Best used car under $8k for teenage drivers?

[descovy]

What’s the best used car under $8k for teenage drivers? And lowest cost to insure? And any tips for buying an extremely used car?


Our 2007 Prius with 200k miles bit the dust. (Teenager car) We are the type to buy new and run it into the ground. I’m nervous of buying used but can’t stretch our budget beyond $8k.


Our kids are aged 17-15-13. Hope to buy a car that would last 5 years for the youngest to drive.

 

[tvguy]

Do you have a Hertz Car Sales near you?
Here they have ex-rental Ford Fiestas, Kia Rio's, Hyundai Accents and Toyota Yaris's for about $9,000. 40,000 miles or so on them, and a warranty. Should be able to get 10-15 years out of one of them.

 

[descovy]

I looked at the hertz sales (online) start at $9999.

I’m in a sub $7999 kind of budget though!

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Honda Accords are great. Just sold my old one to a family that wanted a car for their 16 yo son.

 

[Christine]

I can tell you that my 2012 Hyundai Elantra is pretty cheap to insure. My son drives it now and it's been fine. Has held up well after 5 years. I think it sells used for about the same price range now that you're in. It is a small car so don't know if you're looking for something bigger.

 

[Southernmiss]

Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais. Have been most reliable/insurance affordable' for our 3 young male drivers.

Not good luck with American cars.

 

[gotomu212]

Hondas last forever and are cheap to insure. Check out Craigslist for used cars. I know it can seem a little overwhelming, but there are fantastic deals to be had on good realiable cars (we've sold our cars through Craigslist and it was all above board).

 

[mom2rtk]

If you want to keep the insurance down, get something cheap enough that you'd be comfortable with just liability coverage.

 

[mnrose]

We gave my kids our 2010 Prius (book value about $6000-7000). Cheap to insure. Runs like a charm. If I were looking for a reliable used car, I'd go Toyota or Honda every time. They run about forever. Of course they are "expensive" compared to other models of the same vintage, but there's a reason why. What's wrong with the Prius that has given up the ghost? Is it possible to repair? At what cost? Might be your cheapest option, honestly.

 

[tvguy]

Hondas last forever and are cheap to insure. Check out Craigslist for used cars. I know it can seem a little overwhelming, but there are fantastic deals to be had on good realiable cars (we've sold our cars through Craigslist and it was all above board).

Hondas are great cars. They sure weren't cheap to insure though here in California. They are stolen to often, because thieves love them too.
The three cars my insurance agent recommended because they have lower premiums were Ford Crown Victoria, Chevy Impala and Buick Le Sabre. Nobody steals them, and they are less expensive to fix.

 

[descovy]

Well that is a consideration.

Daughter got in a fender bender in a school zone by another teenager driver. He turned left in front of her. Just a scratch on his big truck but $4500 worth of damage to the Prius.

We are awaiting his insurance (he admitted fault) but it will likely be totaled, based on the value of the car.

We are considering buying it back as a salvage title and a friend know a guy who would fix it.

But it already burns oil and the struts are shot. We’ve been happy with its low maintenance so far, but worry about how much longer the hybrid battery would last. So would it be worth it to buy it back from insurance and fix it??? Hard to say.

Best case scenario insurance covers the repair and we are right back where we were. It’s the devil we know. We put those 200k miles on it. Just not sure the chances are good. So trying to decide what plan B should be.

We gave my kids our 2010 Prius (book value about $6000-7000). Cheap to insure. Runs like a charm. If I were looking for a reliable used car, I'd go Toyota or Honda every time. They run about forever. Of course they are "expensive" compared to other models of the same vintage, but there's a reason why. What's wrong with the Prius that has given up the ghost? Is it possible to repair? At what cost? Might be your cheapest option, honestly.

 

[Southernmiss]

Well that is a consideration.

Daughter got in a fender bender in a school zone by another teenager driver. He turned left in front of her. Just a scratch on his big truck but $4500 worth of damage to the Prius.

We are awaiting his insurance (he admitted fault) but it will likely be totaled, based on the value of the car.

We are considering buying it back as a salvage title and a friend know a guy who would fix it.

But it already burns oil and the struts are shot. We’ve been happy with its low maintenance so far, but worry about how much longer the hybrid battery would last. So would it be worth it to buy it back from insurance and fix it??? Hard to say.

Best case scenario insurance covers the repair and we are right back where we were. It’s the devil we know. We put those 200k miles on it. Just not sure the chances are good. So trying to decide what plan B should be.

Ds was in an accident last year in his Hyundai Santa Fe. We only carried liability on his car. He rear ended someone and did big damage to his front end.

We have an amazing auto shop here that rebuilt it for us for about the same cost as another used car out of our pocket.

Was worth it to us to keep and just repair as a car he'll use through college. New parts and we knew it's history better than we would have another used car.

 

[mom2rb]

I bought two Hondas on Craigslist this Summer. A 2005 Civic with 130,000 miles for $3000 that need $900 worth of work and a 2003 Accord with 100,000 miles for $3800 that needed $100 worth of work. Both are sticks and were checked out by a mechanic before I bought them.

I can't help with insurance because I have two 19 year old boys. I am paying a fortune.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

The Honda CRVs are also great. They sit up a little higher so you can see more and AWD if you live in a snowy area.

We had one get thru 3 kids and 270k mikes. Probably could have gotten another year or 2 but DS got a great new job and wanted to reward himself with a new Accord. The car was 17 years old.

 

[DawnM]

Our 17 year old is driving our 2004 Sequoia. I probably wouldn't buy that for him if we needed a car, but we had it as an extra. He only needs to go 1 mile to school and 4 miles to work, so it is fine. And it is big and safer. DH and I drive smaller cars (Camry and Prius) and I worry about accidents in a smaller vehicle.

PS: We just had two former students die in two separate car crashes within the last couple of weeks, so it is heavily on my mind.

 

[Klayfish]

Having seen literally tens of thousands (if not a hundred thousand) accidents...do NOT buy your teenager an SUV. Bad idea.

I wouldn't recommend trying to fix the Prius unless you can really get it done cheap and done right. Until the shop "tears down" the car to expose hidden damage, you don't really know how much it'll cost. Salvage cars are very hard to sell, etc... Not saying you shouldn't do it, in the right situation it can be great. But do your homework first. Let me know if I can help.

What to buy for under $8k? I'd recommend something like a 4cyl Honda Accord. That would get you a 2007-2011, roughly speaking. If you want something newer, a car like the Hyundai Elantra would be a good option....$8k would buy you a 2013 or 2014. They run forever. Another Prius isn't a bad option.

 

[Skippy918]

Having seen literally tens of thousands (if not a hundred thousand) accidents...do NOT buy your teenager an SUV. Bad idea.

I wouldn't recommend trying to fix the Prius unless you can really get it done cheap and done right. Until the shop "tears down" the car to expose hidden damage, you don't really know how much it'll cost. Salvage cars are very hard to sell, etc... Not saying you shouldn't do it, in the right situation it can be great. But do your homework first. Let me know if I can help.

What to buy for under $8k? I'd recommend something like a 4cyl Honda Accord. That would get you a 2007-2011, roughly speaking. If you want something newer, a car like the Hyundai Elantra would be a good option....$8k would buy you a 2013 or 2014. They run forever. Another Prius isn't a bad option.

Agreed. It's probably better to get the money from the insurance and put that towards a newer car.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DS learned to drive on DH's 2007 Honda Civic. When he got his license two years ago, we gave him that car to drive since he was already comfortable with it and DH got another car. We've had two Honda's and both were very reliable. It now has 117,000 miles and has never needed anything except the kind of maintenance any car of that age would need (oil changes, new tires, brake job, etc.). Now that DS is away at college, DH has started rotating between the Honda and his Hyundai Tucson. The Honda gets better mileage on his 30-mile commute, and is easier to park in tight spaces.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Nothing is cheap to insure for a teenager, especially a boy. We found that a 4-door is cheaper than 2-door, automatic less than a manual, and a car much cheaper than SUV or anything with 4wd.

 

[mombrontrent]

My DS18 has my DH old 2008 Mazda3 hatchback. Great little car, has about 175k and it's a little/lot beat up now but still running. It's amazing really what that car has been through over the years and it still keeps going. My DH ran over a deer a few years back and took out the under carriage. He came home and spent a few hours cleaning the deer out from under it, what a sight and smell, but kept on going. After the run in with the deer for about six months after the car smelled terrible after it would heat up after using it, ugh!