Car for teenager
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Anonymous
| OP, we just insured our 16yo DS on a 2005 Honda CRV. What we found is insurance on a new car is outrageously expensive. It didn't seem to matter much about the make/model as it did the fact that the car was 2013 or 14 model. I would say let your kid have the old BMW to learn on. The insurance will be affordable, they're built to last and fact of the matter is, it will likely take a few dings and dents. I think saving the old car for the kids to learn on is a smart move. |
Anonymous
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The PP suggesting the WRX is on crack. that is way too much power in too tiny of a car for a teenager.
Add me as another plus one to the teach your teenager to drive stick comments. |
Anonymous
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My DD (currently not driving age...just entering middle school) wants a new car when she drives....a mini cooper because they are cute. And I am supposed to pay for it. I let her down not so gently by pointing out that we live withing walking distance of the HS....and walking is good for her. I then let her know that she is not getting a new car. She will be lucky to get a hand-me-down.
She then went dibs on my GTI...uh no...too much power. If she gets a car, she will get our then 7 yo Outback with the slow 2.5 l engine. Safe and slow...good combination for new drivers. (I learned on a VW Diesel Rabbit in 1980. It was slow, but I got it up to big numbers). |
Anonymous
| My first car was a manual. I took the driving test in my moms automatic jeep but was given a 1984 VW (I got my license in 92) from my dad (I could have bought my own car if I wanted to put up the cash). I loved that POS and kept it until 2002. Gas milage was great for a broke college/grad student, insurance was cheap and given the whole learn to drive stick or mom/dad will drop you off was motivation enough. While not a factor when I was growing up the whole airbag thing and other safety measures makes newer cars more appealing. |
Anonymous
I agree with most of this - and kudos to you for teaching them that. I do question the wisdom of giving new drivers a car as old as the OPs (or ours, also manual) given the newer safety features these days, and I have to say that our old jetta isn't the easiest to drive anymore. What's the safe answer? |
Anonymous
My dad told me my first car would be a mustang. He didn't tell me it would be a 15 year old POS. Good move, Dad. He did then buy me a nice car for graduation because I got a full ride to college, but I had an old car to get some years in on before I upgraded. |
Anonymous
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I think a stick shift is a great car to learn to drive on. It's just a little harder. OP--IMO everyone should know how to drive a stick, just in case they need to one day.
And automatic cars have not been around forever, OP--most of us in our 40s, out west, learned on stick shifts. The thing I'm going to consider when my kid hits driving age is the safety of the car. There is a lot more chance your kid will get in an accident than you will. Normally, my philosophy would dictate that my kid would start out with a beater car like I did so as not to be spoiled---except for the safety issue. The safety issue ramps it up for me, makes me consider say, a 2 y.o. safe car. Also, because I have DDs, I don't want a car that can break down. |
Anonymous
We did not find this at all. Our insurance agent told us it was actually more expensive to insure a teenager on an older car because they are many fewer safety features than on a new car. New cars have tons of airbags, better cage protection in the drivers seat, anti lock brakes and stability control if you have an SUV. She said no later than 3 years out for an older car. Teh insurance goes up dramatically when they have their own car vs sharing 2 cars bet three drivers. We found Geico was much more reasonable than our old insurance which was Nationwide. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/brochures/shopping-for-a-safer-car http://www.iihs.org/iihs/brochures/beginning-teen-drivers "Choose vehicles with safety in mind. Teens should drive vehicles that reduce their chances of crashing in the first place and then protect them from injury in case they do crash. For example, small cars don't offer the best protection in a collision compared with larger vehicles. Avoid high-horsepower models that might encourage teens to speed. Look for vehicles that earn good crash test ratings and have the latest safety technology. This includes side airbags to protect people's heads in crashes (standard on most 2008 and later models) and electronic stability control to avoid crashes (standard on 2012 and later models). See our ratings for more information." For small cars, the only ones rated f or a TSP+ is the 2014 Honda Civic 4 door, 2014 Mazda 3 and the 2014 Toyota Prius, For Small SUV's, the 2014 Mazda CX-5 Applies only to optional front crash prevention models and aapplies only to vehicles built after October 2013, 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander, Applies only to optional front crash prevention models, the 2014 Nissan Rogue, Applies only to optional front crash prevention models, and 2014 Subaru Forester Applies only to optional front crash prevention models. Safety was our number one concern when getting a car for our teenager. You can check out all the cars and ratings here: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings Good Luck |
Anonymous
We have USAA and our rate to insure a 16yo boy 2013 or 2014 Subaru Impreza, Forester or Outback, Honda Civic or Accord or Mazda 3 was around $2500 per year. For the heck of it, I asked about insuring a 'riskier' vehicle... 2013 Camaro or Wrangler and the cost was around $2700 per year. We insured the CRV for $600 per year for full coverage. The CRV has antilock brakes, ESC and airbags and DS is listed on the insurance as the primary driver. The USAA agent said it was the year of the vehicle that was driving up the cost. BTW, we live in another state so maybe that makes a difference between your experience and mine. |
Anonymous
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With geico, we are spending $3200 with 3 cars. Thst includes a 2014 crv and 2014 civic.
A $2500 quote for insurance for a new car is ridiculous. |
Anonymous
My DCs first car was a hand me down Mini Cooper. Not a great teen car so we traded it in. |
Anonymous
How much did it go up when you added your teenager? What were you paying before if you don't mind me asking |
Anonymous
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For a new driver, stay away from SUVs. Also, one good piece of advice I received was to look at cars w/ only two seats, therefore no back seat friends to distract them. First or second series Miata fits that bill, old non-turbo MR2 as well. If your stuck on something w/ a back seat then look at the IIHS crash ratings. I liked one of the early posts on making it stick shift, friends won't be borrowing it either...
My DD is looking at cars based on the color she likes...and offering suggestions 
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Anonymous
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I strongly disagree with the comment of a 2 door car, because those are usually sporty, even if they are relatively slow. And they have less mass.
Safety is the number one concern. And ease of driving. The best car I have had for ease of driving was a 2005 Subaru Forester. The newer ones have bigger blind spots. Figure the kid will have an accident. (That is why the insurance is so high). You want the kid to not be hurt. (I know if I had a two door (MR2 or Miata, which were not available when I learned), I would have done stupid things with it. But I did stupid things with the car I learned to drive, with was a bigger car. |
Anonymous
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Manual is still useful in many other countries. I suppose that in 20 years all cars will be electric. But even your 14-year-old will probably face a manual car somewhere before that happens.
I agree, manual won't stop the cell phone, even in the city. |