fastball

My parents are in good shape finacially. Not filthy rich, but they don't want for anything. They could have bought me a very nice car for my first when I was a teenager.... but what did I get instead? My stepdad's 1985 Buick Regal Limited. I got it in 1997, so it was 12 years old. Rusted. Leaked oil and gas. Had the infamous sagging headliner of every 1980's GM vehicle after a few years of sitting in the elements. Had a 2 bbl carb'd 231 cu. in. iron V6 and a 3 speed automatic. 131,000 miles. It was black and had maroon velour interior. The pain was faded and cracking, the engine stalled at a red light when the A/C was on if you didn't put it in neutral and keep your foot on the gas, and it got oh about 15-17 mpg.

I still look back on that car with fond memories. I washed it, changed the oil regularly, and kept it cleaner than my stepdad did. I was proud of that car. You bet I wanted a nicer car after a while, and my parents instilled the work ethic into me that still stands today, that if I wanted a nicer car, I was going to have to work for it. Whether through college or trade school, and throughout my carreer, I would have to work hard to get a nice car. Or a house, or stereo equipment, or for that matter, a nice wife (lets face it guys, our significant others would not be our significant others if we sat home and drank beer all day )

I don't have as much a problem with the kids who get these nice cars as I do with their parents. Yes, it would be nice to have the security of knowing you child is driving a very safe, very reliable vehicle. But they don't have to be Lexuses. You can get your kid a nice new Camry 4 cylinder and it will be just as safe and reliable. And you can save the 20 grand difference toward a boat.

It's not the fact they have money that I'm envious of. I'm not even envious. Congrats to them if they are well of. Chances are they deserve it. But the point I'm making is you do your child a disservice by spoiling them. Parents buying kids fast, hot new cars does not instill any sense of responsability into them. If you want your kids to grow up and be self sufficient, supportive of their own family, and successfull, productive people, they need to learn that life isn't free and you must work hard for anything you want.

No matter how much you love them, don't spoil them.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Hate. The lamest, most frequently misused word on the Internet. This is hate (maybe NSFW). I haven't read anything in this thread I would call hate.

Consider that, at some point, someone had to work to earn that money. Maybe pretty hard. Maybe had to sacrifice, take extraordinary risks, and even suffer some serious setbacks. Subsequent generations need not work so hard because someone had the foresight to create a self-perpetuating condition of wealth. Children raised under these circumstances don't understand that 95% of the world has to work long and hard to just feed, clothe, and house themselves. So when the 95% sees the 5% showing little or no appreciation for the effort someone made to give them a leg up in life, they get annoyed at their apparent arrogance.

Sure, what you do with your money is your business. But even Warren Buffett has some pretty strong ideas about inheritance, privilege, and self-worth based on real achievement, not just holding a pulse. It would seem there are some who don't share his view.

In this kid's case, it appears he didn't appreciate the time and effort it took to generate the wealth necessary to pay for the car he totalled. It's not hate. It's disgust.

Julez

Those 5% are the ones paying for all these social programs in America, so if the parent has extra dough, let him/her blow on his/her kid, he's already done more than his share. Just because someone doesn't appreciate a car also means they don't appreciate anything in life, that they are arrogant, ignorant and are in need of saving and going to be a complete failure in life? They drive a car worth more than people make in a year at a young age and didn't pay for it, big deal. Seems people get more annoyed at a wrecked teenage car than they do when a drunk driver does the same thing.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I'd seriously beg to differ. A drunk driver of any age pays dearly in California. Very dearly. Ever try to get insurance after a DUI? Good luck with that, it's really going to cost a LOT of money. This kid's insurance will no doubt go up, but not like someone with a DUI. No way. He won't lose his license for rolling the car. He won't lose his job (some jobs require you be "insurable" and you are not after a DUI.) DUI is a landmine that maims anyone convicted of the crime because of all the potential outcomes of driving intoxicated. This situation bears no resemblance to DUI.

sirkfc

I'm going to be a little controversial and say that I almost would agree with you, that a drunk driver would have more of an excuse for himself than a reckless driver.

In driving drunk, you are actually physically impaired. There's a physical reason why you can't drive straight and you run into things. A teenager doing a turn at 85 in a 35 area is doing so lucidly, with full control over his body and decisions.

Yes, it's irresponsible to go drinking without figuring out a safe way to get home, but once you are drunk, your judgement is impaired. Your control by that point is gone. A teenager driving recklessly is equivalent to a person planning in advance to get wasted and drive immediately afterwards.

inecstaz

thats amazing they survived and walked away... its nice to know our car is safe

Julez

You play into my point a little bit. It's not that the law punishes drunks less severe than teenagers, because DUIs should have more severe consequences compared to a teenager who recks a car, but the fact is that Drunks are more dangerous and common place than a kid with a lexus/bmw. Yet, when one kid flips his BMW, it's heard all over and everyone seems to post about it, bash the kid, etc., yet drunk drivers kill people everyday and I rarely hear people complain about that on any board. Maybe the occasional post, but the ratio of dui recks to rick kid recks is probably 25:1 probably higher and I seem to hear more about rich kids and how irresponsible they are more than I do about drunks.

sirkfc

That's because nobody comes on this forum and admits they got busted for a DUI. And if they did, they wouldn't have an attitude about it.

But in my few months here on this board, I've seen "young adults" come on almost bragging about how they totaled their car and it's no big deal. They would proceed and talk about how insanely fast they took their cars when they got it. (not always in the same post). And, they always call anybody who criticizes their attitude haters, jealous, etc.

That's why I think the teenagers get a beatdown here more than the DUIs. The DUIs in general are too ashamed to be on here and would be contrite (I think). The younger generation here always seem to make a point to the board of their age and their car, as if they were trying to signal something... That's what gets people started on talking about humility, hard work, etc.

Drelicious

Eyy im 18 i have an IS350 and no tickets no scratches no nothing. knock on wood im not going to get anything.

P.S. My dad only made a down payment on the car the rest is all mine to whine about.

sirkfc

How much of a down payment? 40K? :P j/k.

Cleric

Well, all I can say is if I was 18 again (I really wish it sometimes) and my parents wanted to buy me an IS350 I would have probably said, "Hell yeah!". Now I can tell you that I would have definately appreciated it. I would have felt very lucky and fortunate to say the least. However, I can also tell you when I was 18 I did not exercise good judgement like I do today. I would have probably done some very stupid and risky things if I had an IS350 when I was 18 but that no way means I would not have appreciate it.

I think it all comes down to poor judgment on behalf of the 18 yr old driver and his parents because as adults I'd like to think his parents did stop to think about what they were actually buying for someone who has only been on this planet for 18 years. One thing I can say at their defense is at least they bought their child a relatively safe car to drive and sometimes safety is worth almost any price.

neova

Everyone who works pays income taxes that contributes to the government's spending on social programs. You will find it ironic that those 5% of the weathiest folks usually hide their money in off shore assets and swiss banks accounts, and it's us ordinary folks who pays for America's social programs.

No one ever said that. However, few of us would find it hard to believe that an undeserving 17 year old with no sense of value for a $40K car would be losing sleep over working hard for his future. He will likely get a free house and inherit his parents estate in due course. The probability of him suddenly becoming responsible and develop a respect for hard work is highly unlikely.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

man that sucks. too bad the kids werent hurt. if you are that dumb to take a turn at 85 in a 35 and you dont know how to handle your car, you deserve whats coming to you. Why does it seem like every post turns into a rich/poor young/ old blah blah ?

warrionex

Dudes, you guys don't understand mathematics. The problem here was the car, yes the IS, that couldn't handled the curve @ 85 mph. He is going to convice his parents to get him a better car. In less than a month he will probably have a brand new Porsche to deal with speed situation.

15951

Posts like these make me wish luxury cars were 90 hp and took at least 10 seconds to get to 60. That way parents with a skewed sense of reality could still buy their kid a $40k+ car without endangering the lives of the rest of us on the road.

It's true that an idiot behind the wheel of any car can find a way to kill themselves, but it's like providing a machine gun and stating that a pellet rifle could have caused the same result. Logical fallacy.