A sanity check please (me vs. wife and car for teen)

Ferrisfan

Ferrisfan

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My son is a HS senior and is applying to colleges. We live in Durham, and 2 very real possibilities are UNC Wilmington (145 miles away) and Western Carolina (300 miles away). His current daily driver is a 2004 Subaru Forester with 108k miles. Head gasket issue has been resolved. Timing belt has about 75k miles to go before it is due. Interior is nice leather, with front seats recently refurbished. It was previously owned by my mom who bought it new, so I know the full service history. Setting aside the "young man driving a Subaru" stigma, the thing is a beast in bad weather and gets decent gas mileage (22/25 mpg).

I believe this car will last him through college with minimal issues (as much as you can count on from a car this old). My wife thinks he needs something newer, but she doesn't know what the current used car market looks like. If I were to buy, I would have to sell this one to help fund the purchase and I think I could get $4400 for it. At this point, he is not in a situation to be able to contribute toward a nicer car. This would not be a gift, merely a reliable way for him to get him through college.

I see this ad, and it seems like a fine vehicle at a reasonable price: https://carolinafirearmsforum.com/index.php?threads/2006-honda-crv-excellent-condition-6000.124881/

If I went for something like this, it would be $1600 out of pocket, 2 years newer, 80k more miles, cloth interior. I'll treat this as a baseline.

The question is, can I really upgrade over the vehicle I currently own for $2k or less? Would $3k be a big difference maker? If you were me, would you stand pat with what I have (my preference)?

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your feedback.
 
No brainer. Subaru still has a very long life. You know it’s history, another car is an unknown. Subaru is good in bad weather. Anything under 100k is going to cost above 12k.

If your son is going to Western Carolina get him a nice bong.
 
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Never had a Subaru, but they make good vehicles.

You have a vehicle, no lien on it, which is in excellent condition with a known history. And I don't get this "young man driving a Subaru" stigma. It's a frickin' SUV. What's there to have a stigma about? Is that his concern, your concern, or your wife's concern?

This is the deal I made with my kids: I would provide a vehicle for them while they were in college. Which means THEY don't have to pay for one. If, at the time they graduate from college, they decide they want to keep it, I'd sell it to them for fair market value, not to exceed what I paid for it.

What do they get out of this?

A used vehicle with a known history that they've been driving for several years, at a price that's likely going to be WAY cheap, which they can keep until it dies, sell, or trade in as they see fit. They can get a loan from the credit union and build a bit of credit history while making payments which would probably amount to about $50/month. Once paid off, they could drop insurance down to liability, if they wish.

That's a HUGE deal for someone just starting out on their own, with no other debts to their names except whatever student loans they may have. That means it'll be that much easier for them to pay off their loans and start a nest egg of their own, so long as they don't do something stupid about going into ridiculous debt over silly things.

Bugger buying another vehicle. That's a bit silly and you guys are over thinking it.
 
The rational answer is to keep it, and that's what you’ll hear from a bunch of old dudes in this thread. It may not be relevent.
 
108 thousand miles is a lot for a Ford or Chevy car but not a Subaru. You fixed the biggest issue (head gasket) that they have. I had 2001 forester that I traded in at 190,000 and a 2003 Baja that I traded in at 185,000. I didn’t bother fixing either of the gaskets but both gave me little trouble.
Stay with the Subaru! You will not find an upgrade by selling it and only adding a few thousand dollars to the price and you definitely won’t find a safer car for him to be in or as much as a monster in the snow.
we get 10” of snow and N.C. is shut down But that Subaru won’t even stress going through that.
Good luck to your son In college
 
What is this I have to foot the bill for my kids car business.

My dad said you want a car you buy a car or you take the bus.

When I left home I got a handshake and a boot in the ass.

So him having a car at all is a pretty freaking sweet deal IMO.

And based on the current market, service history knowledge and mileage I wouldn’t get rid of what you have.
 
Unless you know the complete history of the "new" car you buy, it would be a gamble. I work as a Service Advisor at a luxury dealership. Anything that comes through our lane that is 2010 or older usually needs thousands in repairs. Keep the Subie!
I drive '08 Outback with 125k on it. I'm not even starting to think about replacing it and I can get stuff at a good price. I only have to pay $35/hr labor to have my personal vehicles worked on and I still am not getting anything newer.
My son drove a Subaru through college and a couple of years after graduating. His had 250k on it.
 
Ferrisfan said:
My son is a HS senior and is applying to colleges. We live in Durham, and 2 very real possibilities are UNC Wilmington (145 miles away) and Western Carolina (300 miles away). His current daily driver is a 2004 Subaru Forester with 108k miles. Head gasket issue has been resolved. Timing belt has about 75k miles to go before it is due. Interior is nice leather, with front seats recently refurbished. It was previously owned by my mom who bought it new, so I know the full service history. Setting aside the "young man driving a Subaru" stigma, the thing is a beast in bad weather and gets decent gas mileage (22/25 mpg).

I believe this car will last him through college with minimal issues (as much as you can count on from a car this old). My wife thinks he needs something newer, but she doesn't know what the current used car market looks like. If I were to buy, I would have to sell this one to help fund the purchase and I think I could get $4400 for it. At this point, he is not in a situation to be able to contribute toward a nicer car. This would not be a gift, merely a reliable way for him to get him through college.

I see this ad, and it seems like a fine vehicle at a reasonable price: https://carolinafirearmsforum.com/index.php?threads/2006-honda-crv-excellent-condition-6000.124881/

If I went for something like this, it would be $1600 out of pocket, 2 years newer, 80k more miles, cloth interior. I'll treat this as a baseline.

The question is, can I really upgrade over the vehicle I currently own for $2k or less? Would $3k be a big difference maker? If you were me, would you stand pat with what I have (my preference)?

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your feedback.
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if he goes to Western, he’s gonna want the subie. it does snow in the mountains lol, and there is a reason a lot of Subarus in those areas. Him driving that car there no one is gonna give him crap about it and will fit right in

If the Forester is running great, drive it till the wheels fall off, make sure he washes it after he drives it in the snow to keep the rust away. Save the money y’all would use to buy another car and then when he graduates get a new one.

if heading to the coast, i still say the subie.

we have 3 subies, an imprezza (190k) outback (105k) and forester (233k) they have there quirks just like any other car, and will go just about anywhere and everywhere.
 
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Button Pusher said:
How is the battery? It'll sit in the parking lot if he is in a dorm. Edit: my neighbor has four of them including his kids who are now on their own.
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Yes and no. He'll never HAVE to use it...
but a college boy with a car will never run out of options to take ladies to somewhere new.
 
NCFubar said:
Point to ponder … use to be freshmen were not allowed to have cars (at least on campus). Will he actually be taking a vehicle his freshman year?
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WCU allows it. UNCW allows it after the first semester for students who have their primary residence more than 100 miles away.
 
The car insurance was killing me, both daughters have aged out of the youth driver classification.
Be sure to let the car insurance company know the car is on campus, should save you some money.
 
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