Taking car loan for teenager daughter

Hi Cathy,

It will be good to know how much the car is going to cost and over how many months/years Casey is intending to repay that amount. Anyway this is what I think - a car loan is a huge commitment for anyone, be it a young person or a married one. The problem with such a commitment is that if you fail to pay back the loan, you can be in serious trouble as getting a car loan means signing a contract which legally binds you to fulfill the terms contained within.

So the first thing you need to ask yourself Casey is whether you will really be able to honour the contract of the car loan because if you don't, then you can be sued and start off your adulthood with bad credit history (that's a really bad thing as it will make getting loans/mortgages difficult later on in your life). Then you need to consider the term of the loan, will it be 2 or 3 years? Will I still be able to afford the monthly repayments for the duration of the car loan term? Can my circumstances change and how will they affect my ability to pay back the loan? What I'm trying to say Casey is that your mum would like you to understand the commitment you are willing to make and the consequences it has. I understand that you have not been very wise with your spending in the past (from what your mum said) but if you have thought hard about this car loan and about the consequences as well (you losing/quiting your job, moving somewhere else for uni etc) and you still think you will be able to afford it, then I wish you good luck and hope things work out for you.

I will also request your mum to give you the chance to prove that you can be responsible as well but remember, you need to be sure that you will be able to pay back the loan no matter what happens and not run back to your mum the moment you fall short of money!