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

John_

I’d sit down with them, go through their current finances, and then ask them which activities or purchases in the list they’ll be going without for the next few years to cover the repayments, insurance, maintenance etc.

If there’s not a decent excess each month at the moment building up in a savings account then they’ll likely have to go without quite a few pleasures for quite a while.

If they claim that they expect a pay rise then maybe point out that everything’s up for review at the moment, so they can’t rely on it, and suggest that they try putting away the costs into a savings account for a couple of months to show that they really can afford it.

Savvy_Sue

fred246 said:

Has he got insurance quotes for the car? The insurance could easily cost over £2K for the year. He may need to drive with a black box which would be good for everybody of course. Buying a sporty car of that age and price is fraught with problems. May need to spend a small fortune to keep it on the road and after paying £4K you won't want scrap it either.

This: DH used to work in the insurance industry, and one day went to a seminar where he met a chap whose company had a niche market: 3rd party cover for very expensive cars. DH expressed surprise that there was much call for this, the other chap said "You would not believe the number of people who buy an expensive car before checking how much the insurance will cost."

now, I agree that 4K is not much of a car, but at his age the insurance group for the car is key. We used to have a large car, and when DS1 started driving I enquired about adding him to the insurance. Flat no. Small car: not a problem. 

eamon

I agree that the cost of insurance will likely be the defining matter. £4k won't be a newish Merc/Audi. I've just looked in Autotrader lots for sale nothing younger than 8yo. I can  see the attraction nice lookings cars. But they are technically no better than other marques. How is the insurance for his current car? Is the policy in his name and not yours with your son doing all the driving (fronting is frowned upon)?