My dad insists on buying me my first car
I know the title sounds like I'm a spoiled brat but I'm not trying to be. I was first going to get my learners permit a year ago (something happened and I ended up getting it this April) and a few months before I would've been getting my permit I asked my dad to look for a car for me because he bought each of his kids their first car. Well, he only started looking for a car for me over the last few months and next month I have my driver's test and I'm currently stuck driving my mom's car which for some reason my driving skills get considerably worse when I'm driving it. So yesterday I asked him what the budget was so I could help look. The budget is 2-3k and under 150k miles and I noticed that most of the cars that check off both those boxes aren't very good, like they either have a ton of parts missing or have mechanical issues so I offered to pay for part of a car if we find one that goes over his budget. (I have plenty of money saved, hell i could buy a brand new car with my own money if I was allowed) So I was looking and I found a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu 1LT I really liked for 5k and under 150k miles, it has a clean title, never been in any accidents, only damage is some paint issues, it gets good gas mileage, and I did some research and while it's not the most reliable thing ever it seems to get the job done. I sent it to my brother (he's helping my dad look for a car for me, he's a mechanic) and he immediately shut it down and said it was a terrible deal and a terrible car. My brother literally suggested getting me an equinox from the 2010s. Like the Malibu is too bad of a car but an equinox isn't? Also, I made the mistake of telling him I wanted a Toyota around 6 months ago and now he's ONLY looking for Toyotas even though a couple months ago I told him it DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A TOYOTA. He keeps telling me to be patient, but Newsflash buddy you should just give up on that cause no way are you finding a decent Toyota under $3k with less than 150k miles on it AND he wants it to be from at least 2010. I have no choice whatsoever and I'm getting irritated. I'm grateful he wants to pay for my first car, but at this point it doesn't even seem like he's doing it for me, it seems like he's doing it so he can feel good about buying all of his kids their first car. I couldn't even buy one myself if I wanted, because I do not have access to my savings account. I feel so helpless and discouraged
(Reposted cause I forgot to read the rules) P.S. I am not insisting on a nice car. I wouldn't care if it was a piece of junk as long as it drives. I just want my own car (not my mom's car because she and my dad also drive it around and also cause I have a lot of trouble driving it) because my dad is abusive and I just want to get out of the house, get a job, and leave asap. I cannot do this if I don't have a reliable source of transportation. I would literally ride my bike if I could but I live in the middle of nowhere and basically everything is at least a 30 minute drive.
Posted Sep 21, 2026, 6:26 PM UTC