Hi, I was wondering how many of you have your kids pay or chip in for their car insurance? Our 16 finally got his license and we have been footing the bill for the car and gas, when his insurance came due, we sat him down and talked about responsibilty and made up a payment plan with him so he could help pay for the insurance. According to him NO OTHER PARENTS of his friends are making them pay for their insurance, and they are footing the whole bill. We don't expect him to pay, for the entire car (97 grand am), gas, and insurance with his part time job, but we thought a budget of $50-75 a month was fair? He is really starting to make us feel guilty and we feel its a learning to pay your bills and responsibilty thing more than anything.
Any thoughts?
Absolutely! Don't feel guilty. I definately think you're doing the right thing. And like you said, this is him learning to budget, learning responsibility, and if he doesn't pay up, no car. It may be harsh but in the long run, it will be a lesson well learned.
Do NOT feel guilty about expecting your son to take responsibilty. It is a Privilage to have a car not a given.
My parents made me pay for ALL my insurance and I bitched an moaned since none of my friends had to do that but I it was a lesson I needed to learn. It is good for kids to understand that everything has a cost, its not just making the payment on a car but you have to think about insurance, upkeep, gas, etc.
I had to pay for my own gas too!!! And when it was time to get the oil changed I had to go out there and help my dad do it!
Don't feel bad for raising a kid who understands that you have to work for things in your life!
Cabincake,
We have my 16 (almost 17) year old step son pay for a portion of the car insurance. After he had a accident with the car (some $4,000 later 
)
Not only does he have to by for the insurance, but the deductible ($500) and the increase in the insurance.
Don't feel guilty for making him pay, that is what he wants you to feel. You are teaching him how to be respondsible for himself.
Sue
"none of the OTHER parents do this!" wah! wah! 
Did he stomp his foot and hold his breath?
Our two oldest (and our upcoming youngest) had the rule: Driving a car is a responsibility and that responsibility includes having the proper insurance. You dont' pay for insurance .... you don't drive. They also had to pay for their own gas and they had to pay for oil changes and such periodically.
It's ok to be a parent and tell him to suck it up or hand over the keys! Don't let him develop the attitude that life is a free ride and it's his god given right to have everything handed to him.
BTW, I worked 15 years in personal auto insurance. He's also very lucky to be driving the car he's driving! Tell him you know a lady who made her kids drive "old people" cars because the insurance was cheaper. If he doesn't want to pay that much for insurance, then he needs to buy a cheaper, lower rated car ..... with his own money!! .... instead of driving the "cool" car that will impress all his little friends.
Look, I know I sound like a hard-a$$ on this, but my kids have to look at my arm everyday that has a 7" scar running down the side of it from a car wreck I was in when I was 16 years old. My left arm is a few inches shorter than my right. Me and my sister were both in the car when a friend crashed. I take this car responsibility stuff VERY seriously!
When both of my kids got their license, I held up the keys and told both of them: "When I was 16 years old, my parents opened their door to find the Sheriff's Dept standing there to tell them that TWO of their daughters had been in a car wreck and were in the hospital. No parent should ever have to go thru that. Don't make me open that door." My son took the keys and his face flushed a little as he said, "That.... tthat was good mom. I'll be careful."
I didn't pay for any of my insurance, but my mom told me that if it went up because of any tickets, I would have to pay for it then. I also paid for my own gas. There was one gas station that was cheaper than the others, and I always went there. The guy hated me, because I would often have to pay for my gas with whatever change I had in the car! 
My parents didn't pay a penny for my insurance or help me to get a car . . . I didn't get my license until I was 18 and could afford it on my own.
My brother (10 years younger) is 21 and still doesn't pay a penny for anything!!!
My parents started out by giving him a truck (93 GMC) when he turned 16. They told him he had to pay half his insurance, keep his grades up, and if he got in any accidents they would take away his license. He never got a job so he never paid a penny . . . and his first at fault accident was one month later and it was a doozy. Funny how mom and dad paid for everything because they felt bad for him. ARGH!!!
Fast forward to 21 and he is still getting a free ride and a total jerk for it. His truck has been in the shop so many times for him breaking things by jumping it when out four-wheeling, etc and he never has paid for repairs. They have also bought him a quad and a dirt bike. He goes to a JC and takes one class a semester to keep my parents off his back . . . and he makes enough money to pay for things but won't.
Moral of this story? Don't get started down this road!!! You'll only continue to pay for it year after year after year.
Well for me, my parents said they would pay for our car and car insurance and we would have to pay for college. we also had to pay for clothes and everything else that we needed. i know that my parents got the better end of the deal but i wouldn't change it for the world. i learned the value of a dollar real quick, how to work hard, and how to save. so don't give in... he will be happy later that you didn't.
I had to pay for my car, insurance, maintence, so I didn't get a car until I was out of high school, yeah a lot of my friends parents bought them a car and paid for everything too... but I appreciated what I had and took care of it.
My parents worked with me if I needed to borrow a vehicle for school functions or going out, but I had to work around their schedule or find a ride with someone else.
Oh, and my 18th birthday present from my mom.... I went to the insurance agent and was taken off of their health insurance, I got my own. For the first year my parents paid half then after that I was on my own, I also got life insurance, same thing they paid half the first year and after that I have been on my own.
Do not feel guilty though! He is going to have to learn sometime, and it is better to learn under your roof with your supervision than trying to figure it out later on his own.
I had to pay the difference in car insurance if I wanted to drive, which is why I didn't get my liscense until I was 18. I also bought my own car, a 1993 Chevy Cavalier. The area where I live now, (which has a higher income) most of the kids that are made to take some type of responsibility with their cars drive them better and take care of them.
When I turned 16, my parents told me that I didn't NEED a car - I WANTED a car. The car, insurance, gas and maintenance were all on me. I bought an old clunker that I would put $2-3 of gas in at time. My dad bought me a $7 set of wrenches from TrakAuto and taught me how to change my oil. I couldn't tell you how many afternoons I sat on the curb with my repair manual trying to figure out how to fix the darn thing.
Since I was going to school full time and working part time, money could definitely be tough. However, if the car broke down and I didn't have quiet enough $$ to fix it (and my grades were still good), my parents would lend me the money. Every darn penny was kept track of too. I hate to say it now....but I think they were right about making pay for everything. 
Don't you know the spiel yet? "My friends are all doing it." "None of my friends parents are making them do that."
Don't back down from being a parent and doing what you think is best.
When my daughter was working she had to pay for all of her clothes, etc. When she messed up she was made to quit her job (and she is nineteen). She told me that her boss said I "couldn't make her quit, she was an adult." She learned the falsehood of that statement when she really messed up. She is not graduating until June and in July she is joining the Navy and leaving home. I do believe that that will make her the only grandchild to leave when she graduated school.
I used to work for an insurance agent and A LOT of parents made their kids either pay for their own insurance or pay the difference, so your son IS NOT the only one who has to do that (just maybe the only one of his acquaintance). My parents didn't make me pay for insurance, but they made it clear that if I wanted my own car ALL the expenses would be paid for by me. I didn't buy my own car until my Junior year of college. Until then I would borrow my parents car or get rides from friends or roomates. It worked out fine for me - even if I did have to drive a station wagon. I saved my money for college instead. I'm glad they did it that way too. I have an uncle and aunt who bought all their kids cars and without exception they wrecked them. So they bought them another car, and they all wrecked that as well. So they bought them another car...
Kids shouldn't get off without paying for what is theirs. We have our kids pay insurance or car note & they put their own gas & they handle thier own maintenance. Don't let them get off free~ If they don't pay insurance they don't drive. That's that!
We have raised 3 daughters, if they wanted a car, THEY bought the car and paid for the expenses for it. (which all 3 of them have done) Owning a car isn't a right, it is a privledge. I think the kids that have everything handed to them is part of the problem with society in general right now....no one teaches them responsibility.
My parents paid my insurance when I was in high school but my mom had decided that she needed an extra driver, I wasn't able to ride the bus so it was needed for school. At the time I turned 16 I was the oldest at home, my dad was still in the Army stationed about 12 hours from us and there were 4 other kids at home.
I had to take my siblings places though, it wasn't just for my comfort.
They wouldn't buy me a car, I had to get my own.
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