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  1. #1
    Twoboos is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Default Car for new driver

    DD1 will be getting her permit soon so license in about 6-9mos so we are starting to think about cars.

    I could hand down my car to her. At that point it will be nearly 10 years old, around 140k +/- miles. It's a Toyota Highlander, so big but not huge, and at the time it was top of the line but now it doesn't have more common safety things (no driver assist stuff, the backup camera screen is tiny). And it's starting to show it's age in weird annoying ways that don't affect driving (ex: the hatch back needs to be manually closed bc the button doesn't work).

    We could get her a new car which would have more of the safety features that are becoming more common/expected now. DH is a bit extremist and believes this car should be a Tesla bc it's "the safest car on the road - don't you want her to be safe?!?" I was thinking something kind of in between lol.

    If you have a new or recent driver, what type of are they driving? Which did you look at/consider?
    "Every mother needs a wife." - Amy Poehler, Yes Please

  2. #2
    NCGrandma is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Default Car for new driver

    Watching with interest—DGD1 will be permit-eligible sometime in the next year or so (I should find out when). By then, their Mazda5 will sadly need to be replaced too, so maybe shopping for 2 cars in addition to their newer Subaru Impreza.

    Didn’t Consumer Reports have a recent list of good picks for new drivers?


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  3. #3
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    We aren’t the kind of family that bought our kid a car. That’s a different world than I know. (though it does seem more common than I anticipated even in our circle). He drives our RAV4 or Civic. When we called to add him to our insurance, our agent said to talk to her before we bought a 3rd car. At least in my state, a 3rd driver with a 3rd family car would become the primary driver of one of those cars- and insurance would be $$$. She said though that the amount insurance costs has no rhyme or reason (you might think safety features= less bug because the tech is expensive to repair, that isn’t always the case). So I recommend what she suggested if you care about cost. Run things by your agent and see what option makes the most sense.


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  4. #4
    newnana is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    We are in the same boat, except when I started talking about it, DH said something to the effect of no effing way she gets a car, she can bike everywhere she needs to go. I planted the seed waaaay early to start getting him on board and now he's saying, "when she gets a car." Yes, I'm patting myself on the back for the long process of getting him to see the light that driving is a life skill like swimming.

    My criteria is very skewed: A super safe, peppy car that can get her out of a bad situation but is reasonably priced so when she totals her first car she will walk away unscathed and we will still be on board to buy her another.

    I'd like DD to do racing driver's ed among many many others to respect the car and develop a healthy fear of other drivers, and would like a dual purpose car that can be on the track. She'll start with the Street Survival School and move on to racing driver's ed in addition to the drivers ed required by the state: https://www.tirerack.com/content/tir..._survival.html


    The highlander doesn't meet my criteria. It's kinda sluggish and lots of blind spots for a new driver. It's definitely not a trackable car. Civic, Fit, Leaf, VW golf.... that's the size and maneuverability we're looking into, but DD won't be doing city driving or major interstates for a few years because of where we live. If we lived in a city and she had to learn to navigate rush hour, my criteria would be a little different. We live in the middle of nowhere and she'll be doing lots of blind changing elevation curves way too fast and I want her to survive learning that.

  5. #5
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    DD will get her permit in about 6 mo (you can get it here at 14 and your school license at 14.5.). We have an extra car that will end up being hers. It’s a 2007 Subaru Tribeca. (We purchased it new when DD was 10 mo old ). Currently it has 94,000 miles on it, and it’s in mint condition. We will get a back up camera installed on it though, since I feel like it’s necessary.


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  6. #6
    newnana is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles View Post
    We aren’t the kind of family that bought our kid a car. That’s a different world than I know. (though it does seem more common than I anticipated even in our circle). He drives our RAV4 or Civic. When we called to add him to our insurance, our agent said to talk to her before we bought a 3rd car. At least in my state, a 3rd driver with a 3rd family car would become the primary driver of one of those cars- and insurance would be $$$. She said though that the amount insurance costs has no rhyme or reason (you might think safety features= less bug because the tech is expensive to repair, that isn’t always the case). So I recommend what she suggested if you care about cost. Run things by your agent and see what option makes the most sense.


    Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains


    This is where our brains started, but neither of our cars are ones we want DD to start on. Too high HP or gigantic and she needs to be super comfortable. RAV4 and Civics are perfect cars to learn in and if we drove those, we'd just add DD to our insurance and send her on ALL errands, all the time

  7. #7
    urquie is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by NCGrandma View Post
    Didn’t Consumer Reports have a recent list of good picks for new drivers?
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    Here it is...
    https://www.motorbiscuit.com/consume...ers-under-20k/

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by urquie View Post
    Interesting that they are all small cars without AWD/4WD. We live in a snowier area and I’d feel much more comfortable with my new drive being in a small SUV than a compact car.


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  9. #9
    mom2binsd is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Around here most kids seem to get a pretty nice vehicle, usually a small suv (especially all the kids who play hockey). Best advice I've heard is that the vehicle they will be driving should be the one the spend all the hours practicing in. So if you plan to buy them a vehicle, do it so they learn on it, not after the fact.

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  10. #10
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    wendibird22 is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Dd1 is only 12 but we plan to let her drive my CRV. Where we live kids just drive parents current cars, get gifted parents old car, or get bought a reliable used car. People don’t buy brand new cars for teens here. My CRV will be 8yrs old when she’s ready to drive.


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    Mom to two amazing DDs ('07 & '09) and a fur baby.

    Gluten free since Nov '11 after non-celiac gluten sensitive diagnosis. Have had great improvement or total elimination of: migraines, bloating/distention, heartburn, cystic acne, canker sores, bleeding gums, eczema on elbows, dry skin and scalp, muscle cramps, PMS, hair loss, heart palpitations, fatigue. I'm amazed.

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