Originally Posted by jerzpwr

I disagree.. just because a kid gets new car when he is 16-18 does not make him spoiled. What if he got a brand new KIA for 12K opposed to a used 15K accord? Is he spoiled then? Just because a car is new doesnt make the parent stupid or the kid spoiled.

I also believe that if the family can afford to buy his/her son/daughter a brand new car at 17 then thats great. As long as the kid is the type of child to appreciate the gift it doesnt matter if the car is 3K or 300K.

Originally Posted by danishj

i think everyone that nags on us young people are just jealous that they didnt get that kind of stuff when they were young. TOO BAD. but ill join the bandwagon when im 40 and my kids are given vaccines for cancer and other stuff i cant even think of.

Originally Posted by zainzb06tsx

I LOVE THIS! MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT MY RECENT POST "TSX or TT"..HAHA. Im going to be honest, no harm meant towards anyone, seriously. Well my view on the subject is, the majority of the people in here are between the ages of 23-30..my honest opinion is that they are jeleous about us 'youngins' having these cars given to us, while they have to work hard to earn money. I'm not being a little spoiled brat about this..I've done my share of work..maybe not as much as most of you, but i have.

AND if my parents have the capabilities of affording a 30k car for me, why not? im 100% sure you guys would do the same thing if you were offered this car at my age, who wouldnt? and lastly, who is to say that all 16-21 year olds are 'too young' for this car? You could be 50 years old and act like a 11 year old. And in the same context, you could be 16, and act like a mature adult, which i have been told i am. so please dont go crazy if someone half your age has the same car as you, who cares about 'us', you got yours right?

Originally Posted by ostrich

I am not sure why I am responding to this even, but I suppose I am because I feel strongly about this issue.

I do not have a child. However, if I did, even if I can afford it (yes, I can), I would only buy a reliable, used car for my child, just for functional transportation purposes - e.g. a used Civic. I would like my child to learn that money does not grow on trees, and if you want something nice, you need to work for it.

It's time to grow up and realize that having a nice car is not everything. There are many other much more important things in life and having a nice car should not be high on your list of priority at your stage in life. You need to learn that just because you can afford it, it does not mean that you have to have it.

Originally Posted by fadinglionhart

Yes, I'm 17, so my opinion will be biased. But no, I don't have any tickets, trouble with cops or anything. I have had one accident on my car, but I was really upset about that and would rather not delve into that.

With that said...

I agree that you would enjoy your car more whether it be a tsx or a Daewoo. I personally had saved enough for a used clean 1990 integra ($2500) sedan on craigslist, but my parents outright declined when I wanted to buy it. Instead they chose to get me a brand new 06 tsx because of all the new safety features and structural integrity. For me, the tsx was an unaccounted blessing. I hadn't really planned to get it, and I'm sure I won't appreciate as much as I would have if I bought the car myself, but I do wash and detail my car on a weekly basis. I love my car, but it's the not same as saying "this car is made of my sweat and blood." Only half the car will be made of my sweat and blood.

And for your information, my parent aren't just "giving" me the tsx; they expect me to pay back half of the original value as soon as I can. 17 and in debt already

To answer the question: I think the tsx is the equivalent of the 4-door Integra in a business suit. I believe it's great for the aspiring young worker wanting to make a good impression on his employers; it's not as high luxury as the bmw, but it's also not your everyday sterotypical civic.

Originally Posted by Kream85

Lets not jump on TT/TSX/ 2 tickets now... can people if they dont mind write if they are fathers or not and whether or not they bought their first car . My reasoning behind this is i am starting to see a trend that the 29-39 age bracket is against immaturity. Many of you are like duh.. but i dont think the under 22 age group understands what "immaturity" is. That concept is the vague one not whether or not the TSX is suitable for the child.

Catch my drift??? Man im gonna have a hard time writing this one

Originally Posted by cai06

I will side with some parents on this one.
Spoiled kids are so because of the way they were raised, not because you buy them a 30K car before they leave for college; by that time, if you raised your child with "good values", he/she will appreciate the value of things adecuately; and a nice, reliable car is a good way to help them start their own life in the real world.

That being said, I will definitely buy my daughter a new car when the time comes, and with as many security features as available -we know the TSX is currently as good/safe as it gets - living in the snowbelt, I would never give her an old used car. Knowing myself, I would be too worried about it. And yes, unfortunately security doesn't come cheap as we all know.

Originally Posted by zainzb06tsx

so this is my last post on this topic since my opinion carries no weight anyways. society puts so much pressure on people my age to 'show-off', if you will, what they have/can have. And as Ostrich stated, 'having a good car shouldnt be at the top of your list'. In response to that, I have to say that that is the only thing most guys my age think about, that or getting into college. Seriously, nothing else is as important as those two. Go ahead and call me irresponsible and whatnot for getting 2 ticket, i admit it was a stupid mistake and was made for no apparent reason. I got this car because i make good grades in school, am very involved in community service, havent gotten in trouble with the law as many people my age have, I dont do drugs, and I am "a good son". There are many ways to look at this, you could have a kid that drives a little fast, but gets good grades and makes smart decisions. In that case, you give him a car that he wants, he deserves it, he gets in a accident, no car. That is what my parents said when I got this car. Go ahead and critizise me all you want, free-game. AND YES Jazzyguy, mommy and daddy did pay for both my tickets, but i punished myself for what I did, I gave up going out for 2 months, and they thought that was punishment enough. Yes some people might think that is not enough punishment, but everyone has their own parenting styles right? And due to society's expectations of a young man like myself to go partying every weekend night, and to always be hanging out with his friends and not have to earn for himself, this was the most fit adjudication. And if it teaches your child a lesson, which it has taught me, then you have succeeded. Well thats enough for this essay, goodnight.

Originally Posted by cnk

Im 18 im asian and I got my 2006 tsx with out paying a single penny its not that im spoiled ( at least i don't think) I think its because were asian we treat our kids like treasure on the other hand, white boys treat their kids sometimes like shit they even count every single dollar they owe but asian parents don't give a shit about money cuz they have this way of thinking i'll eventually pass everything onto my kid and yes I just graduated and yet im a dumbass barely made it to school so what tough luck for people who have gay ass parents not saying that their gay because they don't buy you a car but its because they don't actually treat their kids like treasure instead trash IM NOT RACIST FYI but yeah just wanted to speech! HOPEFULLY NO ONE WILL GET OFFENDED IF SO just holla back Pz CnK

Originally Posted by crispy34

Its dumb to think why not give a new car to your child if you have the money. (lets get beyond the reason of learning the value of the dollar). Wouldnt you want the best for your child, all the airbag and safety features found on newer cars. I certainly would. And teens will try fast and stupid in any car you give them POS or new.


See, obviously at that age you DID NOT understand the value of the dollar. If you did they would have gotten you that new car. You were too immature at that age, and your parents agreed and made you have that used car. I know many friends that have gotten new 35K+ cars when first getting their license at 16. They all came out fine. It just depends on how you were brought up by your parents, you need to be shown the value of the dollar much earlier on.

Originally Posted by hyun

i got my tsx as a graduation gift and my parents arnt rich or anything, they just thought of it as an investment and since they know i maintain my rides better than they do they figured it was ok. i do all my oil changes, install all my own parts and keep the car clean. so all the people who complain need to quit generalizing.

Originally Posted by ttefabian

Honestly,
Who gives a flying fuck if there 16-100 and own a tsx
parents are there to watch for your security and safety.
would you give your kid a 10,000 kia and just die and never have the car fix.
i mean cmon. parents buy it for a reason.
i never wanted this car. they just gave me this and yes its a blessing. maybe its cause im repsonsible and get good grades.
it just pisses me of this is 90% of what you guys talk about it.
so shuttup and get over it. theres nothing you can do about it now.

Originally Posted by mar21182

The way I see it... If you're 16-18 years old (or older), and your parents bought you a brand new car over $20,000, you're spoiled. Hell, if they buy you any nice car, whether it be used, new, whatever, you're spoiled.

You don't have to be an ungrateful kid to be spoiled. Just the fact that your mommy and daddy bought you a nice car, and you didn't spend one penny on it makes you spoiled. In that case, your parents spoiled you. Even if you take incredible care of the car and treat it like your pride and joy, you're still spoiled.

There are so many kids out there who's families can't afford even one decent car. For a 16 year old to get a TSX for their first car is just incredibly fortunate, and in many ways completely unfair because really, what can a teenager do to deserve a $30,000 present? How is one teenager more deserving of a gift like that than another.

When I turned 16, I got a hand-me down 1990 Integra. I thought it was a great car, and I was happy to have it and took care of it. Then 3 years later, my parents went out and bought me a 1997 Integra (in 2000). It was a little over $14,000. I didn't pay a dime. I loved that car. I washed and waxed it regularly. I never got a ticket or got into an accident. I was a straight A student, who never got into trouble at all. Do you think I thought I deserved that car? Absolutely not... and I was embarrassed that I had it from day 1 because everyone knew my parents bought me the car.

I don't look down on someone who's parents buy them their car. However, all those people should realize that their new TSX isn't actually their's, but instead it's their parents' car that they happen to let you drive.

Originally Posted by EuRTSX

My SAT scores are higher than my parents, does that count?

Originally Posted by Ride Slow Homey

Kream85.. excellent point you bring up, im 20 years old and I often get people that think I'm spoiled or whatever for having a nice car. It seems to happen pretty often depending where you go and what not. Everyone must recognize that there is a different standard of living for everyone and this is not such a big deal to some people's parents. EurTSX, haha my SAT scores are the highest in my family, of course we need to get rewarded my sister at my age got a passat, maybe she should've studied more and could be rollin in the TSX

Originally Posted by tlbkcal

seriously right on! they are jealous that it took them so many years to get it while the younger kids got it w/o having to work their asses off for it. (I, for one though, are one of those people who had to fork out money for the tsx, but I'm not jealous of the 16-19 year olds who receive one from their parents...power to them!)

Originally Posted by bradykp

Well man, first thing is $403.30 is a good monthly payment....you leasing or did you have a nice down payment?

You must be working your butt off at 20 if you can afford that on your own. many of us, and i'm not old, just believe along the lines that a 16 year old to college age kid should not be granted the responsibility of driving a $30,000 car - brand new.

it's just a certain philosophy some people have. when i was in high school and college, my cars were hand-me-down cars. i took care of them, probably as you take care of yours, but i also went to a college where i was surrounded by kids with $30k-$60k cars.

lots of parents can afford to give these to their kids, but it's a very valuable item to give to someone who is hardly an adult (and given the way many of these people acted at college, you can believe me that they aren't adults yet).

some kids are more mature than others, so there are obviously exceptions, but when i have kids at driving age, i'll put them in a safe, used car that costs me probably 5-15k. cars are not an investment and are not a thing worth blowing a lot of money on, especially in the 16-22 year old range (or however old you might be when you graduate college and go into the real world and get a job and take on more responsibilities), as this age group of drivers is statistically very irresponsible. if statistically they are irresponsible, then logically, why would a parent give their kid an expensive car?

this car is a luxury item, which many people think you need to earn to get to that point in your life. high school to college kids have not done much in general to earn luxury items, though again, there are exceptions.

it's everyone's choice on how to raise their kids and their right to raise them how they want to. but when young kids are seen with luxury items, the perception will always be that they are spoiled.


i'd say that if you are paying $403/mo plus insurance ($100 a month) plus maintenence and gas (lets' say average of $75/mo), then there has to be somewhere you're getting the $580/mo post tax (10,000 a year pre tax) dollars. plus you are in college paying 500-1000/semester for books, college expenses, etc. etc.

it's great that your parents can give you this situation, but it'd be pretty tough for most to be in college and afford around 10k per year in pre tax vehicle expenses.

congrats to you.

Originally Posted by VegaTSX

Talk about spoiled that's too much. A Lambo sheesh. I bet the parents are millionaires that's why they can afford something like that.

Originally Posted by crazybaboon6000

In conclusion, i think that while some may view parents getting their kids expensive cars as spoiling them (which in most cases it is), it is not true for all parents. Some parents, like mine, got me an expensive, safe car so that i would truly appreciate the money spent and the trust placed within me by receiving it. As a new driver, i think that the TSX is a great starting car for those parents who want to teach their kids the true value of money, trust, and responsibility, but it should be only given to those kids who would truly appreciate it. Just because a child doesnt pay for a car doesnt mean that they cant fully appreciate the value of it or the trust which their parents placed in them by buying it.

now....i apologize for rambling, but i think that everything in that post had at least some relevance to the topic. I just wanted people to realize how grouping all teenage kids who drive TSXs into the "spoiled" category is not only stereotyping, but also downright wrong due to the kids like me who truly appreciate the value of their cars. Contrary to popular belief, some kids really do appreciate the value of a dollar, as well as showing responsibility in their decisions, as i did with the TSX.

Originally Posted by NJSGTI

I don't think that there is an age limit for a TSX. I got my 04 ABP for a high school graduation present when I was 18. I took care of the car as good as anyone else would. Im from Key West, and a TSX is junk compared to some of the cars that high school kids drive there. Three kids now have black Range Rover Sports, a couple BMW 3's and 5's, Hummer H2's and H3's, and one or two Escalades. The ones who drive cars like those are spoiled. Not a kid with a TSX.

Originally Posted by MikeMa

I didn't have time to read through this whole thread, but here's my take on things:

I was raised by what I'd consider an upper-middle-class family in an upper-middle-class neighbourhood. However, just because the family may have had the money to buy this or that, doesn't mean we automatically got what we wanted. My parents instilled into my siblings and me that it's better to *earn*, rather than to be *given*. Why? This teaches you the value of working hard for your rewards....and I've also come to realize that if I work hard for a reward, it makes me appreciate that reward that much more.

While I can't speak for everyone here, my problem is not with the young kids who are buying TSXs on their own, working hard at their jobs to *earn* the money to pay for their cars....it's with the kids whose parents simply *give* their kids a brand new TSX.

I understand parents' want to showboat to other parents by buying junior a near-luxury sporty sedan....peer pressure never ceases. In other cases, it may be that parents are over-rewarding for simple accomplishments (ie. Oh, you graduated from high school with a 60% instead of a 50%....here's a brand new car). I guess sometimes these two are combined...but neither, I believe, is productive towards raising a kid with a good work ethic, who understands the value of a dollar, and who appreciates the rewards that good, hard, honest work yields.

Now....there is also the logical side of this issue--is a $44K near-lux sporty car really the best first car for a kid to own? I'm not saying go start out with a 20 year old Buick.... but perhaps something in between a junker and a 44K car would be more prudent? I mean, if there's a chance that, since you're likely fairly fresh to the whole driving scene, would it not make more sense to screw up a, say, 16-24K car? Yes, start out with the safest car possible....but to get a good, safe, reliable car, you don't need to spend 44K. A Civic or Fit would both be excellent first cars. Both cost significanly less than a TSX, both have very good fuel economy (since if you're young, you may not have gobs of cash available to plunk down on premium gas that is consumed at several L/100Km more in the TSX), both likely cost less to insure than a TSX, and both are very safe cars.

So I guess, for me, if *you* pay for the car all on your own (or with minimal help from your parents), then good on ya.....I still think a cheaper car would be a wiser decision (to wait out the insurance drop as you get older, as well as to just be driving around a cheaper car just in case you screw it up), but it was your decision to make.

If your parents bought you a TSX for being a good kid or whatever, and they're paying for the insurance, I definitely think that a) your parents should be chastised for influencing you so negatively and b) you should not be proud of having your car, since you didn't do anything to earn the money that bought the car.

Of course, there's a whole spectrum in between those two extremes....and I guess you could say my disapproval increases as you travel from the first extreme to the last one.

Getting a car as a graduation present (unless as part of your ceremony, you developed the cure for cancer that can be extracted from corn by a device that costs $5 in parts--or something like that), is, for me, towards the second extreme. I know graduating isn't trivial (especially with the ever increasing difficulty of curricula), but education is really something you do for yourself, to ensure that you have a good chance at getting a good job that pays (so you can then be able to buy yourself your own rewards... ). Yes, I believe parents should congratulate you on a job well done, but I don't think that congratulatory gift should be of the magnitude of a car.

For the record, I'm 28.

Originally Posted by pache

The only reason I'm driving a TSX at 19 is because I'm going to college for free and the car had 75,000 miles on it when it was purchased.

But on a different note...

A lot of parents put their kids in junk because they almost expect them to crash it. Well, if they expect them to crash the car then why isn't safety a concern?? God forbid anything happens, I think the parents would probably much rather have spent the extra money than lose their son or daughter. Which poses an interesting question, how much money is it worth to potentially save a life?

Originally Posted by bradykp

who cares why they can afford it. who in their right mind as a parent would give their kid a car that is that dangerous? WHEN he injures someone, the parents should be held accountable in criminal law. that's right, i said WHEN, not if, because chances are better for the WHEN than for the IF. i know this is very close minded to say, but seriously, an inexperienced driver in a car that goes that speed and is that unsafe is the equivilant of giving the kid a weapon in my book.

Originally Posted by Teh_Cow_Jr

I can see where you were going with this. i had a similiar dilema. Like i said b4, i drove my dads 96 F250 XLT (CC, LB, 7.5L V8.. blah blah blah) for a good 4 months. The "Main" reason why i wanted something else than that BIG truck is something that was reliable, safe, and saved gas. The truck had no airbags, suspension was shot and i just didnt really feel "that" safe in an accident, even thought the truck is VERY SOILID.. i mean someone in a similar truck rear ended me, but i didnt get hurt. If i really wasn't paying attention and all, i could have killed people if i hit them. My parents knew how i drove (safe as what they call it) but still it just wasn't peace in my mind. Also i was paying about $100 a week just for gas. (from school and back home for 5 days, about 14 gallons back in Jan-May 06)


and about getting a used civic, accord or simular cars... i had saved up about 15K for a car, and my parents didn't want a used car. even if it had a clean title and all. I looked at the new civics, yaris, fit (most of the econ boxs) and my parents said it was TOO small.. ... they said they would have to be able to drive it from time to time, since they would pay for half. (i still have to pay them back the difference) They said it would be between a 06 TSX or 06 Accord. and with all the post about these too cars, tsx won... enough said for tonight..