I leased my kids their first cars because I remember what I did to mine and it is a good thing I did ... at that age they kill their cars.

My sons first car was a 2015 A3 which was a nice safe car ... safety is key for the kids so check the safety ratings. My son got rear ended by a van and I'm pretty sure the driver was texting and driving, thank goodness this car was safe because the car took the hit with no damage to the passengers compartment.

My daughters first car was the 2017 A4 and again got SLAMMED into by a HUGE pickup with 3 other 17 yr olds girls in the car and again no damage to the passengers compartment. That truck totaled her car and I ended up getting her the same car because I felt it was a very safe car.

My partner gets his kids the Kia optima and does a 3 yr lease, they are safe they have a lot of cool options and heck they are in the $200 range per month.

Dan, safety is key, these kids are going to do their best to drive them safely but we need to make sure if something happens they are in a very safe car. Nothing is scarier then when you get that call ... DAD I HAD AN ACCIDENT !!!

Unfortunately I've had that call too many times and my heart beats so fast !!!

Sort of off topic, but how does insurance handle a totaled lease? Do they pay out the residual + remaining lease payments?

The deal I had with each of my 4 was that when they turned 16, I'd match whatever they had saved towards a car. My parents ended up jumping in and matching the same amount, so they effectively had to save 1/3 of what they would end up spending. I paid for their insurance, but if they wanted a car they better start saving their xmas and bday money and save something from their summer jobs. My average kid maybe had saved $1500 so they weren't getting anything special, although my one practical son ended up with almost 5K, so we ended up putting a cap on how much he could spend (and we would contribute).

I had a friend whose family owned the little local Ford dealership and he'd go to the auction in Mannheim PA with their budget and call with what he thought were good buys and bid on them for us. My oldest son turned 16 in 2001 and he bought a '95 Civic with 120K miles on it from that auction. He drove it for over 11 years before it finally died on him.

While my grandchildren aren't yet old enough to start saving money, my bet is that my kids will do it the same way with theirs.

Alex

AF, your choice is to spend money to make it safer. I couldn't have afforded to do that if I wanted to. I got those calls on all 4 kids, and thankfully none resulted in any significant injuries, but for me there were other ways to mitigate the risks.

Having said that, I was buying used cars from a different era. If you were buying a 5 year old hyundai today vs a new audi, how much of a safety difference is there really?

Alex

Car has a payoff and ACV so no different in that regard than a loan. Only difference is that you’re most likely under water on a lease if it is a car w/ aggressive residual. Gap insurance would pick up the difference if you have it. Some companies include in their leases automatically (BMW) but some might not.

In NY gap insurance is a part of the lease so with the 2017 A4 it was covered completely though I lost out on the $3k I had put up front for taxes and stuff but was happy that we didn’t get that car back ...t he damage was just downright scary.

:lol: LOL! Aside from that...

We had a plan for my oldest daughter who is 16 and can get her license in September. She was going to help me get the 91 Miata running thinking that she would get the car if she did. We were actually going to give her the twice wrecked 2013 Outback my wife has been driving for 5 years and has put 110k+ miles on, while buying my wife a new car. But now, we're not sure.

Among other things, my daughter has not been as assertive as we'd like in putting in practice hours and that's making us a little less enthusiastic. She has put in some time towards getting the Miata running, but the one thing I knew it needed was far from all the things it turns out it needs. I don't want to put the money into that car, so, as far as I'm concerned she put in the effort there.

My wife is also waffling on whether she wants a new car. If she doesn't, I think I'll look for something safeish, cheap and reasonably reliable to share with my daughter. I have something in a self interest in acquiring something I can drive in winter weather and also serve as a second family car. The Outback would be perfect for this, but if my wife doesn't want a new car for herself, :dunno:

I have two kids at driving age, but buying them cars isn't high on my priority list.

My oldest leaves for college in 3 weeks, and she'll be living on campus. Maintaining + insuring + parking a car is also dead last on her priority list. She's never been enthusiastic about driving, anyhow.

My son will be in the same boat in 2 years. He does enjoy driving, but will get by fine without having his own set of wheels.

No jobs they have to drive to/from?

We rode these a couple of weeks ago in Asheville. They were surprisingly fun and fast: https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/