yup, youth now are more concerned with spending their money smartphones and other frivolous gadgets to even consider saving up for a car.

Personally, I think this is only true because car ownership is pretty unattainable for a young person unless they are helped by their parents. Plus, this generation is obsessed with having "nice" things; for a lot of kids at my old high school, the idea of a $500-$1000 beater was "embarrassing", they all wanted the Acura TL, TSX, RSX, Lexus IS300, Infiniti G35, etc.... yes I went to school in East Van, can't you tell? IMHO, I'd rather drive a $500 POS than wait around in the rain for a bus but that's just me.

Furthermore, insurance alone for a new driver with zero discount is around $2500-$3000/year for the average, older compact car such as a Honda Civic. I don't know about you guys, but back when I was 19, working at Playland, I made barely that much working the 4 months it was open. Factor in the price of the car itself, the cost of fuel, maintenance, repairs... kinda hard for the average young person making $10.25-$14 an hour to spend that kind of coin unless they were bent on never going out or buying anything else.

Let's be real here, if my dad wasn't willing to insure the car I bought under his own name (and saving me around $2000/year) I never would have bought one. Ditto if I wasn't a mechanically-inclined guy who didn't have to rely on a stealership to fix things.

i asked this of someone i know at work who has no interest in owning a car. he grew up in a one car household and his dad was the only person who drove and he always took it to work so there was never a car to borrow. he eventually had to get a drivers license only because employers would always ask if he is licensed. he used transit to go to ubc because it was convenient and cheaper than car ownership, expenses, and parking pass costs, which was a concern because he paid his own way through university through crappy minimum wage jobs and student loans. in the apartment he lives in now the parking stall was an extra that was not included. if he does need a car for something, he does ride share.

There were a couple times this year I sat down with a young kid that would be new in town trying to get his driver's license and looking at buying a car. You know what I told him to do? Spend $3,000 on the car, not 10-15g's. There is a chance the car might last 3 years only needing oil changes and maybe a few hundred dollars of maintenance along the way. Also, being a new driver, its inevitable small accidents happen. 2 at fault accidents to a new driver can be a major blow.

I told this Asian girl a couple years ago with a work Visa to get a scooter. The cost compared to the bus wasn't that much different and I told her it being a rarity with her riding, she would be without a doubt, as they say today, "like the cool kids".

On the extreme side of things there are a lot of healthy running cars around 1000 bucks on Craigslist. Wouldn't be surprised some could run a year without repairs. Some of these when new, I still have great fond memories of! A young common-law couple both living off minimum wage can drive and commute with the fore mentioned car 20,000km/year, live in a decent basement suite somewhere in the Valley, and have some disposable income to spare.

yep it'll comes down to insurance if teenager/early 20's individual is footing the entire bill
annually insurance for an N driver probably worth more than their 18 year old Civic/Integra