Grandparents...gone nuts...BMW Z3 2.5 convertable!
Lets just say I am light headed and a bit naucious. I have been trying to get an idea of what I MIGHT get for the oldest child of mine when the time comes. My parents have decided that a "fun" thing for her to have would be the bright YELLOW sportscar that has been my mother's "second" car for the past year. This is a 5 speed....itty bitty....death trap.
Bright YELLOW, convertable, 5 speed, two seater, BMW Z3 2.5 liter (whatever THAT means...never got the whole liter thing down.)
I am just sick thinking about this. Looking at her sitting in it makes my tummy swim. She is a long way off from being out on the road....but WOW is this SO not anything I had in mind!!!!
Bright YELLOW, convertable, 5 speed, two seater, BMW Z3 2.5 liter (whatever THAT means...never got the whole liter thing down.)
I am just sick thinking about this. Looking at her sitting in it makes my tummy swim. She is a long way off from being out on the road....but WOW is this SO not anything I had in mind!!!!
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let her pay her own insurance. that should get a message across. I would also have the agent quote her with 1 ticket, and 1 accident so that she can see what will happen if she is not safe.
I drove a nice car too, and it did have one upside. My Father made it very clear that if I got any kind of alcohol related ticket the car would have been gone forever. After putting my life's savings on it, it was just too big of a risk to lose my car(at that age who worries about life anyway?).
Ben0 -
If you go through with this, Here's my $.02:
A better car makes for a better driver in many ways - she will have a REALLY good-handling car, the brakes will be among the very best, and a newer car is less trouble.
You need her to go to a driving school - "Malibu Grand Prix" Franchises have a short course, where you rent their race cars, and they give you the (BARE) basics of driving hard, which also makes her better in traction limited situations like snow, water on the surface, sand and or gravel, or flat/low tires. The course is scoffed at by "real" racers, but it is sooo much better than any instruction she will have gotten in a regular "driver training course" like used to be offered by the public schools.
I took my only child, (a Daughter) to MGP, and ran her around the track in the two-seater, then had her take the driving course. She reported back to me a few years later that she was able to see bad driving on the part of a few of her dates, and made them either let her out, or she got them to be more sane - they were unable to impress her with their supposed driving skills.
Plan on her first car getting pranged - first cars always do...The BMW will cost more to fix, and insure.
I wish it was available when my daughter was learning, I would have insisted on it being on my Daughter's car: they have a device that will give you GPS track, with time and date stamp, for her car. It will record speed and direction also. my girl never had any bad experiences, but not knowing going in, I would have insisted anyway.
I made it ABUNDANTLY clear that the first car was from me, to her, and if it was wrecked/totalled, and she was "At Fault", nothing more was forthcoming from me. I also made it understood that if grades went down, or tickets were issued, she would lose the vehicle, permanently - it would be sold. She did get hit twice during the four years she lived here and drove, but neither were her fault.
I was LUCKY to survive the wreck of my Father's Fiat Convertible at the bottom of Tecolote Canyon, in San Diego - I Insist on a full Roll Bar on any Convertible I own as a result - it is a little unsightly, but it will be on any convertible I own since that event.
Finally, I told my Daughter that if I ever saw, or heard from a credible source (all my adult friends) that she had been spotted with someone else driving her car, she would lose it. She never, to my knowledge violated any of the terms of our agreement.
Maybe you can find something here you can use on your Daughter's situation. Good Luck. It is a beginning of the really exciting/scary part of "splitting up" that happens when they are about to leave the nest - Bittersweet. Decide what you must insist on, and don't back down - your experiences are what guide your choices - YOU ARE RIGHT - Tough Love is the best kind.
Regards,
Big Ugly Guy0 -
That is a rather nice car for a teenager. Don't know if I'd let my daughter have it, but everyone is different. I'd at least make her pay the insurance on it. It will not be cheap. Let her get an idea of earning something. Just my .02. 0 -
I have to admit....I had a total of three hours of sleep last nite thinking about her in that car. I let her spend the nite with my parents and they came by the store today. MY FATHER WAS ACTUALLY DRIVING IT!!!! He never ever drives that thing....he says you can feel every bump in the road and it KILLS his arthritis to ride in it. She looked happy....giddy almost....well, more like a jittery caffiene high while in a daze look. I don't know if my tummy can take this. 0 -
one little word will help........
NO0 -
I'd have to agree with spaniel personally. My kids can get which ever care they can afford to buy and maintain. Even if they buy their own car, any slip up in school and say goodbye to that car. I'll help them with the important things like college, but a car is just fluff for a kid in my opinion. 0 -
call you insurance comapny , when you find out how much its going to cost to insure her in a car like that , it should make up your mind for you 0 -
quote:let her pay her own insurance. that should get a message across. I would also have the agent quote her with 1 ticket, and 1 accident so that she can see what will happen if she is not safe.
I tend to agree with this. Also let her know what the deductable is and that she will be responsible for that if she is the cause of an accident.
And NO CELL PHONE while driving.0 -
Be sure to let us know what you decide ... and what the insurance is! 0 -
LF, if you've seen a brand new 2002 Accord with the top crushed down to the seats and a 24 year old girl in a HALO, you would know what to do. Unfortunately, I have and I didn't.[|)] 0 -
You and ur kid live only once...I think its great!!!! Nice convo piece for her future...I have a daughter and if good ole mom want to hook her up with a ride like that let it roll...enjoy her happiness...Thats what i say[:p] 0 -
Right now I am just....sick. Its the whole panic, mad, confused, shocked, and speechless thing with me right now. I really don't know what all of this will lead to. She has her little teeny heart set on it and my parents have gotten her all excited. I don't know where to even begin.
I don't want her to get hurt...but if she gets ANY car there is a chance of that.
I want her to earn what she gets....but living a hour out of the city and having no way of making money locally she will HAVE to have the car first.
Its a free BMW....who on earth turns down a FREE BMW?
She is certain to be grounded for 5 out of 7 days anyway....so she won't get to drive it much if you take that into account.
BOY could I get some things done with a mobile babysitter....brother's football practice...groceries...errands....hmmmmm.0
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