tell me why my son shouldn't buy this car.

Snowdoggie said:

So you never get into debt. 

So you drive sensible cheap cars like Camrys and Civics. 

So you save all your money and invest it. 

So you call Dave on the air every Friday night and he tells you he is proud that you are debt free. 

So you never own or drive a really good sports car. 

So you never learn to fly an airplane. 

So you never own a boat and get the spray of water in your face on a good warm day at the lake. 

So you never go dogsledding in Alaska. 

So you never go to Europe to see what older civilizations are like. 

So you never ride a motorcycle up to 100 mph with the wind in your face. 

So you never taste a really good single malt scotch. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

And when you die of a heart attack and leave all that money to your family, they have a big wake and buy the expensive booze you never tasted. 

Then blow through your money because money not earned means nothing to them. 

So sad. 

 

 

I don't think anyone is suggesting that level of militancy, I know I'm not because I typically say in these threads "If your job is stable and you could find similar compensation if something happened, and if you're retirement and savings goals won't be impacted BUY IT."

And for the exact same reasons you mentioned. But as also has been mentioned, we really don't know enough. Most of us I think, myself included, just assumed "son, living at home" and made a certain set of assumptions. 

I was using my own experience of not living with my parents since I left for college at 18. But you have to keep in mind, I also bought a sportbike in college with no job and lets say I wouldn't put that stuff on a credit app now. 

I have no problem with kids living with their parents in this stupid expensive rent economy. If he paid for his room and part of the electric bill, did a little painting and maintenance work and served as dogsitter when I was out of town I really wouldn't have a problem. If he wanted to move wife, girlfriend or kids in that would be a different matter. 

Cramming a bunch of roommates in an overpriced apartment when they could instead be saving their money for college, starting a business or buying a house instead is just silly. 

WonkoTheSane (Forum Supporter) said:

Olemiss540 said:

Has he ever ridden in a BiTurbo??

Has anyone ever actually ridden in a BiTurbo?

Yup!  Great cars.

In reply to Snowdoggie :

We had an older lady (80's) that left the contents of her house to our church.  We found a lot of stuff worth some money.  

She was a secretary and never married, no kids, lived in the standard Chicago bungalow home, and one niece that would get the $1.2 million estate she had.   

My friend said she probably ate cold soup every night as she saved every penny.  Even Dave Ramsey talks about enjoying some of your money.  

Back in the Stone Age we had a customer at the shop that was 21, worked offshore and drove a new 92 Camaro Z28. I asked him how much his insurance was, as much as the car payments he said. 
 

I think insurance will be his biggest challenge. 

You could do like my father did, he said we couldn't afford a new car. We didn't know anything about mechanics back then, I was 18. So whatever I got would need to be new. Well in  the prehistoric days you could buy a new 1973 Honda 450 for $1100. So he made the down payment and I paid $55 a month for two years. I also paid him $100 month rent, 1973 dollars, no idea what that is now days. 
 

A couple of good things about a motorcycle was cheap insurance and if I acted ignorant on it, my ass would be sliding on the road. Then of course you have riding in bad weather, at least in Houston snow isn't a problem. I survived 3 years and 22k miles on it. 

Later I got interested in mechanics and bought a 71 RX2 with a bad rotary. Turns out there were plenty with bad engines.  I made money flipping them after fixing them til about 1980.

In reply to Snowdoggie :

Have you driven a Genesis sedan? it's a seriously high-end vehicle. Hyundai has come a VERY long way from the days of bottom feeding. A friend has an A6 Audi and while it's sportier than the Genesis, it's actually less luxurious. 

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Snowdoggie :

Have you driven a Genesis sedan? it's a seriously high-end vehicle. Hyundai has come a VERY long way from the days of bottom feeding. A friend has an A6 Audi and while it's sportier than the Genesis, it's actually less luxurious. 

 

I don't doubt it's a good high end car. I have driven Kia Spectrums and Kia Stingers. It's just that when I was his age I had no interest in anything with four doors, even if it was a Cadillac or a Mercedes. I begged my Dad for $3.000 to buy a Jaguar XKE when I was that age. Yes. You could get them that cheap back then. No he didn't loan me the money. I wanted a sports car or a street legal race car. 

sergio said:

Back in the Stone Age we had a customer at the shop that was 21, worked offshore and drove a new 92 Camaro Z28. I asked him how much his insurance was, as much as the car payments he said. 
 

I think insurance will be his biggest challenge. 

You could do like my father did, he said we couldn't afford a new car. We didn't know anything about mechanics back then, I was 18. So whatever I got would need to be new. Well in  the prehistoric days you could buy a new 1973 Honda 450 for $1100. So he made the down payment and I paid $55 a month for two years. I also paid him $100 month rent, 1973 dollars, no idea what that is now days. 
 

A couple of good things about a motorcycle was cheap insurance and if I acted ignorant on it, my ass would be sliding on the road. Then of course you have riding in bad weather, at least in Houston snow isn't a problem. I survived 3 years and 22k miles on it. 

Later I got interested in mechanics and bought a 71 RX2 with a bad rotary. Turns out there were plenty with bad engines.  I made money flipping them after fixing them til about 1980.

I had an RX2 once. I loved that car. Where did they all go? 

In reply to Snowdoggie :

I got mine (1973 RX-2) around 1980.  The original owner had gotten a new engine for it.  I drove it for several years, then sold it to an acquaintance who totaled it when he ran a stop sign and got broadsided.  It was a fun car, but given their rarity today, I really don't feel any inclination to own another one.  At least, not as long as there are RX-7's to be had....

What does he drive now? How old is he? Is he at a point where he's financially independent? Does he have any other hobbies or is he just working, eating, and sleeping?

If he is financially independent has his ducks in a row  (saving for retirement, good emergency fund, saving for his future self), there's not a huge objection to getting it. If he doesn't have much going on other than work and living having something he can enjoy/be proud of can be really good for him.

That being said for 17k I'd definitely want a more special car. The last time this was brought it most of grm wasn't too fond of it.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/do-we-like-the-hyundai-genesis-coupe/130068/page1/

I'm one of those sucker parents who would talk to him about maybe paying something small like 200 a month in rent if he could afford the car. Save the money for the kids future. Maybe give it back when he starts house shopping. 
 

im very soft on the subject of my kids living with me because I was thrown out at 17 because my dad didn't like the fact I owned 3 vehicles (all purchased for under 2k together) and could afford to go out with friends on the weekends.  A lot of hardline stances on this topic. I never had the chance to buy a newer car and I'm not sure I would have but if it makes him happy and your not going to end up making the payments then why not.

In reply to lnlds :

the coupe did not make it to the Genesis brand. '17 is the first year Genesis became its own brand (like lexus/Acura etc). He's looking at the sedan. 

In reply to Snowdoggie :

What the hell is a Spectrum? I mean, other than the old GEO. If you mean Spectra, thats an old car from the Fozda days that was a complete pile of poo when it was new and nothing like what they're building today. (ok, minus the 04-09 which was just an XD Elantra. Not a bad car but not great. It's a civic competitor.)

nutherjrfan said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Does it have to be an XJR?

STR.

Yup.  XJR or Super V8 between 2001 and 2003.  I'm not picky at all. 

Driven5 said:

Either people know a lot more about this kid than I do, or are simply making a lot more assumptions and jumping to a lot more conclusions. Nowhere near enough information has been presented here about this kid to actually make an informed opinion on just how 'poor' of a life choice such a car would (or would not) be in this particular situation.

You saw where he wants to buy a Hyundai right?

bigdaddylee82 said:

Driven5 said:

Either people know a lot more about this kid than I do, or are simply making a lot more assumptions and jumping to a lot more conclusions. Nowhere near enough information has been presented here about this kid to actually make an informed opinion on just how 'poor' of a life choice such a car would (or would not) be in this particular situation.

You saw where he wants to buy a Hyundai right?

Incorrect, he wants to buy a Genesis. what you said is the equivalent to saying someone wants to buy a toyota when they mean a Lexus, or a nissan when they mean G37. While technically correct, it's still wrong. 

The only reason is debt. And if he has not already been raised with that mindset, then it really does not matter, he will just join the  indentured class and do just fine.

From a  simple practical level, he is going to become the UBER driver for all of his peeps and that is going to take a wear-and-tear toll on the car that he will come to resent.

But..Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from a lack of wisdon, so make your one, well thought out, short pitch against, and then stand back and watch him adult on his own. It will be like the first time you took your hands off the bike when he was learning that skill.

In reply to tremm :

7k @ 10% for 30 years?  Lost me there

Was looking at 2017 Genesis. That's a lot of car for 17k. If my son wanted one and could pay his own for it, berkeley it. Do it! Lol

I kinda want one now. 

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

My kids have a choice. School, or rent. TANSTAAFL

My 20 yo son just dropped $700 on a phone. I didn't say a word because it's his money. He lives at home still, but he pays $400 a month in room and board. Pays his own car insurance and phone bill. The car he bought was also $2900. 

I'm not sure how much money he has saved up, employment situation/prospects, etc. but a 2017 Genesis not necessarily going to cost a lot more on a yearly basis than say a $4k car, which requires more maintenance, particularly if he wouldn't be fixing it himself. The car already took the big initial depreciation hit. It's reasonable to assume it might last 10 more years, so ~$1700/year.  A partial value loan with a plan to pay it off fairly quickly isn't necessarily a horrible idea.

I tend to err on the side of overly financially cautious, save, etc. Looking back on my life so far, I probably should have done things a bit differently. When I was younger, the one thing I did right was have a fun car, but it did cost me more than I thought it would.

When I was 18 (2006) I was driving a 73 VW and living at home (paying rent). I was documenting $100 a month just keeping it on the road (I didn't always know what the problem was and just changed parts). I was working at the dealer and they had a 2002 SL1 with 38k and my price out the door was $6600. I qualified on my own, put $500 down, and paid an extra $40/month in insurance. 
 

My 

Parents 

Freaked. 
 

"debt is the worst" "how could you do that" "you've committed financial suicide" "if you can afford that you can afford more rent".... they're still mad about it. 
In the mean time I had a very cheap to drive car. The air conditioning worked, and I could just get in and drive anywhere. And I did. I could go to CA and eat and surf for a weekend on $80. That was 2x per month. 
Anyway, BIL drives that same Saturn today. In the 14 years since I bought it, it's needed tires, batteries, 3 or 4 coolant sensors, and shifter cables. 
 

I was young, poor, and dumb. But I'd say that was a pretty good financial decision. And at 20 I had a credit score well north of 700. I'm not sure I'd buy a $17k car, but if he is responsible and that's what he wants, worst case scenario is it becomes a learning experience. 

Wow, this thread has gone off-topic.  Original poster didn't ask >how much< his son should spend on a car, but, if I can paraphrase, >what are the pros and cons of a 2017 Genesis?<  Here's my take:

As the OP stated, the son is a newer driver.  The Genesis is pretty new so will have a broad safety net of active and passive safety features.  It also has some mass and lots of crumple zone.

The car will offer lots of ways for him to get distracted.  Newer cars, and especially luxury cars, have tons of features and definitely electronic features that will keep his mind and eyes off the road.  The two biggest distractions for teen drivers are 1) other passengers and 2) tunes.  A large four-door has room for lots of passengers and I bet the stereo is pretty nice...

It's a 2017 re-branded Hyundai so it should be pretty reliable.  Hopefully as a Genesis he gets treated honestly by the dealership, but not necessarily.

All those luxury features are expensive to repair.  And if he dings a corner of the car headlights and taillights tend to be expensive on the luxury brands.

It's RWD, right?  I think RWD teaches better driving but it also allows hooniganism.  Which could be a pro or a con.

It is designed to be isolated, smooth, and quiet and require minimal driver involvement.  Including at speed.  I would be concerned that might lead to driver inattention which I think is the biggest danger for newer drivers.  And that power gives the ability to go from "oops" to "Oh no!" speeds very quickly and easily.

Original poster knows his son the best.  But these are considerations I think are important for any teen driver.

Wasn't Genesis taken from an old Star Trek movie? 

Or, some other book. 

barefootskater said:

When I was 18 (2006) I was driving a 73 VW and living at home (paying rent). I was documenting $100 a month just keeping it on the road (I didn't always know what the problem was and just changed parts). I was working at the dealer and they had a 2002 SL1 with 38k and my price out the door was $6600. I qualified on my own, put $500 down, and paid an extra $40/month in insurance. 
 

My 

Parents 

Freaked. 
 

"debt is the worst" "how could you do that" "you've committed financial suicide" "if you can afford that you can afford more rent".... they're still mad about it. 
In the mean time I had a very cheap to drive car. The air conditioning worked, and I could just get in and drive anywhere. And I did. I could go to CA and eat and surf for a weekend on $80. That was 2x per month. 
Anyway, BIL drives that same Saturn today. In the 14 years since I bought it, it's needed tires, batteries, 3 or 4 coolant sensors, and shifter cables. 
 

I was young, poor, and dumb. But I'd say that was a pretty good financial decision. And at 20 I had a credit score well north of 700. I'm not sure I'd buy a $17k car, but if he is responsible and that's what he wants, worst case scenario is it becomes a learning experience. 

When I was young, poor and dumb I drove $500 British Sports Cars and spent a lot of time in wrecking yards. $17k would buy you a house back then, studio apartments were $400 a month  and I don't think they even had credit scores. 

It was a much better time to be young, poor and dumb.