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As a young person who has just been given the freedom to drive there is the want to not have to be tied down to the parents automobile. It’s the most attractive option for the teen and one that you will inevitably hear about from them until there is a resolution to the matter. Now, you understand that owning a car is a huge responsibility but owning a car is one that the teen has to be ready for. Here is who you run through that situation.

The first is you cannot let a teen buy a car without at least six months car payments saved up in addition to the down payment. They must also have the year of car insurance. This will take them forever to save up for but if they are willing to go to that length to get a car then they might be ok to have one. You just don’t need an irresponsible teen who is going to take the car and run it into the ground. It’s too big of an investment for that.

The second thing you need to remember is that the best thing your teen can do for their own bottom line is to pay for the car outright. Of course that is something that isn’t always the convenient thing to do, but if they can do it then they will save a large amount of money on interest dollars that will prolong the time it takes for them to pay off the car.