One of the big things I looked at for my son's first car was safety features. Specifically what model year did we have to buy to get the safety features I was comfortable with. Side curtain air bags were a big one in addition to some body design elements and bumpers. Wasn't as concerned with newer electronic safety features like blind spot and back up camera although the latter we may regret when it comes to resale time. YMMV. Also, check and see if any car has a Takata air bag. I'd be very wary of that brand air bag at this point, even if it hasn't been recalled. IMHO there's more bad news to come for Takata...
You might ask around and see if there's a good place for private sale listings. You'd get a much better deal if you could find one that way, but I'd only go that way if I had a mechanic lined up to do a thorough check and see if it's up to day with recall fixes. Also give bonus points for someone willing to show maintenance records.
Btw, Mazda 3's are the big used cars people are buying here for their kids. Better value / lower price than Honda and Toyota's, durability reasonable if it's been maintained.
Good luck!
You might ask around and see if there's a good place for private sale listings. You'd get a much better deal if you could find one that way, but I'd only go that way if I had a mechanic lined up to do a thorough check and see if it's up to day with recall fixes. Also give bonus points for someone willing to show maintenance records.
Btw, Mazda 3's are the big used cars people are buying here for their kids. Better value / lower price than Honda and Toyota's, durability reasonable if it's been maintained.
Good luck!
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