LeMasseHammer

Interesting article on teens getting luxury cars from their parents. I see it all the time around here...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...-1n23cars.html

A snippet:
"My parents and I have kind of an agreement. I have a 4.0 grade average. If it slips, my dad will be driving me to school," said Blake Hamerslag, 16, of Rancho Santa Fe. His parents gave him a 2002 Mercedes ML430 SUV and a 2004 Chevy Suburban.

"Most of my friends all drive really nice cars," he said, noting that he's awaiting delivery of a $50,000-plus Cadillac Escalade and probably will be trading in at least one of his other cars. "Around here," he said, "cars like this really aren't that big of a deal."

Christina Espinosa-DaSilva, 16, of Coronado will be a junior at Francis Parker School this fall. She said safety was at top of her father's list when he bought her a 2003 BMW X5 SUV.

"My dad panicked when I turned 16 and started driving, and he thought there was a chance he could lose a person he loves in an accident," she said. "My dad said he wanted me to drive the best and safest car he could afford."

jlukja

Rancho Santa Fe: http://www.city-data.com/city/Rancho...alifornia.html

Population (year 2000): 3,252
Males: 1,586 (48.8%), Females: 1,666 (51.2%)

Expensive cars are no big deal there.

TSX 'R' US

gawd dayam

TSX Hokie

How many of these kids getting new BMWs from their parents are going to amount to anything? The few rich kids at my high school still had to drive beat up old Volvos and the like, because their parents still wanted to teach their kids the value of a dime.

The kid that had the nicest car in my high school parking lot is in jail now I think.

My parents gave me their 10 year old Saab when I turned 16, and I was so grateful to have it, it might as well have been a Ferrari.

228

tons of them in vancouver too...........
not only lluxury also mod....

dabuda

def not a big expense considering their income.

what i dont understand is how SUVs are safer? usually they take longer to stop, higher % rollover, etc...especially for young teens with 1-2 years of driving exp.

as far as the long term effects go:

jcg878

Interesting article.. but haven't we beaten this to death yet??

phile

I believe we have.

Phile, who's waiting for some rich kid to come in here and remind us not to be speaking out of envy.

Helicobacter Pylori

Back in Vancouver, a friend of mine drove a yellow Ferrari 355 spyder, while his mom drove a Toyota Corolla. Trust me, 228 wasn't bluffing.

gocubsgo55

stop speaking out of envy... .

Yeah I have some friends like that. One of these friends, whose dad drives an LS430 (and LX470 at one point) is planning on getting a brand new IS300 for his first car. His parents try to teach him good values but theyre soooo damn leniant with him its insane! Dont want to get into anything but people him this really tick me off because they do no work yet get whatever the hell they want. Oh well, he's on a bad course towards failure, but hell have his IS! I'm glad my parents bring me up with a hand ready to hit me if I demand too much or abuse any of my given powers.

ianS

I know a kid with the following list of cars (all brand new)
age car
17 00 328i(auto) loaded + 20k of mod (dvd, 3 lcd, acs everywhere)
18 01 M3(manual) + 40k of mod (dvd, 3 lcd, re-mount high grade leather, acs everywhere + 19" BBS LM)
19 02 M3(SMG2) + custom color in/out

Oh, forgot that...he just join a group buy with his friends on 04 997. At least he only keep 1 car but his friends always have at least 1 BMW, 1 MINI, 1 MB, 1 Audi, 1 Porsche and even some have 360 Modena! Yes, a 20 year old kid has 6 cars!

justinnum1

I have to disagree with some of what the article said. It makes it sound like the parents are the bad guys. I am fortunate to have my parents that got me the acura tsx. Instead of not caring about price and getting the car i really wanted(audi) i new that the acura was the better value. My parents did not buy me the car out of guilt or anyting, they just got it for me because that s what you do in my town. Its all relative.

phile

Not everything is black and white, or clear cut. Obviously the article will not apply to everyone, but I think there is truth in what the article says.

speedzer

kids driving better cars than parents should be a no-no. i understand the parents are concerned with the kid's safety but.....they could buy the kid a base accord, or camry and equip it with all the safety qizmos there are.

buying them luxury SUV bc of safety is bs. they are more prone to accidents. imagine a kid in an X5. a powerful suv for a 16 year old

Minch00

Right now my 97 3.0CL Premium is all I need........sure, I aspire to own better cars, but this is good for now......

I'm 18 btw.

I went from a base model 94 Mustang V6 auto to the 3.0.........like night and day my friends...

speedzer

ianS, did the kid pay for the cars after he was 17 years of age? wat about the mods?

I'm Rick James, B*tch

True, very true. I went to a middle class private school. Not one like in the article(where kids were driving BMW's, but yet still new cars. The kids that had the nicest vehicles were really the worst in terms of behavior and such. In fact I just learned that one of them is going to jail for at least 2 years for armed robbery and another just shot some guy in the head, and it going to be thrown in for 2nd degree murder.

It's crazy and it made me sick just reading that article. It is amazing how morals, values, and life in general, changes with the amount of household income. Those kids are probably aren't worth sh*t when it comes to working and doing anything for that matter because they have always had someone else do things for them probably. In my family you get good grades if you don't want to be punished not in order to keep your $50,000 vehicle!

gilboman

While i may not agree completely that SUV's are always safer, if you are driving around in a X5, you can outstop, change lanes faster and accelerate faster than most cars on the road. and if i was to ever get in a serious accident, i would much rather be in a X5 or large esclade SUV than some beatup 10yr old accord.

mg7726

i dunno, if i had that much bling, i'd be tempted to buy my kids a nice ride too - granted the fvcker did the chores around the house and got the A's in school...

SPUDMTN

As fun as it would be to have a $50k first car, it is obnoxious (this coming from a 17 yearold). Quite frankly, I don't (and don't think any kid, for that matter) deserves a $50k car. Shouldn't good grades be a given? Shouldn't "being good" and staying out of trouble, be a given? Are either of these deserving of a $50k gift?

It's obnoxious to be driving around in a car that most people will never have at such a young age. How do you expect a teen to feel if they have a $50k car? Further, like some have said, what does the teen look forward to if their first car is a midsize luxo car? Do they dream of Maybachs and Ferraris?

Besides, everyone's first car should have "character" . I had an '88 Volvo 740GLE as my first car...while not exactly a beater (heated seats, AMAZING condition) the car had character. I have so many memories with friends in Gertrude (I named my Volvo :-* ) But I babied that car to death. Washed and waxed it regularly, shined up the tires and parked out in the boonies. My first car taught me how to treat a possession and showed my parents what kind of respect I had.

I most certainly didn't deserve the Volvo and don't deserve what I have now.

gfxdave99

You have to look at it from the parents perspective. I dont have kids, but if I did I wouldnt want them driving around in a tin can geo. Would i go out and buy them a brand new luxury SUV? Probably not. But I wouldnt make them drive around in a geo metro convertable either.

SPUDMTN

It's all about moderation...

I'm Rick James, B*tch

Do you have to get them an X5 though. I know of plenty 4X4 trucks that will tear an X5 in half if they were to collide. What the author was trying to say is, yes they are probably safer than an 88 corolla but is it necessary if "safety" is actually what you are looking for?

jcg878

:whocares:

They can do whatever they want with their kids. I'm sure they don't care if we agree with them.

ianS

Yes, they paid with their own money.... their own pocket money that came from their parents & grand parents

I dun think it is a problem to buy a safe car to my kid but a safe car doesn't meant a german car and of course not a high power car. If I need to buy a car to my kid today, I will buy a 3 yr old impleza TS wagon or Forester. It is AWD, it is safe, it has enough power and not a street racing target.

Arcticcl9

If I had kids, I would get them a safe car that is more crush-proof. It does not need to have fast acceleration. That way, they will learn to steer and brake sooner...instead of depending on the car (abs, etc), and become a safer driver.

That is if I had kids...and those rich parents could do anything they want (I doubt they want other people to see them in a beater car)

xizor

if you want your kids to be safe get them an old volvo, those things are tanks. I was in an accident where my rear's eclipse rear ended one... crushed his front and not one scratch on the volvo

ABP-CL9-TSX

wow, thats what I called rich and spoiled!

ClutchPerformer

Larch was right. You're wise beyond your years.

Just curious: what do you have now? TSX? Or the RL?

wingwing

i have a friend in high school that is like this: get $50,000CAD cash from dad, then walk into a BMW dealership, and say I WANT THIS CAR, here is downpayment, rest on my credit card please, done. no jokes

SPUDMTN

I actually have a SOLAR YELLOW Nissan Xterra SE...love the thing to death. Just waxed it the other day and washed it today. I need 4WD where I live, and I love the character of the Xterra. I'm beyond anal about it and still don't feel like it should be mine. I think the way I treat the vehicle shows respect and appreciation for the gift.

BTW...thanks for the compliment. But I'm not sure it's entirely true...you win some, you lose some

SPUDMTN

That's an injustice to him. Even if one can do that, self control is necessary. Besides, where's the fun in buying everything you want? It takes away some of life's fun. After a while, shopping gets really boring. What's to anticipate?

What's gonna happen when he's out on his own? What happens when he inherits daddy's money and blows it all within the first year? Self control is key...every little penny counts. You're preparing yourself for bankruptcy down the road if you don't even think about spending...

wingwing

well that guy's dad owns a few factories in China, and he doesn't live often in Canada due to the fact he has to manage his business. So i guess maybe to make up his unavailability, he's giving his son all these cash and stuff... oh well..

heyitsme

I don't see the problem. This is obviously a very well off area, so in a sense buying a 50k car is like a middle class family buying their kid an accord. Nothing wrong with rewarding a hard working kid who stays out of trouble.

TMQ

The most important thing for parents is to teach their kids about value and responsibility. An expensive car means nothing if the kid decides to drink and drive and have a head on collision with a tree. For parents who have money and doesn't want to invest their time with their kids, they raise a school of spoiled brats, who go on to raise more dysfunctional families. That's why you rarely see good family fortunes go past 3 generations.

1SICKLEX

Word. B/C a 50k car ain't nothing to him. He will aspire for 200k cars.
If you bring up the kid properly and give him values and the kid demonstrates he understands, nothing wrong with this.
Don't group all kids together. Some are more mature than others. And if they happen to be in a family that can give them a 50k car, kudos to them.

NeoChaser

that's nothing...

true story, friend's friend's friend. Took dad's platinum card.. went to Brian Jessel, those
who don't live in vancouver area, they used to be dealer for Ferrari. Kid went in, and
bought a blue 360M.

Mokos23

where were these sugar daddys and mommys when i was 16?

i know most of us feel that we should've gotten our just desserts and a little jealousy since we weren't privledged to drive a nice beemer around at that age.

what happens when these spoiled bratty rich kids face life living on their own? well, see how they deal with that.

wingwing

wow this is such an extreme case. did he crash it yet?

satoshi801

My dad's income was around $250,000 when I was in high school. He wouldn't buy me a car, though. I had to work all summer at his company cutting the grass, delivering the mail, and cleaning the f*cking toilets. I saved up $2500 and bought an old Buick, which got me through the end of high school. He paid the insurance though, so I could have really good coverage.

He came from total poverty, and I guess he wanted to teach me the value of a dollar. It worked; as an adult I'm very responsible with money.

These kids who get an Escalade or Bimmer for nothing, they're just spoiled little punks. I might put my kid in a SUV or pickup for safety purposes, but it's going to be a used one, and they're going to pay for at least part of it. If you just give a kid stuff like that, they'll have a hard time learning how to work for things when they're adults.