[ElementalWon]

Wow! My first car was an immaculate 1986 Plymouth Tourizmo that caught on fire one fine morning. I saved up all summer bagging groceries to get that car. My dad and uncle gave me $600 each and I used my saved $1200 to purchase the little beauty back in 1992.

Personally, I think buying a new car for a teenager is ludicrous. You are just asking for high insurance premiums and a teenager who thinks things are just given to them. But everyone lives there lifes how they want.

If I was a teenager I would love to have this vehicle. Hell I would love to have one right now. Based on the vehicle, I would buy it. It has a good rating on the 40mph collision test which is the best you can get. Comparable vehicles such as the Ford Escape did much worse.

 

[ElementalWon]

Erie543, you are a very lucky lady. It is like StLouisPenguin said, we are a bit jealous. I am 27 and married and want an Element. But I need to pay off a couple of bills first. I work my rearend off to afford to live. I make decent money and don't blow it. I just got married last year and hope to start having my first kid very soon. Anyway enough with my life, I just want you to know where I'm coming from.

I have never been given anything expensive like a brand new car. I have worked for everything I have. My parents weren't very well off. I paid my own college education. I moved out on my own. I bought my first nice car at 22 - a year old 1998 Honda Accord SE. I still own it today. I have great satisfaction in that I did this all on my own. I never asked money from anyone. It is nice to know that everything I have done, the life that I have created for myself has all been on my own, without monetary support from my parents. It just feels good to break the umbilical cord and live my own life. Maybe that is why I think teenagers should work for their first vehicle. That way they have a sense of ownership.

Also, I am much more worried about teenage drivers than 80 year olds. Teenage drivers are by far the worst drivers on the road. They think they know everything but know very little. You will learn this the older you get. Youthful drivers insurance premiums are usually about four times as much as an adults.