Spoiled Teens drive expensive cars!

[mechtech]

I went to a large High School [over 4,000], 30 years ago. A very nice town.
If anyone had a car, they bought it themselves, usually worked on it, and most walked. Some kid's parents would let them use the family car here and there, but not to school.
At the same school now, the kids drive better cars than you'll see in the average parking lot. Cadillac SUVs, Corvettes, Mustangs, new convertables, etc...
Something just isn't right with this.

 

[Quattro Pete]

IMO, it's just a waste of a nice car. If it's the kid's first car, there's a pretty good chance it'll get ruined fast, either banged up or crashed or even totalled. There are very few drivers who learn how to drive without ever getting into an accident. That's why, while you learn, it doesn't make sense to get anything new or fancy.

But then again, a car is a symbol status, and not just in the US. People like to show off, especially if they can afford it. In the past, it used to be displayed through nice clothes, shoes, etc. Now it's cars, I guess.

My parents gave me $1K USD when I started college in the US. I bought an 8-year-old Ford Escort with it and I was extremely happy to have it until I earned enough of my own money to buy something better.

Now my sister started college, and my dad is buying here a brand new Civic. It's nothing fancy, but I still think it's a waste of a perfectly good car. She just learned how to drive and with the way she drives, this car will be in pieces before long.

 

[andrews]

In the U.S., the car culture is as huge as ever. And when it comes to teenagers, status is everything. What's a good way for a teen to achieve instant status? A new car or a hot-rod. Most parents in this country don't have a clue what their kids are doing, but giving them a new or expensive car provides many with a false sense of "loving" their child. Suddenly, at least for five minutes, the teen is as happy and thankful as can be. But, soon, the teen usually ends up not giving a darn and will begin to abuse the vehicle. I've seen this happen many times. Why would this happen? Because idiot parents GAVE them a car, so why should they care for it properly? Instead of earning it with a job or other such goals, the spoiled kid see's the car as though it's about as valuable as a pair of jeans. It's really a shame but in such an affluent country, parents need to take EXTRA care not to spoil their kids like this, but they don't! The price we'll all pay is a lesser society of low ideals and a warped sense of what's important in life.
Oh well, and so it goes!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

At many schools, uniforms are used to keep kids from worrying about fashion statements and concentrated on the more important topics on hand.

I vote for "uniforms for cars" where everyone has to have the same car and the same color. Back in the early 1900's this wouldn't have been much a problem as "black" was the only color. With rental fleets dumping low-end family sedans every day, it should be possible to procure a few hundred Taurus SE's, white, with gray cloth interior and a cassette(LOL) player. This way the kids can concentrate on the more important topics at hand...

 

[andrews]

Funny! I say that we just specify that you can't get a drivers license until your GPA is above 3.0. If not, you should have to wait till after graduation. If you don't graduate or you drop out, no license until you're 18 1/2 years old. This way you could at least help solve the spoiled kid syndrome by making them have to get good grades.
Thank God I'm not in power, eh?!

 

[TooManyWheels]

What is missing to the kids, as many of you have alluded to, is a sense of perspective.

I saw this most clearly with a woman I used to work with. She and her husband were of humble origins but had worked hard, gotten some inheritance, been lucky in a few ways and ended up fairly well off. So they gave a lot to their two college age daughters. Instead of recognizing the sacrifice that went into the giving, and their pure luck at receiving it, the kids perspective was that what they received was just what they were owed, and why didn't Mom/Dad give them more so they could keep up the richest in their new social class. No perspective on how lucky they were to have those parents, or how far the parents had come.

In my opinion, if the parents have money they should do their best to keep it hidden until the kids start paying their own way.