Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS), students have varied relationships with car ownership. Some students are working multiple jobs to save up for a car, others make complex plans for sharing family cars, and a lucky few have cars purchased for them. But the one constant that every car-owning student can agree on is that having a mode of transportation to freely rely on is worth any effort it takes to secure it.
“It’s just important to have consistent, reliable transportation,” said senior Holden Graczykowski, who drives a Hyundai SUV. “It makes pretty much everything else in my life a little bit easier.”
Owning a car comes with hidden expenses that teenagers often forget about until they experience them firsthand — such as gas, insurance, and upkeep. Some students view buying their first car as an important coming-of-age milestone that delivers freedom. However, this added pressure can sometimes lead to rushing into buying a car that is in poor condition.
One student concern is that sellers might mark up the price of a car because they are selling it to a teenager who isn’t as knowledgeable about the worth of the vehicle. Holden advised potential car buyers, “Do enough research to know what you’re looking at. I’d say that for a lot of students’ first cars, it’s not a bad idea to try and just get something cheaper to get you through high school or college,” he said.
Senior Leah deBettencourt has been saving for a car since she was at least 12 years old, working up to five jobs over the past three years. “At my first job, every single bit of money I made, I put that money in different safe areas, so I couldn’t touch it, and I told my mom to hide it away from me,” she said.
Leah shared that after buying her 2017 Subaru, she stopped spending money on trivial purchases like candy. “When you buy a car, you learn the value of a dollar,” she said.
Many student drivers share cars with family members, effectively borrowing access to a car. When family conflicts arise around scheduling use of the vehicle, some students become more motivated to purchase one of their own.
Holden said, “Everybody [in my family] wanted to use the car often, or at the same time, so it definitely leads to the car being more of an annoying convenience. I started out with a family car, but about a month after I started driving, I started leasing my own.”
Leasing has benefits that can sometimes outweigh buying a used car. Leah said, “There are two different types of costs: the one of buying a car, but also the future cost of visiting an automotive technician. Everyone tells you to buy used cars, but you need to make sure you pay attention to the life of the car.”
Leah is grateful to have had car knowledge before purchasing, thanks to her dad, Joe deBettencourt. He is a mechanic who helped guide her through the process of purchasing her first vehicle. “Having my dad help me out with this was amazing. He told me what to look for in a car,” Leah said. “He tested my car. He talked to the owner of my car with me. He knew the car more than I did.”