Car for new driver

[AnnieW625]

Dd1 will most likely get a hand me down car from a family member when she is 16. Right now we most likely will have three options:
A. my dh’s grandma’s 2012 or so Chevy Cruze (Dh’s grandma is 98 now and dh’s uncle is the main driver of the car when he goes and gets her groceries, takes her to the doctor, etc., but she still drove until she was 94) that if given the option we would buy from her estate when she passes. It isn’t a fancy car and will have maybe 10k mikes.
B. my sisters 2011 Nissan Altima (it will have high-ish miles, which is why my sister could be selling it, but should be fine for around town driving)
C. my 2017 Subaru Outback, but honesty I would prefer the top two choices if given the option. Yes this one has a backup camera and eye sight, but I don’t see anything wrong with giving a new driver a car that has no frills when they are a new driver as it makes them more aware of their surroundings without cheating.

Here a lot of people get their kids newish cars. I only know one family (granted my circle of kids in high school with drivers licenses is small, but I do see kids driving to high school on the freeway daily with HS stickers on their cars...most carpool to an arts high school or a few private high schools) that gave their kids cars more than 5-8 years old, which imho should be the norm.

Insurance wise we might also still have a 2006 Honda Pilot when Dd1 is ready to drive as well (but that will be my train station to work car) so if we can manage to have a car insured that will be the car she is insured on even if she isn’t driving it on a regular basis. Again don’t plan on buying anything new at all. Dh’s first car was 16 years old.


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[niccig]

DS won’t need a car until senior year when seniors have either late start or early finish as he won’t be able to take the school bus. We might be able to car pool though. If not, he’ll need a car. We might hand down my 11 year old CRV, but it doesn’t have the newest safety features. DS will be driving in Los Angeles traffic, so I’d rather he have more safety features and I drive the older car. If we do get him a car, it’ll be a 2nd hand few years old model. We’ll see what we need to do then


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[o_mom]

7-ish year old Hyundai Elantra. DH will hand it down and get a new one.

[urquie]

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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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.

[mom2binsd]

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.

They didn't include used cars, which most people would probably look at. Lots of safe SUV's for 15K and even less.

I drive an 08 Ford Edge with 236K on it, nothing fancy but it's a tank and perfect for DD as she won't be driving it forever and won't be putting a lot more miles on it. I am beginning to look at getting something for me, probably used and under 15K as I don't have much of a budget.

On the crazy side,, my x husband who is currently unemployed has a 2010 Mercedes sedan that he's still paying off, sitting as it's not driveable (and he bought another Mercedes sedan-he's an idiot) and he suggested that his parents pay the 4K to get it running and give it to DD to drive. I told him that's not a great idea, it's low sitting car and the insurance to insure it and then put her as the secondary driver would be nuts-he'd be paying insurance on 2 Mercedes sedans and then to add her. Haven't heard back from him after I brought up that point. The sedan doesn't have the greatest sight lines and she is tiny and sits very low in it.

[essnce629]

DS1 just turned 16 and doesn't even have his permit yet (appointment is end of Nov). We do not plan on buying him a car any time soon. He can learn to drive on mine (2015 Mazda5) and DH's car (2018? electric Chevy Bolt). I didn't get a car until my 3rd year of college and it was never a problem (all my high school friends had hand me down cars). If we were to buy DS1 a car, it would be something small and simple like a Honda Civic.

[twowhat?]

My kids are still young but if my 2005 Subaru Forester is still alive (and it probably will be, we put so little miles on our cars) they will probably learn on that in parking lots at first since it's such an easy car to drive. Or, we will get a family hand-me-down car like maybe my Dad's 2016 Mazda 3. I fully intend for my kids to share a car...I fully do not want to have to procure 2 cars at the same time, LOL. I don't think sharing will be an issue...my kids are terrified of having to drive one day and they are definitely going to be slow, anxious, reluctant learners. Their anxiety gives me anxiety hahaha...because it can be so unsafe to drive if you're overly cautious, go too slow, don't know how to quickly react...

[Kindra178]

Ds will get our hand me down 2013 Legacy in 2.5 years. It has 26k miles on it now and we will probably add another 6 or 7k. We would consider adding a back up beeper and Apple play. It already has a pretty big camera. My friends tell me insuring a boy on an existing family car is upwards of 2k. A new car and it goes way higher.


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[MMMommy]

This is timely for us as well. DD1 is 15 and DD2 is 14. DD1 has barely made any headway on her online driver’s ed class, so she clearly isn’t feeling rushed to drive. I will be keeping an eye on this thread for recommendations.

[3isEnough]

After tons of research primarily focused on safety features, 2 weeks ago we bought 16yo DS a 2016 Mazda CX-5 Touring. It was definitely more than we wanted to pay for a first car, but it’s a top safety pick and that was really important to me. It has a backup camera, blind spot assist, and some other safety features I’m forgetting as I’m falling asleep