Is there any way you can improve the looks by adding sportier things to it?
I had a friend who’s husband bought their daughter an Acclaim, powder blue and she was 17 yrs old. She refused to drive it and didn’t, he didn’t have a clue why she wouldn’t drive it.
She ended up buying her own car the next year.
But I would look at changing its appearance, Vibes are pretty neat little cars, so if someone says to you, hum, nice car, not! - tell them your other one is in the shop!
I’m rather puzzled by this…you are complaining because you have a free car? Wow…must be nice to have things handed to you. I’m glad your parents are thinking about your safety and you want to whine and complain about the car you were given for free.
I’m only going to touch on this a little since it really bothered me. How does your family owe you? I have children, and I don’t owe them anything. I gave my girls life, but I don’t expect anything in return for it. It’s a parent’s duty and privelege to raise and nurture their children. I think it’s great that your parents love you enough to make sure you are driving a safer vehicle. I don’t expect my mother and father to continue to provide for me now that I’m an adult. In fact, I am appalled at even the idea of it. When I was 19, I was living on my own, and going to college. I didn’t ask my parents to pay my tuition, rent, utilities, or buy my food and clothes. I supported myself. I never asked one time, nor would I have ever thought of it. Now, my dad did buy me a car, but I had to maintain it and pay my own insurance.
By the way, I love older cars…my first car (I miss it so much) was a 1979 Toyota Celica!!!
Just my opinion here…and opinions are like diapers…everyone’s had one and it’s usually full of poop!
if you read some of the more recent posts, its more along the lines that im disappointed that i feel disappointed. I never once complained about getting a free car so im not sure where you got that idea from. It was more a complaint about my feelings, but i guess i didnt do a good job of clarifying that.
and the parenting philosophy-thats how my family views it. i dont ask for anything, i tell them when i am struggling, and if they feel i need help enough they step in. only when they choose to though, and i never ASK for anything outright. I do what i can at my age, which granted isnt much since im in college, but each year i slowely take on more. I guess rather then my parents kicking me out the door at 18, we see it as the beginnning of the “weaning” process. lol, they slowely pull support so thats its not total shock and failure when all of a sudden i have all this stuff to figure out. I take on one more bill, or one more responsibility at a time. makes more sense to me, but you can parent your children how you so desire 
also, during the summer i get NOTHING from them, they figure i have the time to work and earn what i need, so i pay for everything. during the school year, with full time school, even if i worked full time (which would be a nightmare!!!) i STILL wouldnt be able to afford rent and bills and insurance etc etc. so essentially i wouldnt be able to go to college without my parents help, and they feel college is important so they are willing to help.
Aw, Princess - I could practically hear a resigned sigh as you began to explain again at the start of your last post… 
All my cars have been Citroens, which chances are a lot of US members won’t know, but hey. Cheap, quirky French make, not fast but with personality. My parents bought my first banger, an AX, 10 years old at the time, on the understanding that I would repay them once I started work at 17 - we live so rural that I wouldn’t have been able to work if I didn’t have a car to get me there. That was fine, and I was not unappreciative - but I eventually had to get another on my own, after the leaky sunroof caused some electrics to short out, the exhaust fell off, and it got so slow it couldn’t make 50mph downhill with a tailwind. :teehee: The car I really wanted, I saved and saved for and finally afforded at 21 (with the help of a finance agreement from the garage) - a red convertible Pluriel. Used, but it’s mine. I had to sacrifice to get it, but that is what I wanted and this car is me - I smile every time I see it and I’ve had it two years now.
The thing with cars is, that different people have very different reactions to them. I wouldn’t keep a Mercedes if I had one given me, because it’s just not me - and a car that [I]is[/I] me [I]was[/I] worth sacrifice - even though a Merc is technically the better car. Other people can drive whatever, and it’s just a means of transportation to them. But they are probably less likely to burst into tears in the car park at the sight of a scraped bumper. :help: My best friend, on the other hand, has no desire to drive, can barely name a single car brand and can’t even recognise faces on cars. I can’t look at a car and [I]not[/I] see an expression, and she thinks I’m crazy for it. Lucky she loves me anyway. :mrgreen:
See, Princess, I think the chances are that you are more like me than my friend, and I totally get where you’re coming from. My car choice is not fast or trendy, (it’s downright eccentric, especially in the North of Scotland) but it’s me and that’s what counts. A bigger engine would be nice, but hey. I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Anyway, yeah - to the people who’ve been having a go - to some people, a car is far more than a means of transportation, okay? It’s like choosing what to wear in the morning, and if you get handed an outfit that’s not you, you’re not gonna feel good wandering round town in it.
…But you can always accessorize in the meantime!
(okay, sorry for random outburst - resetting to lurker mode)
I whine and complain about my lack of stuff all the time, but then I look at what I DO have. I have 2 beautiful and genius kids, we have a roof over our heads, they get an absolutely free education at a very good school, we have never starved - we may have had to cut back and eat a bunch of cheap stuff at times, but we have never starved. Then I feel embarrassed that I whined so much.
I understand how you feel princess. I know you were just venting. My first car was a 1979 Mercury Marquis. What a boat of car!!! I felt like I should wear a captains hat when I drove it, but whatever, it got me from a to b. I have never had a car less than 10 years old BTW 
I also realize that whatever position I am in is temporary and that no one owes me one thin dime. That was a hard lesson to learn by the way. I was 16 years old when I had my first child. I continued school, went to college and worked. I thought that I was a down to earth girl, but it took the sickness and death of my father for me to realize I was really a brat who had a sense of entitlement I never knew I had. I think it has a little to do with the age though. I’m sure you are a very caring girl and its hard when you are trying to keep up with the Joneses. Sometimes I do the same thing 
Good things come to those who wait. And work and buy their own… Your only 19. Grow up, stop whining and be greatfull for the fact that you have a car to drive and don’t have to take the bus.
please, it would be much appreciated if people would read at least the majority of this thread before deciding to post. it is quite obvious that people are not doing so.
I don’t think you can assume that people aren’t reading the posts just because they don’t agree with you.
Oh, come on. There’s ‘not agreeing’ and there’s ‘being insulting’. Have you read the entire thread yourself, truble? There’s not a point to ‘agree’ on - I thought that was the point of venting?
There’s nothing ungrateful going on here - she’s got nothing against the car specifically, she just feels bad because it doesn’t feel right. This has been stated throughout the thread, some things have been suggested to help with the situation. Princess has never suggested she has/will complain to her parents about the car, just that she feels bad herself about it and wanted to have a moan. I thought that was something we were all entitled to once in a while, but hey. You wanna have a pop at someone but don’t expect them to defend? :think:
Well . . . I do understand the emotional reactions to princess’ post. When you work really hard and it seems like some kid is complaining about their “free” car I can understand how upsetting it might seem. However, I think that taking a deep breath and remembering that we all vent is in order. I am sure that if we all took a look at our own actions we would find that our complaints half the time are pretty petty too. Not all of them I know - some people DO have major problems, but come on. How often do we come home complaining about something like our clothes, our shoes, our bad hair days, our weight, the wait in line at the bank, not having enough money (or yarn!!!), whatever . . . even our cars!!! Just remember that princess is VENTING. We all vent, whine, complain . . .and then of course most of us also realize that we are blessed after all the complaining is over.
I am closing this thread because it has been resolved. Additional commentary at this point is only dredging up issues that have already been thoroughly explained.