Good, keep bragging about them, sounds like you got a right to !
Hope your son isn't like me, I bleed everytime I look at sheetmetal

Lawgirl...sorry about us hijacking your thread for a few rounds. <g>

 

When I graduated from high school in '89, I'd been driving an early 80's VW Vanwagon, yellow to boot. Most of my friends had similar "budget" cars. One guy got a Z28 for his 16th birthday and that was the talk of the school. Later on, a kid I knew drove to school in a brand new Grand National and did a huge burnout right in front of the principal's office. He got in trouble for that, and also driving his dad's GN without permission.

 

I'm 26 year' old. And have worked and paid for every vehicle(5) and paid my own insurance ever since I was old enough to drive. My parent's told me from the get-go that they were not paying for my vehicle nor my insurance. So I took it from there and started working when I was old enough to work(16). Juggling school and work is no fun! Now that I'm a little older and alot wiser, I've decided to go to tech. school and take electronics to become an electronics technician. Hopefully it pay's off. LOL!

 

its really sad. theres this guy down the street from me whos first car is an M3. of course its used but still... then this other guy thinks he's getting a IROC camaro sometime soon. actually he said he was getting it like 2 months ago and he still doesnt have it. both of these kids are 16. my other friend however, has a i think 73 MGBGT which he is building himself. its nice. he actually worked for that car. i didnt exactly work for mine because it was a hand me down... ill have to put a picture up someday. most of the kids who have those nice new mustang GTs or Z28s or whatever are ungrateful punks. or at least thats what they are like at my school. then these same ones brag about getting speeding tickets or flipping their cars because they were goin 120 around a corner. then i guess their parents dont learn and buy them an even faster and more expensive car. its crazy

 

The utes of today are very fortunate.
I remember walking 10 miles to school on a gravel road carrying my Mr T lunch pail with no shoes on.

Ok, I lied about having to walk 10 miles, but the Mr T lunch box is true, haha

When I was 16, I cut peoples lawns all summer for $5 - $7.
As soon as I had $250 saved, I bought a neighbors Moped.
I used to get laughed at all the time, but man, it sure beat walking! I drove that thing right up until the first snowfall in Dec, talk about freezing your *** off.
My first real car was a 1979 Z28 (I think it was the following year.
My payments were $200 a month, and I washed dishes 5 nights a week after school. I felt like the king of the world getting that car.... what a feeling.

20 years ago, every kid on the block was cutting lawns.
Good luck finding a kid today who wants to earn some extra cash.
Many times when im busy, I would love to pay some kid to cut my grass, good luck finding one here!

I have a lot of respect for youngsters today who work hard to buy a vehicle. I just hate when some 17 year old punk is next to me at a light, sitting in his 03 Mustang GT convertable, and he gives me the *superior attitude look* because his parents bought him a 42K vehicle and he thinks hes better than everyone else. (truth be known, he probably is, LOL LOL )

You guys should see the vehicles some of the Queens university students drive here, sometimes I think im in Beverly Hills.

Habibi

 

I was not a privileged child!

I started working (cutting lawns, ect.) when I was 12. I had to buy my own bicycle. When I was 14 I worked a ton, after school and weekends. I bought my own clothes and whatever else I wanted. When it was time to get a car I had a certian amount to spend. My parents wouldn't (couldn't) help. My first new vehicle ('94 F150) I had to do it all my self. I didn't have the option of a co-signer. I was 24 when I got my first F150.

Some of us don't have the option of having our parents buy things for us. My parents had their own problems (they might have had more money if they didn't have five kids!).

I know that there is nothing that I can do about it but that doesn't change the fact that it's unfair. There are so many of us who do the right thing and have since we were kids, yet we are over shadowed by some teenie-bopper (sorry for the '80's term) in an expensive car who couldn't support them selves if their life depended on it.

I think one of the reason kids can be such punks these days is because they've learned that they wont be held accountable. Is this really what parents should be teaching their kids?

 

I don't understand it either. i grew up in a small farmimg community and then moved up by Chicago when I graduated college. This lady I work with has friends who just bought their 16 yo daughter a new 70k escalade. I don't know about you but I would have that thing wrecked by now which I did to my 84 escort that I bought for 300 and put the tranny in. Kids today.

 

It makes NO sence at all for any parent to buy their kid any kind of sports car or truck (Lighting). Sad for the parents when their kid dies in something they put under their kids *** to look good to neighbors (see what I can do for my kid). Its also sad for the kids when their parents die (who will support their habits of getting what they want then?).

To many people are matertial and worry about what others think of them be it the parents or kids. Some parents want to be their kids best buddy, which is fine at times, but then its time to be a REAL parent using such words as NO YOU CAN NOT HAVE fill in the blank. If the kid does not earn it either buy working and paying for it him/herself then they will most of the time have no respect for it. That is a very bad lesson for any parent to set for a child they "really" love. It is true, both being a good parent and loving your child really "hurts" at times because you can't always be your kids buddy. For those that are like that its so sad, because in the end your kid gets screwed in life.

 

I just don't get that. Thinking about the insurance premiums alone make my skin crawl! I have traffic clients in their teens who are driving more expensive vehicles than I can afford to buy. Some of them bought them on their own, I understand that. But even with after school jobs, who is financing these kids to buy new vehicles? And who is insuring them? Getting financing is hard enough when you are 28 let alone 17 or 18.

While I am impressed that several of you worked hard at after school jobs for your vehicles and their related expenses, it leads to my next question:

Have cars replaced houses or college degrees as an important financial goal or asset? If you are spending a majority of your income on your car and insurance, what are you planning for your financial future?

 

I had a chance to go to UTI in Pheonix Ariz but had to turn it down because I couldn't afford paying my truck payment and also affording a place to live there.....I also got a scholorship to go to USC but I have to have a full time job in order to keep up with my payments and USC wanted me as a full time student, life just isn't fair unless you have money...or your parents do.
I'm going to a Junior College now, but still even thats hard sometimes, I'm only 19 and work my butt off plus go to school, while my girlfriend goes to USC in her 911 or explorer doesn't have to worry about work and will have a excellent job after she graduates from USC all because she doesn't have payments to worry about or even money for that matter.
life just isn't fair

 

Sprocket_X:

Do you value your truck more than a college degree? I am not asking this question to be judgmental, I just want to know the way you see things. Was it possible for you to go to UTI or USC if you had sold the truck and freed up the money from your truck payment?

 

No i don't value my truck more then a degree...no matter what i have to have a job weather it's part-time or full to atleast pay for school, in order for me to commute around i would need a vehicle(the bus isn't reliable around here) at the time I got my truck I had no plans of even going to college...but my last year of high school ended up being weird, I got a straight 4.0 and the presidents award at my HS for academic excellence and I wanted to go to UTI and then out of no where my HS gave me a scholorship for USC. If I could have sold my truck I would have but it would have put me in major dept....this all came up a few months after I purchased my truck, noq I have to go about things a harder way and I'm still going after a degree in buisness and law and my scholorship is still good for another 10 years so I'm hoping to get a better job soon and I have 2 more years untill my truck is paid off for so hopefuly things will work out.

 

P.S. also looking back at my other post it looks like I'm using my truck as an excuse for not being able to get a better education, and it is one of the reasons but I made the mistake of getting something this exspensive, i would have more flexability with a cheaper vehicle but like I said before I'm stuck with this thing now.

 

Thank you for your response and good luck in school and your other endeavors.

 

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