Should You Give Someone A Motor Vehicle As A Gift?
During better economic times lots of people found themselves in receipt of a motor vehicle as a Holiday, Birthday, Anniversary, Promotion or Graduation Gift. Either they were handed a set of keys and told to go look in the driveway, or blindfolded and brought to where their present waited for them wrapped with the biggest gift bow anyone has ever seen. There are still people who have the means and desire to give motor vehicles as gifts. If you are one of them, think before you give and consider all the positive and negative consequences of your gift choice.
The biggest upside to giving a vehicle as a gift is the satisfaction derived from the seeing the recipient go crazy with joy. Another is that if you are giving it to a loved one, you believe that you are giving them a safe and reliable ride. However, sometimes that is not always the case simply because not everyone is ready to ready to own and safely operate a motor vehicle. Some are and will drive carefully, while others will speed off down the highway of no return. I can recall many instances over the years of well-meaning people giving their loved-ones motor vehicles (especially sporty cars, pick-up trucks and motorcycles) only to find their gift being the ultimate cause of death of those closest to them and others as well.
If you are considering giving a motor vehicle to someone special to you, do your homework before you choose your gift. For example, do you really want to give a sports car or motorcycle to a teenage male with raging hormones and racing in their blood? It’s not just about the vehicle, it’s about the driver or operator. Consult your insurance agent before you talk to a dealer or buy online. Find out which vehicles are likely to be a good match for the person receiving your gift and which ones to avoid based on the latest insurance company data. It’s not just about vehicle safety and driver responsibility, it is also about the cost of insuring the vehicle (especially if you will be the one paying the premiums).
Before you give a vehicle to anyone, be sure that the driver is properly trained to use it. If you have doubts about their ability to handle the vehicle, add some driving lessons to your gift and insist those be completed before the recipient is allowed to operate their gift on their own. That choice might temporarily take some of the shine off their new ride, but it also might save their life and the lives of others down the line. Any motor vehicle insurance expert will tell you that the best drivers are those who make an effort to develop good driving skills and habits, then use them every time they hit the road. The worst drivers are those which allow their emotions and adrenaline to take the wheel.
Another important fact to take into consideration when you purchase a vehicle for someone as a gift is whether or not they really want it? That may sound crazy since most people would do just about anything to receive a motor vehicle as a gift, but not everyone who says, “I would just love to buy a motorcycle and cruise the back roads of America” really means it or understands what that involves. It’s like the tens of thousands of retired couples who purchased high end recreational vehicles over the past twenty years to visit places they only dreamed of when they were younger. Once they got out of the road, they discovered it was not a very friendly place to be and that owning a motor home was a lot more expensive then they ever believed possible.
The responsible way to purchase a motor vehicle for someone is to do your homework and choose one best suited to them, then include your gift recipient in on the process. It will not be as exciting as handing them a set of keys and telling them to go look in the driveway, but it might save both of you a lot of regret and frustration in the long run. Remember, you are giving a gift which is large, powerful and can take lives when it is not operated in a responsible manner. With that in mind, are you willing to live with the consequences and guilt if your gift ends up involved in the death of a loved one or the deaths of others? It may seem a bit morbid to consider that kind of a scenario, however, things sometimes happen beyond our control.
There is no such a thing as the perfect gift for someone. If we go by Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong in almost every situation. The thing you have to decide is whether or not you are willing to give someone a motor vehicle knowing that. Just be sure that you have done the research needed before your purchase, are willing to accept responsibility for whatever happens as a result of your gift choice and have taken every caution to be sure the recipient will be able to operate the vehicle safely.
