even though i'm only 21, having driven for 5 years now i can easily say that when i was 16 i drove like an idiot and i'm glad that i didn't have a nice car. I'm not an irresponsible person by any means, but speed is addicting and having an RX-8 at 16 is not going to help matters. I must say I'm biased at the moment because the 16 year old brother of one of my friends was just in an accident last week only days after getting is license, and he's still unconscious. He only had a jetta.

 

true, but i don't think the problem is if i am a bad driver or not... i have been driving for about 1 1/2 years and have not have not had one ticket, accident, etc.. yes, i do drive a bit fast for the exhiliration but i'm not an out-of-control driver like some others...

...just hopefully, i will have the money by the end of the summer...


college? what is college? :D

 

I'm 18 and i am paying for my car. And no i'm not paying for the insurance or gas but honestly i think that is the correct way to raise a child. Anway think about it this way, probably a majority of the people on this forum, the older than 18 croud probably had Camaro's, mustangs, chargers, novas, gto's **** like that. Only a few of the older people have replied to this post, most of them didn't have nice cars like we have the pleasure to get. We live in a different society then back in the 70's and 80's, everyone has a cell phone, the average income has gone up...Yea you coula always invest your money in stocks, but then again you wouldn't learn important lessons in life about screwing up if you did that. If i lived in a lower income society that i live in now i would invest my money also, but honestly i don't know about your family. I know my family is paying for my college, gas, insurance and probably "part" of my first condo. It all depends on where you think you will be in 10 years, i know i will be standing on my own 2 feet because of my wonderful parents. and yes it hurts to say that hehe. So good luck with that 8.

 

dude, it's not worth it... unless you can COMFORTABLY afford all of the following:

the car/payments, insurance, gas, parts & maintenance in case something goes wrong, speeding tickets, and more traffic violation tickets... cops just love issuing tickets to teenage drivers in sports cars

your parents can stop paying for any/all of the above and you're pretty much screwed...

when i was 16, i didnt know **** about cars... the rx8 may look good now, but trust us older guys when we say this... there will always better cars...

u may be the cool kid now with a new rx8 now, but in a few years... all ur friends who didn't get cool cars before will be getting brand new cars (and with better choices to choose from, such as mazdaspeed rx8) courtesy of mom and dad, and they wont have to pay a cent just cuz they waited a couple years until their parents think they are more "responsible" and have a need for it in college... at that time, you'll be down $30k+ out of your own pocket and then be stuck with an "older" car...

 

I don't know how it works in the US, but in Canada the insurance on a car like the 8 is near impossible to afford for someone (a male) less than 25.
When I was 19 I had a Trans-Am and my insurance was $2300 CDN back in the late eighties. I shudder to think what it would cost on an RX-8 today.

 

One thing about the youth these days (in America, I don't know about elsewhere).. They whine when they don't get what they want.

Your parent's word should be the word of God himself to you. If they don't want you to have it, then you should respect thier decision.

If you wish to proceed agains thier will then you should move out, get your own apartment, pay your own bills.. THEN see if you can still afford to buy an RX-8.

My point is not that you should move out of thier house, but to help you understand that they are subsidizing your expenses. Even if you have your own money and you buy your own "wants", they are providing for your "needs". You might be thinking that they are your parents and that's what they HAVE to do? No.. they don't there are alot of parents who abandon thier kids, or don't pay any attention to them. Your parents show an interest in your life and in you. You should respect that and accept thier decision.

As an adult, you will find that many times you cannot do something you want to. Or that you cannot take advantage of certain opportunities. It's life. All you can do is move on and wait for another chance. You still have 50 -60 years to do what you wish.

As another member pointed out on here, you could invest the money you've saved now and be MUCH better off in the future.

 

As a person who at the age of 17 yrs old was handed the keys to a brand new RX7 (back in 1985) I can tell you there is no way my kids are getting a sports car at that age. I was very responsible, had learned to drive and handle a car at a young age yet I still drove like a typical 17 yr old crazy guy.


No matter how much I thopught I knew, I realyl didn't and experience taought me a lot.

My kids when they turn 16 yrs old are going to go to skip barber driving school for a 2 day course ... it is something I think all parents should do.

 

Save that money for college... or whatever else... then after that, you can get get the future mazdaspeed turbocharged 8 or 7, if Mazda decides to bring it back from the dead...

 

Hey Im2GoOd...

You sound like a pretty reasonable teenager (unlike some others on this board), so I'll give ya my 2 cents. I hope you're not getting sick of us older guys giving you advice (I'm 36.)

I respect the fact that you have a decent job and are able to save up a sh$t-load of money. My advice though -- don't blow all that money that you worked so hard for on a car! If I wanted to I could go out and buy a Lamborghini tomorrow, but that would be financially stupid! Paying for a car should be a small part of your budget, not your whole budget.

Were you kidding with the line I quoted at the top? I hope you haven't seriously written off college. If you want to keep buying nice cars and have a home and/or a family, I don't think you are going to want to keep working at the movie theater for the rest of your life!

Good luck to you whatever you decide...

 

Where's this driving school? I'm not a parent, but that still sounds like something to keep in mind.

My parents bought me a 7 year old car when I turned 16 and although I didn't have any accidents, I don't think I was as responsible as I could have been. I'm 24 now and I'm glad I didn't get a nicer car back then. It makes me appreciate what I have now even more.

 

my $0.02:

If you are stating your age with a .5 at the end of it... You should not be buying a brand spanking new sports car.

No, we did not all have Mustangs, GTOs, and etc. back in the 80s and 70s. I graduated HS in 92 so that puts me in the almost 30-something crowd. I drove a 73 Impala, a 77 Granada, an 85 Cavalier, and a 66 Impala. all before 94.

Regardless of how responsible you are, can you really park a new 8 on school grounds and know that it is not going to get tore up by the other students? What about at the movie theater? Whenever I go out I park as far away from everyone as I can and some dingleberry still parks next to me and usually dings my doors.

Even if you have respect for your stuff, others more than likely will not and a school parking lot is almost the worst place for a new car. My Granada, both Impalas, and the Cavalier had all been broken into at one point or another while on school grounds. Do you really want to deal with that kinda crap?

When I was 16 I was very responsible... 4.0GPA, National Honor Society, Computer Science Awards... The whole nine yards. I also worked in an engineering firm as a CAD desinger at the age of 15. You know what... I still was not able to have a nice ride... I had the money but I was too reckless behind the wheel (still am).

I don't care if your are Jeff Gordon's kid..... It takes time to learn how to drive a car well. Speed is not always what kills... being able to assess a situation and avoid accidents are just as much a part of driving as mashing the pedal to the floor. A year and a half of driving does not give you that.

I am not flaming you, but I am not far removed from where you are now... I thought I knew it all back then... I didn't. Now that I have a kid of my own I am sure I am going to get paid back for every stupid thing I did and never got caught doing.

If you want to make parents worry just go out with some little hotty at school and make HER parents worry. =) Don't keep your mom and dad awake at night thinking they are going to have to scrape you off the pavement.

Whatever you do just be safe.

 

I am not a hater because I advised holding onto a perfectly decent car for a year or two and then buying the new car with part of the funds you have saved and financing the rest. If you had 100K in the bank that you saved, I say buy it outright and invest the rest. I realize you can make more money, but why use your entire nut for a car that will only lose value. I do think its great that you could put that much money away at a young age. I could go out today and buy a new NSX, but it makes no financial sense regardless of what I can earn in the future. Good luck with your decision, and if you are anything like me you will go with what you want as opposed to what is practical. Just remember that immediate gratification is not always the greatest thing.

 

BUY THE NSX!!!! dont worry about tommorow!! haha jp :D i agree though... i have money saved up too but would never spend it all.

 

Everyone that I know (without exception) that had that kind of money at your age regretted what they did with it. Most of them did what you are talking about doing, that is, they spent most of it in one go, and the rest just went to buying smaller, stupid sh*t.

Don't be an idiot (I am not saying you are), if you have 30k, get an autotrader, spend 10k on a bad *** car, and put the other 20k away. Invest or something. put it somwhere where you can't get your hands on it for ten years.

You'll be glad you did.

BTW, my first car? 1962 Clm shell pink Cadillac Coupe d'Ville. Cost:$500

I have been working full time since I was 15. Now 33. Spent every cent I had as I made it. Had 14 - 16 cars (lost count), one motorcycle and a scooter.

Only regrets? Wished I hadn't spent the 30k burning a hole in my pocket when I was 17...

 

Amen. I still have my beater. There's also something to be said about credit ratings. If you can build a good rating early (having a credit card doesn't really help as much as you might think), you'll get better rates later on. If you don't, you get screwed with a rate a few percent higher than average, like me. Also, I like the argument that the car will be outdated in a couple years. Although I don't know if I would have rather had a cool car in high school or college....

 

I cannot agree with this, IMO being a parent does not mean being a 'ruler'. Just because a parent is able to support a child which BTW IS thier job doesn't give the parent the right to rule without giving their child the right to an opinion.

Children are people and if you raise them where they HAVE to do what you tell them they are not going to talk to you about thier problems in life and they aren't going to come to you when they need something they think you might not agree with.

If you have the respect of your kids then they are going to do what you think is the right thing.

For the record I'm a dad of 2 kids and one more on the way.

 

Here is the link to the driving school
http://www.skipbarber.com/

I took the 2 day class a few years ago and it was incredible. I went to the class *thinking* I was a good driver not realizing that my methods for handling curves amongst other things we're totally wrong . . . I learnred a lot in those 2 days plus it was fun as h*ll !!!

 

Let's not even get started on parenting. I am a dad as well.

I do think though, that if this kid has made all this money on his own, then he can buy a car. I still think it would be stupid for him to do so, but kids/people have to learn their own lessons sometimes.

Sometimes the hard way, is the only way that gets the point accross.

And who know, buying the car might be geat. Could be that you are very responsible, don't get tickets, accidents, scare the pedestrians in your neighbor hood, etc... I really don't have anything against it, except that I think it's a waste of your money at your age.

 

If my kid had managed to earn and save enough money by to buy the RX-8 by age 17 I would definitely not deny them. To me this is a strong indication that you know the value of hard work and have shown unusual amount of tenacity and responsibility for your age. To understand the value of hard work, you occasionally need to experience the rewards to keep you motivated for the future.

As far as it being dangerous because it's "too much car", that is BS. The danger lies in the driver, not the car. Or, rather let me say that in terms of "car" safety, the RX-8 is very safe, great handling, airbags out the wazoo, ABS, traction control, etc. As far as horsepower, a bad driver is just as dangerous in an old Beetle and actually more so due to the lack of safety features mentioned above, degraded handling, etc.

Bottom line though is obey your folks while you're living under their roof. But if they're still undecided......

 

tell them to buy you the automatic..

Drive it for a year.. Trade it in one the stick. that way you can show mom and dad that you can be trusted and responable...

They well love the gesture and ina year yull get the 6 sp with all the 2005 fixes

 

Well I am 19, and am getting my 8 this saturday, but theres things you need to be aware of.

1. If you drop all your cash on the 8, you have none for anything else. We all know the 8 gets horrible MPG and you might be spending somewhere around $200 a month for gas. Also there is insurance. There you are looking at another $200+ a month for all the coverage you need.

2. You can't buy the car without your parents saying yes. You will need them to cosign the papers as you can't legally own something under 18 years of age. So I wouldn't "force" them if I were you.

3. Like everyone else said, you are dropping a 30k bomb on a car and as soon as you drive it off the lot it just dropped to something like 24k. Have you thought about buying a used 8?

4. You are still in high school. You might be mature, but I sure as hell know that everyone there is not. In fact, theres always groups of people who like to smash up nice cars. We all went through it. The thought of parking a new car in a high school parking lot frightens me.

With all those bases covered, it is your money, and if your parents say no, then you can always wait till you are 18 and buy it for yourself. Then I recommend winning blue with nav, and GT package :D

 

I love how the youngin's say.. "Oh I saved up 20k or 25k.. I can buy the car." Imagine when they get older and realize this isn't how the real world works. Gotta think of all the other crap that can fall on your lap when things go wrong... other expenses. That's why 25k isn't enough... think more like 50k+ in your bank account to safely buy an RX-8. There is residual, tax, maintenance cost, gas.

But once again, I think this thread is pointless. The kids will say they are responsible, because they've driven so and so. It's not the years that matter in driving, it's how much you've driven, how far you've driven, etc.

Your parents are going to buy you the car... or at least co-sign it for you, then go for it. Most kids will definitely accept that offer. If your family is well off, go for it. Not like money matters too much then. Heck, my parents made an annual salary of 250k combined when I was 17, instead of accepting their offer for a new car, I used the money and bought a dinky Civic. I know it's my choice, but it sure beats my parents breathing down on me always reminding me of the car they bought me. Oh you bet your lifesaver they'll remind you of that fact... gets really old real fast.

 

I don't really want to start an argument. I was just offering my opinion before as something for people to think about. However, I do feel the need to reply.

Being a parent IS being a ruler. Parents are responsible not ONLY for providing for thier child, and ensuring thier well being, but also for shaping thier minds and bodies so that they may emerge to be functional adults in society. Parents are not there to provide and advise thier children like some sort of counsel.

Furthermore, I never said that providing for a child is not the parent's job. What I said was that they do not HAVE to do it. Alot of parents do not support thier children.

I also never said that children have no right to opinions. Obviously they should be allowed discussion, espescially older kids. However, once an issue has been discussed and the decision has been made then there should be no circumventing that decision.

You're right in saying that you cannot rule with an iron fist. You do need to be able to talk to them and allow them to come to you.


However, that does not mean that a parent should give into a child's wishes every time they whine. A child should not have equal OR more say in their life as long as they are a minor in the parent's household.

Obviously there is a fine balance. I'm not saying here that as a parent you are like this, or that the original poster's parents are like this. I was just making an observation on what I personally have seen.

I have raised 2 children who are currently age 2 and 3, and have spent a significant amount of time with children from infants to teens.

Again, these are my opinions. Also, I've seen VERY oppressive parenting styles as well as very loose ones.. I'm not advocating either but something more firm than what seems to be commonplace in American society.

 

I don't think we are too far off in our thinking after reading your post (didn't want to clog the board with the entire post).

I think that no one really knows what is 100% correct in raising children but we all do what we think will be the right thing.