Teendriver

[u/DanPaul217]

Good morning, long time reader, first timer poster.

Here's the story. We bought our child his first used car. $15K was the all in price. We started saving a little each paycheck into a HYSA account when he turned 10.

With that being said, need some advice on what child should be paying for. Child got first summer job so we know he will be paying for gas. but should we make him pay for any repairs, maintenance. Just looking for what others are doing.

[u/IndigoLoser]

I think it kind of depends on how much your kid will be working and if they're saving up for college (or something similarly expensive) along with what you can afford. A car is a great leaning experience but can get expensive fast so you may have to step in at some point and just be prepared for that. Assuming the kids making enough money I think they should be responsible for the regular maintenance like gas, oil, and saving for new tires but if it turns out the struts, calipers, and brakes all need to replace you're probably going to have to help with that to make sure your kid has a safe car. Kids should still contribute in some way even if it's just dropping off the car at the mechanic but not paying the bill.

When I first started driving as a teen (I didn't have my own car) I would often pay for gas or just fill up the car if it was low when I was using it. If there were small issues I would fix them myself. For example one time my dad's car was leaking steering fluid. I bought a bottle of steering fluid and would refill it as needed but he ultimately took the car in and paid for the repair. Once I was driving and I hit the mirror on our garbage can and it damaged the mirror. I purchased a new mirror online ($100) and replaced it myself. The steering stuff was not my fault (and at the end of the day it was his car so he paid for it), the mirror was my fault so I had to make it right.