Car buying scenario for daughter

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Sep 30, 2004
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North FL
Daughter is 23 and lives at home for the foreseeable future. She has a decent part time job with a private business related to her college major that pays $22/hr. She loves it and plans on going full time with them this August when she graduates.

Her car is 10 years old and has just had a major $2,100 repair with 144,000 miles on it. The car has been reliable up to this point however being a Hyundai the trade in value is presently around $5,000 on a good day. This car has long since been paid off.

Over the past few weeks she and my wife have felt they now cannot trust the car for some reason and want to trade it in on a new truck for her. The car drives fine today but she is using this 'opportunity' to ask for a truck.

She is an adult however we are attempting to guide her in financial decisions as a young adult. My wife wants her to use $8,000 down along with the $5,000 trade in (estimated if nothing else breaks) then finance the rest. They are looking at $30,000 small trucks.

My daughter has some credit built up and, theoretically could afford a $400/month payment however I argue why would she want a payment like that at this point in her life.

I have expressed my sentiment and waffle between drive it longer and save money to let's trade it now while it still has some value and is in good running condition.

Although we have not checked with the bank yet I would imagine the wife and I would have to cosign for my daughter's loan. I suggested she look at a smaller less expensive newer vehicle with less than 10,000 miles and warranty left on it if she is going to do this. Say one year old used around the $20-$25,000 bracket OTD.

My wife argues let her get what she wants, $30-$32,000 truck, yolo.

I argue even though my daughter has close to 20k in savings right now she should hold onto the money to assist her when she decides to move out in the next two years or so.

Bitogers, what would you do? Anyone run into a similar conundrum with their family?
 
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She should get an older Honda or Toyota. The Matrix/Vibe is a great choice, though other 4-cylinder Toyotas and Hondas are good too, such as the Fit and Yaris.

Here is a nice Vibe
low mileage Fit
orange Fit

Suggest an older cheaper car until she actually goes full time, then she can get something that needs to be financed.

A lot of people on here don't like Hyundais, so you can't blame her for wanting something else :sneaky:
 
You can't make her decisions for her but can guide her as you said. Sometimes you just gotta let them do it. Feel those payments every month. After a while she can decide if she wants to go through that again or not.
We had a young kid at work a while back. Drove a old beater truck. I always told him don't go out and buy a new car. Don't do it. And other financial advice i wish I was given at his age. He quit and went to work as an electrician. Recently he came by my house to get a couch from me and he was telling me he bought a brand new car for $37k and how much his payments were. He's very stressed about it. I didn't give him a hard time as there's no point but now he knows.
 
It sounds like you and your wife are not on the same page. That is the first thing you will need to address before anything else. It doesn’t sound like you are both setting up the same boundaries and that will be a problem in the long run. Regardless of what you do you need to have a united front with your spouse.

Now the vehicle situation. I have an adult child going to college and working while living at home and we have a very clear understanding. If you live under our roof you abide by our rules and values. Doesn’t matter how old you are. Part of this is financial responsibility as we (ie, my wife and I) see it. Not how the adult living with us sees it. We would be looking for another sensible vehicle to replace the existing sensible vehicle. Not looking for the I want something cool now upgrade vehicle.

If my wife and I disagree with how our adult child is spending their time and money we will be addressing it immediately. I would not be cosigning for any loan and/or enabling any behavior I disagree with. Providing a roof over their head free of charge is to help them get ahead in life. Not to YOLO. YOLO on your own dime and time. If you can save up $20k and tackle car payments then you’re ready to move out and take on rent too.

Just my opinion.
 
A lot of people on here don't like Hyundais, so you can't blame her for wanting something else :sneaky:
I can relate. I test drove a brand new Hyundais Elantra a few years back, looking to buy a new vehicle. It had less than 20 miles on it and it felt and sounded like absolute junk. I thought at the time if this vehicle is worn out with 20 miles on it, how will it be in 100,000 miles.
 
Small truck like a Ford Maverick; or something more like a Bronco sport?

IMO if your daughter has valid reasons to why they don't trust the vehicle, I'd say trade it in while you can get decent value for it.

Overall, if she can pay for the vehicle completely fine herself while still saving enough money to cover faux bills and rent (as if she was living by herself), then that's fine too
 
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I was in a similar situation when I first got married in 1971. Saved up and waited one year so we could pay cash for a new car. Needed the new car because the old one was becoming unreliable and a money pit. I was also getting commissioned into the Army and needed a reliable car to travel in for my first assignment, then officer training and then back to my first assignment location. I would recommend waiting. $2100 is not all that expensive for repairs anymore, and without knowing how unreliable the Hyundai is colors my train of thought here.
 
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5 year old Honda CRV. She'll have $$$ left over after and it'll last her many years. But yeah, drive it till the next big expense. Dealer will give you less than $5k.
 
As far as the loan, perhaps invest part in a nice index fund to offset the interest expense?
Make sure to check insurance and annual registration costs...

I would not cosign. She's already living in your home.
Honda/Toyota/Mazda might be the better choice... Which small truck?
Good luck.
 
My cynical opinion:
- At this stage one should be addressing needs, not wants. Enabling adulthood now might last a lifetime.
- Beware of co-signing. Early in my adult daughter's nursing career she was hospitalized and missed some payments. It affected us. Google search "pitfalls of co-signing". The common thought is "that won't happen to us". Can't predict life.

FYI you could buy a brand new Ford Maverick for that amount. My adult son loves his, which he wrangled a deal last year for $25,000.
 
This may be difficult for you to hear.

Both your wife and your daughter are making the same mistake. They are unable to distinguish between want and need.

She has a working car. She does not need a new truck.

She wants a new truck.

YOLO is absolutely true, you do only live once, but if you go buying a brand new truck when you’re this young, getting yourself under car payments, instead of doing things like maxing out your 401(k), then you have learned irresponsible habits at an early age and you will either have work until you drop dead or be eating dog food when you’re older.

Your daughter is still living at home, you still have influence over foolish decisions like this one.

If it is true that the car is unreliable, then step up to a $10,000 reliable car that she can pay off in a year.

Do not let her make this mistake.
 
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All the people thinking she should buy a $25,000-$30,000 vehicle, you do realize that is about what she takes home annually, right? If someone made $100,000 and said they wanted to buy $80,000 vehicle, would you think that is a smart financial decision?

You should not have 100% of the value of your annual take-home pay tied up in a vehicle. That is a surefire recipe for being broke.
 
If it is true that the car is unreliable, then step up to a $10,000 reliable car that she can pay off in a year.

Do not let her make this mistake.
People will often use needing an another vehicle (which I think she clearly does) as an excuse to substantially upgrade in vehicle and take on debt to do so.

Had this vehicle not needed repairs she would still be driving a couple thousand dollar car. But now all of a sudden she “needs” a $30,000 truck. Riiiiiight.
 
Tons of common sense advice, thank you. The biggest thing is that she wants to haul hay with the truck. I said lets get a small trailer and hitch. She already owns two horses (money pits) that are kept nearby with no stable fee. She maintains a third horse there and works for an equine vet. She sees these $100,000 plus rigs pull in and out of where she works everyday and thinks she needs a truck and horse trailer. We got her off of the horse trailer and full size pickup idea.

I told her the same thing, lets get a smaller cheaper newer vehicle and later on when you become established you can buy what you can afford comfortably.

I definitely see getting an almost new truck as enabling and spoiling. She doesn't need a truck. One of her friends brings hay every few weeks and the vet has multiple vehicles and trailers if she needs to haul her horse.

I don't feel the need to finance or subsidize any of this as she has a free roof, food, college tuition all paid for, and we gave her the Hyundai she no longer wants now.
 
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