I do not see how I raised a child who cannot face realities of not getting all of what you want. Does he not see how we live? Has he not shopped on sale racks and for store brand things his whole life?

Kids are a mystery.

he is full on ridiculous. Cars he is looking at: Cadillacs, Chargers, Camaros.

The lowest insurance quote he got was $7500/year.

My first car (in 1987) was a '71 Nova. It was cool in its own way though. My grandfather had it painted in a custom color (a very dark brown with a bit of sparkle vs the original baby poop brown) and installed glass packs before I got it. Probably the biggest difference though, is that my peer group all had old cars that we made cool on our own and struggled to keep running. The one kid with a new car was the outlier.

My first car was a VW squareback that I bought used with money I made on my first job.

But my dad spent almost as much money fixing the brakes.

Still, I didn't feel entitled to a Camaro. I was just happy to be able to get around and have my friends kick in gas money.

He freely admits that most kids at his do not have new cool cars. So I asked, why he thinks, he a not-rich, single parented kid would be one of the few.

buying a car at all, even an old junker is just stupid. he has use of a car. gas money only. anything he buys, he will be 100% on the hook for all expenses.

and he is still online looking.

My first car in 1994 was a 1987 Chevy Celebrity. So it wasn't ancient, but it WAS a well-cared-for piece of junk. It had two important features that made it a great first car though - 1, it was extremely heavy and so I was able to drive it in the winter without skidding off the roads. And 2, it was that kind of station wagon that had 2 rear-facing seats in the way back, so I could fit the entire drama club into it when the need arose.

and he is still online looking.

Eh, looking's cheap. I look at Traverse City MI Victorian houses ($500,000-$1,000,000) online all the time. Maybe it'll encourage him to focus on work and studies? I mean, it hasn't for me, but one can hope for better with the next generation.

My first car was a 14-year-old WV Dasher that I got for $800 because the owner was heading back to CA and it would have cost more in insurance there than the car was worth. At the time I believe I paid $100 insurance. I got rear-ended once and the tape-deck started working again. I also learned how to replace a coolant hose and realized that some minor repairs were perfectly doable.

My first car was a Dodge Omni O24 with, oddly enough, a Volkswagen engine. It was remarkably unreliable.

82 Nissan stanza wagon. With the power steering disabled. My fam's second family car (75 civic only made it to84, it was a lemon.)

The first car I had use of was a 1980 Diesel Suburban. The first car I had that was my own was free to me hand me down 1990 - 1992? 2 door Pontiac LeBaron that I hated, but FREE. The transmission went out in it in 1997, I think.

The first car I bought was the 2007 Ford Focus I got when we moved back to TX in 2010, the one mac totaled in December.