Help me convince my mom

[akwal07]

Or, you can tell your parents you don't deserve a car for getting INTO college, you'd prefer to get a gift like that for GRADUATING from college.

My son is graduating high school in May, and my graduation gift to him is a car, but it is a 1990 Mustang LX 5.0 notchback that we are in the process of building together. Not only is he learning mechanical/technical skills in the process he will have a dependable, paid for car that is unlikely to depreciate while he is in school.

now that is a great gift

i got a 2011 v6 new at 18 but i pay monthly for it, my parents set aside money for a used car and i convinced them to just put it as a down payment and that i would pay the rest. Still happily paying and now looking to upgrade to the gt, but some time with out car payments might be nice. Paying for your own car or at least part of it is a great lesson. I do not like things getting handed to me, heck if i could i would pay back the down payment to my parents.

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[Someday]

I would tend to agree with the be happy with what you got folks but... something tells me that may be wishful thinking.

 

[cbrookre]

QFMFT. As a 22 year old college student I couldn't agree more. I bought a '12 GT when I got into college and I ended up wrapping it around a tree. .... I'd pass and ask for a beater or a nice Mini Cooper and buy this once you're done with school.

god, I hope you are OK! Have been fortunate as a very defensive driver not to have any wrecks like this. Certainly even though I am getting a GT, I will not be racing anyone or anything like that, I have two kids and a wife to think about.

That is my primary concern here, and not to say anything about the OP that I do not know, but this is a serious car and without the years of wisdom behind me, I could see my 18 year old self getting into some serious bad situations with a car like this! My kids will not be getting a 400+HP car without having earned it personally, that is for sure! I am planning to do project cars, that really interests me as was mentioned here before, teach them how to be responsible for it by putting in the work to earn it!

Chris

 

[SynisterGT]

That is not at all what he wrote in the orginal post, it is one hell of an incentive to go to college though.

See post #14. After reading the OP you are right. I do agree, I know a guy whose parents bought him a 2008 Shelby GT500 when he got into college.

 

[cbrookre]

Looks like I'll be the other college kid to respond to this thread. I'm a 19 year-old engineering student, and I see and understand the situation with the OP and everyone's response.

Now, to the OP, please be calm when you're reading these posts if you aren't; these guys are much older than the two of us(no offense), and you have to understand where they're coming from. Most of them grew up in a time when everything wasn't always handed to them; rather, they had to work for every single penny and even then, some couldn't always get what they wanted, and could only get what was given to them. With no complaints whatsoever, they had to live with it and work and work more and more to finally have the money to get what they really wanted: Mustangs being the prime example here.

What they're trying to say, but maybe it's not coming across correctly, is that even if you wanted a BMW 1-series, or a Mustang GT, it's still an expensive car, and while I'm damn sure that the manual would be fun as hell, and even more fun than the auto, it's still a brand-spanking new Mustang GT, and that's a big deal. Let's also be honest here, I don't mean to play devil's advocate, but I think it's clear that even though you could teach your sister how to drive stick, and that would be a nice gesture and a vital piece of information for her, you really want the manual because YOU want to drive manual; and that's alright, but if the auto is the only way to have a Mustang, then I'd take it. It may be the only way to compromise if you/they want one. The problem wasn't that you were getting a Mustang, but it appeared as though you were coming off as a spoiled person with a $35k+ Mustang and BMW and such; you didn't appear to be humble about it is all. And that's not to say you're not, we don't know you in real life, and this is just the internet, but sometimes what you type can be negatively received, just a thought.

And while I have no problem with you wanting the manual over the auto, and you have the right to debate that with your parents, remember that it is your parent's money, and they make the final decision in the end, no matter what it may be. That being said, you could do what I did; which was to have my parents sign out a loan on the car of my choice(limited to $25k for me), and I went ahead and got a Focus ST, and I make the monthly payments myself with my money and job, and I also modify it too. Unfortunately, I didn't wait for the '15 and could have gotten a V6, but I digress, and am happy with what I've got now, including my '84 Porsche 944 which I bought in cash with my own money just a couple weeks ago.

And when I graduate in a couple of years and hopefully get a job at Ford, I'll be looking to order a Mustang GT as my first pony car!

That being said, perhaps you could use some sort of financial agreement like I did to get the manual instead of the auto; perhaps you could agree to pay for the car monthly(unless they're paying fully in cash). Teaching your sister could also help as well; the safety of not being able to text and drive with a phone in your hand(but SYNC might make that irrelevant), and not many people in our generation know how to drive a stick, so it's an extra(almost free) anti-theft feature! But I will say that the manual being cheaper than the auto(only about $1000-1500 cheaper) isn't a good argument, assuming your parents are quite wealthy.

THANK YOU!!! Just when I thought the younger generation was going to ruin the future of this country, you do this post! Keep it up young man!

 

[Tamadrummer88]

Let me just say this: You are probably extremely lucky to get a brand new car just for entering college. Most kid's parents don't do that for them. I never finished college, and if my parents ever got me a new car like a new mustang just because, i wouldn't even take it, because i felt i never earned it. When i was 22, I graduated from my local police academy, and that was the most hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and the one thing that i was actually successful at. I bought me a 2011 V6, brand new, with my own money, to reward myself for my hard work.


I know some of my friends that were in college and their parents gave them everything and they never worked. Please don't be one of those students. Get a part time job to earn some money yourself and to show your parents thanks, pay some bills around the house every once in awhile. Show them that you appreciate what they did for you. Show your parents that you are actually making an effort to start your life in the working world.

On that note, get the manual, and teach your sister. Be grateful that your parents got you a car most kids your age wish they had.

 

[MELLOWYELLOW06]

Just take the car and deal with an auto or
just save up and buy your own and then
and only then you can prevent someone driving it.

 

[wjones14]

The post is about convincing your mom to let you have a new stick Mustang. I say since your folks have the money to afford to send you to college and buy you a new car in the $40K range, maybe try a different argument: try to convince your parents to buy you the Mustang and buy your sister the car she wants. It's just a drop in the bucket for your parents and everyone is happy in the end.

 

[Seabee1973]

Thanks!
I grew up in a similar fashion myself; My parents, my dad and his brothers specifically, are car enthusiasts of the older generation, and spending my time around them is the reason I'm the way I am today; they'd tell me stories of drag racing on the streets of Ohio, with big blocks and nitrous and such, and how much more fun cars were back in the day; it really left an impression on me and I wouldn't have it any other way!



Thank you Niko. I'm generally a Porsche kid with an affinity for Ford, but you all make me feel very welcome in the Mustang community, and I haven't even had my first pony yet; thank you very much! :ford:

Exactly[emoji6] except I have not liked the older cars other than they are easier to work on..... I am an Audi guy with an affection to Ford. Porsche and Lamborghini too but this swing I can only get what I can afford..I really wanted the 2016 Audi TTS but the 50k tag kinda hit... then the 2015 Mustang showed up with the irs.... always liked the mustang but there have been certain design cues I just did not like... biggest thing was the rear axle and interior... as time slips by I begin to wonder what I liked in the past mustang. 1988 is when I started to like the mustang though obviously too young to drive, had a couple hand me downs and slipped the chevy way the 2014 mustang hit much of the exterior and interior I did not like with previous versions but the 2015 struck a home run

 

[Jon]

Serious Opinion/Advice

Well my dad is going to buy me a 2015 gt for getting into college (since last year he was going to buy a 2014 but we find out about the 2015 rummors so we waited) and since my mom wants me to borrow it from time to time to my sister, she wants me to get it automatic instead of manual because she only knows automatic, so i was hoping you could give me some arguments to convince my mom to go for the manual (my dad preffers the manual but he doesnt really cares)
I would appreciate your help, thank you :clap2:

Skip to the bold to get my honest opinion, but please read my post afterwards to get some context for it! Regardless, best of luck with the new mustang.

Hi, I saw the 19 year old's post and loved it, and I can respect the people telling you to be grateful, you're spoiled, etc. However, I'll give you my honest opinion.

I just bought a V6 standard, with my own money; cash...would have loved a GT...there were moments when I thought about financing!

Here is my background: my parents were amazing, and were fortunate enough to be in a position where they could (barely) pay for my education. This already made me feel like I basically had won the lottery as I understand and respected that this was not an expectation in one's life, especially with my parent's income. During my University experience I always felt the need to push myself because of this, even though I was in a band at the time (super bad decision money wise...even toured for a year on our own dime...stupid but so amazing all in the same). As a result, I felt this urge to just be successful regardless; to use what I could to make money, whether that be a minimum wage job or something else. I ended up starting my own music business company, and I continually applied for various teaching jobs. Within a few years I was billing $30/hour privately and $45/hour for a college job that I got for a summer program; during this process I worked minimum wage jobs to grow my clientele and was able to still work to achieve my maximum capability to produce profit. I am proud to say I am still doing both, even though I'm looking for a real entry job to get into my chosen career.

Am I really jealous you are in the position to convince your parents to buy you a GT to share? You bet you, but I am really happy for you; you are truly blessed!

So this brings me to the point, as I don't want this to seem like I am showing off, or retelling the privileges that I have received. Rather I tell you these things to emphasize the neutrality of my opinion, and please consider it if at all possible if resonates with you in any way.

I love driving manual. My little sister sister (17) and my girlfriend (26) (I am 24 for reference...took that stupid year off to tour, and I completed a graduate degree) both learned manual within a few sessions/hours. If you can convince everyone to drive stick, I recommend it. I absolutely love it...I don't care if an automatic in the most expensive car is x/second faster; I'm not racing to the supermarket, or on the country winding roads near me, rather I love the feel. I'll start a new paragraph for my description of how I feel when I drive a manual (disclaimer: how I describe how I feel when driving a manual, auto drivers this is again, purely my opinion and not an recommendation that you can't have fun driving auto).

There is no feeling like releasing the clutch around a tight corner, going into a lower gear to slow down for a second for this purpose, and hearing that "lull" between shifts with the clutch down, then hearing it reengage and "scream". It is simply life changing...You briefly kill the engine, then reengage it to haul like no tomorrow!. This feels like if your heart stopped for a minute in slow motion, and then started beating again.

Selling points have been said already; you could get better gas mileage (good luck as you have to drive this with low RPM changes, lol don't tell them that), you look awesome, people staring in your window in a parking lot will think highly of you (or will be secretly jealous of our not so secret club in North America), Europeans won't laugh at you, cheaper repair costs for a transmission, no lag for the down shit of auto paddles, and probably a lot more. *I will note again, I mean no offence auto drivers, I don't totally love the auto trans, but I truly believe a "too each their own" principle, however, please respect my opinion as well.

Best of luck mate, again words cannot describe my jealousy for your purchase. I hope you end up with what you'd prefer in the end, and good on you for taking an interest in the manual trans, which is a dying trend in North America. Worst case, use that college degree to buy a sick manual in future, and truly appreciate the joy of shifting! My first car was a 90HP Diesel Jetta, and I loved that damn car...handled like a go kart; so you can't go backwards from there.

Regardless, post pictures please! The best part of being apart of this forum is to simply enjoy Mustangs; and pictures are definitely apart of that...hint hint!

Jon

 

[tbonez3858]

The appropriate angle in my opinion for the Mustang with a V8 and a manual is the finality of both features. Manual transmissions and V8s are destined for the scrap bin. I think an argument could be made that you want to experience the quintessential American muscle car in its last and final revision before its relegated to the dustbins of history. You are in a once in a lifetime spot (college) with a once and a lifetime opportunity to own a piece of true Americana. The odds of owning a V8 with a manual moving forward, unless you buy a classic, is almost zero..

 

[Strokerswild]

I think you should tell your dad and mom that you really appreciate the sentiment of wanting to buy you a car, but you have ultimately decided that you want to get a job and pay for the car yourself and all expenses related to it.....

Best answer in this entire thread, bar none.

Not only did I get into college without incentive (other than knowing it would be worth it), I paid my way on my own as I went. It took six years, but I graduated with my engineering degree with zero debt. On my own.

Making your own way builds character like nothing else.

 

[Chris22888]

Price manual is cheaper and you will teach your sister to drive a manual which will be quality time and she will never forget the first car she learned to drive a manual in.

 

[goldengooner]

Looks like I'll be the other college kid to respond to this thread. I'm a 19 year-old engineering student, and I see and understand the situation with the OP and everyone's response.

Now, to the OP, please be calm when you're reading these posts if you aren't; these guys are much older than the two of us(no offense), and you have to understand where they're coming from. Most of them grew up in a time when everything wasn't always handed to them; rather, they had to work for every single penny and even then, some couldn't always get what they wanted, and could only get what was given to them. With no complaints whatsoever, they had to live with it and work and work more and more to finally have the money to get what they really wanted: Mustangs being the prime example here.

What they're trying to say, but maybe it's not coming across correctly, is that even if you wanted a BMW 1-series, or a Mustang GT, it's still an expensive car, and while I'm damn sure that the manual would be fun as hell, and even more fun than the auto, it's still a brand-spanking new Mustang GT, and that's a big deal. Let's also be honest here, I don't mean to play devil's advocate, but I think it's clear that even though you could teach your sister how to drive stick, and that would be a nice gesture and a vital piece of information for her, you really want the manual because YOU want to drive manual; and that's alright, but if the auto is the only way to have a Mustang, then I'd take it. It may be the only way to compromise if you/they want one. The problem wasn't that you were getting a Mustang, but it appeared as though you were coming off as a spoiled person with a $35k+ Mustang and BMW and such; you didn't appear to be humble about it is all. And that's not to say you're not, we don't know you in real life, and this is just the internet, but sometimes what you type can be negatively received, just a thought.

And while I have no problem with you wanting the manual over the auto, and you have the right to debate that with your parents, remember that it is your parent's money, and they make the final decision in the end, no matter what it may be. That being said, you could do what I did; which was to have my parents sign out a loan on the car of my choice(limited to $25k for me), and I went ahead and got a Focus ST, and I make the monthly payments myself with my money and job, and I also modify it too. Unfortunately, I didn't wait for the '15 and could have gotten a V6, but I digress, and am happy with what I've got now, including my '84 Porsche 944 which I bought in cash with my own money just a couple weeks ago.

And when I graduate in a couple of years and hopefully get a job at Ford, I'll be looking to order a Mustang GT as my first pony car!

That being said, perhaps you could use some sort of financial agreement like I did to get the manual instead of the auto; perhaps you could agree to pay for the car monthly(unless they're paying fully in cash). Teaching your sister could also help as well; the safety of not being able to text and drive with a phone in your hand(but SYNC might make that irrelevant), and not many people in our generation know how to drive a stick, so it's an extra(almost free) anti-theft feature! But I will say that the manual being cheaper than the auto(only about $1000-1500 cheaper) isn't a good argument, assuming your parents are quite wealthy.

I know I am bringing this back from the dead, but just had to say from a guy in London in the UK, your post was so mature, a very clever wise head on young shoulders, total respect to you !!
And I am sure if you keep these values as you have stated, you will be a total success and you might end up one day building cars :cheers:

 

[JJFlash]

Tell your mom you really don’t deserve such an expensive gift since you didn’t do anything to justify it—-getting into college only benefits you; no one else. And you realize that it’s not a reward or payment for something you did for someone else. But since it’s your gift, it should be tailored to your wants & desires, not those of the people giving it. I mean, who do they think they are specifying what their gift should be for such a remarkable achievement.

Tell her when your sister gets into college (or does something else equally worthy), your sister can specify what her gift should be. In the meantime, it’s your gift and should be yours alone, and exactly what you want.

That ought to do it.

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