Help your teen with their first car…

Learning to drive for the first time can be an exhilarating experience. Most young drivers are keen to gain the freedom from public transport, or relying on you for rides everywhere.

Most parents are often happy to move out of being used as a taxi service, and know it’s a great experience for their children to start experiencing mature freedom on their own.

Helping your teen or child who has just qualified with the process of purchasing a vehicle is a great thing to do, provided you do it well.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways to make this process less-than-ideal. Your child deserves to learn the ropes in an experienced, appreciative manner, and searching for the vehicle must be an activity undertaken with forethought.

Of course, drilling into them road safety and the strength to implement vehicle rules when driving with tier friends is essential, but so is the act of finding the vehicle itself. With our advice, you should have no problems at all.

Go for value

No child needs an excellent car for their first time vehicle. A newly qualified driver only requires something functional. Of course, you might wish to avoid purchasing something with aggressive decals, such as a converted clown car or something silly, but overall, find function over form.

Use reputable used car dealers to ensure you can find that which you want, and to find the best deal overall. Understand what you’re looking for. Look for how reliable the model is known to be, what the insurance premiums might be, the expected tire replacements, or how many miles it can do to the gallon.

No new driver needs a flash car, but one that is safe and can get them from A to B.

Have them contribute

Have your child contribute in some way to the expenses. Helping them buy the car might be a gift from you, but paying for the tax and insurances might be their contribution.

Alternatively, you might help them upfront with their car costs, only to ask them to pay it off over the coming months. Have them contribute to the overall worth of the car, because if they haven’t had to pay a penny, then they don’t know its real value.

Repair work should also be their responsibility to a point, especially if it’s a result of their ill-driving.

Set guidelines

Set rules and guidelines, such as a curfew for when they need to be home despite having the car. Ensure that they set ground rules in the vehicle for when their friends ride with them, to avoid the potential for a friend misbehaving and putting them off their focus.

When you set mature guidelines, you let them know there is a standard to follow, and that helping them purchase a vehicle isn’t anything like purchasing a games console. It is not a toy, but a life implement to be respected.

With these tips, helping your teen with their first car is sure to be a great decision.

** This is a collaborative post