My Parents Offered Two Choices...
 

Ok, in a year I will be going off to university, and living in residence (I live out of town).

So, with gas prices being ridiculous my parents are giving me two choices..

1) Buying me a car worth approximatly $10,000, and I would have to pay for licensing, gas, repair, etc.

or

2) Me taking the bus everywhere in the city and my parents just giving me $10,000 in cash to spend however I like.

With option number two, my freedoms are greatly restricted, but it would help me pay for living on campus and generally surviving in the world. A car would be nice, but money is nice too... I think I can take a hit on places I can go, and just live off of where the bus takes me.

I am leaning towards option 2, but I would like to hear some imput from others.

What do you think?

Go with option 2. It'd be a lot more cost effecient in the long run, because gas is going to be around $3/gallon any grade, and that is way too much money to be spending, but people still do it.

Dude, 2 for sure, buy a $5k car and get some toys/luxury necessities with the other $5k.

Um.. why can't you just take the $10,000 and buy a cheaper car?

exactly... get a bike or scooter, great on gas and you dont need insurance
when i go to Full Sail next year that is what I am going to buy... ill pay $5 if that a week in gas and no insurance... about $23/mo in gas

Option 2.

A bike or scooter? Lol, no.

But you can get a great car for $3k easily.

its def a great idea... don't look at style, but price. better than the bus

Definately take the money and buy a car with some of it.

But the shitty part is that on any car it is still $700-$1000 on licensing every year, plus it takes $50 to fill up a tank of a Ford Focus (thats what my parents drive), plus upkeep (and it can be alot, Saskatchewan roads and weather usually arn't the best for the car).

Take option 2 and get a Llama, those things really have some great speed!

Just get you a mid 90's civic (er..35+ mpg) that costs about 2-3 thousand dollars.

I would have to go with taking the money and buying a bike, better on gas, better on speed, and plus you look better.

Option two for sure and im not gonna comment on how you should spend it. That should be totally up to. That much money is way better than a car. Gas is fucked.

option 2 cause u can get other people to drive u around. Plus then u wont have to worry about crashing or getting ticketed

Or going out and getting smashed. Someone else can drive you home.

Yeah, I am seriously considering buying a bike to just bike around, and if it is a long distance away, taking the bus. Im still not sure, though.

I think he meant a motorcycle.

Yeah, probably.. but Im thinking a bicycle, because I wont be spending money on gas, or registration, or upkeep, and I also wouldn't have to get a second license.

take the money and buy a cheaper car........use the remaining money for w/e u want...

If you get a job off-campus, a bicycle sucks ass.

Motorcycle is really a good investment if you don't plan on doing big grocery runs or taking many passengers. Gas is cheap as hell, it's fun, and you get pimp points if you get a l337 bike. Just don't get run over.

thats a great idea, but make sure to wear protective head gear

Def. number 2

Definitely number 2. I'd rather have the money to help pay for school than to have the car. At least that way you know you're getting your education taken care of.

Fuck that you're nothing without a vehicle.

Not necessarily: buses, bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, and even your feet can get you around where you need to. Honestly, I love to walk to places when I need to go somewhere. But that's heavily dependant on weather and time.

Number Two, IMO. Heck, if you're patient enough you can even find a semi-decent car for under 2K. Especially if all you need to do is just get from point A to point B most of the time, like myself.

You can get a 700 dollar car, and 9300 dollars worth of CRACK!

Same as (almost) everyone else:

Option 2, and purchase a cheap car.

I wonder how it must have felt in times when cars, buses and trains didn't exist, a time when it was basically just your feet or horses... Imagine that. Don't be in such a rush and think things through to a long term. First things first is do you have a job, if so, how long do you need to work per week, how does this fit with your schedule, can you meet your schedule through transports such as buses and whatnot, if you can then you should be fine, if not then a car would be best, but you don't truly need a new one, a used one can do fine since you're only aiming for something that'll last for your studies and not drain to much fuel as to empty your wallet.

Adding to that, do you have anything that can play music, walkman, CD player, iPod or an MP3 Player, if so, you can listen to that whilst on public transport, along with that, try to read a nice book, catch up on the sports section, read up some wacky shit, look up comic books or mangas or novels, check out the scenery, check out the scenery inside the public transports, by that I mean people of the opposite sex, or take the time to rest a bit before reaching your destination.

With the first, you have a lot of freedom, but with that comes a lot of responsabilities which limits your freedom as well as a lot of payments to worry about, not to mention gas. With the second, you have a limited form of freedom, yet a lot of it in comparison. Freedom is what you make of it, and what you believe is best for you is what you should take.

A car can take you places faster, but a bus can do just about the same if you know what bus to take. One is more convenient then the other, for you don't have to wait for a car, but you do for a bus or any other public transport. Nonetheless, the price is much less in comparison... Eh well, from what I say it sounds like I favor number two, that's because I would personally, but that's me. For you, it depends on your lifestyle, choose something according to how you live and don't look back on your decision with regret, at least, not for too long, you'll become depressed if you do.

Gas is pretty bad but its not like it's to the point where THAT should solely determine if someone gets a car.

I drive a gas chugging car that I drive about 30 miles a day. (20 miles for work and 10 miles if I feel like doing anything). It costs 50 dollars to fill a tank up and gets me about a week and a half to two weeks. I work at least 32 hours a week so I've made up my whole 1.5 - 2 weeks worth of gas just by working 6.5~ hrs or so. Doesn't seem tobad to me.

Yeah, but you don't drive places. See, my friends and I can go over 100 miles in a day without even realizing it.

*cough* roadies *cough*

Yeah.. well. This is the country. Rural area.

Number 2.

Yeah.