Two years ago, Ammon bought his first vehicle: an '89 Chevy truck. He's always wanted a truck for his first vehicle, and he and Josh shopped around for a while until he found one that was affordable and that he liked. Josh went in on the purchase of it, too, so that he could use it if needed until Ammon was old enough to drive. And it was useful: there was that time that our truck's transmission went out, so Josh used Ammon's truck for weeks to pull his mowing trailer with, and there were times when we needed more than one truck for hauling/loading/moving stuff. It was a good truck for Ammon and it served its purposes for Josh, too.
Ammon got his learner's permit last summer, and his driver's license in January. It was expensive to add him to the auto insurance plan this past winter, but it was nice to have an additional driver so he could take himself to all his sports practices, work, and help with driving the boys to their activities. We told him we were happy to pay the insurance for him as long as he followed the rules. Well, unfortunately for him...that didn't last very long. In Idaho, you can get your license when you're 15, but you can't drive at night until you're 16. There was one night back in February that Ammon made some terrible choices while with some not-so-good friends. He lied to Josh and I about his whereabouts, and after inquiring with other kids' parents, we found out where he really was, and when we saw him, he was in the passenger seat while another 15-year-old friend was driving HIS truck around AFTER dark. Josh and I were both shocked--and I was also livid. There were several punishments that we gave to Ammon as a result of his terrible choices, and one was that he had to pay for his own car insurance. He also had to start paying for all his own gas. Both were very costly to him, and after a few months, he knew that he would have to get a different vehicle with better gas mileage in order to be able to keep affording to put gas in his vehicle. We used to have a small brown Honda Accord that we'd sold when he bought the truck, because he said he didn't want to drive a small car, but he soon realized how much more practical a car would be! He wanted to buy the silver box car from Josh and I, but I wouldn't allow it: I've come to just love our car! So, Josh helped him look online and found him a good deal on a 2005 Scion XB (the same model as ours). In May, Ammon bought the car and sold his truck, and has been happy with his purchase. It's a stick-shift (like ours), it gets about 30 miles to the gallon, and is roomy enough for Ammon, his friends, and all their stuff. It's a year older than our silver car, and has more miles on it, but it was also a lot cheaper than our car too. Once Ammon pays off the car (Josh helped him purchase it, so he has to pay Josh back his portion), he plans on purchasing some black rims for his tires to make it look "cooler".
We now have 4 vehicles in our driveway: Josh's Dodge Truck, our Suburban (for when the family all goes somewhere together), my silver box car (for running back and forth to town and going on quick out-of-town trips), and Ammon's black box car.
Also, I'm happy to report that he's been making smarter choices, both with his driving AND with his friends, since that incident! In fact, today he is driving to Idaho Falls and back all by himself for the first time to go to one of his Jr. IGA golf tournaments!
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