tell me why my son shouldn't buy this car.

So my son is flush with money for the first time and instead of the small, fun sort of car or truck that I want him to buy, he's looking at used Hyundai Genesis - circa 2017, circa $17,000. I tell him that they are great cars, but....

-More expensive stuff to break

-Higher insurance rates

-It's a big car and we live in the city, so he's likely to scrape the thing up, being pretty new to driving

-His co-workers are likely to resent this sort of luxury in a guy low on the totem pole. Hell, I'm going to resent him given that he still lives with us!

Please help me out here. 

Debt. Debt at that age,  in that amount,  is crippling. Or it was for me. No freedom to change career, living area, etc. A cheap beater and a stuffed bank account at 19 would be amazing. Or, again,  would have been for me. 

I'm 49 and can't realistically picture spending more than around $8K in a car.  It's really nice to have no payments, insurance is lower since the cars are cheaper, used cars are just better than they used to be.

Buy a car for cash, make payments to yourself so you have  a nice nest egg that allows you to buy the next car for cash.  Invest early.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm 49 and can't realistically picture spending more than around $8K in a car.  It's really nice to have no payments, insurance is lower since the cars are cheaper, used cars are just better than they used to be.

Buy a car for cash, make payments to yourself so you have  a nice nest egg that allows you to buy the next car for cash.  Invest early.

This. As someone who avoided having a car payment until I was almost 30, and have now spent my 30s paying on one thing or another.........I wish I had just kept playing with stuff that was cheaper. 

Of course, the E30s I used to play with are all now much more valuable then when I was messing with them.

It's newish, safe, reliable, comfortable, stylish, not expensive, gets ok but not terrible fuel economy, and somebody else already took the big depreciation hit...He could do a LOT worse.

Have you checked the insurance rates? What cars are you comparing it against? For equal coverage, cheaper cars are necessarily significantly (if any) cheaper to insure.

that is similar era Avalon Hybrid money which is a vastly superior car

He is his own man, and should buy what he wants to own. Offer your wisdom, and then step back.

I don't like Hyundais.

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

, I'm going to resent him given that he still lives with us!

Please help me out here. 

Seems like he should be saving his monies to move out and get his own place before spending anywhere near that kind of money on a car. 

I'll adopt him if need be.... There are a lot worse options he could go for. 2017 will still have warranty on it as long as its under 50k miles. They're durable platforms. If it's affordable luxury he's hitting the nail on the head. 

In reply to newrider3 :

He can move out, drive a rat infested beater then work three jobs to help his roommates make the landlord rich, or he can live at home until he is 50, drive cool cars, ski in Colorado and live a better quality life.  

Savings accounts pay 1.2% if there is anything left in there after fixing his beater. 

No farking way should a kid (presumably under 18) be driving a car worth that much. Just no. For all the reasons posted above. 

Try playing it this way: What would he rather have: 

• A Genesis now worth $17k, for 3 years, and have it be worth only $10k when he sells it? 
• A 2002 Lexus GS430 for $7k, sell it in a year for $6.5k, followed by a $4K Miata that he probably doesn't even lose money on, followed by a $5k Pickup he probably doesn't lose money on, and at the end of the 3 years he still has $11k and a vehicle worth $5k and 3 years more life experience?
• $5k Miata and a $5k GS430, at the same time?

And I'm putting Miata here just as an example, there are so many cars that are fun and at the bottom of the depreciation curve/on the upswing like the NA/NB Miata is - MR2, E36, probably E43, etc. Genesis is going to drop like a rock. And he's probably going to crash it at some point. 

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

Debt. Debt at that age,  in that amount,  is crippling. Or it was for me. No freedom to change career, living area, etc. A cheap beater and a stuffed bank account at 19 would be amazing. Or, again,  would have been for me. 

People are different. While you and I enjoyed cars most people see them as transportation modules, nothing more. 
You have to respect that viewpoint. Let him learn the hard way what car ownership costs. If you try to force him to live his life the way you did he'll resent you and make more and bigger mistakes. 

I'm just glad non of you guys were my dad. 
 

just offer your advice and guidance. My son wants to make a similar, but less wise purchase. I reminded him of his goal to move out and asked how this purchase would impact his goal. He came to his own decision. 

In all honesty, this would be the better buy:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/816866226/overview/

120k miles, $8k. All the doodads and goodies. half the price

newrider3 said:

Seems like he should be saving his monies to move out and get his own place before spending anywhere near that kind of money on a car. 

Saving enough money (and having enough income) to be able to move out is not mutually exclusive from being able to afford a sub-$20k daily driver.

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

Debt. Debt at that age,  in that amount,  is crippling. Or it was for me. No freedom to change career, living area, etc. A cheap beater and a stuffed bank account at 19 would be amazing. Or, again,  would have been for me. 

I don't know. I have friends who borrowed $100,000 in student loans to go to medical school in their 20s, then made enough money afterwards to pay off the loan and drive Ferraris and Lamborghinis the rest of their lives. 

Hard no, debt is a terrible idea especially on something that will depreciate hard as that thing will. 

are you able to bring a car from Phoenix into Cali?  Because it looks like the market is inflated around Oakland for these cars.

I'd dig around for a 2013-2015 instead, closer to $12k... assuming you can't shake them from a 3.8 Genesis Coupe

It's hard to tell your son to buy that '72 Ford van with the shag carpeting but if it's true what the current owner says he might appreciate you pushing him that way.   

Then again maybe not.   

In reply to Snowdoggie :

Not equivalent, that's investing in yourself and learning a skill that will offer great returns. This car will never be worth more than what it costs now.

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

...  I'm going to resent him given that he still lives with us!

Please help me out here. 

Are you charging him rent?

If not and you are feeling like you are subsidizing a luxury car purchase, then start start charging him rent. There is no shame, if he is doing well, in asking for him to be an adult and contribute more financially.

johndej said:

In reply to Snowdoggie :

Not equivalent, that's investing in yourself and learning a skill that will offer great returns. This car will never be worth more than what it costs now.

I'm just saying that debt isn't always bad. In fact there are cases where borrowing for a car is better than buying a crappy car and dumping lots of money in repairs on it. 

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

-His co-workers are likely to resent this sort of luxury in a guy low on the totem pole. Hell, I'm going to resent him given that he still lives with us!

This is never a reason not to do it get something. What people feel about me is not my business. 

Other than that, I agree with Frenchy here. 

Also, 2017 Genesis for 17k? They depreciate that far? 

yupididit said:

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

-His co-workers are likely to resent this sort of luxury in a guy low on the totem pole. Hell, I'm going to resent him given that he still lives with us!

This is never a reason not to do it get something. What people feel about me is not my business. 

 

Other than that, I agree with Frenchy here. 

 

Also, 2017 Genesis for 17k? They depreciate that far? 

Also if their idea of enviable luxury is a 3 year old hyundai bought for pennies on the dollar...maybe some resentment would do them good.

But anyway...different people have different priorities and all that. I understand where the "debt is the enemy" mindset comes from, but you have to understand that not everyone has the same priorities as you. Some people like having nice (or at least seemingly nice) things, or value warranties and low-ish mile cars, etc. Maybe it ends up being a bad choice, but at least he learns it now while the stakes are relatively low and gets some life experience out of it.

If you want him to focus on moving out or something...maybe push that. But otherwise, lay out the options and pros and cons of each, and let him make his own, relatively informed decision.

Either people know a lot more about this kid than I do, or are simply making a lot more assumptions and jumping to a lot more conclusions. Nowhere near enough information has been presented here about this kid to actually make an informed opinion on just how 'poor' of a life choice such a car would (or would not) be in this particular situation.