Unpopular opinion-does anyone's kids pay their own car insurance especially after being gifted cars? Pay their gas, etc? I know insurance can be expensive for a teenager, trust me, I know. But what about them paying a portion of the insurance?
My oldest is only 12 but I like what my parents did with me. I was responsible for gas and half of the insurance until I graduated. Of course this was when I could fill my tank for 10 dollars!
Whoever has the title/ registration pays the insurance. Check with insurance company about policies when the car is not driven at all, "classic car", or driven very rarely. Some states have registration electronically linked to insurance, so the names must match.
I think paying for the insurance is the least he can do in exchange for taking up half the garage and then an extra spot in your driveway while you wait for the mythical day when it won't be too much car for him. Unless
If Kevin gives the car to your son, I'd make sure the title is transferred and take care of the insurance myself. Son might fix it and want to flip it and you don't need Kevin involved in all that. Also, he'd get no say in how the car is used. I bet he doesn't transfer the title....
If Kevin gives the car to your son, I'd make sure the title is transferred and take care of the insurance myself. Son might fix it and want to flip it and you don't need Kevin involved in all that. Also, he'd get no say in how the car is used. I bet he doesn't transfer the title....
I had a similar concern- if your son decides to sell it (because insurance on a fast car for a teen isn’t cheap) or just wants something he actually wants, would Kevin want most or all of the money?
I would add that my husband is great with cars and he credits it to having project cars/cars to take apart and put back together around this age. (My FIL owned an auto repair shop.) So in that aspect it could be great for him. Coincidentally, H's first car was also a Mustang given to him (by his grandfather), which he did indeed promptly total and now would tell you he shouldn't have had at that age (and I suspect part of it is that he didn't appreciate as much because it was a gift).
Post by lavenderblue on Apr 19, 2024 14:44:55 GMT -5
Thank you for everyone who responded.
Unfortunately our Divorce Decree doesn't specify anything about this. And for the record, I actually accepted half of the monthly child support amount that he should owe me in exchange for him giving up legal and physical custody. He actually has no scheduled visitation; my daughter doesn't go to his house at all and DS only goes once a week out of guilt, and honestly, I'm not sure how much longer that will last.
I mentioned it in my OP, but my son is in his second year of Automotive studies, so a "project car" isn't just a hobby, it's his potential career. I think someone mentioned the car being worked on at the trade school, and the plan is that if the car needs something that is beyond my son's skill level, he could actually take it in to school and the students could work on it and we'd only have to pay for parts.
Kevin has no intention of putting any money towards whatever work the car needs.
I have not asked Kevin to contribute to insurance for DD because he feels like because his Mom gave the car to DD and he paid all the transfer fees that he's done his part.
I like the idea of registering it as a Classic Car, I might look in to that.
I'll read back through the comments to make sure I didn't miss anything, but I'm glad to see that everyone agrees with me that Kevin should pay to insure it. The funny thing is, for some reason his car insurance is really high, so he's paying a lot more to insure it currently than the quote that I got to insure it, but he refuses to put the title in my name apparently, so I guess at least for now this is all a moot point.
ETA: I'm calling this a project car, but this is currently a running car that does get driven occasionally by Kevin. It does need a lot of work and there are several modifications that DS wants to do.
Oh, and did I mention that it is a convertible? It was actually originally a hard top, the prior owner put on a convertible top, and DS actually wants to take it back to a hard top.
Kevins plan works well for Kevin bc he’d be saying for storage otherwise. Did I get that right?
So right now Kevin allegedly carries insurance on the car, but my kids have told me that he normally drops coverage in the winter, so I'm not sure what to believe. Right now he just parks the car in the parking lot in his development. But if the plan is to give DS the car to work on it, he'd either have to bring it here or rent a garage which I'm sure he won't do. I have no idea what he is thinking is going to happen here, but I am 100% not incurring any of the cost of this "gift" other than willingly giving up half of my garage.
As someone who is married to a man with a car obsession, has lived through numerous car restorations, and has 2 classic cars that are not daily drivers parked in my garage, I'll echo what glw said about titles & insurance.
I would absolutely not count on this car running in 6 months. Car restorations rarely go the way you plan and get very expensive, very quickly. It's an awesome skill for your DS to learn but he's also 16 so he is definitely a comparative newbie to this hobby. It's not the worst hobby in the world (it's a great skill, very rewarding, and it's at home!) but I feel like your ex is dumping a project off on your household and underselling what it's going to entail while also placing a lot of restrictions on it.
ETA: To give you an idea of what life is like with this... my dad still owns the car he bought at 18; it hasn't run since I was 2. I'm 41. And my DH had a hobby car that was going to take only 4 months to restore. Yeah, 4 months if he actually had time to work on it daily for hours which he does not. We finally took it to a local shop with all the parts he bought with a retainer and they restored in during their downtime until the retainer ran out. DH would review what they'd done, re-up the retainer, and this carried on until it was where he wanted it. He drove it like 8 times then sold it. He didn't lose money on it but I'm just saying that, knowing car people, that 6 months is a complete pie in the sky estimate.
You don't need to insure a car that isn't being driven.
Honestly, I think once the project car is ready to be driven, you get rid of the Accord. The Mustang becomes DS's only car and you pay the insurance - then there's nothing tying this car to Kevin and he has no say in how it's used.
Insurance for a teenage boy on a Mustang is probably twice as much as insurance on an Accord! Maybe the son can pay the difference if he wants to keep the Mustang.
Also…what happens if he fixes it up and decides to sell it? Is Kevin going to demand some of the proceeds? I feel like there is still a lot to discuss with regards to how this gift is going to play out.
You don't need to insure a car that isn't being driven.
Honestly, I think once the project car is ready to be driven, you get rid of the Accord. The Mustang becomes DS's only car and you pay the insurance - then there's nothing tying this car to Kevin and he has no say in how it's used.
Insurance for a teenage boy on a Mustang is probably twice as much as insurance on an Accord! Maybe the son can pay the difference if he wants to keep the Mustang.
Also…what happens if he fixes it up and decides to sell it? Is Kevin going to demand some of the proceeds? I feel like there is still a lot to discuss with regards to how this gift is going to play out.
I will say, I talked to my insurance agent and they said that once DS starts driving, since he will only drive the Mustang occasionally and would drive the Accord the rest of the time, that it would make sense to have me as the main driver, so the insurance won't go up astronomically, but I agree, there is a lot more conversation around this that needs to be had about the car including things like selling it in the future, and of course Kevin didn't even ask me if it would be okay to give the car to DS before telling DS that he could have it, so there is that. Honestly, it's his Narcissistic personality to make grandiose promises with absolutely zero thought about the outcome.
I would have a serious discussion with your son about the "too much car" aspect. We had a horrible tragedy recently at one of the local high schools. Senior boy was driving his freshman sister and a friend home right after school in his new Mustang. He was speeding on a residential street, hit a dip too fast, lost control, and overcorrected right into a pole. Both siblings died. I talked to some people who were connected to them and to some SROs, and the topic of "too much car" came up in both groups.
Unpopular opinion-does anyone's kids pay their own car insurance especially after being gifted cars? Pay their gas, etc? I know insurance can be expensive for a teenager, trust me, I know. But what about them paying a portion of the insurance?
Yes, my son pays $200/month towards insurance on his truck. That covers most of the increase of adding his truck and himself to my insurance. I bought him a 2021 Ford Ranger when he turned 16 so insurance is a bit higher because I have full coverage since it was almost brand new when I bought it.
Post by whattheheck on Apr 19, 2024 20:38:23 GMT -5
Sixteen is a tough age for this. If he were older a very frank conversation about how if his dad is unwilling to sign over the title when he “gifts” it to him means that it remains Kevin’s car and he can likely take it back at any time. Like in six months when he’s done all the modifications and has a license. But you know your kid and whether or not this is an appropriate conversation to have with him. If Kevin retains the title then the car is a loan. If you can swing it financially I think you should add the car to your insurance if title is signed over to either you or you son. Then your ex has no say/control about anything. It’s a “sanity tax” - the price you are willing to pay to have something not be a problem. If your ex retains title then you are going to have problems and personally I don’t think your son should accept/be permitted to accept (you have some say since it’s your garage) this gift unless he also receives title to the car.
Another thing to consider is if the car doesn't drive. Many counties won't allow someone to work on a car in their driveway even if it's a project car. It would have to be done in the garage. Ex. My city's code enforcement is ok with/looks the other way with you changing the oil in your own daily drive car once every few months. They don't allow "cars on blocks" in residential areas or someone to work on a long term project in order to keep areas from being trashy.
Of course I don’t know anything about Kevin but this seems like a judge Judy episode waiting to happen where someone gives someone else an item of low value because it doesn’t work well and as soon as it works well the other person’s like oh I want that back and then everybody’s mad.
This is exactly where my mind went. Kevin wants the free labor and is couching it as a gift.