My Little Rant

[Wren57]

Well we all know the facts are the facts- most teenagers are somewhere between disliking and hating their parents. I am not an exception. Recently, as many of you know, I was preparing to sell my beloved Highlander for a sportier car, perhaps an Eclipse or new RSX Type-S. Well, my grandparents bought the Highlander for me, so I felt I needed their permission to trade it in. My parents reinforced this idea, saying it was OK with them as long as it was OK with my grandparents. That hurdle accomplished (gparents gave go ahead)... I begin to replace my cars parts with stock exhaust, the stock rims/tires, and other little things so I could sell my car for more due to it being stock. Well after spending all the time detailing and changing tires, and after all the money spent at the muffler shop, and all the time invested researching different cars, the night before I go to trade it in I am sat down by my parents. I know this is not a good thing. They proceed to explain why I CANT... you heard me... CANT trade in my car. Apparently Im not "mature" enough for a sports car because I am 17 and have 3 tickets, two of which are complete crap (1week late registration, rolling stop 20ft from my house at midnight)... Also with my SAT and ACT scores being well into the 99 percentile, my parents feel that I should be making all As in school, even though I go to the hardest school in Tennessee. According to them, my maturity is based on my GPA... wtf is this? I couldnt believe this. They said they might let me next year when I turn 18 if my grades are all really good. Screw that, when I turn 18 Im selling it anyways and buying whatever the hell I please. I can afford the insurance, and they wont have to pay college cause Im getting a full scholorship to a State College. Anyways yeah Im really pissed cause I got this news recently and I needed somewhere to vent other than friends here, cause I think they are getting sick of me being pissed about this. Sorry for the long post, just want all yall to know my parents... err... stepdad is an ass (mom is really cool and was gonna let me trade car)... and that I will have the Highlander around for another 10 months or so... Thanks for reading, and any suggestions on potential positive arguments for me would be helpful. Thanks


Oh- and a quick question... does everyone else's parents here ALWAYS use the "your grades arent good enough" excuse when they want to find some reason to not allow you to do something... I have a 3.2GPA, and thats pretty damned good... oh well screw them AUGH why did my mom marry an asshole

Well, my parents aren't that bad I guess. If I could afford insurance + car money, I could buy whatever I want.
But the "your grades aren't good enough" I HATE THAT.
I know where you are comign from though.
good luck

i do see some problems with your parents reasoning. yes, you are seventeen, you have three tickets. they may be crap to you, but it shows that you still got three tickets. those are very high factors with insurance and also your driving experience.
what i don't understand though is their reasoning of maturity based on gpa, that's bullshit. i graduated 7th in my class of 469 people, and got a 1480 on my SAT SCORES. but guess what, i still acted immature and like an ass..maybe because i was 17-18 y/o.
like my grandma (RIP) always told, "IF YOU WANT SOMETHING, AND SOMEONE OFFERS TO GET IT FOR YOU, SAY NO AND GET IT YOURSELF!"
BTW, in my personal opinion, but it shouldn't matter to you, i wouldn't get a car i couldn't handle yet. spend more time behind the wheel of your highlander.

This is kind of off the subject, but just wonder which school you go to...I live in Nashville......

[Racing Rice]

I pretty much agree with Blownteggy..

Your parents may seem like asses at times, and even though they may not be the most reasonable people in the world they are just trying to do whats best for you. Make best of what you have. Dont try to do things just to piss your parents off.. After all, they are the ones that support and help you.

As I get older, the things my parents said and did make a little more sense (most of it, anyway.) If you have to wait till next year to make them happy then do it. Maybe youll find something else you want better, or keep savings some money and get something really cool like an S2000..

Either way, I hope things turn out ok for you and your parents and you both can come to a happy medium somewhere.

Are you even going to be able to have a car at college?

When I was in school Freshmen could only get parking permits on campus if they had extenuating circumstances, sometimes even if they had jobs. However getting a parking permit was a very difficult task for anybody as parking was extremely limited. This is of course partially due to having a school in a city.

Anyhow, I'm not sure what your situation is, that's why I ask.

I certainly wouldn't give an inexperienced driver a Highlander, or any other truck/SUV for that matter. I wouldn't want my children (not that I have any or ever plan to) driving vehicles that are more prone to rollovers, have worse stopping distances, and generally just don't handle well. To me that just doesn't promote safety in any way. I'd rather them have an underpowered sports car. Like an S2000 with a lawnmower engine or something....now THAT's safety! Or a Volvo.

b

[Wren57]

Ok just wanna clear a few things up here- im not inexperienced... sure Im just 17, but from the time I turned 15 I drove my mom's navigator around EVERYWHERE we went... thats 10-15k miles driving a massive SUV before switching to the much much smaller and better handling Highlander, so I know its limitations. I do not act immature and/or like an ass... in fact, before the whole trade car debate i was told by everyone in my family how I acted as if I was much older, due to my respect for everyone around me.

I can handle just about any car. Certainly there are some cars out there I cant *Hennessey Viper*... but I have driven a 400whp Supra before that I was looking at buying. Raced a ZO6 on the interstate in it and got up to about 140mph... granted thats not safe, there was no traffic and the owner of the car said it was OK for me to punch it.

I plan on getting a job in college to afford an off-campus apartment, and yes, I can live off-campus freshman year.

Bessiebeater- I go to Memphis University School. I love the brand new campus buildings... nicer than any college Ive ever visited.

Hope this clears some stuff up so yall dont think im just a whiny little brat that wants a car that I cant handle yet, and got all upset cause I cant have it. My main reason for being frustrated is my parents (stepdad in particular) lack of understanding and compromising skills. Oh well, 10months til 18 and full freedom... and yes, I do have enough earned money invested in stocks to afford insurance+living and a scholorship to college

Peace

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Originally posted by Racing Rice
I pretty much agree with Blownteggy..

Your parents may seem like asses at times, and even though they may not be the most reasonable people in the world they are just trying to do whats best for you. Make best of what you have. Dont try to do things just to piss your parents off.. After all, they are the ones that support and help you.

As I get older, the things my parents said and did make a little more sense (most of it, anyway.) If you have to wait till next year to make them happy then do it. Maybe youll find something else you want better, or keep savings some money and get something really cool like an S2000..

Either way, I hope things turn out ok for you and your parents and you both can come to a happy medium somewhere.

Great advice. Just stick it out for another 10 months. I'm not arguing that you can't handle cars very well, but you haven't been driving that long, and you WILL get better as you get more experience, even if you are good now.

[Kyle]

Ok...i'm 16, with an 11:00 P.M. curfew...If i fail a class i'm grounded until the next grading period is over...They won't let me get my liscense...they won't buy me a car...they won't let me buy a car, therefore i will have no car until i'm 18...I cannot go ANYWHERE unless my parents have a phonenumber or address(So that means i can't go to ANY parties)...I have to pay for EVERYTHING EXCEPT rent...i pay for food, clothes, soap, shampoo, etc,and whats weird about that is that My parents make a lot of money!...My dad is retired from the army(25 years) and he gets like 40k from retirement checks each year...plus he works as a mailman and gets 35k a year from that...so my dad makes 75k a year...and my mom is the Manager of group sales at the biggest waterpark in the world(Schlitterbahn) and she makes like 55k+

There's alot of other little things...but there's no point in putting them on here...my life SUCKS...you're lucky to atleast have you liscense and a car(and a nice car too)...Just by typing this...i'm ****ing pissed...you're lucky...

for some reason highlander, you remind me of me when i was your age. i had my money invested already getting good grades, college plans were going well, and then BAM...THE PARENTAL UNITS! trust me though, you will understand your parents reasoning. when i was your age, i probably had the same thought process as you, but when you get older and wiser, you will understand their ways of parenting.

[ebpda9]

Originally posted by blownteggy
but when you get older and wiser, you will understand their ways of parenting.

i completely agree with you. we are the same age, and i see my brother now that he is 16 just like the way i was, and i know sometimes he is totally wrong

dude i'd say you have it good. Your getting all worked up over the wrong things. The grades thing your parents pulled is because thats supposed to be the most important thing in your life right now. Thats whats goign to pay the bills when you leave home and its what is going to take you places.

Honestly i would never let my kid drive an RSX or any sports car; something with under 140hp is safe! I see so many kids who get big powerful cars and can't drive them for shit (not saying your a bad driver and all)!

something else you should consider, you dont know what you dont know! I wouldn't be getting really pissed off with your parents over this because from the sounds of it they are very reasonable people, who have supported you this far, do you think they have stopped supporting you? typically parents want the best for their kid and driving a car that could push their child beyond 140mph doesn't sound like a good thing. Maybe they said yes at first because they hadn't given it any thought, and maybe they know something you dont.

Something to consider, maybe by waiting you've just saved your life. You never know what trouble you've just missed out on by not having a sports car to drive.


dam i sound old in this

i wouldn't exactly say an rsx is a sports car..

i completely agree with you. we are the same age, and i see my brother now that he is 16 just like the way i was, and i know sometimes he is totally wrong

ain't it funny to watcha younger sister/brother, cousin act like you used too. sometimes i just want to punch my cousins cuz they have it good right now, and they have NO idea what it is like to be on your own

[Wren57]

Originally posted by blownteggy
and they have NO idea what it is like to be on your own

Hehe by looking at your sig Id say its not soooo bad... Supercharged Teggy and RX7 eh? Apparently you can afford those so you must be doing OK anyways... or maybe ur dumping all your money into your car, or maybe ur like 4jacks and uve run urself into the ground with debt from car stuff... oh well whatever it is, at least you got cool cars

Amazing how old you people sound when you argue on the side of my parents... heh but I guess I will just wait it out. Then when I turn 18 I can get what I really want, not just a compromise of what they wanted and what I wanted (which meant only decent performance)... mmmm 2G Eclipse GSX... 10 months away... mmmm I can just taste it now... and with the extra cash Ive got... mmmm yummy fast... sorry its been a long day... oh well thanks for all the help, its really calmed me down a little bit. The only thing that still bothers me is that they played along as if I could sell it while I spent all the time and money getting it ready to sell... all down the drain... oh well... off to bed again and hopefully tomorrow will be brighter.

your right i'm not doing too bad. i can afford these things and afford a mortgage, cc payments, insurance, and whatever misc. bills. i would suggest a 1g dsm. the 2g's can suffer from crankwalk .

[ChrisCantSkate]

and i wont talk about DSM trannys......

[Racing Rice]

I personally am not a big fan of DSMs.. Friend of mine had a 96 GSX and had all kinds of little things go out on it IE.. sunroof, etc.

I personally dont know anyone thats ever had a problem with crankwalk and I know several people that own 2nd Gen cars. I dont think its as common as it sounds.

Originally posted by highlander
Ok just wanna clear a few things up here- im not inexperienced... sure Im just 17, but from the time I turned 15 I drove my mom's navigator around EVERYWHERE we went... thats 10-15k miles driving a massive SUV before switching to the much much smaller and better handling Highlander, so I know its limitations. I do not act immature and/or like an ass... in fact, before the whole trade car debate i was told by everyone in my family how I acted as if I was much older, due to my respect for everyone around me.

I can handle just about any car. Certainly there are some cars out there I cant *Hennessey Viper*... but I have driven a 400whp Supra before that I was looking at buying. Raced a ZO6 on the interstate in it and got up to about 140mph... granted thats not safe, there was no traffic and the owner of the car said it was OK for me to punch it.

Ok, it sounds like you're a responsible person in at least some manners, such as financially. I can't really judge whether you're responsible or not in general, that's why I don't just say that you are a responsible person....cuz I don't know.

Everybody thinks he/she is an experienced driver. That doesn't mean any of them actually are experienced. Of course the very definition of experienced driver is rather vague and relative. But much more experienced drivers than you are have landed themselves in hot water where it could be argued that an "experienced" driver could have avoided. I think one needs to focus both on experience and knowledge....one can have much experience with driving yet still lack the knowledge of what's best to do. Beyond knowledge is training and reaction, even if you know what to do you may not act properly. Ok, so I'm just ranting now.....point being: you may not be nearly as good as you think you are.

Of course, you may be much better......

b

the majority of car dsm that suffer from crankwalk are gst's and gsx's. the cars most of the time are highly modded.