grocery store cashier during the summers and in the evenings and weekends during highschool. Also babysat on days I wasn't working. Busy girl
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I got their old car and they paid for insurance until I was out of college.
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I was 22 when I bought my car. I saved 6k to put as a down payment, financed, paid for my own gas and maintenance.
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I got my first car as a gift! Huzzah! It was just an old, rusting Nissan lol, nothing special. I actually just got gifted another car (my MIL's old one, she can't drive anymore).
My DH paid for his first second hand Corolla with money he saved up from his first business (he was 16). He also paid his own insurance and gas.
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In HS, I used one of my parents' cars and they paid for my insurance and I had to cover my own gas. This continued through college (although I wasn't allowed to bring the car with me to college, so taking the bus was my mode of transportation!). When I graduated from college, I purchased the car from them for it's KBB value and got my own insurance.
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I bought my first car after college- car dealer loan with my mom cosigning to get the best interest rate. I bought insurance. I used public trans and taxis in college.
Now, my bro- my mom has bought him two cars and pays for insurance. No cosigning or anything. Just gifted. My bro kept starting and stopping college.
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I had a hand me down in HS, and they covered insurance but I paid for gas, maintenance, etc. They took it away when I went to college, and ended up buying me one (Dad regrets that, he wishes they had just kept the hand me down for me!) and from college on out I covered all maintenance, insurance, etc. I was extremely grateful to not have to make a car payment until I bought my most recent car!
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i bought my first car in cash, from a boy at school at lunch time. it was a volvo 240 wagon for $1500 (i was obsessed with volvo 240s), i named her lola. i worked babysitting and in a daycare. i paid for gas, my parents added me to their ins. i didn't have that car for long- i also paid to go to france & spain for an art tour with school (i was a very good saver!) and my dad donated it while i was away! he gave me his old car then.
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Saved up and paid it myself in cash, in full. I think they paid insurance at first but that ended once I graduated.
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My very first car was the Jeep my husband had when we got married. I loved that car. We shared most of the time and borrowed cars from our parents when we needed them. Our very first car that we bought and paid for is our Versa. We had the cash on hand to pay for it, so no payments and we are going to drive it until it dies. Hopefully, it ends up being our daughter's first car.
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@mrs. bird: yes you are! Very disciplined.
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My parents bought my car (it was $500). I paid for the insurance and gas.
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My parents bought the car and paid my insurance through college. I always paid for any gas and repairs/maintenance.
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My parents made a deal with me and my siblings that they would pay half of the car we bought- could be more or less expensive but if we could save up half they would match it. But, they had veto power so we couldn't buy an unsafe clunker. My neighbor ended up selling us his old car for really cheap. They paid insurance and I paid gas, but my senior year I drove my little sister to school with me, saving them the bus cost, so they paid for gas. I was kind of spoiled but knew it at least.
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: Lol no problem. I started working the DAY I turned 16. Happy birthday to me right? I also got my permit. My dad, stepmom, and sister took turns driving me to work or letting me drive to practice. I had already saved a bit of money (I had a savings account since I was 5) but I basically saved almost all of my paycheck. I didn't have anywhere to go after all. 6 moths later when I was ready to take my drivers test my dad told me he would take a loan out for me to match whatever I had saved to get a decent car.
So we did. After that I continued to work and go to school and drove myself. I paid for my own gas, paid the loan payments on my car (which were small), and paid the insurance every month too.
Actually now that I think about it I think I split the insurance payment in half with my dad. My sister had got in a wreck and jacked our insurance up and I couldn't afford it. I didn't have much spending money left after bills but I still had a little to enjoy myself.
I worked at a grocery store making minimum wage as a cashier. I think I averaged about 25 hours a week then. That's also where I met DH! He was a stockboy.
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@Adira: how did you get home from college for winter break, etc.? How did you get to the store for groceries, etc.? I did not have a car until late in my sophomore year. I was an RA for three years and ate in the cafeteria long after my friends had moved into apartments! I bummed rides from people to go to Walmart, and had my parents pick me up during holidays. I went to school in a college town surrounded by nothing, so eventually it became necessary for me to have a car.
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I had saved enough $$ to buy a semi decent used car so I was going to go out and buy one at 16. But my dad sold me his neon, which he had for several years, but he took good care of and knew the history of so he felt more comfortable with it's safety.
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My parents bought me a $3k car in high school. But, I was under the condition of I was the sibs' taxi XD
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I never had a car until after college, at which point I loaned one from my parents. After DH and I got engaged, I gave it back to them, since my sister needed it more than I did. We still have his car!
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: I didn't have a car in college either! I lived on campus, and I took the train home for breaks. Most of my friends didn't have cars, actually, but the few who did took us to the store when we needed it.
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I bought it...my dad put me on his insurance, but I had to pay for my portion of it.
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My grandpa gave me a truck for my first car it was nothing special! I had to work to pay for my own gas and insurance.
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I bought the car and gas. Parents paid my insurance as part of their plan.
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Not one of your options but parents paid for car ($2k) and insurance.
I paid for gas.
When my sister started driving, I handed off my car to her and got my own car. I had a reasonable car loan. I think I was 18 when I got my first car loan.
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: My school was only an hour from my parents' house. They would come pick me up and drop me off so I could get to and from college from home. And I had a meal plan so I ate at the college's dining hall so I didn't NEED groceries. But there was also a little market within walking distance, so if I needed to buy food stuff, I could purchase it there. During my sophomore and junior years, I had a friend who had a car, so we'd just bum rides off her for most things. And then senior year I actually did have my car on campus because I had an internship that I needed to be able to get to. If I didn't have that job, I wouldn't have been allowed to bring my parents' car to school.
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Got a paper route starting at age 9 and saved up for 7 years...
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My parents bought me a $1,000 old beat up truck, and I paid for insurance and gas myself.
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My parents bought me a car and paid for insurance/gas.
DH's parents help him with a down payment, when he started working in college, he would make the monthly payments.
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I didn't vote on the poll because my situation wasn't an option. I had saved up quite a bit for a down payment on a car by the time I was sixteen. I financed the rest of the purchase price with my mom as a cosigner and made the payments myself every month. My parents paid for the insurance and I paid for the gas.
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My parents covered my car and expenses while I was in school. My mom was against me working.
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