19 Year Old Son Wants Car Upgrade
Discussion
I bought my son a VW Up! which has served him well, it is a cat n 2017 with 30k. Great car never needed any work.
He is now 19 and wanting something better on the motorway, ideally 5 doors, which isn't going to cost a fortune to tax.
His insurance is up on 26 July and I thought it better to buy a new car for him which coincides with the insurance change so he avoids excessive cancellation/modification costs. He will have 1 year ncb and has a blackbox policy with Stirling which seems a good one and he has never had a warning, next year's policy on the Up! will be £1200. The Up! has really low tax too at £20.
His budget is up to £8,000 to £12,000 as we see this as a car to keep for 3 years.
Any ideas?
He is now 19 and wanting something better on the motorway, ideally 5 doors, which isn't going to cost a fortune to tax.
His insurance is up on 26 July and I thought it better to buy a new car for him which coincides with the insurance change so he avoids excessive cancellation/modification costs. He will have 1 year ncb and has a blackbox policy with Stirling which seems a good one and he has never had a warning, next year's policy on the Up! will be £1200. The Up! has really low tax too at £20.
His budget is up to £8,000 to £12,000 as we see this as a car to keep for 3 years.
Any ideas?
lost in espace said:
I bought my son a VW Up! which has served him well, it is a cat n 2017 with 30k. Great car never needed any work.
He is now 19 and wanting something better on the motorway, ideally 5 doors, which isn't going to cost a fortune to tax.
His insurance is up on 26 July and I thought it better to buy a new car for him which coincides with the insurance change so he avoids excessive cancellation/modification costs. He will have 1 year ncb and has a blackbox policy with Stirling which seems a good one and he has never had a warning, next year's policy on the Up! will be £1200. The Up! has really low tax too at £20.
His budget is up to £8,000 to £12,000 as we see this as a car to keep for 3 years.
Any ideas?
Can I ask who is paying? He is now 19 and wanting something better on the motorway, ideally 5 doors, which isn't going to cost a fortune to tax.
His insurance is up on 26 July and I thought it better to buy a new car for him which coincides with the insurance change so he avoids excessive cancellation/modification costs. He will have 1 year ncb and has a blackbox policy with Stirling which seems a good one and he has never had a warning, next year's policy on the Up! will be £1200. The Up! has really low tax too at £20.
His budget is up to £8,000 to £12,000 as we see this as a car to keep for 3 years.
Any ideas?
In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
Pit Pony said:
Can I ask who is paying?
In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
Was thinking the same. My first car was handed down but had to save for anything after that and never expected anything else. Things have changed too, no one wanted 5 doors then and everyone wanted coupes like Calibras or Preludes. The Clio is one of the best looking five door cars and Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce should do the trickIn the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
A500leroy said:
Clio tce.
My wife had a Clio Dynamique with the 1.2TCE engine before her current Fabia SEL with the 1.0TSi engine. The Fabia is a much nicer car to drive. Although very slightly smaller externally it has more rear passenger space & a bigger boot.Both use ridiculous size tyres for a small car. Clio had 195/50-16 & the Fabia has 215/45-16. I would have thought something like 185/70 would have been adequate., or did looks come into the tyre size choice.
G/f's daughter (early 20s) bought a Nissan Pulsar a couple of years ago. Excellent car - I really like it and it's been pretty much problem free. Is a decent size for a 'small' car with plenty of space in the rear seats for adults. Don't know how much is standard Vs options but hers is very high spec - dual zone climate control and loads of other stuff.
ETA : it gets used plenty on motorways - she has a 50 mile round trip commute which is mostly dual carriageway and motorway. Plus, last year she took a 6 week tour around Europe and covered over 5k miles I think
ETA : it gets used plenty on motorways - she has a 50 mile round trip commute which is mostly dual carriageway and motorway. Plus, last year she took a 6 week tour around Europe and covered over 5k miles I think
Edited by davek_964 on Sunday 9th June 13:08
Pit Pony said:
Can I ask who is paying?
In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
I found and bought the car, he has been saving to pay me back. He just landed an apprenticeship with Airbus and I will lend him the money again for this purchase. His mate is starting uni in Manchester and we live in Stevenage, the Up! will be a pain on the motorway. I like the Up! but only around town. In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
lost in espace said:
Pit Pony said:
Can I ask who is paying?
In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
I found and bought the car, he has been saving to pay me back. He just landed an apprenticeship with Airbus and I will lend him the money again for this purchase. His mate is starting uni in Manchester and we live in Stevenage, the Up! will be a pain on the motorway. I like the Up! but only around town. In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
peterperkins said:
I would say after your generous help the first time around if he wants an upgrade he pays for it himself and starts saving.
The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
How is that any business of yours?The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
Honestly, this place at times..
SWoll said:
peterperkins said:
I would say after your generous help the first time around if he wants an upgrade he pays for it himself and starts saving.
The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
How is that any business of yours?The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
Honestly, this place at times..
The point made is off topic and, indeed, none of his business but it’s actually fairly spot on.
lost in espace said:
the Up! will be a pain on the motorway. I like the Up! but only around town.
Will it though? It's still got to be better than taking the train.I'd be inclined to save the money and keep the UP till he gets past his 21st, with a few more years no claims. Might be able to get something a bit tastier then, rather than what feels like a bit of a sideways move.
dave123456 said:
SWoll said:
peterperkins said:
I would say after your generous help the first time around if he wants an upgrade he pays for it himself and starts saving.
The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
How is that any business of yours?The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
Honestly, this place at times..
The point made is off topic and, indeed, none of his business but it’s actually fairly spot on.
Like I say, this place at times. Gets more and more likes Mumset by the day.
SWoll said:
dave123456 said:
SWoll said:
peterperkins said:
I would say after your generous help the first time around if he wants an upgrade he pays for it himself and starts saving.
The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
How is that any business of yours?The value/scarcity of money etc is an important lesson in the growing up process.
Honestly, this place at times..
The point made is off topic and, indeed, none of his business but it’s actually fairly spot on.
Like I say, this place at times. Gets more and more likes Mumset by the day.
I think it’s worth flagging the point. I’m sorry that you don’t. Let’s not argue about it.
Merry said:
Will it though? It's still got to be better than taking the train.
I'd be inclined to save the money and keep the UP till he gets past his 21st, with a few more years no claims. Might be able to get something a bit tastier then, rather than what feels like a bit of a sideways move.
I suppose it is better than the Vauxhall Viva I had as my first car :-) I'd be inclined to save the money and keep the UP till he gets past his 21st, with a few more years no claims. Might be able to get something a bit tastier then, rather than what feels like a bit of a sideways move.
Thanks for all the comments, all appreciated, it is a fair point about who is paying, he did brilliantly to get this apprenticeship . I just figure he can afford a better car so lets get something nicer. Insurance is about £2k on a 2015 TT tdi or Mini JCW, but its Hastings blackbox. The Stirling blackbox he has at the moment isn't intrusive at all, and is only affected by speed it would be good to try to keep it. He also has free excess cover with them, reluctant to move away.
We should be able to get back what we spent on the Up! or very close, lets treat him.
Narcisus said:
lost in espace said:
Pit Pony said:
Can I ask who is paying?
In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
I found and bought the car, he has been saving to pay me back. He just landed an apprenticeship with Airbus and I will lend him the money again for this purchase. His mate is starting uni in Manchester and we live in Stevenage, the Up! will be a pain on the motorway. I like the Up! but only around town. In the first paragraph. You bought your son a car and its never been any bother.
If its you paying again, don't bother. Save your dosh.
Tight fisted I may be.
I'm amazed at the fact that he's paying anything back. Most kids wouldn't. My daughter didn't pat a penny, Although she did give me the car back 3 years after we gave it her.
The use case, is a bit erm weak. He's borrowing £8k off his dad because a few times he's going to visit his friend, and the current reliable car isn't a great motorway car.
To be honest I'd happily thrash a VW up! Down the motorway.
It's more a general comment about society. In my very very humble opinion a little discomfort early in adult life, makes the successes later on seem all the more worthy. We all give too much help to our kids, I know I have done and will continue to, but is it right?
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