Understandable wanting to do things for your kids but you already made 2 mistakes with cars,must be good for him though now having 3 vehicles and still wanting. Sell the A and the blazer and let him get the tuner and stop doing everything for him.Good luck on selling the Merc. If he makes good grades and is a good kid,(almost adult) thats one thing,but responcibility is a big part of life.Good luck man.
I keep the good cars and the kid can buy and fix his own. When I was 16 and wanted a car my dad pointed at the non running 12 year old Galaxie in the garage and said "if you can fix it it's yours". My kids got the same treatment. Kids get handed too much these days. On the other hand if the kid is in college making good grades... I'll help him succeed. But the Blazer would be part of that plan. The tuner car is just a distraction.
why are you buying your kid a car? most of us bought our own first car. and we appreiciated it a lot more since we earned it. its a nice thought on your part, but it sounds like ke's being a little selfish. at the time i wouldve loved to be handed a car, but looking back im glad i had the experience of getting it on my own. it was a loud obnoxious, fast 66 riviera with a 425 nailhead, had bondo and was three different colors, god i miss that car. it meant so much to me because i earned it. why dont you "loan" him the money to get a (god forbid) tuner untill he learns to appreciate the oldies.
Truth, Take the Merc back, take the T back sell them or do them for yourself, let him drive his blazer and let him get a job and buy his own cars. Very disrespectful of him to want to dump the Merc on you, that would have broke me. Too much mind changing in too little time. Not cool.
I would give him the talk about peer pressure. Everyone his age has or wants a tunner these days. There is something to being different when your young. Leaders arent followers. Just a thought.
Maybe your son isn't into old cars, and was trying to please you.I know I was shocked to find out all men don't love Harleys.
Wow! My parents never even thought about buying me a car or paying for the insurance. I am sure your son is a fine young man, but let him have the 'grown up" experience of paying for his own car. I hope he's saving money for his education.
sounds to me like he was only intersted in the old cars too make you happy but really likes the tunners like the rest of his generation. its time to sit him down and find out before any more money is spent .If he really is into older cars make him drive the merc and drive the blazer everyday.If not sell the blazer and the merc for the down payment and let him fund the rest .if he has to pay out of his pocket he will respect it more and wont be changing his mind every other day.And who knows he may come back around to the good cars later.
you are a nice father , he has 2 and wants you to buy more , i llearned the hard way and they right way and im glad i worked pumping gas for a 1.25 hr job and i bought my first car , and i wish i had it back 1958 chev impala whoping 75 clambs and then worked next month to have mom licence and insure , but time have changed and ill cherish the ways i was raise i guess just my shiney 2 cents worth
don't fight the tuner,if he's a good kid and it sounds like it help him out,but one car is enough for a 17 year old
<blink>It is very difficult to determine from this far away.</blink> I'm wondering if your wanting him to be into old cars is a part of the confusion. Your last statement is kind of confusing with respect to the rest of what you wrote. In other words, it seems like a weird ending. Forget that, though- I want to add it up. 1. He's got a Blazer for a daily driver. 2. The father-son Model A didn't work out and it is now your problem. 3. YOU find him a Mercury Meteor, he likes that it's a driver (but does he like it like you do?), but it doesn't seem to be a daily driver. 4. He wants a tuner import car. You make it sound like he wants a new car. An efficient, reliable car could be good for college. If it's something to play around with, then I picture those cars you see that are hammered, with the plastic body kit dangling, etc. So, he's wanting his fourth car and he's been driving for a year or two? Or is it that he wants his 2nd car and you kind of pressured him into the two oldies? Either way it sounds like the Model A and the Meteor should be for sale. There's not enough information about the tuner car, but it does sound like he wants it for status. If he wants an import for messing around with, then he can buy a used one for cheap enough, or sell/trade the Blazer. I don't know, Kurt PS- I appreciate what Don said:
well now a days, a normal kid can't afford something cool, I would say, keep driving the blazer if its payed for.. and if hes gonna have enough to make payments on a rice burner keep the money instead and put the money twards fixing up either the merc or the A. and since those goofy wrong wheel drive things are way over priced for what they are.. he might even save money in the long run..
hey speak for yourself.. wheres dynaflash8? and if he is into little imports. try bridging the gap.. like oh idunno an MG or triumph fiat, datsun etc etc.. there's tons of classic British, Italian, and even Japanese iron out there.. i say as long as its old and rwd, its cool in my book, and i am part of his generation..
My first car was a 79 Olds for 200 bucks and I had to buy it along with plates, title, and insurance all by my 16 year old self. Hell, to this day my daily is a 92 Olds thats probably only worth $700, but it runs well enough. Lucky kid you got there. But, what is he really learning? BTW... wanna adopt me?
Sounds eerily familiar. I had a good friend with a 15 YO son. I also had among my stuff, a very nice '67 el Camino with a 327 out of a '66 Corvette (I'm a Corvette guy and ran the numbers) and a turbo 350. When I got the car from a friend of mine, it hardly ran and looked terrible. He had bought it for his son who really had no interest in it and just took a few things apart to please his dad. I cleaned it up, replaced the floors and got it running great. It needed a few things, but it was a great vehicle. Anyway this first friend of mine started pestering me to sell him the el Camino so he and his son could have a "project". I am getting older and have too much stuff anyway, so in a weak moment, I gave in and sold it to him for $3000, which is what I had in it. The kid diddled with the car for a few months and then turned 16 and got his license. He didn't get into tuners, but he certainly liked what certain teen-aged girls would do in the back seat of his mother's Cutlass. Long story short, the el Camino sits outside at this guys house. A couple of years ago I stopped by for a chat with my friend, and there is that poor el Camino sitting there with the bed full of wet leaves. I lost it and started yelling at my friend for letting the car go to hell. To his credit, he called out his kid and made him clean the mess up. I have moved since then, so I don't have to drive by it every day like I used to. Bottom line? Two kids given a nice car, two kids screwed up. Do the math.
Now have him read this whole thread. When he's done, ask him what he thinks the two of you oughta do about this. If he's got a good attitude about it, help him out, without allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. If he's got a bad attitude about it, sell it all and tell him to get his own.
Hey just give him some time he either a car guy or not its hard for me to say this because my son has gone through more cars than anyone he loves old one but likes driving the newer stuff !!He has a 62 falcon that has toasted the engine and I guess that I will build one more !!
sounds to me like your throwing alot of money at cars for a kid who can't make up his mind what he wants. give him 2 weeks and he'll want something else, especially if your footin' the bill. i would tell him that this is it, sell everything, give him what he has invested in any of the cars, and call it a day. enough is enough.
Could it be that the kid wants a more economical ride? I can relate to this, in that my dad helps me out with cars and pays for the insurance, gas, etc. since I'm still living at home and am going to school full-time. I had a '63 Buick that was getting 11MPG and driving it all the time. I considered I wasn't paying for the gas, so I sold the Buick and replaced it with an older Honda. My dad looks out for me, and I try to be considerate and not take advantage of that.
The Jalopy Journal
