Originally Posted by Mojo31

I bought each of the kids a new car when they turned 16, and told them it was theirs until they could afford a replacement so take care of it. Daughter got a Nissan Rogue and son got the Mazda 3. They both took very good care of them.

Early in college, our son was rear ended by a Ford F150, and it totaled his car. I ended up buying him another new one because the negotiated price for new was only about $1k more than a 3 year old used with 40k miles on it.

When my daughter graduated with her masters, she wanted a new car. I gave her the title to the Rogue and some cash for additional down payment so she could get the RDX she wanted.

Son graduates in December, but he'll have a car that's worth as much today as it was when we bought it in 2018. He can either keep it or trade it for something else that he can afford.