Need input on car for 16 year old

[pantherlj]

Our budget is around $5000 - $5500. What would you shop for? Brand/features/year/mileage. Brands to avoid?
Any input about a car, a new driver, insurance is appreciated!

 

[writersblock42]

As the mother of a 16 year old with a permit, I have had this discussion among my friends. I personally believe that a sensible Toyota or Honda car is the way to go as they normally last forever, are easy to drive and good on gas mileage. My friend insists that she wants an SUV for her son because they are safer if he gets into an accident. I think another option would be the Jetta or an older Volvo. Volvo, Toyota and Honda will all last a long time so at your price range, you will probably need to be looking at something that has 100,000 miles on it. I would check craig's list or individuals selling as they will be a lot cheaper if you can take somebody who knows about cars.

 

[Narnia_girl]

^ I second writersblock and would suggest you check Consumer Reports April issue. They have a list of the most reliable used cars, and used cars to avoid.

 

[DIS_MERI]

We ended up getting a 2010 Cobalt with 120K miles on it for our 16yo DS when he got his permit 2 months ago, it was $6400 with tax, title and registration. He doesn't have his license yet, so I can't speak to how terrible his insurance is, but DD18 has a car of similar value (2004 Saturn ION3 with 57K miles) and insurance for her is 130.67/month (she had an accident in a different car 18 months ago) while DS's car is currently insured under me (40yo, no accidents or traffic violations in the last decade+) for 78.83/mo. We expect DSs car to go up another $100/mo when he gets his license in February, but not sure how realistic that is. He is a much better/safer driver than her (and DH lol), but we realize that isn't true of most teenage boys.

 

[davper]

Unless the driver routinely has to go 30+ miles to and from school\work, I wouldn't spend that much on a first car.
A new driver is still learning. They are going to ding and dent their way around town. Maybe get in an accident or 2.
Get something disposable and save the 5k to help put towards a car when they are 18 and more experienced and more appreciative of the costs of owning a vehicle.
Make them pay for the difference in your insurance so they can feel the results of bad driving in their wallet.
The sooner they learn that driving is not a right but an expensive privilege, the sooner the become a safe responsible driver.

 

[undertheradar]

I would contact my insurance company/agent for some guidance. Too many variables to just get blind information from the internet. Will he be driving to/from school, activities, sports? Do you live in a rural area, suburbs, city? Do you experience a lot of wet or cold winter weather? All of these things would indicate what type of vehicle might be best for your new driver.

 

[pantherlj]

Good point familyoffive. We are in a rural area in central NC and she will be driving to and from school (4 miles) and work (5 miles). The nearest mall is 25 miles away but she doesn't like driving in city traffic (I am sure that will change).
I thought about doing a really cheap car to get around the 5 mile radius she will be going to but worry that we will end up spending more on maintenance if we go too cheap? She has been working to save money for the car, we are matching what she saves.
I'll call insurance company Monday for input too.

 

[sersee05]

For my daughter we bought a little sentra. We wanted a safe car. We didn't want it to be a fast car or a ton of money. But we didn't want her to be driving from shop to shop. She takes hers with her to college so it needed to be reliable. Basically we bought the cheapest newest car. She out some money in as did my parents. It was her early graduation present.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Here is an article about the safest cars for teens that might help:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...arch-finds-many-arent-driving-the-safest-ones

We actually got our DD a Toyota Corolla, which is not on this list. But it is reliable and has airbags, antilock brakes and traction/stability control. We looked for a small SUV, but they were pretty expensive for a later model. DD likes her car and finds it much easier to park than my van. She really wanted her dad's Highlander, though.

 

[tvguy]

I would contact my insurance company/agent for some guidance. Too many variables to just get blind information from the internet. Will he be driving to/from school, activities, sports? Do you live in a rural area, suburbs, city? Do you experience a lot of wet or cold winter weather? All of these things would indicate what type of vehicle might be best for your new driver.

I agree 100%. Safety and and insurance costs are going to be your top concerns.
When I did this with my insurance agent, the least expensive cars to insure with a 16 year old driving were Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, Buick LeSabre and Chevy Impala. And given that a lot of "little old men" and "little old ladies" who drive very few miles tend to favor these cars, you're probably going to find more cars of this type in better condition and lower mileage than a Toyota or Honda.
My kids are 4 years apart, I ended up giving my son my 13 year old Mercury Sable with 100,000 miles on it and buying myself the new car. He drove the Sable for 4 years then it went to my daughter, who drove it for a year before she totaled it. In both cases, after they drove the Sable, I bought them each a 1 year old used Taurus from Hertz for under $10,000 each. Those cars are going strong today, my son has had his for 8 years now, and my daughter has had her's 7 years.

 

[skysmom99]

Familyoffive brings up the same points I was thinking. My oldest will be getting her license in Sept., and this has been a topic of conversation here. We live in rural northern Michigan so we have to take into account both wintry weather and the fact that my dd plays sports year round. After talking to our insurance agent, we've decided to put her on our insurance as the driver of our 1998 Chevy truck. We bought it used (and pre-dented by the previous owner) a few years ago. It should work well for driving the 2.5 miles to school and practice. Insurance costs will be about $550 for six months.

StitchandPooh'sMom, I'm not giving up my Highlander, either.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

Just bought our 17 year old twins a 2005 Honda Civic to drive. DH family has driven Hondas for years and we currently own a Pilot and a Ridgeline. DH said he wanted them to have a well built, safe, reliable car to drive that he wasn't having to repair every weekend. DS plans to go to college about 2 hours from our home. We figure that car should get him through to his college graduation. DD not sure where she wants to go yet.

 

[okeydokey]

Bought a 2008 Toyota Yaris for ours from an ad on Craigslist. Dealers wanted so much more for the same type of cars we were looking at. Had it checked by a mechanic before we agreed. It has 124,000 miles on it, but Toyotas last forever.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I would definitely go with a Toyota or Honda. I did see a TV clip on the news about new teen drivers & the types of cars they tend to drive/what their parents help decide on & it said teenagers tend to drive small to compact cars which they didn't consider the safest for new drivers

 

[havaneselover]

I'm about four years away but saving for this now. I hope to get both kids Honda Civics. I have an Odyssey and a very honest reasonable Honda mechanic so I want to stick with Honda.

 

[a742246]

What we did was give our child our old car (6 years old) and bought a new one for ourselves. We planned it 6 years ago!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We just bought our 16 her first car last week. She had to save $$ and we matched it and my parents also matched it. She saved $2k so she had a $6k budget. We ended up only spending $4500 which was under KBB on a 2004 Honda Accord EX. It has a sunroof, spoiler, etc. Very nice vehicle esp for the price. It has 150k miles and she will put another 100k on it by the time she finishes college and buys another car. We have owned several Accords and Civics that we have driven to almost 300k miles and they were still going strong when we sold them.
We let her pick the car, but also limited her to Honda or Toyota.
Full coverage is about $100/mth but I may drop to liability only in a year or two. I need a new car next and don't want to come up with another $5k to replace her car if she wrecks it on liability only this year.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Toyota or Honda would be good. Volvo is a good car, but dealers are few & far between plus repairs can be spendy. Pre-2012 Ford Focus is pretty much bulletproof. Cobalt is kind of cheaply made, but major mechanicals are durable. Steer clear of VW. Wouldn't touch one out of warranty with a 10 foot pole.

The previously named RWD "old man" cars are all super reliable & cheap, albeit not so easy on gas.

 

[dougsmom98]

We are letting our son drive our oldest vehicle which is a 2005 Town and Country minivan and we bought a new one for my husband to drive. We figured that it would be better to invest the $5000-$6000 in a new vehicle than to buy a used one.

 

[tvguy]

I would definitely go with a Toyota or Honda. I did see a TV clip on the news about new teen drivers & the types of cars they tend to drive/what their parents help decide on & it said teenagers tend to drive small to compact cars which they didn't consider the safest for new drivers

I agree about the compact cars, which is why I i would stay away from an Accord or Camry, because they are smaller than the cars I mentioned.