For parents, the teenage years means two things. More money and more problems. You can say that your kids get more independence at this stage in life, but it’s not true. Most of the time, you’re paying for it all, and the quintessential example of this is the car. At a certain age, your kid will be ready to learn to drive take to the roads. Here’s the question we want to ask. Can you afford the cost?



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Driving and owning a car is starting to become the new iPhone. It’s not a luxury; it’s an expectancy. When they hit the magical age, your child will expect a car for their birthday. Why? All their friends have one so why shouldn’t they. Unfortunately, there’s no denying that letting your kid drive is an expense a lot of parents can’t afford.

Learning To Drive

Before you even think about purchasing the car, you need to consider lessons. How many lessons will your child need before they are ready to take the test? The average is three to five months worth of lessons, one hour each week. That could cost a couple thousand just to begin with, and we’re just getting started.

You need to think about the cost of the test on top of that, and this could be another sixty. If they fail, you might be paying that cost a few more times. But even then, learning is nothing compared to the cost of an actual car.



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Finding The Dream Machine

They pass their test, and now you have to start seriously considering the prospect of buying them a car. Let’s go with the best case scenario. You find a car that works and is stylish enough for them to accept with a price tag under one grand. Pat yourself on the back because it’s more than most parents can do. Many will just buy new rather than risk the possibility of accidentally buying a banger. You need to know exactly what makes a good purchase second hand if you take this option. Otherwise, you’ll be spending even more money in the garage.

In the best case scenario, you do find a car that works. Then you need to worry about insurance. If you use a company like Belairdirect auto insurance, you’ll be able to find one of the best deals on the market. But even that could be as much as six hundred per year. In fact, it’s likely to be more than that for a new driver. On top of this expense, there’s the cost of petrol, tax, and maintenance.

Alternate Options

There are a couple of alternate options to consider to reduce the cost. You can encourage your kid to pay the running cost while you pay the initial price on the car. Or you can insure them on the vehicle that you already own. The only issue here is there’s a chance they crash your beloved car. It is incredibly likely that this does happen with 75 percent of first drivers coming off the road in year one. Taking that into account, it might be better to buy them their own car they can destroy.



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