Back when I first got my driver's license in 1989, money was tight and I needed wheels. The local automotive garage, around the corner, had a real peach of a car, in my price range, on their lot; a 1977 Ford Granada.
The car was such a goat. Too big and too slow, it wasn't much to write home about. It's only redeeming quality was the huge bench of a front seat. It was very instrumental when it came to dating.
Getting your first car is the most liberating experience a younger person can have outside of moving into your own place. No more does one have to ask for a ride or ask to borrow a car. You can just pick up and go at the drop of a hat. It multiples the number of jobs that are available to you when you are mobile.
It allowed me to get my job at the YMCA, teaching sports, without having to beg for a ride.
I didn't care that my grandfather was driving the same vehicle as me. I didn't care that it wasn't fast or sexy. It was reliable and parts were cheap. I was just happy to have her.
Now that I sell late model used cars for a living, I'm seeing much different behavior, relative to my generation, from the younger people in the market today.
They are coming in to the dealership set on buying a high end car that their parents must buy for them. The parents remind their child that their are budget constraints and the can't spend more than $18K, $20K, $25K on the vehicle.
WTF!?!?
More power to you kid, but parents, what are you teaching little Johnny and Susie? That they should always expect to be driving an Audi A3 with leather and low miles, regardless if they have an income of their own? That seems to be the take away for me.
To me, it seems to be flawed logic, that allows for a child to develop a sense of worth and privilege that hasn't been earned. Guess what, these kids will be eating out of the parent's trough for life.
Enough about the kids of today, there are still hardworking and motivated young people who have their own means and are not totally dependent on the familial teet.
What was your first car?
How did you pay for it?
If you have kids, will you force them to earn their first car?
Sheeps
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