Buying 16 year old a car- help

[mousefan1972]

So here in Mass, kids can get their drivers license at age 16 and a half. Our oldest child, DD16, is almost there. Time to start thinking about getting her a car. This is what I have for thoughts so far – small SUV, four wheel/all wheel drive is a must, high miles OK but not looking for anything more than 7-8 years old. I drive a Honda CR-V so naturally am gravitating towards that. Somewhat surprised at the high prices, to be honest. Also considering Jeep Compass, Toyota Rav 4, and Nissan Rogue. Also wondering if I should go through a dealer, used car lot, or private sale. I’ve only bought new cars which I tend to keep for quite some time, so buying a used car is completely foreign to me. Any help would be great.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

When my first son got his license 2 years ago. I gave him my paid off ‘08 Elantra with snow tires and bought myself a new used car. He has been in 2 minor incidents. With my second son, we bought him a 2010 Kia (70,000 miles) with snow tires, it was a little over $5000. We just couldn’t afford a SUV without it being too old/too many miles for my sanity. We also took into account insurance rates. We did go to a dealership, because I’ve been burned by buying from a private seller in the past. If you have a great mechanic that can look over a car before buying private, that would benefit you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I would, honestly, go to the library and check the April Consumer Reports. Maybe even try their car buying service. It would be better if you could wait until April 2020, but the 2019 issue should help.

 

[RamblingMad]

Makes more sense to hand down one of your cars and buy yourself something new than to go used car shopping. You’ll already know your vehicle. Less surprises.

If I was going to buy used, I’d stick to pickups.

 

[dclpluto]

Buy a new vehicle for yourself and give or sell her your vehicle at a great price. Win for everyone.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I think it’s so nice that you want to buy your daughter a new car but at 16, especially if she’s not the one paying for it, the odds that the car will end up scratched or worse are very high. At 17 I once hit a parked car... just drove right into it because I wasn’t paying attention. I would definitely recommend buying a used car. CarSense has been growing a lot in my area, and they have dealerships now. Maybe check them out?

 

[pxidst119]

Our DDs share our 09 Nissan Rogue. Has about 90,000 miles on it and has been perfect for them. Still looks good. They just drive to school, work and around town so they’ve barely put many miles on it over the last two years. We bought a 3 year old HRV for DH. We waited on getting a newer car for him since we knew that keeping the old one for the girls would be a great option. I think a used car is the way to go for new drivers. Remember, this car will spend a lot of time parked in the high school student parking lot amongst many new drivers.

 

[Klayfish]

As someone who's job it is to know and understand the car market,and overall insanely car crazy person (I've owned over 100 and race cars for a hobby), DO NOT buy an SUV for a teenager. Very bad idea. They will be better off in a sedan. I know so many people are sold on all wheel drive. Subaru has built an entire following by trying to convince people on the concept that they do, despite having sub-par products. FWD and good tires are more than sufficient for Mass winters. As for buying from a dealer or private party, that depends on your comfort level. If you're not sure what you're looking at or doing then go to a dealer, though even that can have shortcomings. Otherwise, look at Craigslist or FB Marketplace and shop very carefully. There is a lot of junk and flippers out there, but you will find that diamond in the rough...a owner owner well cared for car. Just have to jump on it quick. I'd suggest looking for something like the CIvic, Corolla, Elantra, Forte, Mazda3, or if you want to go really cheap even something like a Cobalt (or HHR, which is a Cobalt wagon).

If you insist on AWD, not a lot of choices in sedans outside of Subaru. And again, their products are sub-par when compared to the top tier in the class. If you also insist on an SUV, from your list there are two I would suggest crossing off your list immediately. First is the Jeep Compass. They are dumpster fires, to be polite. Second is the Rogue. Not all that much better than the Jeep. They have transmissions that are ticking time bombs to make matters worse. The Rav4, CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda CX-5 (a little more pricey because they're newer) will be your best bets. But again, I'd strongly suggest to reconsider the small SUV. They don't do anything particularly well, and are far more prone to rollover accidents. I can't count how many of them I've seen...it's thousands.

FWIW, I have a 15 year old son. Here in GA, you can get a permit the day you turn 15 and a license at 16. Through hobby and industry contacts I know, I got him an incredibly screaming deal on a 1997 Lexus LS400. It's an old car for sure, but was one owner and dealer serviced. It's immaculate and runs like a dream. He loves it. He also has a "project car", a '94 Mustang GT, but that's a whole different kettle of fish....

 

[Christine]

I think it’s so nice that you want to buy your daughter a new car but at 16, especially if she’s not the one paying for it, the odds that the car will end up scratched or worse are very high. At 17 I once hit a parked car... just drove right into it because I wasn’t paying attention. I would definitely recommend buying a used car. CarSense has been growing a lot in my area, and they have dealerships now. Maybe check them out?

She did say in her first post that she was buying used.

OP, I agree with others. I don't know the age of your current cars, but that's what I've always done with my teens: I hand down whatever I'm driving and then I get myself something new (unless of course I run across a gem of a used car through someone I know).

When my DD started driving, I had a Camry that was probably 6 years old. Gave her that and got myself a Highlander. When my son started driving, my parents had a 10 year old Camry which they gifted him. For some reason, that car kept having issues, and by the time he went to college in 2013, my 2005 Highlander was perfect for him. He drove that until it became unreliable for long commutes and he then got my 2012 Elantra. All the while, either my husband or I, got the newer vehicles. My son, who is now gainfully employed, is still driving the 2012 Elantra and I expect he will for quite some time.

 

[firefly_ris]

FWD sedan, slap some snow tires on it if that helps. Used 4x4s and AWDs are all going to be higher price point. And for a teen I think an SUV could give them a false sense of security in the winter... Most vehicles I see in ditches in the winter here are SUVs.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our mechanic flips Honda’s, dd23 is on her 3rd, 2007 Honda Civic. Dd16 and ds16 will get handed down DH’s 2007 civic in January. My 16 year old niece has had two significant accidents since getting her license in July. It seems like my sophomores are telling me about a car accident involving one of their friends or teammates every week.

 

[mnrose]

Makes more sense to hand down one of your cars and buy yourself something new than to go used car shopping. You’ll already know your vehicle. Less surprises.

If I was going to buy used, I’d stick to pickups.

This is exactly what we did. We started with the idea of getting a good solid used car at a reasonable price, and discovered that this "unicorn" does not exist. Our oldest car was "valued" at $5-6K, which is exactly what we wanted to spend. We KNEW our car was rock solid, having been owned and maintained by us the entire time. We decided to pass that one down to the kids, and get another vehicle for us. Worked out great for us. My DD is still driving that car 3+ years later, and it's still rock solid. Has good safety equipment, and was an excellent "snow" car, because DH drove it to work for years in the middle of the night often before roads were adequately plowed and treated. He always got through. Never went in a ditch.

 

[NotUrsula]

We had to buy DS a used car because I managed to total mine (the one we planned to give him) a month before his graduation. (First time in 30 years I'd been in so much as a fender-bender.) Normally we would have just told him that he would have to wait a while, but he already had; this was his college graduation, and he needed it to commute to his new job.

We really didn't have an older car to bequeath to him when it came time. Sometimes the best-laid hand-me-down plans don't work out. He ended up with a 2013 Elantra hatch. (And at age 22 and a college graduate who had never had car insurance before, but with a perfectly clean driving record, the insurance on it was equal to the cost of the car. His insurance is presently $6K/yr.)

 

[Lumpy1106]

How has Subaru not been mentioned? Safe, reliable, AWD, great in crappy conditions. It's not too hard t break 200k miles on the odometer. I will say they are notorious for going through a fair amount of oil starting at about 100k miles though. Be sue and check insurance rates - those will kill you with teen drivers.

 

[RangerPooh]

Our oldest turns 15 this winter and will be eligible for her learners permit, so this is a frequent topic of discussion. We're leaning towards giving her my current car (Fiat 500) and buying myself a new one. We already know it's reliable and has an extended warranty.

 

[Christine]

How has Subaru not been mentioned? Safe, reliable, AWD, great in crappy conditions. It's not too hard t break 200k miles on the odometer. I will say they are notorious for going through a fair amount of oil starting at about 100k miles though. Be sue and check insurance rates - those will kill you with teen drivers.

Klayfish mentioned them upthread and said they were an inferior product. We are on our second one and it seems fine to me, but he does know a lot about cars so I'd like to hear more but didn't want to hijack the thread.

 

[TAX GUY]

I'm also in Mass and my son just got licensed this past September. The comments about FWD and snow tires, while would be OK, wouldn't normally cut it with the winters here, combined with the roads and hills. Can you get around without 4WD or AWD, sure, but I'd personally prefer having 4WD/AWD.

Anyway, if you have a friend or family member that has half a clue about cars, ask them to assist with the search (or at least take a look when you find something that might fit). I had my son narrow down to different vehicles that he thought he'd like. We told him we would match any monies he put up. That way, he has a vested interest in it, and treat it well. As a 16 year old male, he of course looked at everything the least practical for our area. Rear wheel drive sports cars to be specific. That didn't happen. He wanted my wife's car (a 2014 BWM 328i X-drive). Oddly enough, we considered that because it's a great sedan, AWD, very reliable and surprisingly "affordable". However, Her car is in great shape, and I anticipate some growing pains so I wanted him in something a little less nice or that could a little bumping and bruising. He opted for a Jeep Wrangler. I was good with that choice for a few reason.... it's 4WD, it's compact enough for him to learn how to maneuver in traffic, parking, etc, it's slow (not a lot of power), and he can have fun in the summer too removing the top. I'm a car nut, so I was able to find a few, check them out and narrow it down to one or two. He wanted a (newer) 4 door Wrangler, but they were out of his price range. I was able to find that diamond in the rough.... 2004 with a 4.0 motor, automatic transmission (I did want him to get a manual), hard top AND soft top, full doors AND half doors, ALL service records, all original parts (prior owner upgraded some parts to better quality, and saved the OEM stuff), 80k miles on it, and spotless. He fell in love with it, which helped because I knew he'd take care of it. We got it for $8000, of which he paid $4000. He also bought his "mods" and worked with me on other changes he wanted to do. His sense of pride in HIS Jeep really shows, and that carries into how he takes care of it.

When we bought it, stock (after I detailed it for him).




He's since added bigger tires and different wheels. He's also changed up the interior too (I did help a little, but mostly showed him how and he did it himself). Here he is, the day he passed and got his license...

 

[Lumpy1106]

Klayfish mentioned them upthread and said they were an inferior product. We are on our second one and it seems fine to me, but he does know a lot about cars so I'd like to hear more but didn't want to hijack the thread.

OK, well, then vehemently agree to disagree. My family has been driving Subarus since the late 60's and they are always the car we go to when the other cars refuse to go. You want a reliable car that will get him around town for now and off to college in a few years - nothing fancy. Frankly I think I'd start the search with your insurance agent. The difference in insurance between car types is huge.

 

[Klayfish]

How has Subaru not been mentioned? Safe, reliable, AWD, great in crappy conditions. It's not too hard t break 200k miles on the odometer. I will say they are notorious for going through a fair amount of oil starting at about 100k miles though. Be sue and check insurance rates - those will kill you with teen drivers.

I did mention Subaru. Yes, they hold up well in collisions. But then again, so does almost every other modern car, so that's not really anything special for them. Yes, AWD is never a "bad" thing. As I stated, Subaru has built an empire based on their marketing strategy of making people actually think they "need" AWD. It's a brilliant job on their part. Industry people refer to Subaru ownership as a cult, as they have very loyal followers. Which is great, I'm happy to see them survive and flourish. However, it's nothing but marketing hype. Fact is for 99% of people, even in the snowy regions, it's not necessary. The cars are mid-pack in their respective classes, if not lower. Reliability is spotty, interiors are low rent, they're thirsty and power/handling is so-so. I wouldn't say they're bad cars, like I would a Jeep Compass (which is truly an awful vehicle), they're decent transportation. For the money, there are better options.

Our oldest turns 15 this winter and will be eligible for her learners permit, so this is a frequent topic of discussion. We're leaning towards giving her my current car (Fiat 500) and buying myself a new one. We already know it's reliable and has an extended warranty.

FYI, the Fiat 500 is no longer being sold in the USA. 2019 was it. Glad yours has been reliable, but part of the reason they're leaving is most people have had different experience.

TAX GUY, sweet Wrangler!! That's just about the only SUV I like. Love those things. They're extraordinarily roll over prone, so I'd still go with my initial pause about giving a teen an SUV. But the Wrangler is fabulous, I will say that. I've owned pretty much every kind of car over the years, but Wrangler is one I'm still waiting to have. One day I will.

 

[mnrose]

The insurance point is an excellent one. Be sure to check what it will cost to insure your teen driving various models of cars. It's a shocker for sure.