Cost of your first car?

[Scanner]

What was the cost of your first car? Make and model? What do you think should be the cost of the first car for the average 16 or 17 year old?

(since chances are they are going to get into an accident)

Mine was a 1973 Mercury Comet - cost me $800. It was a bomb (but I didn't wreck it, although I did dent one side minorly)

One my colleagues bought their son a brand new jeep on his 16th birthday. I just can't reconcile that one in my head, even though it has collision insurance on it, I suppose.

[Like2Plan]

I didn't get my first car until I was 22 and had a steady job.

For our DS, we let him drive my car (a 1999 Subaru Forester) and I bought a new one. It's been going on 4 years and he still loves driving it.

CW in my area is to let your kid drive a car that has a lot of safety features, but is older so you won't be sad when it gets scratched or dinged up.

[momof1in150]

My first car was a 79 Saab 99 and it cost me $3000 which was a lot in 1984.

[gamecock43]

When I got my Drivers License I was 16 and was given my fathers 10 year old 300zx sports car. I loved it, kept it all through college and after- till it was 19 years old.

[mdcrim]

My first car was a 1984 Camaro (V6) bought in 1989 with 74,000 miles on it for $2800. I think it's tough these days because new cars are so expensive and resale cars are also expensive. New cars used to be cheap!

[irmanator]

in 1994 I bought a 1983 chevette for 350, and i had to learn manual in order to actually drive it.

[hmd2009]

In 2001 I bought a 97 Saturn SC1 for $10,000. Let me postface that with the fact that I was a 19 year old, rather naive brand new e-1 sailor with a steady paycheck!

My son is 5 and when he gets his liscense, I plan on buying him an older car with very good safety features, or maybe by then I'll hand down my 2006 ford five hundred awd ltd, which has awesome safety features, and then buy myself a new car! I don't believe in putting our children in cheap junkers. 6 years ago, my 19 year old brother was killed by a drunk driver in a 1980-something honda civic with no airbags. Airbags would of saved his life.

[Ima saver]

My first car was a 1953 ford. It cost me $300 and it took me a long time tosave that much money cause I worked for $3 a day (8 hour days) I was 16 and had been driving for 4 years. I never had an accident and to this day, I have never gotten a ticket or caused an accident. I got the ford in 1961.

[MonkeyMama]

In 1992, I bought a 1982 Toyota Celica for $1200. (It took me a year of working to save up for it).

The car probably had 150k+ miles on it, and I drove it 7 years (through college too). It was in a few accidents and fared better than the newer subcompacts. (Someone slammed into me on the freeway and their car was completely totaled. Mine barely had a scratch. The bumper obviously had to be replaced, but it did the job. I don't equate new with safe).

I'd say the average cost for a new driver should be about $3k. Factoring inflation and all - not sure why you would need more. They'll likely wreck it or scratch it up. If you pay any more than that you are really just paying for "appearances." You can certainly find more than enough safety features in that price range.

My first car was not the least expensive car I ever bought, either. There has always been an abundance of immaculate used cars where I live (it's kind of a showy area and people replace their "barely used" cars very often).

[fruitbowlk]

I paid $2000 for a 1989 dodge shadow I think no more than $2500 for a first car for a 16/17 year old.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Scanner

(since chances are they are going to get into an accident)

I can't say I agree with this statement. I don't think there are any stats showing that a majority of new drivers have accidents.

As for the question, my first car was free. It was a 1973 Chevy Impala that my parents purchased new. I got my license in 1980 and that became "my" car. It wasn't legally mine (not in my name) and I still shared it with my mom initially. It didn't cost me anything. It was a hand-me-down basically.

I didn't get a car of my own until I was in college. My parents bought me a 1982 Datsun Maxima.

I expect that when our daughter starts driving, she'll either get a hand-me-down or a decent used car.

[skydivingchic]

My parents gave me my first car. When I first started to drive, I drove several different household cars - whatever was available when I needed it, usually the oldest one. These included a Pontiac Bonneville, a Mercury Marquis, and a Ford Ranger. Shortly before I went to college, my parents gave me a 2 year old Chevy S-10. The agreement was that it was mine if I graduated from college and I didn't get married before doing so. I drove the pickup all through college and for several years afterwards. In 2002 I bought a 1999 RAV4 for $16000, financed over 5 years. Paid it off in three years and am currently saving so that I can pay cash for my next vehicle.

[Inkstain82]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I can't say I agree with this statement. I don't think there are any stats showing that a majority of new drivers have accidents.

Between 15 and 20% will be in an accident in their first year. I'm not sure what it'd look like for the first four or five years in total.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Inkstain82

Between 15 and 20% will be in an accident in their first year. I'm not sure what it'd look like for the first four or five years in total.

So 80-85% will not. Pretty good odds, I'd say. Plus, most of those accidents are probably minor things, like getting too close to someone at a red light or cutting a turn too sharply and clipping a bumper. The percentage of serious accidents is probably a lot lower.

[Cassandra]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

So 80-85% will not. Pretty good odds, I'd say. Plus, most of those accidents are probably minor things, like getting too close to someone at a red light or cutting a turn too sharply and clipping a bumper. The percentage of serious accidents is probably a lot lower.

I don't have any official stats, but most of my friends and I got into very minor accidents within the first year of driving. We did pretty much what you said: getting too close at a red light, misjudging a turn, etc. I think only one friend got into a serious accident within the first year.

My first car was a Dodge Intrepid. It was still my mom's car so we shared it. My first car that was in my name I bought a year ago- a Dodge Stratus, 2006. I paid for it myself.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

1999 Toyota Corolla Brand new, $12k. I was 20 years old and finished with college with my first job. My parents matched my savings.

I still have the car and no plans to get rid of it for probably another 5 years at least. I don't know, I wish my parents had bought me a $5k car.

My DH 2000 Ford Focus, 23 years old and first job as well. He paid 100% for his car himself $14k. Still have it and no plans at this time to get rid of it either. Maybe if we have a kid we'll trade it for a 4 door.

I know that we're the exceptions amongst our friends who mostly got used or hand-me down cars free from their parents.

[FrugalFish]

Paid $7000 for an 87 Honda CRX when I was 17. I'm 37 now and DH still drives that car 60-70 miles a day to and from work. Money well spent, IMO!

I don't know what a good amount is for a first time car owner. It really depends on circumstances. I needed a pretty reliable car to be independent and traveling far and wide (I was in college at 17).

We just bought a brand new 2009 Accord and I can't help but wonder if it will be DD's first car in 13-15 years (depending on when she seems mature enough to drive).

[Scanner]

DisneySteve,

I am not aware of official statistics in comparison to the rest of the population but 16-25 year old age group has the highest car insurance rates of any group (I think over 65 has the lowest). Just wait until you put your daughter on your policy.

The research tends to suggest it's the way their brains are developing and they don't have the disipline to remain focused on the task at hand - texting on cellphones, friends distracting them. NOt to mention the psychomotor skills of driving is more complex than it looks. Also, I haven't even added in alcohol and falling asleep due to the crazy hours teenagers keep.

I think driving curfews and graded driving privledges are a better idea than constantly raising the driving age. I actually think NJ is too strict in having the age be 17 y.o. There was something to be said for when I was 16, driving my Mercury Comet with rear-wheel drive in 2 " of snow up 45 degree inclines in Pennsylvania when I was 16 and having it fishtail.

With age doesn't necessarily come experience. . .

Add into that statistic that the #1 accidental killer of teenagers is an auto accident. I think accidental drowning is in there too but that's probably more the 2-6 year old age group.

I don't think the risk is just limited to a ding on the bumper and fender here and there.

Anyway, it doesn't sound like there are too many cars bought under $1000.00 out there anymore.

You know. . .I came that close to buying a Gremlin with my $800.00. I kinda wish I had. . .just to say I owned one of the most ugliest cars ever produced, LOL

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by Scanner

I don't think the risk is just limited to a ding on the bumper and fender here and there.

Agree with the above statement; also I believe most of the dings/scratches that occur when we first drive, go "unreported." So that 15%-20% is probably quite a bit higher.

My first car was a hand-me-down -- '70 Chevy Nova. I drove it from some 40k miles ('77) to 83k miles ('83).

So technically, "my first car" I bought from cash savings: '83 Honda Accord Hatchback. As I recall it cost 14k (no AC). But it very well served me as the sole driver for 13 years more until '96.

At which point I had a lapse in judgement and bought American. Which only lasted 3 years before falling apart (literally - parts of the engine were falling onto the freeway as I drove it) and I got rid of it after repair.

That auto was replaced with my now current Honda CR-V (a 2000 model, but purchased in May of '99).

[kork13]

HAHAHA -- My first car was an absolute bomb...

Tomato-red 1989 Mitsubishi Galant with 200k+ miles on it (at the time, 13 years old). I got it from my father's co-worker for $1 and a ride for his family to the airport when they moved.

It worked well enough for me through my junior/senior years in high school, until I got in an accident that crunched part of the front end and tore the body's frame. However, it was completely the other guy's fault -- he had half-pulled out and stopped, taking up my entire lane, and I couldn't stop due to heavy rain/slick roads.

So that's another factor in the argument that new drivers get in alot of accidents -- not all accidents are the fault of the less-experienced driver.

After the insurance company totaled out my car (we got $1000 for it), we sold it to a family friend for $200, who fixed it up and made it safe and drivable again. Overall, worked out very well for me.


EDIT: As to how much a first car should be, I would say no more than $3k-$5k.... Unless it's a hand-me-down family car that the family already had and was replacing it anyway. I have a few friends who got pretty nice cars that way. One friend got a VERY nice, 8 y/o BMW 500-series as his first car, because his father was going to be replacing it within a year or two anyway. He kept it for 6 years, and only just replaced it within the last year.