Rory,
I "gave" my then 16 year old son (he is now 17) my rusty 71BGT which he
ended up putting out of commission permanently last October. The accident
was not his fault and we got an insurance settlement out of it. The money
was then used to buy a 65 MGB as well as a 72 parts car and lots of spare
parts.
When I titled the 65B, I put it in my son's name. And that was before he
started investing some serious time and money in the car. I think it was a
wise choice. I may be a geezer now, but I haven't forgotten my youth.
Putting it in his name was more a psychological thing and it made the car
truly his in his mind.
So long as the car isn't being sold, it isn't really important whose name
is on the title. I'm not even sure it affects the insurance. The rates will
go "through the roof" either way. Ironically rates were about $15/year less
to insure the 65B (titled in my son's name) than it was to insure him for
the 71BGT (titled in my name).
I don't think I would consider your situation "unfair" by any means.
However, at some point, you should be able to have a talk with the "old
man" about legitimizing your ownership of the car. It may be a little early
at 16 but if you are maintaining the car, you are the sole driver, and you
are holding your own job to pay for the upkeep then you should be able to
raise these points. Naturally, your parents will be skeptical and will
pepper you with "Why?" type questions. They may be concerned that you will
then be able to sell the car at will. So I think the most persuasive
arguments you will need to use will be that you intend to keep/maintain the
car and the title change is really to give you the pride of ownership. Be
sure the time is right and you bring up the right points - you want to do
it right the first time.
David
At 10:10 AM 4/26/2001 -0700, The Sinclairs wrote:
>I'm 16, and though my parents haven't put the '68 B in my
>name yet, I distinctly remember my Dad telling me when I was
>about 8 years old, "Rory, when you're old enough to drive,
>you can have the MG." Of course, now that I'm actually
>driving, my parents have renigged and claim Dad said
>"Someday, you'll get the MG". A little frustrating, but
>since I'm the one who got it running after six years of non
>use (the wire was came off the fuel pump), right now I'm
>pretty much the sole driver. And yes, I do have to pay for
>the parts, and yet it's not my car yet. Does this sound
>fair?
>
>Rory
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