How can I dissuade 19 year old DS from taking out car finance?

noclaf

Old German cars certainly have an appeal so can understand why it's tempting for a young person. However when things go wrong on said older German cars the bills can be astronomical...if you are lucky they won't go wrong but electrical gremlins seem to be a particular weak point.
My turning point in life financially was when I lost my job at 30 and was out of work for most of a year...it was a wake up call to my spending habits too.
If I was earning £18k I would not be taking a loan for £4k...there is no science to its just my view. Though for transparency I also had to take a loan for my first car as had no money after uni but maybe I should of saved instead....anyway just providing my 2p based on hindsight and slightly sensible in older age!
To add, in his shoes I would buy a shed/banger for £1k and run it into the ground. No stret cred but a simple jap car or even a old Ford fiesta/focus petrol manual will be fine and cheap to maintain. I drive a clapped out 15 yrs old focus that is mechanically solid and has given me hardly any issues in 10 yrs of hard driving. It's no German chariot and may not appeal to the youth but cheap to run and does the job.

MovingForwards

It's his money, you can't stop him spending it on himself.

Just calmly say you cannot help him financially if anything happens.

Mojisola

onwards&upwards said:

If he defaults, debt collectors could knock but they have absolutely no powers to do anything other than ask for the money.  Don’t let them in.
If he gets as far as a CCJ then real bailiffs could show up, but again if you keep your doors locked they have no right to come into your home.  Most likely they would just repossess the car if that hadn’t already been done. 

Maureen - Does he really want to put you at risk of having to keep all your doors and windows locked so that bailiffs can't get into your house?

Would he mind if you have to argue with debt collectors that they have no rights to take items from the house because they are all yours when they will argue that he must have some things of value - phone, computer, etc? 

If one of ours was putting us at risk like this, I'd be suggesting they find a room to rent elsewhere and learn about realistically managing their money.

Savvy_Sue

As stated, he'd 19 and it's his money. 

I would suggest he looks at how long it would take him to save £4000. My thinking is that living at home, presumably still working but nowhere to go when NOT working, is an ideal time to scrimp and see how well he can do. 

Might be worth him looking at Martin's Demotivator Tool to see how easy it might be. 

theoretica

What are his (and your) long term plans for his moving out?  Might be a time for discussing them.

Marvel1

Maureen43 said:

He might miss payments and, because he lives at home, that may affect MY credit score (and I had to fight hard to get that back after my marriage).

It won't.

rach_k

How long would it take him to save up £4k if he scrimped and saved?  How long will it take him to pay back the loan and how much interest will he be paying?  Ask him to do the sums and see how he feels then.  It doesn't sound like he's actually paying for much right now so it shouldn't take him that long to save rather than borrow.

If he is adamant that he will take a loan, I'd tell him to go for it but that you're increasing his board to just under the going rate.  If he is adult enough to take on debts, he's adult enough to pay his way.  Then you can decide what to do with the money.  Personally, I'd probably let him think he's contributing to the house but I'd put it away in case he does get into trouble later with the loan... or if he surprises you, it might help with things like furniture when he eventually moves out.  

BrassicWoman

Maureen43 said:

I'm not in a position to bail him out if he defaults. I'm not the safety net.

He's living at home, so you probably are the safety net. If he gets in trouble, you probably won't throw him out for non payment of bills.

Fireflyaway

I feel for you because you want your son to be safe and not make financial mistakes and at 19 they are still childlike in some ways simply because of a lack of life experience. However he has to learn and sometimes that's from making mistakes. To be honest, £4,000 on a car is very reasonable so I'd give him credit for that. He is earning and it's up to him how he spends his money. As far as safety goes, if he drives badly he could have an accident in any car. I'm sure the older he gets the more the novelty will wear off and he will take it easier. How about getting him some advanced driving lessons? If he is into cars he would probably love that and it might give you more peace of mind. As others have said, as long as you are not a guarantor on the loan you won't be impacted even if he does default. Your issue here seems more a difference in spending habits. My mum is always telling me eating out is a waste and I have nothing to show for it. I disagree because to me it's spending a nice time with my family. 

pickledonionspaceraider

Maureen, at the minute he has a safety net as he is still living at home with you, so no real household expense.

As others have said, don't be a guarantor

Other than that, explain why you think it is a bad idea, but at the end of the day, you can't force him to do what you want him to do - we were all young and made silly choices once.

Does he want to live at home for the next few years, so he can drive this car?
Do you want him to live at home until his mid twenties potentially?

As this is the very real outcome of him using all his disposable income to buy a car - that he will be bound to live at home with you - because it is cheap - so he can buy treats.

My thoughts would be to up his board money, to a market rate, as you are subsidising his living, whilst he is having treats - and that is not cool for an adult to do. He is not paying his way but having potentially expensive stuff for himself