Question: I enjoyed your columns about "7th Heaven," which is one of my favorite TV shows. Your last piece of advice really made me think.
You said, "Say no to a car." While I agree that buying a brand-new car is an unnecessary expense, having a car gives a kid a well-rounded taste of adult life.
When my sister and I started driving, we used our mother's old car. This experience taught me much about cars that I would never have known otherwise. I am grateful to my parents for giving me this education.
Question: My wife and I agree with you that teenagers should not own a car, but we feel very alone in this position because most of the high school students we know have cars. Even though it's inconvenient for us to share our car with our daughters, we feel that students should not work to support a car and that having one distracts them from their studies.
Answer: I don't have any problem with teenagers having access to, and responsibility for, a car. But I'm convinced it's better for all concerned if the car belongs to the family, not the kids.
In our family, my 18-year-old son drives our 1994 Ford Taurus station wagon, which is so uncool that it doesn't even have a built-in CD player. When John leaves for college next year, his younger sister will inherit the wagon. John doesn't have a year-round job, so we don't require him to pay his $1,100 share of the insurance. And we take care of the car's upkeep.
But John has to pay for his own gas, parking and other costs associated with his use of the car. He cleans it out and washes it (occasionally), replaces the turn-signal bulbs that burn out regularly and takes it in for oil changes. When he had his first fender-bender, it was his responsibility to notify the insurance company and get damage estimates.
Other parents have told me they make teen drivers pay a portion of their insurance, or require them to learn how to change the oil and do other routine maintenance. One dad even charged his daughter a mileage fee that included upkeep and depreciation.
Any of those approaches is preferable to having a high school kid get a job solely to support a car — a time-consuming and costly commitment.
Worst of all is giving kids a car with no strings attached. It's not unheard of for parents to hand over title to a $30,000 SUV even before their teens have a driver's license.
What kids are really getting is a sense of entitlement. They'll still be waiting for a handout when they're 30.
Have a question about kids and finances for Dr. Tightwad? Write to Dr. T at 1729 H St., N.W., Washington, DC 20006. Or send the good doctor an e-mail message (and any other questions for this column) to jbodnar@kiplinger.com.