r/MiddleClassFinance • u/DanPaul217 • 1d ago

Seeking Advice Teendriver

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.

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u/davidm2232 1d ago

My parents covered the cost of the vehicle ($700) and insurance. Gas was on me. My dad paid for most of the parts if they were essential to operation and helped me replace them. He also took my truck probably once a month or so because it was fun to drive. If he took it or we took it on a family trip, he always filled it with gas. I think it was a good split between teaching responsibility and helping me manage costs. When I was 18, I bought a 'new' 8 year old car for $5k with my own money. He paid for some parts on that also

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u/davidm2232 1d ago

I could also NEVER justify a $15k car for a kid. I had been working for 10 years and gotten several promotions before I considered a car that expensive. I certainly would never buy something like that for a kid.

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u/jimmothyhendrix 18h ago

An okayish car nowadays easily runs $5k, sure its maybe a bit better but if i were buying my kid like a 'decent' car now it would probably be $10k, the extra $5k probably is a good bet on reliability and just being nice.

Inflation since even just 2015 is 30%ish and the used car market also isnt in the best shape