I'm so pizzed at my son

[Mr. BILL]

I got a call from my youngest son two Saturdays ago saying there was "something wrong with the transmission" on my '90 525iA. The tranny was/is slipping. I hoped he was responsible enough to not have abused the car as he's always been respectful of things in the past. The car had sat for several months, so I thought maybe some crud had gotten sucked into the filter. I changed the fluid/filter and no improvement

This past Saturday, my wife let him drive her PT Cruiser as I refused to let him drive my E39 528. He came home and said he had had a flat tire. I went out and looked at it and the sidewall was blown out. That can only mean one thing. So I asked him, "how fast were you going when you hit the curb"? He was stunned that I could figure out what happened. He had my wife fooled.

I found out today, he let a friend take the 525 for a spin on the night the tranny went out. The kid apparently either did the old "neutral slam" or brake torqued it in a attempt to burn a little rubber.

I thought my son was responsible enough to treat a car properly and take care of it. I thought wrong. I never had this problem with my older son. He realized he was pretty lucky to have a BMW as his first car albeit an old E12. Then, I traded him up to the 525 in question and now he's driving a red 525iM.

I'm so disappointed in my younger son. Obviously, he's not mature/responsible enough to enjoy the privledge of driving. So, I've decided to take away the keys for at least six months, maybe a year and make him pay for the tranny repair. I can't help thinking I'm lucky only two cars were damaged. He needs more time to grow up

What honks me off, is how many kids get a BMW as their first car?

[Tiger]

Man... that would pissed me off too...Make him pay for his own car after paying for your tranny and wheel on PT. U gonna support him in college too?

[ilya]

my BMW is my first car, as in the first one that i actually bought.
before this, i drove a 1984 chrysler laser XE. in september of last year (2003), i went out and bought my 1995 525i for a bit under $5000. it has only 105k miles on it as of right now. it's a reconstructed title and i am, i believe, the 4th owner. but im still very happy. i dont drive more than abotu 7-10k miles/year, so i wasn't looking for something that will take heavy driving. i was looking for comfort for those 7-10k miles.
the enterior in my car is in very good shape, even the leather is still good.
the only problems i have with it are some old paint that has chipped off after the ice storm, and the 60mph shimmy. the later one doesn't bother me much cuz i usually go 50 or less, because i do city driving most of the time.
oh and the fuel sender is broken, so i have to go by mileage for gas. lol.
other than that, i love it. i have about $700 in repairs coming up (taht stupid accident i had when my car roleld down the "hill" with me in the house), and might also do some paint work/detailing later on. the fuel sender, trust arms and all that might also be replaced.

[JohnC]

sorry about the car, make him walk for a while. or make him drive like one of those old plymouth caravans or something. how old is he? i was spoiled too got my moms 525 when i got my license. i drove the thing hard and had some fun but never really abused it. -john

[Dan in NZ]

My 525ia is my first car, but I pay for all the repairs/servicing myself so I make sure I look after it. I'm turning 20 soon, so I'm all grown up though... My brother and I shared a 1984 toyota to learn on, and thrashed the **** out of it...

[Will308]

I feel your pain. I've had my '91, 525ia since new and have come to love this car. I gave it to my daughter as her first car while see was in high school. She( like your older son) was very responsible with it. She now has a Jetta and I'm driving the 525 as my commuter car until my son reaches driving age. I hope he can be as resposible as she was. Fortunately or unfortunately the only problem with my daughter was her speeding. Of course I got the blame for giving her a fast car. Go figure!
Will

[Rory]

I got a call from my youngest son two Saturdays ago saying there was "something wrong with the transmission" on my '90 525iA. The tranny was/is slipping. I hoped he was responsible enough to not have abused the car as he's always been respectful of things in the past. The car had sat for several months, so I thought maybe some crud had gotten sucked into the filter. I changed the fluid/filter and no improvement

This past Saturday, my wife let him drive her PT Cruiser as I refused to let him drive my E39 528. He came home and said he had had a flat tire. I went out and looked at it and the sidewall was blown out. That can only mean one thing. So I asked him, "how fast were you going when you hit the curb"? He was stunned that I could figure out what happened. He had my wife fooled.

I found out today, he let a friend take the 525 for a spin on the night the tranny went out. The kid apparently either did the old "neutral slam" or brake torqued it in a attempt to burn a little rubber.

I thought my son was responsible enough to treat a car properly and take care of it. I thought wrong. I never had this problem with my older son. He realized he was pretty lucky to have a BMW as his first car albeit an old E12. Then, I traded him up to the 525 in question and now he's driving a red 525iM.

I'm so disappointed in my younger son. Obviously, he's not mature/responsible enough to enjoy the privledge of driving. So, I've decided to take away the keys for at least six months, maybe a year and make him pay for the tranny repair. I can't help thinking I'm lucky only two cars were damaged. He needs more time to grow up

What honks me off, is how many kids get a BMW as their first car?

Bill,

I drove my Mom's Jeep when I was in HS and bought my first car in college to get to/from my co-op job my sophmore year. It was a '90 525i with 110K miles (back in '97). So my first car was a BMW that I bought for myself. Kids will be kids and they are going to make mistakes, it is part of life. Just be glad that it was not a costly mistake. Yes, financially this was not the best move, but your son is safe and healthy and hopefully learned a big lesson. I know that you are disappointed in him and you should be, but think about all of the other things that kids do on a daily basis. Speeding at insane speeds, wreckless driving, drugs, etc. If this is the worst thing that he is going to do then give yourself a pat on the back for raising a great kid. Keep the shiny side up.

Best,
Rory

[bjl4776]

Don't feel so bad, i knew a girl at my high school that got a brand new dodge viper the day she turned 16. Two weeks later she totalled it by flipping it end over end. Dont know if that was too much responsibitly given by the parents, but ouch. I think she was driving a mercedes a couple months later, i hate to wonder what ever happened to that car. Hopes this makes you less pissed at your son .

[hdaemon]

Don't feel so bad, i knew a girl at my high school that got a brand new dodge viper the day she turned 16. Two weeks later she totalled it by flipping it end over end. Dont know if that was too much responsibitly given by the parents, but ouch. I think she was driving a mercedes a couple months later, i hate to wonder what ever happened to that car. Hopes this makes you less pissed at your son .

Ok.. no offense to any high-schoolers on here, but someone who has just gotten there license has no business whatsoever getting behind the wheel of a viper. She's damn lucky she didn't get herself killed. Not to mention that kids like that piss me off... or rather, parents like that piss me off... give your kids the keys to the family car on occasion.. but make them work for their own car... I know I did..

[Bill H.]

you tough love example. Another, Bill H.