Kids n 370s

BrianMSmith

You are a kid! When I was 26 I sure as hell could not afford a $40k car, and I was fresh out of a top engineering school. That was 15 years ago.

chops

sounds like you got the shaft there...to graduate from a top engineering school 15 years ago put you right at the beginning of the dot com boom. which means you could've easily been making 6 figures within a year or two of moving around (jobs were like candy back then).

ImportConvert

+1, my X gf is an engineer, and things are tough right now in that field. 15 years ago was the bomb.

At age 26, a 40K car is not hard at all to afford provided you aren't supporting kids, etc. and you got a good job.

Jessobear

Dude, I hope you're not one of those guys who's in college and think that you're going to make bank the second you get your degree. Engineering and the dot com boom have nothing to do with eachother unless you're a network engineer.

I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 2000 and got my first job for $43,500. Believe it or not, I was one of the better paid graduates other than a couple guys at the top of the class who got super sweet gigs. Engineering tends to be a really conservative field and they tend to not throw money at people.

As far as giving a 17 year old kid a 370Z, that's just a bad parenting decision. You can't blame the kid. What kid wouldn't want that? To be fair, my first car was a '77 Trans Am (that I bought myself) and my parents let me get that. Being a stupid HS kid, I did everything in my power to try and crash it. I used to go out and purposely spin the car to try and see just how sideways I could drive it.

ImportConvert

Like I said, Engineering is a VERY tough field right now. My X gf graduated about a year ago and has moved all over the US chasing a job. She is probably just going to go to Dubai, though, the way things are looking.

Law is another degree that got hurt pretty bad by an overabundance of qualified employees.

It sounds like you were more...reckless...than most in highschool. I never did that with my LT1 Trans Am, nor did my friend with his mustang GT. I did end up crashing the Trans Am, very minor, but it wasn't doing doughnuts. The car downshifted in a corner (screw an auto...) and broke the rear-end loose and, through inexperience, I over-corrected. $1800 in damage, noone got hurt, cheap lesson learned that I am now thankful for!

Nothing is free. You are going to take your lumps. I am glad I took my little lump when I was in a cheap F-body than later in life when I am supposedly "old enough to deserve a sports car"* and wreck something very nice. Take a look at all the people out there who excell in their fields regarding motorcycle/automotive sports. They didn't get where they are by starting when they were 30. They started driving/riding performance machines at a young age, and had plenty of little misshaps. It's called LEARNING. Through experience. Is it the only way? Yes. Yes it is. The only way you are going to learn to control a sports car is by losing control of one now and then in the process.

The rich kids may wreck a $30K car, but who cares? That's like you wrecking a cheaper car like I did. Everything is relative. I don't see you on here bitching about someone throwing half of their un-eaten fast-food out when it cost more than a small villiage makes in a day in Africa and would feed the same villiage for just as long.

It's all just relative to where you are standing when you look at it.

*Where do people get off on thinking that someone is mature enough to shoot and kill other people in defense of their country. Drive an M1 tank. Handle communications that are sensetive to national security...but not drive a $30K car? I don't follow, understand, or agree with them one bit.

chops

i am not one of those guys in college, however i am a graduate who's been very grateful for what i've accomplished to be where i am today. while i was in college, i never thought i'd graduate and make bank. in fact, i thought quite the opposite, figuring id fall into the same trap that millions of others have, unemployment. however, hard work and networking gets you places...

anyway in reference to the engineering, excuse me, ive been too caught up in work lately. when i refer to an engineer i think software engineer, or hell even hardware engineer...and back in 1995, those guys were raking in the $$$. you had a few job offers waiting upon graduation, and could actually negotiate a salary, definitely not something thats common, if at all even around in today's job market.

wolf370z

I guess I just completely missed the point of the thread.

$43,500 right after graduating? That's pretty awesome.

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houkouonchi

Indeed. My dad has his degree in EE (electrical engineering) and he is a software developer and has been since he came out of college.

I myself dropped out of college to start working full time and I am glad I did. In my Industry (linux system administration) experience is more important than a degree. Now I have After working for the same company for 4+ years I now get 25 days per year of vacation time (plus another 10 paid sick days). I am 25 years old, own my own home, own a 370z and make over 70k/year. The company I work for has grown to almost double its size since I started and has shown extreme growth over the recession. I definitely count my blessings.

I think a having a college education is important but it certainly not gonna help in all the industries that you can work in. I wanted a degree so I would have a fall back in case I didn't get into the industry I wanted but in the end I think I am glad I went with my decision to drop out when I did. With the experience I have now I don't think it would be to hard for me to find another job. Of course I love the company I work for and I doubt they would go under considering how well they have done through the recession so I highly see myself working anywhere else in the next 5 years.

radek7633

Well Mr.Smith...15 years ago, 40G adjusting for inflation would be more like 80 today, (if we use minimum wage as a benchmark). Lets talk in real terms not nominal, firstly.

Second, I have graduated from two programs... Marketing, a Honours Economics degree and I am entering into an Advance Quantitative Econometrics Post Graduate (MA) program, so I have been working as a teaching assistant and research assistant at McMaster University for the last four years saving up for the 370.

I started saving up for this so long ago that originally I wanted a 350. If you read my post properly, I alienate kids (minors) that get their cars bought for them, not those that work hard and save up. Please don't single me out just because you didn't have the grades to work within your faculty as an undergrad or even have the grades to get work right out of school.

The point I was making that rich brats that get their cars handed to them don't appreciate them as much as the people who worked for them.


Aside: if 15 years ago you graduated as an engineer, you must be 37-38, and you are only driving a 370z? you must not be very good at your job =(

chops

not trying to defend the other guy, but...take it easy buddy. 40k adjusted for inflation would be more like 50-55k. inflation has not been 100% in 15 years (i dont care if you use minimum wage as a benchmark, everyone knows minimum wage is not an accurate indicator of squat, aside from how little we can pay highschool students for crap work). as an economics graduate you'd figure you wouldnt exaggerate so much...actually i take that back. thats all economics is

and lets leave the personal attacks out of this. im no where near 37, in fact im quite younger, but you dont go attacking a guy just because he drives the same car as you, and is older. you dont have any idea what his finances/circumstances are. hell...this could be his daily driver, and he has a 997 in the garage. get a clue buddy

radek7633

US inflation 1995 $40,000 to 2010 would be $57,891.39 so yeh you are right.

and as anyone else, I am entitled to my opinion. He felt like alienating me as a "kid" without knowledge my financial situation, so my criticism of him is just as valid as his of me.

Sure, I don't know what he has as a daily driver or what is sitting in his garage, do you? But if he wants to lecture me on how fortunate I am to be a 26 year old "kid" with a 370, while graduating with a less prestigious education than his, I will entertain his thought with deconstructive criticisms.

Frankly, I worked hard, so I am not lucky for squat, I earned it, and that was why I reacted in my reply to him. I am surprised this post has conjured up such a stir, and apologize if anyone is sensitive to my harsh reply.

esfourteen

you sound like you need a vacation.

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esfourteen

If your parents were rich and handed you a 370z would you turn it down because you didn't earn it or because you thought you weren't responsible enough to handle it? It's called envy, we all have it, quit wasting your time thinking about it.

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Jeffblue

Fact of the matter is some people are rich, some people are poor, some kids are spoiled and poor, some kids are appreciative and rich, and vice versa. bottom line is, you are full of sh*t if you say that you would turn down your parents giving you a car, assuming it wasn't adversely affecting them financially, ie, they are rich.

i think a good thing to do is if you are actuall wealthy, and DO want to buy your kid a nice car, make them work and pay for part of so they can appreciate it. You make them pay 10-20k of a 40k car, its as if they bought a little honda, and you paid the rest. They'll appreciate it, but they will just be driving a nicer car. i've seen kids driving lambo's and stuff, and i'm like 'wtf' but at the same time, if my parents were THAT loaded, and bought my one, why the hell would i say 'excuse me, i don't deserve this, please do not give me this supercar'


i'm 22, i bought my own Z. i really dont give a **** if people think my parents bought it for me b/c i'm young. Anyone who would think that and not know otherwise, is obviously no one important to me, so i really don't care. but if If my parents were loaded and said 'hey put in 40k and we'll get you a 911 or audi R8 or something, i'd say 'hell yes'

something that IS funny about this whole 'parents buying kid a car' thing, is when the parents don't let the kid mod the car, or get a manual transmission or something. i' have had people bitch to me and be like 'yea i wanted a manual but my dad said i couldn't.' i'm like.... 'and you are complaining about the bmw your parents bought you? yea. thought so' or like 'i wanted to get an exhaust or body kit but my dad wont let me modify the car' that situation is funny.

Jjaden

You are absolutely correct. The teenager being bought the car is not at fault in this situation, it is the parents who are being totally irresponsible.

When I see a young guy driving an expensive car that was obviously bought for him, my first thought is "Parents must be a couple of idiots".