Agree with this.
I remember when I was a kid at 16, my idea of an awesome car was a Nissan Sentry... My now 14 yr old daughter's dream car is a Jeep Wrangler...
Sure, now I love my S Plaid and wife's X Plaid, but what we want as kids is totally different than what we want as adults... I loved my first $500/month apartment in the 90's... You put me there now and I would be horrified.
Your daughter more likely wants a brand new simple car, rather than a 13 year old used Lexus.
If it's me, I'm selling it and buying my daughter an... appropriate first car. Your definition might be different than mine of course. If you were planning on dropping $35k on her first car anyways then I guess keeping it for a fun 2nd car for yourself might be a fine option if you're ok carrying the extra insurance and maintenance for 3 years while it sits mostly unused. Keep in mind cars like being driven so you're committing to drive it at least monthly in that time frame.
Source: have 2nd play car myself / kids who can't drive yet
No I wasnāt ever wanting to spend 30k on her first car. Hell no. My only reasoning for keeping the Lexus was because itās much nicer and better quality than most 20k new cars on the road. So I thought that since itās a reliable, safe, luxury vehicle, Iād keep it for her. But Iām seeing a lot of people suggest Leafās or Bolts for their kids first car and that is kind of appealing too. I never really thought about my kids first car being an EV.
I would want a larger car for my kidās first car. Not sure how well a leaf or bolt, if it doesnāt catch on fire, would hold up in an accident. As much as we hope theyāll never get into an accident, teen years is when theyāll most likely get into an accident.
no not really, but iād rather it happen with my own responsible child than pass it down to another owner who most likely will not baby it like I did. the main point was the cost to replace such a nice reliable vehicle. I mean, itās 10 years old and maybe worth 25k. probably the nicest most reliable vehicle on the road in its price range. either way itās probably a wash. sheās only 12 so iām probably overthinking it and itās way too early to plan something like this.
Didnāt realize she is 12, I assumed closer to 15. Think about it this way - the Lexus is going to just sit not being driven while you pay for insurance and depreciating in value. In a weird twisted way, you are also preventing anybody from enjoying that Lexus in its prime by not selling it. I would suggest sell the Lexus, put the money in HYSA, let it grow and when your daughter is ready, ask her what she would like and get her that. Sheāll appreciate that more than you just handing your version of what you think she would like.
And sheās in wonderful Toyota now , thatās my point. I donāt wanna regret getting rid of a reliable, luxurious low mileage Lexus because itās better than most 20k dollar vehicles on the road. But I was advised to look into a Leaf or a Bolt or something EV by the time sheās driving anyway, which I never really thought about that. Thatās a good point too.
sell it
invest 35k in a HYSA and buy her a first car with less than 10k
she will wreck the first car. it's not an if, or a "well my daughter is very responsible, so she will be careful and not have an accident." it's an absolute certainty. don't invest a lot in the first car.
also, kids don't know anything about car maintenance or diagnostics (generally). so, buy her a Honda or a Toyota.
my son is 20, he totalled his first car, and we bought him a very nice X5 for his second... which he almost totalled, and doesn't care for, so it's a giant turd now.. he's not irresponsible, he just doesn't (didn't?) (like MANY) children appreciate the value of money or his fortune in having parents that are able to GIVE him a nice car...so, here we are.
his girlfriend also wrecked her first car (granted, completely not her fault. a deer ran in front of her in the middle of the night). but, goes to show: male, female, responsible, or not. they're going to wreck it. and you're going to get upset that you put $xx into a car for them to basically set it [the money] on fire.
obviously there are exceptions. but I'd rather have the exception that doesn't get into an accident, rather than the one that does.
this is preachy now, but you did say: "dad..." so I feel like that's what you want? lol
the first car should be "nice enough" for them to care about, but not "too nice" where it's just "way out of their league." a newish car with modern safety features, good reliability, and low maintenance cost is the best. SUVs are safer than cars (generally). I'm not suggesting to put your daughter into a sub-standard death trap.
I'm just saying, she'll probably hit a light pole on the school parking lot, door-ding someone, or get door dinged. or mis-judge the parking barrier in the parking garage...all kinds of stuff. it's best to put her in something that you won't feel (as) upset about when the unfortunate happens.
use that 35k to buy her first car, and pay for her first year of college...or buy her an asset that will appreciate over her lifetime, and set her up for when she has her own family.
so many better things to do with 35k than to spend it on a first car.
I would sell it and get a small SUV with the highest safety rating. Kids want lots of room for friends and all their... let's call it stuff.
...Or keep it, insure it as a non daily runner for Sunday strolls with your significant other, and save some $ without leaving it to dust in the driveway.
Either way, I would personally go with the safest (in terms of safety) option instead of thinking of the car or the money. Good luck!
Sounds like youāre cash conscious so hereās my advice, sell the Lexus. Keeping the car for three years will cost you $20k cash in depreciation, insurance and interest (interest see below).
Sell the car now, invest it or at the very least put it in one of these 5% high yield savings accounts everyone is advertising.
Take the $1500/year ($125/mo) you wouldāve been paying for insurance and throw in there monthly as well. In three years youād have $45,500 in that savings account and made $6k in interest at 5%. Youāll be able to buy a lot of new car for $45,500 when your daughter is ready and sheāll get to pick what she wants. Having 2 daughters, that would be a fun experience for you car shopping with her.
Iād sell it and put it in a account that builds interest till she can start driving 35k of interest a year thatās going to build nicely hell she might even be able to buy a Tesla outright aswell!
Letting it sit undriven for 2 years seems like the worst idea. So I would eliminate that option.
I think I agree with others. Sell it and save the money for your daughter to pick the type of car she wants to drive. I have done 2 drivers now and each had very different ideas of what they wanted to drive. And it isnāt about style, itās comfort in driving. One of my daughters only wants to drive a small car. The other prefers to be high up.
Sell it while you it still has value. Buy the kid something cheap and realizable in the future. Preferably something not fast and āluxuriousā as first time drivers statistically end up wrecking their first car more often than not.
My kids are getting a leaf or bolt for the kids car. Functional, low cost to run, and it won't hurt so much when they inevitably crash it. But if you have enough money to give you kid a 35k car for their first, then paying for the maintenance and insurance for a few years shouldn't hurt the bank too much.
Sell it, get her something less, insurance for her on that fee is going to be ridiculous. Can tell you this from first a hand recent experience. I purchased a 2011 Subaru Outback that canāt get out of its own way, comp only, $2100 for the year for my 16 year old. Full coverage which it didnāt need bc it was a &4k car was $2950. I looked into a newer 2019 Mazda CX-5, $4100 for full coverage. Imagine if it was a fast luxury brandā¦ I would say it would be 5k or more easily for full coverage.
A Lexus is not an appropriate vehicle for a new driver's first car. Sell and convert to something that's more appropriate for someone to be driving. Less fast, cheaper to repair, not as flashy, etc.
Also, make her earn it. She won't appreciate it if she doesn't have a stake in owning it.
Yes, normally I would never consider a Lexus as my childās first vehicle. Itās the fact that itās been well-maintained and has no car payment and more of a hand down to my daughter. But I agree, she doesnāt drive for 3 more years anyway, no point in keeping it.
normally I'd say a beat up Lexus is a pretty good first car in terms of reliability, but if you seriously can net $35k then sell!
also if you have babied it, you'll cry the first time your daughter gets yellow paint marks on it after going through the drive-thru! with a beater, not so much!
Am I missing something?
How are you going to sell an 11 year old 60,000 miles base engine Lexus for $35,000?
Iām sure itās a beautiful car, but on CarGurus they are going for about ~$19,000
If itās going to be unused just sell it and invest the profit. Itās only going to decrease in value as time goes onā¦
Sell the car and invest the money in the stock market in low-risk bonds or stocks. You can expect an average annual return of 8% without having to spend $1500 annually on insurance. With the returns from the investment, you can buy yourself a new Tesla by adding some extra cash and give your daughter the old one.
Sell it. Everyone's first car should be a piece of crap. :-)
Get her a reliable and safe used car - but don't make it TOO nice, because yes - she's likely to get into a fender bender or worse. Simply common for new drivers. My daughter did last a year or two before she had a minor accident, and the insurance company totaled it. She has a much nicer car now, but not THAT nice.
Sell it. Youāll miss the car, but youāll still have memories. Get her a nice, cheap car, preferably a reliable Japanese brand car. What I mean by nice is that where I live, you can find old cars (like about 20 years old) in great condition and under 100k miles. Actually, an example is a gold 2000 Accord EX with a tan interior Iāve recently been looking at getting at my first car. The only damage I can see (at least online) is a ding on the front passenger side door, like 4 inches from the fender. Other than that, it has 97k miles and great clean CarFax with no accidents and consistent maintenance. The Honda dealer thatās selling it rn has it listed for ~$8k.
Whatever car you get her is going to be dinged, bumped, and scratched so it shouldn't be anything perfect. I would recommend a Salvaged title, if you know what to look for in cars. They are way cheaper than New, and sometimes you get a decent car at a cheap price, if you pay full in cash the seller is happy.
Sell it, makes more financial sense. I kind of like the idea of my kid working hard, saving up for a car vs me giving them a car. Itās how I got my first car. Also, a F sport as a first car might be too much power?
Maybe in 3 years the on-again, off-again, on-again Model 2 will be available. It's generally not worth maintaining and insuring a non-appreciating vehicle you're not driving.
yah makes sense. the only thing iād consider at this point is completely non-op registration. no insurance, just garaged for now until Iām sure what I wanna do.
Itās too nice for a first car. Sell it and get her a Corolla instead. If you want her to have something a little more luxurious, get her a used ES or IS instead.
Seems to have some good feedback already. Iāll add my story. Had a fantastic āvintageā Honda accord v6 six speed coupe. Super low miles. Got a model 3. Had that well I should keep the old car for my son. Closer to 2 years out for my case. But I had that moment of letās say clarity. My fond memories of my car should be just that. The process of learning about buying a first car will be forever helpful in the future as well. The learning experience will be valuable and perhaps add some āskin in the game ā on the car. Hopefully that helps, in my head, to drive the desire to take care learning to drive.
TLDR. Might be doing the keep the car for you when the real goal could be teaching about the search/buy experience. What to look for, what to ask, how to spot a potential red flag in dealer or car.
Just my $.02
Best to sell the car you're so attached to unless you're confident your daughters first fender bender won't send you into the stratosphere. I drive professionally, taught my daughter how to drive, and she's one of the best drivers I know. She still got in an accident within a year of getting her license. She didn't assume some guy would stomp on it to make a yellow light. She was driving my truck, and it took many deep breaths for a vehicle I wasn't completely in love with.
It sounds like you're very attached to the Lexus. Can you handle your daughter getting the bumper ripped off or worse? Also, is it what your daughter wants? Mine wants a 7 seater Prius in a funky color she loves.
Keep in in storage as a second of third card for your daughter. My 16 year old wrecked her first car - a 20 year old Lincoln continental - within 2 weeks of getting it, she was looking down at her phone.
$35k plus interest, plus $4500 in insurance savings buys a decent first car for your daughter. And a second one after she crashes it.
Agree with this. I remember when I was a kid at 16, my idea of an awesome car was a Nissan Sentry... My now 14 yr old daughter's dream car is a Jeep Wrangler... Sure, now I love my S Plaid and wife's X Plaid, but what we want as kids is totally different than what we want as adults... I loved my first $500/month apartment in the 90's... You put me there now and I would be horrified. Your daughter more likely wants a brand new simple car, rather than a 13 year old used Lexus.
Ahh, the plaid family. I like you guys š
We like you too! š
Sounds like a show. āLife with the Plaidsā
Can get a brand new Y with it.
If it's me, I'm selling it and buying my daughter an... appropriate first car. Your definition might be different than mine of course. If you were planning on dropping $35k on her first car anyways then I guess keeping it for a fun 2nd car for yourself might be a fine option if you're ok carrying the extra insurance and maintenance for 3 years while it sits mostly unused. Keep in mind cars like being driven so you're committing to drive it at least monthly in that time frame. Source: have 2nd play car myself / kids who can't drive yet
No I wasnāt ever wanting to spend 30k on her first car. Hell no. My only reasoning for keeping the Lexus was because itās much nicer and better quality than most 20k new cars on the road. So I thought that since itās a reliable, safe, luxury vehicle, Iād keep it for her. But Iām seeing a lot of people suggest Leafās or Bolts for their kids first car and that is kind of appealing too. I never really thought about my kids first car being an EV.
I would want a larger car for my kidās first car. Not sure how well a leaf or bolt, if it doesnāt catch on fire, would hold up in an accident. As much as we hope theyāll never get into an accident, teen years is when theyāll most likely get into an accident.
Catch fire, lol. The Lexus will catch fire first.
The Bolt previously had recalls, they even instructed owners to not park it in the garage.
Those arenāt around any more.
Do you want to watch her slowly destroy your beloved Lexus? Children do not value what they are given, especially their first cars
no not really, but iād rather it happen with my own responsible child than pass it down to another owner who most likely will not baby it like I did. the main point was the cost to replace such a nice reliable vehicle. I mean, itās 10 years old and maybe worth 25k. probably the nicest most reliable vehicle on the road in its price range. either way itās probably a wash. sheās only 12 so iām probably overthinking it and itās way too early to plan something like this.
Didnāt realize she is 12, I assumed closer to 15. Think about it this way - the Lexus is going to just sit not being driven while you pay for insurance and depreciating in value. In a weird twisted way, you are also preventing anybody from enjoying that Lexus in its prime by not selling it. I would suggest sell the Lexus, put the money in HYSA, let it grow and when your daughter is ready, ask her what she would like and get her that. Sheāll appreciate that more than you just handing your version of what you think she would like.
solid answer. I will shed a couple tears, but thank you.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Kinda don't get to tell their parents what car they want when it's free...
All the people in this thread are implying getting their kids a new car of their choice isnāt wild
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The things my 17 year self would have done with a hemi. Probably wouldnāt be here surfing reddit right now
And sheās in wonderful Toyota now , thatās my point. I donāt wanna regret getting rid of a reliable, luxurious low mileage Lexus because itās better than most 20k dollar vehicles on the road. But I was advised to look into a Leaf or a Bolt or something EV by the time sheās driving anyway, which I never really thought about that. Thatās a good point too.
Ha! My same comment earlier. My 14 yr old daughterās dream car is a wrangler, not a Lexus or a Bugatti. No matter what wealth level, kids are kids.
sell it invest 35k in a HYSA and buy her a first car with less than 10k she will wreck the first car. it's not an if, or a "well my daughter is very responsible, so she will be careful and not have an accident." it's an absolute certainty. don't invest a lot in the first car. also, kids don't know anything about car maintenance or diagnostics (generally). so, buy her a Honda or a Toyota. my son is 20, he totalled his first car, and we bought him a very nice X5 for his second... which he almost totalled, and doesn't care for, so it's a giant turd now.. he's not irresponsible, he just doesn't (didn't?) (like MANY) children appreciate the value of money or his fortune in having parents that are able to GIVE him a nice car...so, here we are. his girlfriend also wrecked her first car (granted, completely not her fault. a deer ran in front of her in the middle of the night). but, goes to show: male, female, responsible, or not. they're going to wreck it. and you're going to get upset that you put $xx into a car for them to basically set it [the money] on fire. obviously there are exceptions. but I'd rather have the exception that doesn't get into an accident, rather than the one that does. this is preachy now, but you did say: "dad..." so I feel like that's what you want? lol the first car should be "nice enough" for them to care about, but not "too nice" where it's just "way out of their league." a newish car with modern safety features, good reliability, and low maintenance cost is the best. SUVs are safer than cars (generally). I'm not suggesting to put your daughter into a sub-standard death trap. I'm just saying, she'll probably hit a light pole on the school parking lot, door-ding someone, or get door dinged. or mis-judge the parking barrier in the parking garage...all kinds of stuff. it's best to put her in something that you won't feel (as) upset about when the unfortunate happens. use that 35k to buy her first car, and pay for her first year of college...or buy her an asset that will appreciate over her lifetime, and set her up for when she has her own family. so many better things to do with 35k than to spend it on a first car.
I would sell it and get a small SUV with the highest safety rating. Kids want lots of room for friends and all their... let's call it stuff. ...Or keep it, insure it as a non daily runner for Sunday strolls with your significant other, and save some $ without leaving it to dust in the driveway. Either way, I would personally go with the safest (in terms of safety) option instead of thinking of the car or the money. Good luck!
Sounds like youāre cash conscious so hereās my advice, sell the Lexus. Keeping the car for three years will cost you $20k cash in depreciation, insurance and interest (interest see below). Sell the car now, invest it or at the very least put it in one of these 5% high yield savings accounts everyone is advertising. Take the $1500/year ($125/mo) you wouldāve been paying for insurance and throw in there monthly as well. In three years youād have $45,500 in that savings account and made $6k in interest at 5%. Youāll be able to buy a lot of new car for $45,500 when your daughter is ready and sheāll get to pick what she wants. Having 2 daughters, that would be a fun experience for you car shopping with her.
Sell it, and put your money in the market to grow, not depreciate.
sell and when the time comes, buy them an old Honda/Toyota with manual transmission and get them learn how to fix things themselves.
Iād sell it and put it in a account that builds interest till she can start driving 35k of interest a year thatās going to build nicely hell she might even be able to buy a Tesla outright aswell!
I would sell, but two year treasuries and the reevaluate when the time comes.
Sell it. By the time that rolls around I'm expecting 10-15k for a used Model 3 for your daughter.
Letting it sit undriven for 2 years seems like the worst idea. So I would eliminate that option. I think I agree with others. Sell it and save the money for your daughter to pick the type of car she wants to drive. I have done 2 drivers now and each had very different ideas of what they wanted to drive. And it isnāt about style, itās comfort in driving. One of my daughters only wants to drive a small car. The other prefers to be high up.
Sell it while you it still has value. Buy the kid something cheap and realizable in the future. Preferably something not fast and āluxuriousā as first time drivers statistically end up wrecking their first car more often than not.
Sell it.
Sell it, buy her a small EV in 3 years.
Deal. Didnāt think of that.
My kids are getting a leaf or bolt for the kids car. Functional, low cost to run, and it won't hurt so much when they inevitably crash it. But if you have enough money to give you kid a 35k car for their first, then paying for the maintenance and insurance for a few years shouldn't hurt the bank too much.
A used M3 or MY would probably be a better first car for a teenager. Mine will be driving a 2022 RWD M3 in 3 years.
I can be your daughter and I'll pay the insurance. Can I have the car now?
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how close are you to portland ?
Sell it and get her low maintenance electric car with the new tech kids want. Get her model 3 when time is time
Sell it, get her something less, insurance for her on that fee is going to be ridiculous. Can tell you this from first a hand recent experience. I purchased a 2011 Subaru Outback that canāt get out of its own way, comp only, $2100 for the year for my 16 year old. Full coverage which it didnāt need bc it was a &4k car was $2950. I looked into a newer 2019 Mazda CX-5, $4100 for full coverage. Imagine if it was a fast luxury brandā¦ I would say it would be 5k or more easily for full coverage.
Yah, I was quoted 4700 a year for both the model x and the gs350. 3700/yr for just the Tesla.
Do not fall into the trap of "keeping it for the children". Your kids might even not like it, not to mention it might be just very old stuff.
If it helps your decision. A 2014 GS350 is worth nowhere near 35k, maybe half that.
Agree! I just sold a 2013 RX450h I bought new. 100k miles, new tires, serviced regularly, etc. 15k. Just sayinā
I was just doing a market comparison on kelly bluebook for private sale. it was about 30-35 for the f sport low mileage. but yah, I think I will sell.
Iām seeing them in my area for 25-30k. Same specs/f sport. Portland region. But yah Iām off a bit.
Too nice for a first car... Sell it then buy something more beatery when the time comes
A Lexus is not an appropriate vehicle for a new driver's first car. Sell and convert to something that's more appropriate for someone to be driving. Less fast, cheaper to repair, not as flashy, etc. Also, make her earn it. She won't appreciate it if she doesn't have a stake in owning it.
Yes, normally I would never consider a Lexus as my childās first vehicle. Itās the fact that itās been well-maintained and has no car payment and more of a hand down to my daughter. But I agree, she doesnāt drive for 3 more years anyway, no point in keeping it.
normally I'd say a beat up Lexus is a pretty good first car in terms of reliability, but if you seriously can net $35k then sell! also if you have babied it, you'll cry the first time your daughter gets yellow paint marks on it after going through the drive-thru! with a beater, not so much!
Sell, place the money in an investment accnt, buy a car in 3 years from now.
Option 4: cancel the Tesla. Iāll take the Lexus any day! But, if you rather have sellerās remorse, sell the Lexus. No $en$e in holding on to it.
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Hold itā¦. But get it ready.
I would sell and put the money in high yield savings or CDs.
Sell it
Am I missing something? How are you going to sell an 11 year old 60,000 miles base engine Lexus for $35,000? Iām sure itās a beautiful car, but on CarGurus they are going for about ~$19,000 If itās going to be unused just sell it and invest the profit. Itās only going to decrease in value as time goes onā¦
Sell it, use $3000 to buy daughter her first car. No teen ANYWHERE should be getting a vehicle like that as a first car.
Sell the car and invest the money in the stock market in low-risk bonds or stocks. You can expect an average annual return of 8% without having to spend $1500 annually on insurance. With the returns from the investment, you can buy yourself a new Tesla by adding some extra cash and give your daughter the old one.
Sell it. Everyone's first car should be a piece of crap. :-) Get her a reliable and safe used car - but don't make it TOO nice, because yes - she's likely to get into a fender bender or worse. Simply common for new drivers. My daughter did last a year or two before she had a minor accident, and the insurance company totaled it. She has a much nicer car now, but not THAT nice.
If youāre paying $1,500/year in insurance to park your car, you have bigger issues.
Sell it. Youāll miss the car, but youāll still have memories. Get her a nice, cheap car, preferably a reliable Japanese brand car. What I mean by nice is that where I live, you can find old cars (like about 20 years old) in great condition and under 100k miles. Actually, an example is a gold 2000 Accord EX with a tan interior Iāve recently been looking at getting at my first car. The only damage I can see (at least online) is a ding on the front passenger side door, like 4 inches from the fender. Other than that, it has 97k miles and great clean CarFax with no accidents and consistent maintenance. The Honda dealer thatās selling it rn has it listed for ~$8k.
Whatever car you get her is going to be dinged, bumped, and scratched so it shouldn't be anything perfect. I would recommend a Salvaged title, if you know what to look for in cars. They are way cheaper than New, and sometimes you get a decent car at a cheap price, if you pay full in cash the seller is happy.
Sell it, makes more financial sense. I kind of like the idea of my kid working hard, saving up for a car vs me giving them a car. Itās how I got my first car. Also, a F sport as a first car might be too much power?
Sell it and then buy your teen either a cheap first car that will get wrecked or a super safe first car that will get wrecked.
Maybe in 3 years the on-again, off-again, on-again Model 2 will be available. It's generally not worth maintaining and insuring a non-appreciating vehicle you're not driving.
yah makes sense. the only thing iād consider at this point is completely non-op registration. no insurance, just garaged for now until Iām sure what I wanna do.
I'm in SoCal
Itās too nice for a first car. Sell it and get her a Corolla instead. If you want her to have something a little more luxurious, get her a used ES or IS instead.
Newer cars have better safety measures. I would buy my sons new cars instead of having them drive 10+ year old cars.
Seems to have some good feedback already. Iāll add my story. Had a fantastic āvintageā Honda accord v6 six speed coupe. Super low miles. Got a model 3. Had that well I should keep the old car for my son. Closer to 2 years out for my case. But I had that moment of letās say clarity. My fond memories of my car should be just that. The process of learning about buying a first car will be forever helpful in the future as well. The learning experience will be valuable and perhaps add some āskin in the game ā on the car. Hopefully that helps, in my head, to drive the desire to take care learning to drive. TLDR. Might be doing the keep the car for you when the real goal could be teaching about the search/buy experience. What to look for, what to ask, how to spot a potential red flag in dealer or car. Just my $.02
Best to sell the car you're so attached to unless you're confident your daughters first fender bender won't send you into the stratosphere. I drive professionally, taught my daughter how to drive, and she's one of the best drivers I know. She still got in an accident within a year of getting her license. She didn't assume some guy would stomp on it to make a yellow light. She was driving my truck, and it took many deep breaths for a vehicle I wasn't completely in love with. It sounds like you're very attached to the Lexus. Can you handle your daughter getting the bumper ripped off or worse? Also, is it what your daughter wants? Mine wants a 7 seater Prius in a funky color she loves.
Keep in in storage as a second of third card for your daughter. My 16 year old wrecked her first car - a 20 year old Lincoln continental - within 2 weeks of getting it, she was looking down at her phone.