[Scott Douglas]

My son's first car was a M-B 300D donated to him by my brother. It had a tired 4-spd in it and was slower than a pick-up truck pulling a boat. We had to do some work to it to get it to the point it would be reliable enough to trust it such that it wouldn't leave him stranded here in town. It was a great learning experience for him I think. It taught him to appreciate having a car versus having to take a bus when he wanted to go somewhere.

When he was awarded a full scholarship to school I figured we could help him out with getting a car to take with him to school so we found him a higher mileage Accord coupe. He made it last thru school and then some.

Now that he's hit the big time earning wise, he's treated himself to an M550i and a '56 short bed big back window step side Chevy pickup to play with. He has a nice garage too to go with them and plans to build a shop when funds allow. The pool house and pool will come first though.

I don't believe all teen drivers are going to get into accidents. Mine never did, daughter and son.

I think if the kid has sweat equity in the vehicle they treat it differently and think more when driving. They know how much they've invested in the car and what it will take to replace it if they screw it up. I think if more parents would recognize this they'd be better off for it.