Need input on car for 16 year old

[disneyeveryyear]

I actually went car shopping in May for my kids, after swearing that I would never buy my kids a car (never say never). I ended up finding a 2002 Olds Alero with 61,000. After taking it to my mechanic to be told it needed new brakes and had a leak in the intake, I had the seller (a repair shop/used car dealer) make all the necessary repairs. After tax, title, license I was all in $5,500. It doesn't get the mileage my DS was hoping for, but it's not bad at 25 mpg. It has the V6 engine, so I knew it wasn't going to get wonderful mileage.

He says it drives well on the highway and in town and is okay with it. He will take it back to college in August and I am hoping it will at least last through grad school.

 

[luvdisney00]

My oldest has a Toyota corolla. She's 20 and we haven't had a single problem with it. We just bought my 17 year old a 2012 Jetta. It isn't easy living in NJ and paying all of this insurance! We bought from a dealer but I still think we would have done better on Craigslist. Ask the seller to meet you at your mechanics or at the police station if you are not comfortable. Good Luck!!

 

[tvguy]

My oldest has a Toyota corolla. She's 20 and we haven't had a single problem with it. We just bought my 17 year old a 2012 Jetta. It isn't easy living in NJ and paying all of this insurance! We bought from a dealer but I still think we would have done better on Craigslist. Ask the seller to meet you at your mechanics or at the police station if you are not comfortable. Good Luck!!

Okay, clearly I have the incorrect impression of New Jersey. I thought that was a state where auto insurance was cheaper because of the no fault law. Is New Jersey no longer a no fault state?

 

[nat8199]

I would get a Toyota Camry or Honda Civic, the newest/least miles I could get within budget. I never dinged or dented a new card as a new driver (or an old one!), so I don't expect my kids to either. If they are going to hit things, then they aren't going to be driving!

 

[Dizlvr]

My dd will be shopping for a car soon and we'll go with a Honda or Toyota or Subaru

 

[MinnieForMe]

Our son has driven his Toyota Corolla for a year now. He learned to drive on my minivan but loves his Toyota. It gets great gas mileage, is cheap to repair, is easy to drive and has airbags etc... The cheapest way to insure him for our family was to add him to our policy but name the Corolla his car on insurance. As long as we didn't add collision to his car, the premium was $1800 the first year. Now, that he has a year of safe driving under his belt, it has dropped to $1100. Good luck!

 

[luvdisney00]

Okay, clearly I have the incorrect impression of New Jersey. I thought that was a state where auto insurance was cheaper because of the no fault law. Is New Jersey no longer a no fault state?

NJ is a no fault state, but because of the dense population it is the highest state in the US for Auto insurance premiums.http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ss...stliest_auto_insurance_in_us_report_says.html

New drivers typically run between 2-3K each and girls go down a bit at 21 and boys 25. We had to shop around and get all the discounts that we could but are still paying through the nose for my 17 and 20 yo DDs.

 

[Madteaparty001]

Let me tell you a story. At 16 my father bought me a beater for a $1, it was rolled into the driveway on flat tires and I hated it the moment I set eyes on it. He fixed it up for a few hundred dollars and gave me the keys. I moaned and groaned about how ugly it was but within the first year on a rainy day someone was parked behind an accident, which meant they had no break lights on, and the person in front of me swerved to avoid them. I slammed on the breaks, but having a car to old to have ABS I hydroplaned into the back of the parked car. I was only going 35 in a 45 and no one was hurt, but it was enough to bend the frame and total the $1 car.

My next car was my grandmother's, after an accident she was determined to be to old to be allowed to drive herself. I helped my father for a month fixing up the car and we called it even. I was given the keys and within a year on a dark early morning, in winter, on a dirt road (supposedly the worst combo for a teen driver), I hit an icy patch on a bend in the road and fish tailed into a tree and rolled into a ditch. It was totaled, and I became the butt of many bad driver jokes.

The next car I bought with my own money from my first job, it was $1000 beater and I drove it until the engine fell out. It's been many years since my two first cars and I've never had an accident since, but I'm hoping this will lend you a little insight into the type of car you should get. Teenagers have accidents, not because they're bad drivers, but because they're inexperienced, tend to panic, and are easily distracted (texting anyone?). Buy a solid car with air bags, abs, and nothing with a tendency to roll (no jeeps). Don't spend to much and save the extra for the inevitable repairs.

 

[tnklvr]

My first car was a 10 year Toyota Corolla and never had to have anything but maintenance done on that car. Never had an accident either. Went through adulthood getting a variety of car brands and every one of them had problems and expensive maintenance so 8 years ago I got a brand new Toyota Corolla and have done nothing other than simple maintenance on that as well. I am needing to get something higher off the ground due to knee issue most likely a Rav4. My 2007 Corolla with 77,000 miles, new tires, breaks, and rotors the dealer only wants to give me $6000 for it. They will sell that sucker for around $12,000 too. I have asked around to friends with kids to see if anyone wants it for $6500 to cover the tax incentive the dealers give and unfortunately nobody is in the market for one. Anyway, I would look around for a Toyota or like someone else said a Honda.

 

[seashoreCM]

Generally, children should not be given anything that you would feel heartbroken over if it were lost, stolen, or damaged.

When test driving a car, it should run perfectly. No roughness, no hesitation, all accessories working.

Specifically do not accept excuses from the seller. If the seller says it needs something, why didn' the have the car serviced beforehand?

Oh yes, try all of the windows to be sure they roll down and back up.

 

[tvguy]

Generally, children should not be given anything that you would feel heartbroken over if it were lost, stolen, or damaged.

When test driving a car, it should run perfectly. No roughness, no hesitation, all accessories working.

Specifically do not accept excuses from the seller. If the seller says it needs something, why didn' the have the car serviced beforehand?

Oh yes, try all of the windows to be sure they roll down and back up.

Or just pay your mechanic to give it a Professional inspection. I can tell you from my own experience selling my old cars, the reason I am getting rid of it is because it has something wrong, I'm not about to spend a penny on something I'm not going to keep.

 

[seashoreCM]

I forgot whether it was I or my brother who read a forum post regarding a buyer doing his own inspection of a private sale used car. Among other things he took out a few spark plugs. Ultimately he decided not to buy the car and the seller was quite upset that the car got manhandled so much.

It is not considered giving excuses if the seller quickly discloses problems he knows about without being asked.

 

[Shmily1]

When DS was turning 16 I had this conversation with my insurance person. He wanted my Mustang so I wanted to be sure I was doing right. I asked should I give him my Mustang or buy him a Honda, Nissan, Toyota. I was told to give him the Mustang. For the company I have, it was cheaper on insurance and just as safe. I was told mostly because it was an American car and parts were plentiful. So he got my Mustang and then the next year, I bought DD a Mustang for her first car. DS still has a Mustang and still loves them.

 

[dgthree]

Okay, clearly I have the incorrect impression of New Jersey. I thought that was a state where auto insurance was cheaper because of the no fault law. Is New Jersey no longer a no fault state?

New Jersey is a no fault state, but there are a lot of bad drivers. We're not the highest in the country, but we made the top ten in this list:
http://www.ibamag.com/news/10-states-with-the-most-expensive-car-insurance-rates-in-2015-22160.aspx

 

[ceecee]

I gave my daughter my 5 year old Honda CR-V and bought a new one for myself. She didn't start driving until past age 17 and was planning on driving every day to college (30 miles) the next year. However, with insurance prices as they are in our area it may have been better to get a car that we could only pay for the liability insurance and not insure the car. We choose safety and reliability over that. I would not have put any new driver in a compact. My husband had a 5 year old Camry which isn't small either but since it was a hybrid it cost a lot more to insure than the Honda!

 

[lilia78]

We bought our oldest DD19 (almost 20) a neon for her first car, when my husband was driving it he totaled it so then he bought her a 2003 Chevy Cavalier and she drove that from 17-19.5 until she got in an accident this past February. With the proceeds from the insurance and some money she had saved up she then upgraded to a 2004 Nisaan Murano that we got a great deal on, fully loaded, leather interior, sunroof ect. She loves it!

Our oldest DS18 we bought him a 2000 Jeep Cherokee which he loves! Unfortunately for him he is attending military college on the other side of the country and had to fly there so the Jeep stayed home.

Younger DS16 we bought a 2003 Chevy Intrepid which he loves! It's amazingly comfortable and rides so nice!

For these vehicles the kids all had to do a combination of working with their father on our family farm and paying a portion of the vehicle. Where we live the only insurance we pay for vehicles is the plates, for the first year we pay it, the second we share the cost and the third year and on the kids are responsible on their own. The Intrepid costs the least to plate, it's based on the vehicle and the year, not on who is driving it.

 

[tvguy]

We bought our oldest DD19 (almost 20) a neon for her first car, when my husband was driving it he totaled it so then he bought her a 2003 Chevy Cavalier and she drove that from 17-19.5 until she got in an accident this past February. With the proceeds from the insurance and some money she had saved up she then upgraded to a 2004 Nisaan Murano that we got a great deal on, fully loaded, leather interior, sunroof ect. She loves it!

Our oldest DS18 we bought him a 2000 Jeep Cherokee which he loves! Unfortunately for him he is attending military college on the other side of the country and had to fly there so the Jeep stayed home.

Younger DS16 we bought a 2003 Chevy Intrepid which he loves! It's amazingly comfortable and rides so nice!

For these vehicles the kids all had to do a combination of working with their father on our family farm and paying a portion of the vehicle. Where we live the only insurance we pay for vehicles is the plates, for the first year we pay it, the second we share the cost and the third year and on the kids are responsible on their own. The Intrepid costs the least to plate, it's based on the vehicle and the year, not on who is driving it.

Nit picking, but an Intrepid is a Dodge, not a Chevy.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

Buy an old Toyota with lots of miles on it and do not spend the whole 5K. High school parking lots are like a bumper car park. We have 4 children and all four of them were in accidents while in high school Not one of the accidents was the fault of our children. One was a hit and run to our parked vehicle while it was in the school parking lot. OMG

 

[LuvOrlando]

I know it sounds expensive but we got a new base level civic leased for $189/month for 3 years so that's $6804 plus the deposit to accommodate our newest driver. The reason why I think it is actually the cheapest option has to do with warranty coverage, fuel efficiency, repairs and safety. I have friends with older kids who bought them older models for less $ upfront but the poor fuel economy and expensive repairs means the cars go unused for weeks at a time plus the unexpected expenses from various repairs including tires etc seems to be a huge problem driving costs up in unexpected ways. With the civic I have zero upkeep and turn it in at the end, anything breaks its covered plus I love love love the backup mirrors on the thing for safety in parking lot and rt turn situations and, frankly, I really enjoy driving it myself. So good on fuel efficiency we actually packed our family of 4 into it for college trips to Boston from PA & made it clear there on 1 tank. Easy way to manage INS is list your kid on the oldest vehicle you own, each driver is 'assigned' a car in a household but is allowed to drive all of them & insurer told me it doesn't matter how things get assigned other than for cost. We have an 02 Accord beater and he is listed on that one, win-win for everyone.

 

[tvguy]

I know it sounds expensive but we got a new base level civic leased for $189/month for 3 years so that's $6804 plus the deposit to accommodate our newest driver. The reason why I think it is actually the cheapest option has to do with warranty coverage, fuel efficiency, repairs and safety. I have friends with older kids who bought them older models for less $ upfront but the poor fuel economy and expensive repairs means the cars go unused for weeks at a time plus the unexpected expenses from various repairs including tires etc seems to be a huge problem driving costs up in unexpected ways. With the civic I have zero upkeep and turn it in at the end, anything breaks its covered plus I love love love the backup mirrors on the thing for safety in parking lot and rt turn situations and, frankly, I really enjoy driving it myself. So good on fuel efficiency we actually packed our family of 4 into it for college trips to Boston from PA & made it clear there on 1 tank. Easy way to manage INS is list your kid on the oldest vehicle you own, each driver is 'assigned' a car in a household but is allowed to drive all of them & insurer told me it doesn't matter how things get assigned other than for cost. We have an 02 Accord beater and he is listed on that one, win-win for everyone.

Well, I haven't seen a financial expert ever recommend leasing a car because it almost always is going to be the most expensive option. At the end of three years you will have spent at least $6,804 and your child will not have a car to drive. People who spent the money to buy a car, their child will still have transportation.