# Would you give anyone a brand new car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967 "2010-03-02T05:47:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/41 "2010-03-04T02:13:41Z")
Thanks folks for your answers. Here and other places I hear the brand new car thing used as a reductio ad absurdum in response to suggestions of helping other people. “Those people are starving. We should get them some help!” “Yah, next thing you’ll want us to give them a car. Can’t save everyone pal.” Sound familiar? I was curious to see how generous people actually are. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/42 "2010-03-04T02:49:27Z")
> [@Drub Comprehensive](#): > > If it helps anybody, I drive the 94 Corolla I’ve had for years. 25+mpg and it never breaks down. I just gave a friend my 92 Saab 9000 for a dollar. I upgraded to a 99 9-5. She has not had a car since her car died and someone once gave me a car and I used it for years. Pay it forward. There are some good programs out there for donating your older car to help the poor. Good News Garage is one of them. I think you can write it off on your taxes? I would give away a new car if I was wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/43 "2010-03-04T02:56:47Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I was curious to see how generous people actually are. I’m not sure why you think your question gets at how generous people are. To me, it’s like asking “Is there any circumstance under which you would jump off a cliff?” The answers don’t indicate how suicidal the answerer is, because there are many situations in which I would jump off a cliff even though I did not intend to kill myself. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/44 "2010-03-04T02:57:21Z")
Do tell. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/45 "2010-03-04T14:22:01Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’m not sure why you think your question gets at how generous people are. To me, it’s like asking “Is there any circumstance under which you would jump off a cliff?” The answers don’t indicate how suicidal the answerer is, because there are many situations in which I would jump off a cliff even though I did not intend to kill myself. Bungie jumping?😕 ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/46 "2010-03-04T14:50:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I have an intense dislike for parents who buy their kids new cars, regardless of whether or not they can afford it. American kids don’t learn to drive properly, so every single one of them winds up with at least a parking ding in the first year. Yipes. Upon HS graduation, we took our son to the Toyota dealer and let him order his new car (within $$ limits). 3 years later, he’s had no accidents nor noticeable damage. I figure parking dings are a little outside his control, unless he’s to skip class and guard the car all day. :rolleyes: Seriously, you dislike people for this? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967/47 "2010-03-04T15:32:11Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’m not sure why you think your question gets at how generous people are. To me, it’s like asking “Is there any circumstance under which you would jump off a cliff?” The answers don’t indicate how suicidal the answerer is, because there are many situations in which I would jump off a cliff even though I did not intend to kill myself. Hmm. Maybe you’d only jump off a cliff if you were being chased by a herd of rabid hippos. And only then. That’d tell me that it is really hard to persuade you to jump off a cliff and we could take the notion as effectively absurd in your case, even if there is an exception. As for giving away cars, well, some people (possibly) think that you really ought to get off your lazy ass and earn that car yourself. No way they’d give away a new car. Others are more, um, ‘generous’ for lack of a better word. I think the varied responses suggest a sort of spectrum of generosity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-anyone-a-brand-new-car/530967.md?page=2)