First thought:
If he's old enough for a car and a job, he's old enough to bear the consequences of making mistakes with those things. Just think: he hit a concrete pillar, but it could have been a person walking by the road -- he has not shown the responsibility for operating a car. He didn't have "an accident" ... he behaved foolishly, and he had "a wreck".
Whether it's done through insurance or out-of-pocket, he needs to pay for the car.
Second thought:
He doesn't "need" to drive a personal car to work; he wants to drive a personal car to work. He figured out how to wreck the car; let him figure out the work situation.
We don't know how far away the job is or what options he might have, but he knows. Maybe he can walk or ride a bike. Maybe he can pay a co-worker to pick him up. Maybe his parents can take him to work. Maybe he can get a job closer to home, but it needs to be HIS problem.
Final thought:
The best thing we ever did when our kids were new drivers was to draw up a detailed contract between us -- it specified who owned the car, what we'd pay, our expectations for following the law, cleanliness, etc.. And we specified what would happen if they were to do something like the parking-lot situation you described. (Just for the record, such behavior at our house would've resulted in confiscation of the driver's license, even if no wreck had occurred.) Talking about these things ahead of time helps kids think before making impulsive choices.
If he's old enough for a car and a job, he's old enough to bear the consequences of making mistakes with those things. Just think: he hit a concrete pillar, but it could have been a person walking by the road -- he has not shown the responsibility for operating a car. He didn't have "an accident" ... he behaved foolishly, and he had "a wreck".
Whether it's done through insurance or out-of-pocket, he needs to pay for the car.
Second thought:
He doesn't "need" to drive a personal car to work; he wants to drive a personal car to work. He figured out how to wreck the car; let him figure out the work situation.
We don't know how far away the job is or what options he might have, but he knows. Maybe he can walk or ride a bike. Maybe he can pay a co-worker to pick him up. Maybe his parents can take him to work. Maybe he can get a job closer to home, but it needs to be HIS problem.
Final thought:
The best thing we ever did when our kids were new drivers was to draw up a detailed contract between us -- it specified who owned the car, what we'd pay, our expectations for following the law, cleanliness, etc.. And we specified what would happen if they were to do something like the parking-lot situation you described. (Just for the record, such behavior at our house would've resulted in confiscation of the driver's license, even if no wreck had occurred.) Talking about these things ahead of time helps kids think before making impulsive choices.
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