On the fence on keeping 3rd car for teens

[3andme]

We currently have two cars but need to get a new car with AWD. I've been researching the trade in values and they are pretty low relative to the utility of the car.  I have three sons (14 soon, 12, 9) and I'm trying to figure out if it's worth keeping the car (a minivan - trade in about 8K) for a few years until it can be used by my oldest son. DH just retired and I'm a SAHM so we have a lot of flexibility in scheduling and driving so Dh doesn't think we'll need a third car since we could chauffeur or let ds borrow the car. We generally don't need to drive long distances for activities. We could afford it to keep the car but DH thinks it's superfluous. I just hate to trade in a perfectly good minivan now and then just end up purchasing some smaller less reliable car for more in a few years. Anyway, I can't seem to sort this one out and would appreciate any insight from others.

 

 

 

 

 

[Amira]

Two years seems like a long time to me to keep a car around.  You'd need to drive it regularly, keep it registered and whatever else your state requires, maintain it, and it would lose value over the two years you don't need it.  Also, I think a smaller car is easier for a new driver.  I think I wouldn't keep it for that long- maybe a few months, but not two years.  But I get rid of almost everything, so I might look at it differently than you do.

[Guest]

We kept a car for several years in anticipation of teen drivers. We took the tags off for the interim. In our family, it was the opposite; i thought it was superfluous and DH wanted to keep it. But now I'm glad we kept it. The car, though old, has a lot of life remaining and is really quite ideal for teen drivers.

[catz]

I wouldn't because then you would need to insure and keep 3 cars in good working order for at least 2+ years until the first kid could use it.  The car will be 7+ years older when your youngest could start driving it.  I'd maybe consider it if the 3rd car were still under warranty for a while yet.  But otherwise I couldn't justify that expense. 

 

I personally think of independent driving as a baby step process though.  I wouldn't let a newly licensed 16 year old free range wherever in a 3rd vehicle. 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Having recently been through the same thing (we have 4 cars: two very old Subarus ('92 and '97), one Honda minivan ('07), and a VW ("10), I concur that the next two years will pass *very* quickly.  However, both of my teen drivers *hate* to drive the minivan.  It is big and hard to park, the visibility is poor for changing lanes and backing up, and -- it's a minivan).  I wouldn't keep the van if it is going to be primarily for the teen to drive.  I'd only keep it if it would be useful for road trips, groceries, carting many kids around, that sort of thing.

[Okra]

Well, I would keep it.  Older cars are great for teens.

 

BUT, I do know that there are teens out there that would rather not have a car then drive a mini-van.  So, if you decide to keep it, make certain that you run it by him and see if he will be actually driving it.  I had a friend that chose not to drive instead of drive the family van.  (Personally, that's crazy to me, as when I was a teen, any car was a good car.)

 

It does sound like people are split on the issue.

 

 

[mom31257]

If you have 3 cars, you have to put a teen driver on the oldest as the primary driver. It's a lot more expensive insurance than putting a teen on as an occasional driver. 

 

A friend pays over $700 every 6 months for their teen son to be the primary driver on a truck that is 20+ years old. 

[Tap]

Sell the minivan and tuck the money away for a car when he is ready.  It will continue to depreciate over the next two years.  It will be worth less by then, even if you aren't driving it.  You will also be paying for car insurance on a third car.  Adding the depreciation and insurance together completely offsets any value the van will loose by trading it in/reselling it. That way it is out of the driveway and when you are looking for a vehicle appropriate for him, it will be with a teen driver in mind, not a mom with kids.

[PrincessMommy]

You can call your insurance about having the car kept only in storage and I think the insurance will go down until you need to use it regularly. 

 

We love having an extra car for our teen drivers to use... however, I'm not sure I'd keep one around for 2-3yrs until they started using it.  But, I think you will end up wanting one eventually.

[cjzimmer1]

If you have 3 cars, you have to put a teen driver on the oldest as the primary driver. It's a lot more expensive insurance than putting a teen on as an occasional driver. 

 

A friend pays over $700 every 6 months for their teen son to be the primary driver on a truck that is 20+ years old. 

 

With our insurance company it's actually more expensive to have the teen as an occasional driver than as a primary driver on the older vehicle.  For us, our newer vehicle is a 2012 and even though teen would be listed as occasional, the insurance company will default to the newer vehicle as the vehicle he "occasionally" drives and that vehicle would be a lot more expensive for them to repair than our old 2003 minivan, hence the higher rate.  But I'm sure this kind of stuff varies widely due to state policies and individual insurance companies.

[Ali in OR]

In a similar situation we opted to keep the minivan. Dh drives a 24-year-old miata. The old minivan is a 2000 Honda Odyssey that we've always owned. We've had almost zero repair issues with this car--it's great. We needed to get a conversion van that could fit our dd's wheelchair--she got too heavy to keep transferring her into a car seat. So we got a 2012 Honda Odyssey that was converted to allow us to push her chair up a ramp in back. These conversion cars are expensive. Some friends who had purchased one a few years before us told us how they ended up getting a third car so they could keep the miles low on this one--they hope to never have to purchase one again. So we had several factors that made us want to keep the old minivan:

1) keep miles lower on the new van--we only drive it when disabled dd is in the car

2) Dh's miata can only carry one kid--if he needs to take two while I have the third, he'll drive the appropriate van for which kid(s) he has

3) Middle dd was only 12 when we got the new van, but now we're a month away from her getting a driver's permit and we know we have a safe, reliable car for her to learn to drive.

4) It wasn't hard on us financially. Insurance is pretty low for a 12 year old car.

5) Blue book was around $3k for this car. We decided it was worth far more to us.

[justasque]

We kept the minivan, and we're glad we did.  A minivan is big enough to fit an entire college dorm's worth of stuff - something you'll appreciate in a few years when your ds is able to move himself in and out of dorms.  (You will want to do it with him the first time, but that will wear off!)  It's a great first "car" - big and sturdy, old enough to take a dent or two without it being a major issue, capable of carrying stuff or people.

Talk to your insurance people - if the van is old enough you can probably change up the coverage.  Also discuss how to deal with it not being driven for two years.  

[Evergreen State Sue]

We ended up selling our extra car when we had 4 years before our oldest would have been old enough to drive.  Then, when the time came for needing another car, we wish we had the one we sold.  But 4 years was a long time.  As others have mentioned, our teens hate to drive the minivan - too big to park and see around for a new driver.  We just bought a used car for $5,000 - so if you can sell you car for $8,000, I agree with a previous poster to pocket the money and save up for when you are really going to need it. 

[texasmama]

In these circumstances, I would sell the van and buy another car in the future if you find the need.  I would like the cash in hand and with your situation, it might be 3-4 years before you really NEED another car.  That is a lot of insurance, upkeep, inspection fees, and registration fees you can save.  

[luuknam]

Sell it. You can get a good used car for under $8k. Heck, we got the Kia Rio for $9.5k NEW (thanks to some invisible hail damage and it being last year's model when we bought it). Also, gas for a minivan is going to cost more than for a itty bitty car.

[Annie G]

We would probably sell it, bank the money, and wait and see if a third car was needed in a few years. If it was, we'd probably buy something small that gets good mileage. 

[KatieJ]

We kept a car for several years but it was an old beater and not worth selling. It was as great teen car.

 

Check into storage insurance. It was cheap to keep it insured if we weren't using it. I don't recall if we kept up the plates or not.

 

However a mini van that was worth 6,000 today I might consider selling it and worry about the teen's car when it comes time to worry about it.

[FaithManor]

Having been through a horrific car accident and saved only because of airbags - front and side/curtain - and impressive engineering/crumple zones, I am a HUGE fan of putting new drivers in newer model cars despite the expense because older model cars are far more dangerous. It has nothing to do with weight and size and everything to do with the engineering and newer safety features.

 

We've recently disposed of two vehicles we were saving for our teens due to poor side impact safety ratings and will spend the extra for newer ones. Not new, new because we do not want to absorb the depreciation but definitely something less than 7 years old with a good insurance industry safety record. So I would be inclined to dump the vehicle and especially if it doesn't have air bags. But, that's just me. My comfort zone with older cars is not what it used to be.

[J-rap]

I'd probably sell it.  We kept our our minivan for our kids, and I knew they'd never get into trouble with it!  haha, I mean, you don't exactly look cool driving around in an old minivan.  I also felt pretty good about them driving it, since it was a big ol' car and solid.  Also, there were times when it was handy to have a minivan -- we could take out all the backseats and use it for moving.

 

But keeping it for 2-3 years until then?  Probably not.  We'd probably sell it, and wait and see if we needed another one.  We now finally have an AWD vehicle, which we probably should have had years ago given our winters.  Now that I have one, I think this is what I would have preferred our kids drive.

 

I will say that parallel parking is a breeze now for our kids...  every other car feels so much smaller and easier to park! 

[Mom22ns]

I would sell it and use the $8000 to buy a used small car with a good safety rating two years from now, or whenever you actually begin to need it.

 

I have two teens driving and we just added a fourth car because ds will take car 3 to college with him in the fall. I know and understand the need for a car for teen drivers. However, a minivan is far from the ideal car for them to learn in/use and 2 years seems like a long time to hold it, although I also know it will be here before you can believe it!

[Rebel Yell]

Well, I would keep it.  Older cars are great for teens.

 

BUT, I do know that there are teens out there that would rather not have a car then drive a mini-van.  So, if you decide to keep it, make certain that you run it by him and see if he will be actually driving it.  I had a friend that chose not to drive instead of drive the family van.  (Personally, that's crazy to me, as when I was a teen, any car was a good car.)

 

It does sound like people are split on the issue.

 

I would not keep it- in my state, they can;t get a permit until the actual 16th birthday, and can't test for license sooner than 6 months after they get their permit.

 

Regarding the comments (above and others) about teens not wanting to drive a mini-van...  I will say that Diamond does not liek to drive the van because it is harder to park and her height (same as mine) puts her in a lower-visibilty spot for changing lanes- it really is harder to see other cars. The van was great when she was the only one of her friend group who was 18, though- in my state, under-18 can't drive more than 1 non-sibling passenger- so she was able to drive the entire herd rather than have them all go all Noah's Ark, 2-by-2 in separate cars. :driving:

 

But more importantly, if the "cool factor" prevents them from driving a van, I most certainly will also not make them uncool by driving them anywhere in the mini-van. I have other kids and household responsibilities- if they refuse to drive themselves in an "uncool" car then they are welcome to pay me an hourly rate plus mileage and waiting time at activities/events to drive them. :cursing: Assuming the other "cool" car is available.

[scoutingmom]

Just a side note... my aunt had a car for her teens. There was a coil book that they each would have to write down mileage. They needed to pay an amount per mile that went towards insurance, repairs, etc. They had to fill the tank too.

 

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[Tsuga]

We currently have two cars but need to get a new car with AWD. I've been researching the trade in values and they are pretty low relative to the utility of the car.  I have three sons (14 soon, 12, 9) and I'm trying to figure out if it's worth keeping the car (a minivan - trade in about 8K) for a few years until it can be used by my oldest son. DH just retired and I'm a SAHM so we have a lot of flexibility in scheduling and driving so Dh doesn't think we'll need a third car since we could chauffeur or let ds borrow the car. We generally don't need to drive long distances for activities. We could afford it to keep the car but DH thinks it's superfluous. I just hate to trade in a perfectly good minivan now and then just end up purchasing some smaller less reliable car for more in a few years. Anyway, I can't seem to sort this one out and would appreciate any insight from others.

 

I asked my stepdaughter if she'd be interested in buying mine. If she has saved a reasonable amount towards that goal, and wants it, it's hers for a steep discount.

 

If she doesn't want it, and she said she wanted a different kind of car so she probably won't, why would I keep it?

 

Unless this is a "should I give a 16 year old an $8,000 gift that will put them in the most dangerous situation of their lives and cost them a ton of money in gas, or which will cost ME a ton of money in gas?" question.

 

In that case, I say heck no. Pocket the money, put it into the college fund, and make them buy their own darn car. If they can't find $3,000 to buy a 1995 Corolla then they really aren't responsible enough to drive a car.* No, for real. Lots of teens do it. I walked miles to work and back.

 

Sorry. You asked and I'm working class so that's my answer.

 

*NB. There is almost no car that you can buy nowadays which does not have airbags. Airbags, while helpful, are nothing compared to the kid not having a cell phone in her lap and not having friends in the vehicle.

[fairfarmhand]

I would either sell it myself or keep it.

 

You'll do better that way than trading it in.

 

I was really surprised at how handy that third vehicle is for a teen driver. But in our family, teens who drive must work. So, if she's at work, unless I want to get up and take her, the rest of the family is stuck at home.  Ditto for her activities.

 

We have 4 cars in our driveway, only 2 of which are working. (We've almost got one of the clunkers fixed...again) and it is a real pain to the rest of the family.  (We did have 3 working for awhile. It was awesome while it lasted)

 

My younger kids are sometimes resentful that their older sister's work/activities sometimes interfere with our, "Hey, let's go pick up so and so and head to the park" flexibility. 

 

Really, a teen driver does change the dynamic in the family. I really do like it, but it's just different. So while you can look at your 14 yo NOW and go....hmmm...I can't picture needing that 3rd car, I predict it might be a bit different in 2-3 years.

 

Also, your younger kids will be 2 yrs older with their own activities too, and they won't like being stranded at home.

 

(I say all this in the mindset that we live 20 minutes from most activities and no walking out here in the sticks to the store or anything. No neighborhood friends either.)

 

But older vehicles that are paid for are almost always more valuable to the owner than in a $$$ amount. IYKWIM

[MyThreeSons]

Having recently been through the same thing (we have 4 cars: two very old Subarus ('92 and '97), one Honda minivan ('07), and a VW ("10), I concur that the next two years will pass *very* quickly.  However, both of my teen drivers *hate* to drive the minivan.  It is big and hard to park, the visibility is poor for changing lanes and backing up, and -- it's a minivan).  I wouldn't keep the van if it is going to be primarily for the teen to drive.  I'd only keep it if it would be useful for road trips, groceries, carting many kids around, that sort of thing.

 

True, but there is also something to be said for a teen driving a minivan: he's much less likely to do foolish things in a minivan. No racing, no acting the fool to impress the girls, etc. 

[FriedClams]

I'd keep it. We have an old truck. DH wanted to keep it, I thought it wasteful and stupid for two adults to have three cars.

 

I have told him COUNTLESS times how right he was to keep it. Car issues (like my 3 week old car being rear ended and spending 9 weeks waiting for parts), hauling, friends with car issues, people visiting, etc. It's been invaluable. When my kids drive off with it in 5 years I won't replace it, but I'm so so so glad we kept it.