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.
How did you need to replace the transmission and not have it covered under warranty? 
Are people better drivers in other countries?
I guess I’m not as into routine maintenance as I should be.
ETA: I also put a shitload of miles on my vehicle each year.
Outside of some completely implausible scenarios I probably wouldn’t.
Buying a new car for a spouse is a bit different though. Like many married couples we consider our assets shared. Which means that even if my wife needed a car for her own specific needs it would be considered a family car, used mostly by my wife, and we would make a joint decision that the family as a whole required the convenience of another car. It would not be considered as one person buying the other person a car. (And given our similar incomes I’d be a real jerk going around claiming I bought the car!)
Well, not all other countries - drivers in the Gulf states or India would put Bostonians and Angelinos to shame - but in lots of other countries, yes.
In the UK, for example, the driver’s licensing test actually tests whether you can drive, and most people get professional instruction. You can take a practice theory test here, which is required just to get your provisional license (learner’s permit, basically).
My current car is a Honda Accord that I bought when it was two years old. Hondas retain their value well enough that the discount for a late-model used one is so slight that you might as well buy the car new. So next time that’s what I’ll do.
I would absolutely buy someone (like a spouse or kid) a new car, if I were to have a spouse, or kids, and if I could afford it.
Newer cars are generally safer, both because they have the most current safety technology, and because they’re less likely to have something go wrong mechanically. Having an unreliable old car that sometimes doesn’t start is just an inconvenience (unless you live somewhere very cold). Having an unreliable old car that has a chance of a catastrophic failure in the brakes, or the wheels or some other essential control system can be deadly.
I’d drive a new car if I could afford it, but I’ve decided that the tradeoff is worth it. Similarly, if I were providing a car for someone else, I’d have to consider the potential tradeoffs, but depending on my situation, I might well choose to buy them a new car.
That’s actually exactly why we ended up buying new cars. We were looking at used Civics and found that we could get exactly what we wanted and a better warranty for just a little more.
When my then 17-year-old daughter was going to a nearby college back in the 60s, with all the craziness going on, we were very reluctant to have her live in a dorm. I offered her the choice of that, or getting a brand new Toyota Corolla. Back then, it was less expensive than the dorm fees, and we were happy that she jumped that the chance.
Good to have her home every night.
The next year, however, she elected to go into a shared apt, so i took the car back and sold it. We were both pleased with the arrangement.
Now, all these years later, she is driving a Prius.
I’m just going to reiterate what has already been said - there are many years difference between a new car and a unreliable old car, and there are many safe reliable cars in that gap.
When our daughter turned 16, we bought her a New Beetle (ok, against my wishes - my husband is a doting daddy.) She’ll turn 25 this year, and she’s still driving the same car, and for several years, she’s been responsible for its upkeep and such. I’ll have to admit, she’s been properly careful of her car and properly grateful. Maybe she’s an oddity, but having her own car didn’t spoil her, and she didn’t have her first crash till she was over 20.
If I was wealthy, I’d be more inclined to buy less well-off relatives a new car, but as it is, we’ll just buy our own.
I bought a new Nissan Versa three years ago. I had been considering a used car,but my insurance worked out to be less for a new car than for a used one,plus I really wanted a warranty.
So yeah,I would still buy a family member a new car,if only to save them some money in the long run.
I wouldn’t go into debt, but if I had an extra $40-50k lying around (HA!) I would love to buy an old friend of mine a compact SUV: she has MS and is on disability, and her 7-year-old son has CP. She drives an old beater that is literally falling apart (though at least the engine is sound), and she never ever complains about it – or about money, in general, even though she just barely supports the two of them. I’d love to get her something new, so she wouldn’t have to even think about anything but preventive maintenance for a few years, and something big enough for her to more comfortably lift her son into and out of his car seat. And something with a big enough trunk to accomodate his wheelchair and accessories plus whatever: right now when she takes him places her trunk gets pretty full with just his stuff.
My wife got a new Honda Accord as she was graduating undergrad. We drove that baby into the ground over the course of 10 years, until the repair bill was higher than the blue book. Her dad was great - nothing like NOT worrying about repairs for the first few years of grad school and marriage, and I will do the same for my kids.
My kids will get a good used car for high school and college, and new reliable car once they start working (unless they end up somewhere where a car is not needed like Manhattan, London, etc.). I will also pay for undergrad and grad school for them as well so that they can get started in life without that level of debt worry either.
It cost $1,700 to live in a dorm in 1968?
If it was for someone I knew was dying and their last wish was to have a brand new car or if I was filthy rich.
Yeah, sure I would. I don’t understand the question really. I would give anyone anything under the proper circumstances.
Would, but what about could?? People around here are pretty bourgeois, I must say.
Safe and reliable maybe. But maybe not a bargain. Consider the excellent deals on new cars today*, and the much higher rate to finance a used car- thus a new car can be a better deal.
I would if I won the lottery or something and in fact have thought about who’d get what.
Now, my parents did buy me a car for graduation- a 10yo Chevy Impala. I think they paid $300 or so.
If it helps anybody, I drive the 94 Corolla I’ve had for years. 25+mpg and it never breaks down.