I guess it depends on the kid. Also we made our kids wait until they were 18 to drive, and they had to have their own insurance. We helped pay for their first cars, but they had to pay that back as well. By 18 they both had jobs and were a bit more careful with their cars knowing we were not going to replace them if they abused the driving privledge. My Son got a used 1986 Ford Taurus SHO. He never had an accident, Miranda is wild like her mama lolol. She danced with a turn here sign going into a shopping center, and guess what......she had to fix it and she paid for it.
of course dad helped her. She eventually got bored with the 6cly. Bird and up graded to the WS6 TA.