Car for new driver

[mom2khj]

DD1 will be 17 in October and just got her license back in June. She's had her permit since she turned 15. She was a very timid driver to begin with and it took us awhile to get her comfortable to test for her license.

She learned to drive in my Accord ('17), and we considered handing it down to her. But, in the end, I wanted to have something she felt 100% comfortable in and a V6 engine was not it. I'm happy to see the car we picked is on the CR list, LOL. We found her a '15 Kia Soul. She really wanted this style car, and it really suits her! After she test drove one, she said it was so much better than my car, for her. The steering is much more "loose" for lack of a better term, and she felt more in control of the vehicle. And while it's peppy on the pick-up, it's no V6, which is perfect for her.

She was slightly spoiled by having Apple CarPlay in my car and we were fortunate enough to find a higher model with navigation that was able to be upgraded to include CarPlay. So now she can use Google maps wherever she goes. She's on the anxious side and this really has helped with her worrying less about getting lost.

After driving the car myself, I will say it's actually a fun car to drive and I feel like it is a great first car for her. It's roomy, without being a giant and has good sight lines all around.

[sariana]

What makes him think a Tesla is so safe? Does he read the news? (I live near the Tesla factory. I see a Tesla, on average, every 2 minutes on a typical non-freeway drive around here.)

[KrisM]

If DS1 gets his own car, it will be something older and not expensive. He turns 16 in April and will get his license then, as he'll need it for crossing the border to Canada on our vacation next summer. But, in the first couple years, I expect him to mostly be driving to/from school and school activities. So I don't think he needs all the latest and greatest safety features for that drive. We talked about maybe DH getting something new and having his car be the one kids get to drive. It's a 2010 Mercury Milan.

[egoldber]

Since my stroke I don’t drive anymore so older dd started with my old car avolkswagen Jetta wagon but it was recalled as part of diesel gate when we had to sell the car back to Volkswagen we bought a friend’s used Prius she only drove back and forth to school and occasionally to band competitions on the weekend her college doesn’t allow freshmen to have cars on campus so now the Prius sits in our driveway she had a couple fenderbenders in both cars so for us this was perfect she didn’t go to our local high school but a magnet high school several miles away if she had gone to ou local high school she wouldn’t ha be really needed a car but my not driving plus her having late practices several nights a week meant she needed a car for our sanity

[JBaxter]

DS3 is now driving an 2008 acrua TL with 130000 on it because DH got a 2019 Nissan Maxima Platinum Drives well and Im not freaked if it gets a ding or scratch He can get is license in November I forgot how much "FUN" it was to ride with a new driver

[kdeunc]

My oldest DS will be 17 in December and he drives a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. We bought it used with only 12K miles on it and it was the car he wanted. Younger DS is 14. We just bought a 2019 Mazda CX-5 that I will drive for the next 2 years and then pass it on to him. DH and I both drive Suburbans (3 kids, 3 100lb+ dogs ) and mine is 12 years old with almost 200K miles on it so it was not a great option to learn on or pass down. DH wanted to have the new safety features and have this be the car that the kids have through college. I wanted us to not go bankrupt trying to buy three kids cars. We tried to meet somewhere in the middle. DH did a lot of research. DS2 mentioned that he liked the class/size of the Jeep but didn't want the same car as his brother. We looked at the top of that class (safety, etc.) which were the Mazda, Toyota RAV 4 and the Subaru Forrester(I think it was the Forrester). Obviously we liked the Mazda the best after driving all 3. Good luck! I will say that having an extra driver in the house has been wonderful!

[DualvansMommy]

I’m guessing SUVs were cost prohibitive for the article - “

Consumer Reports Picks the Best Cars for Teen Drivers Under $20K”

The Subaru Impreza made the list... In every Subaru, all-wheel drive comes standard, so this car is a good call for teens who live in snowy climes.

I see that car among my neighborhood. It’s a good size, practical, safe and has AWD!

My oldest is only 8. But we’re at the point where we’re buying to replace DH’s 2009 Camry for bigger SUV. My Subaru Outback will need to be traded in about 5 years time, so that’s when we start thinking what cars to get. We prefer to give DS hand me down practical car like Camry, but we don’t think we’ll have that to hand down by then though.

For us parking is a big issue with our HS. There’s only so much parking spaces which juniors and seniors fight to get one! Not literally fighting but they get to school early just to grab a spot, otherwise have to park on the street near HS. Hence wanting a smaller practical vehicle that’s be easy to PP!


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[belovedgandp]

I live in the midwest and we like to drive. DS1 is just barely 15 1/2. He started driving at 14 in my Odyssey and DH's Mazda. He drove everywhere we went. I wanted him to have as much experience as possible with us next to him.

He's had a car for 6 months. We were not going to buy him a vehicle. He's been working knowing that the main goal was to "buy a car." When shopping for $4k cars you know you're buying issues. But the assumption is that this car is going to get wrecked. My van is only worth about that. We were car shopping on two fronts back in February (1) a decent deal on a vehicle for him or (2) a good slightly used upgrade for me. If we found option 2, DS would start driving my old van. For a $4k car there will be issues, but at least with a vehicle we've owed for 12+ years we knew the issues. Drawback being way too many passenger options.

In the end, a friend of mine was selling his very used vehicle. Yes, to all the issues, but I trusted my friend to tell me the issues upfront. DS1 wrote his first check and bought that car himself for $1,900. It's a POS and he loves it.

DS1 started driving to school and work right in March at 15 years 1 month.

[newnana]

Taking these 2 lines to highlight

When shopping for $4k cars you know you're buying issues
Drawback being way too many passenger options.

totally agree with both these statements.
Too many passengers= distraction.
Plus it' s a lot harder to do the deed in a tiny car than a minivan- thanks neighbors for that image, sorry I had to share with you. Still possible, I know.

Yes, our budget is in the 4k range. We don't even buy new cars for ourselves. We can get a good car for that that meets all the requirements and she can figure out how to fix it (with lots of willing help and youtube).

[AnnieW625]

Taking these 2 lines to highlight


totally agree with both these statements.
Too many passengers= distraction.
Plus it' s a lot harder to do the deed in a tiny car than a minivan- thanks neighbors for that image, sorry I had to share with you. Still possible, I know.

Yes, our budget is in the 4k range. We don't even buy new cars for ourselves. We can get a good car for that that meets all the requirements and she can figure out how to fix it (with lots of willing help and youtube).

My dh is convinced everyone’s first car or at least their car in college should be a compact truck because you can’t take a lot of people and it is great for moving (and now they have tonneau covers :. We haven’t set a price but honestly if my sister sells her Altima DH will probably offer her about $2500.

I paid $4300 cash for my first non family owned car my junior year in college. I remember the shock of writing out that check....I cried. (My car my parents let me drive prior was an 88 Subaru GL wagon so it was 7-10 years old when I drove it).


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