Who here had to work to drive?

[wayfast1500]

I've been hearing about a lot of kids who get their first cars handed to them and expect mommy and daddy to pay for them to drive.  I got my first job at 14, worked to pay MY cell phone bill, the summer I turned 15 I bought my first truck (1989 bronco 2), i worked all summer to get it road worthy.  When I turned 16 I got my license because I got a 2nd job during the summer.  All summer when I was 16 I worked 2 jobs so I could buy a motorcycle.  My parents did help me out by taking me to the auto parts store if I needed a part but couldn't get there or lent me money for gas if I was low, or cosign a loan.  I'm proud to be 20 and own my truck, charger, and bikes and I paid for it all on my own.  I'm on my 5th bike (3rd Harley), 2nd toy car and 3rd truck plus I pay for college.  I know by no by no means is that tough, and I'm real happy my parents made me work for things instead of handing them to me.  Who else were in the same situation?  I plan on raising my kids the same way because the feeling of responcibility and appreciation makes it worth it in my opinion.

[oldcarnut]

I cut grass and delivered papers. Didn't know what a cell phone was but I did pay for my Atari pong, 8-track player, and tapes to go in my first car and other things many won't know what they were .  Got my license at 15 and bought a 71 Charger 500 when I was 16  .   They loaned me the cash and I paid them back plus paid for my insurance. My dad did buy my motocross bikes for me to race with the last one being a new 74 Honda Elsinore 250 at 13 yrs old and after that it was up to me to buy the rest and fix them. Later I bought, fixed up, and sold VW's to build sandrails.  Kids take much better care of things when they pay for them. It's good to hear you have been self sufficient on your own.  My kids did well in school and as incentive to stay in good standing and get nice scholarships towards college I told them I would help pay for their cars up to a certain point as long as they did so.  All have graduated and managing well on their own.  I don't agree with parents that just had over cash, cars, whatever to kids without some kind of responsibility that goes with it.  I see nothing wrong with giving a helping hand as long they are helping out where they can and not just being an ungrateful sponge.  Sometimes it's more important to keep up the learning and grades than lose it to late hours for a job. Too many times I've seen teens just ripping their cars around doing stupid things with them knowing that mommy and daddy with fix it for them no problem.  It's mostly the same ones later that can't manage on their own.  Sounds like ya have a plan  .     

[Rolling_Thunder]

dug trenches and saved up money from Xmas, birthdays, and gifts...     

[WingCharger]

dug trenches and saved up money from Xmas, birthdays, and gifts...     

...mow lawns, run a bushhog, help bale hay, etc.

[Charger-Bodie]

Newspapers, lawn mowing, baling hay(hated baling hay with a passion),and worked in my Dads Body Shop. Later I also had a job at a Full Service Standard station, pumping gas washing cars and doing minor service work. At 17 I started working full time in the summer at a body shop and after school during my senior year. Ive been Doing it full time for over 20 years now as I graduated from H.S. in 1989.

I never had an Atari or any other game system......Nothing fun happened at home, That was all at the shop.
When i was a kid and all my freinds were playing kick the can and backyard sports like baseball and football etc. I was at the shop with my Dad...Cause thats right where I wanted to be!

As far as the having things handed to you deal. Well, I kinda did cause my Dad helped me ALOT when building my first Charger (that I bought with MY savings) when I was 16.....But I worked for him since I was old enuf to get in the car and go to the shop though so Im guessing thats kind of a wash.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Farm work, and Service Station work here.

[C_stripes]

My Dad co signed on a loan for me, but I paid for the truck. Other than that, I bought everything I own. I have had plenty of cars (around 150 before age 19). I am now 25 and live on my own and don't ever ask for money. My younger siblings have seemed to have a bit more help. They all still live at home. All four of them plus my brothers wife and son. My Brother had been moved out, but quit his job and now can't find another. I do agree, you have a much better appreciation of yourself and your material objects if you pay for them yourself. I am also paying for collage myself, That's part of the reason the Dusters going to take a wile.

[chargerkid01]

I guess I could say I'm in both boats. When I was little I told my grandma and grandpa that one the red dodge would be mine. I started working around the age of 13 or 14. We repainted it around that time. Well when I got my permit my grandpa told me you finish the truck it is yours, so I spent a ton of money finishing it. It was worth it. We still have that truck it. as for working and driving my ass was on the bus if I didn't have to work or when I was between jobs!!

Now when I got the 95 ram grandpa co signed the loan and we put in his name for insurance purposes, but I make that payment every month!

[IowaCharger69]

I had to choose between driving my 82 Camaro and playing highschool sports. If I play sports i get my moms Ford Tempo for free. If I worked I get a $600 budget to buy a car then I had to pay my own insurance. Screw driving a Ford Tempo.

I worked at the same place for seven years. I bought and restored and sold my 82 Camaro, a 68 Camaro, my first 69 Charger, my 67 Camaro and a 66 Plymouth Fury, then I bought my current Charger. Like some others that have posted here I also paid for all of my college, and some of my grad program stuff.

A couple of those first cars might have been bondo beauties but a couple of those last ones were nearly perfect drivers. All on 6.25/hour. That is a lot of weekends and long nights.

The funny thing is, as I get older and make more money, I no longer have the time I need to do anything right. When I was 16 I had zero money and all the time on the world. Now at 26 I have all the money I need and no time. Life sure is a ironical bitch.

[chargerkid01]

  aint that the truth!! You got six years on me and I know how you feel!!

[Ghoste]

Absolutely I had to work.  We lived on a farm and through no small part on my own I was frequently not allowed to ride the school bus.  I had my licence one month when I slid my fathers old Ranchero sideways through a utility pole.  He sold me the wreck at terms I was in no condition to negotiate, I had to buy my own 16 year old male driver with an accident and a careless driving charge on his record insurance.  I had to put gas in it and I was NOT allowed to drive my parents vehicles ever again (not counting a farm truck for non recreational use).
I might also add that the work on the family farm was non compensable so after chores at home THEN I had to go to my other job in order to make some cash.  There were some weeks when the car sat because I didn't have enough left over to buy gas.
Not whining though, it was a good lesson both in responsibility and self realization because with all that and still being a dedicated gearhead- I knew for sure what my passion was.

[Troy]

I started working an after school job at 15 (legal age in Ohio). My parents made me a deal that they'd let me have our non-running 1970 Challenger (that cost $300 a few years earler when it was still nice) on the condition that I "fix it up". Otherwise I could borrow the Mercury Zephyr (ick!) for work purposes only or purchase something else on my own. They also paid my first 6 months insurance - the same deal all of us kids got - but everything else was on me. My step dad did loan me a few hundred dollars on My 68 Charger that I bought when I was 17 but I paid it back ASAP.

Troy

[Bob]

12=PICKED TOMATOES
13=PICKED MORE TOMATOES
14=TAR AND CHIP AND ROAD CLEARING
15=TAR AND CHIP AND ROAD CLEARING
16=NEWSPAPER COMPANY
16=Bought my first car, 1968 For Galaxy 500 fastback. Mostly ran out gas.
17=Army

[Ponch ®]

7-13 or so - went out with my grandpa during breaks from school and helped him with his bussiness (importing mexican food products - this is before there was a Latin supermarket in every corner). Drove all over L.A. in a van to little corner stores and tried to get them to buy certain products.

13-15 - Worked at a restaurant that my uncle was part owner of. I did everything - carried bricks and poured concrete when they were still building the place, washed dishes, mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, ran errands, flirted with the waitresses, and eventually "moved up" to cashier, emergency cook, and took on unofficial managerial responsibilities (ie. dealing with angry customers who thought their burrito was too spicy).

15-18 - Worked at the same place, but by then I also worked overnight during the weekends in the taco truck that served the after hours crowd after the restaurant was closed. Friday and Saturday nights, from 7 pm to 3-4am. I was mostly the chief financial supervisor (ie. the cashier), but became very proficient at folding a burrito the proper way due to occasionally filling in for the cooks, etc. Also, since I was driving by then, I did some deliveries - though I was never greeted at the door of some house / apt by a hot blonde wearing lingerie.

17-18 - Another uncle opened a car repair shop. I worked there on and off for a few months, learned how to do minor stuff like oil changes, radiator flushes etc.

After that, I got "real" jobs, ie. my present one. But the last summer before I turned 16 I worked my ass off at the restaurant and made enough money to buy my first car (87 Nissan Sentra) and pay for all of my driver's ed / driver's training classes.

[Magnumcharger]

Age 9-11, mowed lawns in the summer (push mower) and shovelled driveways and sidewalks in the winter. Bought my own mower and shovels with my own money from this effort, also fixed the neighbourhoods bicycles, eventually buying my own bicycles from the proceeds.
Age 12-15, pumped gas at an Esso station for $1.00/hr, as I was underage. Picked apples and strawberries in the summer and saved for my first car, a 1969 Barracuda, which I bought when I turned 16. I also painted houses in the city, which required having to hitchhike 40 miles each way.
Age 16-17, pumped gas on the weekends and after school at a Shell station. In the summer, I worked for a concrete contractor, oiling forms and building foundations. I learned bodywork by redoing my very rusty Barracuda.
Age 17-18, After graduation, I sold art supplies, freelanced as a graphic artist and delivered power bills with my 'Cuda. Signed up for college on my own, and used my savings to go to school. Oh, and as long as I lived home I never got an allowance. After I started working - even part-time - I paid rent at home. And as both of my parents worked, I cooked for myself, and did my own laundry.
Moving out of my parents place at 18 was as easy as breathing.
My 21 year old son is still living home....but is paying his own way through university by working in the oilpatch each summer.

[Chargerrtforme]

Age 9-11, mowed lawns in the summer (push mower) and shovelled driveways and sidewalks in the winter. Bought my own mower and shovels with my own money from this effort, also fixed the neighbourhoods bicycles, eventually buying my own bicycles from the proceeds.
Age 12-15, pumped gas at an Esso station for $1.00/hr, as I was underage. Picked apples and strawberries in the summer and saved for my first car, a 1969 Barracuda, which I bought when I turned 16. I also painted houses in the city, which required having to hitchhike 40 miles each way.
Age 16-17, pumped gas on the weekends and after school at a Shell station. In the summer, I worked for a concrete contractor, oiling forms and building foundations. I learned bodywork by redoing my very rusty Barracuda.
Age 17-18, After graduation, I sold art supplies, freelanced as a graphic artist and delivered power bills with my 'Cuda. Signed up for college on my own, and used my savings to go to school. Oh, and as long as I lived home I never got an allowance. After I started working - even part-time - I paid rent at home. And as both of my parents worked, I cooked for myself, and did my own laundry.
Moving out of my parents place at 18 was as easy as breathing.
My 21 year old son is still living home....but is paying his own way through university by working in the oilpatch each summer.

Wow, I was always impressed with the picture of the Charger opening it's lights, I would ask myself , how did he do that?  But your history of growing up and taking care of yourself is much more impressive.

[Silver R/T]

newspapers was my first job, makes you get a sense of responsibility to wake up every day at 4 am and work your ass off in rain, snow, mud, etc. Building character is good for anyone.

[69_500]

First job I actually got paid for was tutoring when I was in High School. Easy money if you ask me. Gave me time to do my homework, and then while doing it help others with theirs. Not do it for them, but teach them. And at the age of 13-15 who could complain about getting paid to do school work right?

Then in the summers of high school when we were here in the United States, I worked for a family friend pouring concrete. Started off on a crew just doing sidewalks (gopher and mud man), and driveways, eventually worked up to doing finish work on the crews. After the third summer of this I was working with 2 other guys every day doing pool's. Its tricky at times to get a nice smooth bottom on a pool while sloping it up to the sides. But hey it was $7.50 an hour in 1993-95 and for a high schooler it was GREAT. Bought my first car the 2nd year working for him it was a 1990 Dodge Daytona.

Then it was off to college for 2 1/2 years on an accademic scholarship, as I was told if you don't get a scholarship your not going to college as my parents didn't have the money to send me. While at college I worked in a shipping and receiving warehouse running a forklift at nights. Taking 19-23 credit hours a semester, working 40 hours a week at the job, and constantly on the look out for another car. During my 2 1/2 years in college I accumulated 6 more cars over those 2 1/2 years and then had the problem after college of finding a place to rent to live that would allow me to park 7 cars at it.

[bear]

I started off with two paper routes and helping my neighbors with yard work. Then I recoated a roof where my dad works and then I spent a summer there working in the fill room filling cans of varnish. I worked at a woodworking place for awhile and now I am back working at a garden center for my fourth year. I have my truck, Charger, and a Belvedere. The most my parents helped was loaning me $100 so I could fix some problems with my truck once I got it and that was right after I spent $10500 to get my truck and Charger within the same week when I was 17.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Newspaper route at 13
Pizza restaurant at 15   $2.65/hr
Dad co-signed a loan for me to get a 75 Plymouth Scamp (I paid all the bills)
Bought a 68 Charger at 17 (360 AT)
Bought the 68 R/T I have now at 18 (440-4 spd)
Had a bunch of misc vehicles in that time (70 Chev PU, 72 GMC PU, 68 Cuda Formula S 340 AT, many misc winter beaters)
Bought my first home at 20 (Just a trailer but better than rent)
Needed more money to drag race so worked a FT Mon-Fri job as partsman, a weekend gas station job, evenings and weekends painting cars.

I always paid for everything myself and not once borrowed money from anybody but was always able to have a co signer when required.

Now the sad part, I have 5 boys 20, 18, 16, 11, 9 who I think are a bit spoiled but not bad by today's standards.

I bought the oldest a 200 dollar beater for his 16th birthday. He totalled it within 6 months.

We bought the 18 year old a 500 dollar car for graduation. It is still running but he did rear end somebody but minimal damage. Won't listen when we tell him to slow down and not tailgate!

We bought the 16 year old a 500 car for his birthday/xmas gift this year.

[mauve66]

mine made me save up 6 months of insurance BEFORE buying the car (74 RR) then i blew the motor the first week and had to keep paying the loan for the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have given my son more than i planned to but in this economy things aren't very good and he ain't making it to college (he gets that from my side of the gene pool)

[wayfast1500]

I was getting nervous when I keep hearing friends/people I graduated with say "look what my parents just gave me"  and it usually would be a brand new car.  Personally I like having to work for things I want and I'm glad Im not alone on that one.

[Supercharged Riot]

My parents did not have a lot of money.  I had to get a job before getting a car.

I first started taking the bus from middle school, all the way through my first 2 years of college.

My first job was at college, which enabled me to pay for gas & insurance. I still didnt have enought money for a car yet.

So, I got my first car in 2002. It was a used 1995 Toyota Camry, which was passed on to me from my parents.  So I got help with that.

I saved up and made sure my next car purchase did not require help from anyone and bought a used 1994 Honda Civic.

Afterwards I started working more and became more independant.

After I managed to buy my own first car, I gave the Camry back and my parents passed it to my youngest brother.

2 years later I worked more and bought a used Nissan 240sx.

This year, after years of searching and saving up my own money, I finally managed to find a 1968 Charger.

I'm being a big brother by donating one of my used cars to my little brother.  I dont need 3 cars right now.

[69bronzeT5]

My dad got me my Charger when I was 6. I'm paying for everything for the Charger now. My dad payed for the Duster with the agreement that I pay for all the parts, insurance and gas. My cars are pretty beat up but I'm working to make them nice. My friend David told me his dad said he'd buy him a muscle car as long as it was under $10,000. Me and my friend Tyson (he bought a '71 Valiant for himself) are 

[KS71owner]

My parents bought my Charger for me (3600 bucks), but I was responsible for all insurance, maintenance etc. I worked at a sandwich shop in the mall for a couple years, then worked loading tractor trailers and driving forklifts until I moved to KS. Then it was a 2nd shift janitor job until I got a starting position at the company I'm with now.