First car – Sensible verses ‘image’ for son

[jphanna]

Its getting close to that time (3 months), when my son gets his learners. We have agreed that he will take over the EA ownership and running costs, until he gets his proper licence, and then he can buy his OWN car.

Now we have spoken about various car manufacturers good and bad points. Servicing, availability of parts, reliability, any quirks that certain models (EA = everything, VE = dodgy electrics) have, etc.

He always got excited about any XR6-8 on the road from BA-FG, but he has recently decided that he will buy a 4 cylinder. I had a bit of a think about it, and come up with the last celica model in 2000. it is sporty looking, 4 CYL, has toyota reliability and good servicing and parts availability. He didn’t know what it looked like initially, so after he checked it out, he later told me he really wants one as its better looking than he expected. Then he tells me how much they are going for…..with low mileage up to $19,000. I thought maybe $10-12,000 max….

This is where, as a parent, the head takes over the heart. There are several brand new drive away cars available for around $15,000. ok they may be pussy mobiles, but a young kid wants to drive an image machine….just like we did when we got our licence.

For those that have gone through the process of finding a first car for your kids, what did you do?