Getting Insurance Coverage
It can be crazy expensive to insure a young driver. We all know that our vehicle insurance is supposed to drop once we reach the age of 25, but up until then we are stuck paying higher rates because we are inexperienced. If your parents pay for your car insurance, you’re lucky. If you have to do it yourself, it can be a large task.
And depending on the type of car you choose to insure, it can be astronomical. I remember being 18 and my dad was going to lend me his six year old Mustang GT. He wanted to loan it to me after I graduated high school to help me save up money to buy my own car. Well this car was going to cost me $250 each month just to insure. Sure, I was a newish driver, but I had a clean record. And I found a lot of places wouldn’t actually insure someone my age with a “racing car” as they put it.
Being the Designated Driver
When you’re young there’s a good chance that a lot of your friends either don’t have licenses or if they do, they don’t have cars. This puts you in the spot of being the designated driver, and no I don’t mean the sober driver. I’m talking about the only one that has a car or a license, which means you get stuck playing taxi with all of your friends.
If you want to go out for lunch when you’re at school, prepare for a group of friends to pile into your car. The problem with this is that it can cause a lot of distracted driving, and oftentimes too many people try to cram into a car. This is incredibly dangerous, can get you in trouble with the police, a ticket, and raised insurance, and also, puts you and your friends in a position to be harmed. One seat belt per person should be the rule, and no one extra should be added. There’s a lot of pressure when you’re young and you think you’re invincible, but people make mistakes, and even if you drive perfectly, others on the road don’t.
Paying for Your Car
Sometimes a parent will allow you to use their car, but a lot of families aren’t in that position. So you’ll have to pay for your car yourself. This either means working a part time job after school and saving up enough to pay cash, or getting a car loan. This can be difficult, especially if you are under 18. You’ll need a cosigner, which will usually be a parent or grandparent. Since them cosigning can harm their credit, many parents might not want to do this unless you can prove that you are responsible enough to make the payments each month.
Once you get the payment of your car figured out, you’ll need to pay for that costly insurance we were talking about. This can mean that you’ll be working after school and on the weekends to pay for your car, which you’ll mainly use to take you to school and work, and much less often for road tripping and hanging out with your friends.
It can be hard to be a young driver. There’s a lot of responsibility, you’re not as seasoned as many other drivers on the road, many people don’t take you seriously, and you’ll pretty much be working just to pay for your car that you won’t get to enjoy much.
Remember to be responsible and think every time you get into your car. It’s not just you on the road. You need to learn to drive offensively and defensively. Be good to other drivers, but be aware of them as well.
If you do find yourself needing your vehicle repaired, we hope you’ll think of East End Body Shop in Huntington, WV. Remember that you have the right to request the tow truck take your vehicle to any body shop you want, and we will work with your insurance agency. We know how much a car can mean to a young driver and we will treat it with care and respect.
