How Much Should Teens Be Paying for Gas?

How about helping her get her own car. Not an expensive go out and get a car payment kind of car. But just a second hand one to start off with. Then she pays for all the gas as it is her’s. This would teach her much more responsibility and give her a better idea of how the real world is going to work in a few years. If this is totally out of the question for what ever reason, then I am going to have to agree with the daughter, she should only have to put back in what she uses. After all it is not her car, and she doesn’t want to bare the burden of gas that someone else may be using.

My 17 year old son is a swimmer. We give him $5 gas money for every practice he attends. He has earned both scholastic and athletic college scholarships so five bucks is not that much. He changed jobs to shorten his commute. His part time job pays approx. $6.50 an hour. I require him to save half of every pay check for college. For 20 hours he doesn’t get enough to fill a tank and go on one date a week. My son drives his friends around and asks them to chip in on gas. They are more than willing. We need to move toward lowering the gas price instead of focusing on how to pay the high prices.

I like the idea of asking for $5 everytime you give the car over. My 17 year old daughter is pretty good about giving me money for gas each time she uses the car though. I think saving half of the paycheck for college is also a great idea. I wish that I had done that with my other children.

Our 18 yr old just got a job and pays her share of the insurance and most of her own gas (she has her own car). We give her a gas card (gift card) of $60 a month. Anything over that, she has to put in. She and her friends share the driving when they’re going out and each chip in a little for gas to help cover.

My daughter drives daily to cross-country practice and school and she isn’t yet working. We pay for her gas for this and require her to get 5 dollars or so from her passenger if she goes to a movie or somewhere fun. Also, since she is still relatively young, “no gas” has become the equivalent of “you’re grounded,” which has had a good effect on her behavior!

We are divorced. Our teen driver has to pay for his own gas in “his” car. The insurance is pay yearly by dad, as well as titled in his name and the cost of parts for repairs paid by dad. The teen is a boy and he is required to “help” do the repair work. i think girls should be no different. I think teens need to be aware of the TOTAL cost and responsiblity of having a car. Owning ia a big expense. I don’t think teens have a real understanding of the cost and/or work involved in ownership of a automobile.
My idea would be explain the overall cost of the automobile, so she sees how small her contribution really is compared to yours.

My son just got his learners permit so this was a timely topic for me. He’s been mowing lawns and we pay for the gas a long as he mows our lawn without complaining. With a car…hmmmm…thanks for giving me good information to make our decision. I like the $60 gas card idea, I guess I would tie that to some kind of chores around the house. Nothing is free in this world right?

My how complicated things have become. Inconsiderate teens of the sort that I was must be exponentially more expensive to provide for these days. My heart goes out to all you parents.

My daughter started driving at the end of April. She has to pay for her own insurance and we keep track of miles used for enjoyment. If I drove her to school I would be footing the gas bill, so we don’t charge her for driving herself back and forth to school and practices, because, actually, it helps me out. But if she wants to go to the movies, or shopping, or someplace that I normally wouldn’t be going to, she has to pay for the gas used. We average about 25 mpg and she has to pay $4.00 for every 25 miles she drives. It’s been working so far….it’s a good thing that she is such a responsible kid.

We set up guidelines for our kids before they even reached driving age. Now, our first teen driver is 17, a high school senior with a job, who earned enough to buy a used car with cash and attends community college once a week this summer. (one guideline is, keep the job, keep the car!) We give him $30 a month to cover gasoline for the 20 minute commute to school and he fills the tank the rest of the time to go to work, friends houses, out to eat, movies etc. He pays his own car insurance and maintenance, most recently having to buy an elbow gasket for the engine for $15! He likes this arrangement because he has some freedom while still under our safety net, our support for school, and he is becoming quite a responsible young adult.

before our teen son began driving our second car we filled the tank every two weeks. since he now is primarily the exclusive driver of the second car we have made the following agreement. during the school year, his father and i will fill the car up every three weeks b/c he does drive his sister to and from her school as well as himself. during the summer, we agreed to fill the tank every four weeks since there is no driving to school. we mark a calendar so everyone stays on the same page. his father occasionally uses the car (once/week on average). this has proven to work for us and our teen son. he does have to put his own money in the tank in between our fill ups. it has also prompted him to pay attention to the amount of gas he is using as well as suggest to his friends that they might want to consider giving to a gas fund when he totes them places. it has proven for us to provide a way that it doesn’t cost us more (actually less) than before he began driving. our son has a job part time through the summer but this income is being saved for college incidentals. he does, however, receive an allowance ($50/month). so gas money comes from that or money his friends contribute~

to add to what i wrote above. our teen son pays 1/2 his insurance premium. we have also agreed that if he has an increase in premium due to tickets or accidents then he will be responsible for all of the increased amount.

I’m going to try this: When they want to borrow the car, check the level of gas, then have them return the car with that same level. Like the rental places.

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Thank you….

I ask my daughter to refill whatever gas she uses. If she’s going out shopping all over town or just running to the mall, put back in what you used. In other words, bring it back exactly where you left it!

Teens could also benefit from learning how to drive efficiently and the basics of car maintenance. I work for the Alliance to Save Energy, which launched the Drive Smarter Challenge (http://www.drivesmarterchallenge.org) in response to high gas prices. The website has over two dozen money-saving driving and car maintenance tips, online resources, and myth busters. Adopting fuel efficient driving behaviors at an early age is a great skill to have in life.

Thanks,
J. Lin

Whose car is it? You are the parent, you make the rules. She can either pay how you want her to, or catch the bus! My teens were never responsible enough to get a license, much less get rides without gas money! No way! If she doesn’t have a $5 bill in her hand to give to you when she wants those keys; her gas money becomes cab/bus fare! Good luck mom!