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Best Car for a new teenage driver

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  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    State Patrol drives Ford Crown Victorias. They appreciate the safety of a massive vehicle. Why put your little darling in anything less? ;)
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    The State Police drive Crown Vics because they are cheap to maintain and repair not because they are that much safer then a comparable modern unibody car. BOF cars are inherently less safe then a modern unibody car. Crumple zones simply can't be designed as well on a BOF vehicle as they can on a unibody vehicle.
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    Also a Crown Vic is a big car for a first time driver.
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    A 50 cc scooter maybe? After all, he is a first time driver. If a student pilot - a Piper Cub would be appropriate vs a Twin Beech.
  • mkmacnabmkmacnab Member Posts: 1
    Plekto - I came across this post of yours when I was searching for info on side impact protection for toyota tacomas. I'm about to buy a 99 tacoma and want to reinforce it for side impact if possible. Can you tell me a little more about your roll bars, especially the one you have behind the seats. Where did you have it done? Is it a particular brand? Anything you can tell me would be a great help! - Thanks.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Best car for my daughter? An Amphicar but taht's been going on in another thread...

    She's not a teenager though. 21. Drowned her Camry two weeks ago. Just got to a full fleet again yesterday.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    edited March 2010
    Plekto - I came across this post of yours when I was searching for info on side impact protection for toyota tacomas. I'm about to buy a 99 tacoma and want to reinforce it for side impact if possible. Can you tell me a little more about your roll bars, especially the one you have behind the seats. Where did you have it done? Is it a particular brand? Anything you can tell me would be a great help! - Thanks.


    Mine's made by Marlin Crawler. But there are others. The idea is simple - a roll bar or internal cage a few inches back of the rear of the seats. It's not going to keep the door from caving in, but it will add another hard object that the other vehicle has to get through in a side impact. Given the width of a typical car's front end, only hitting the door and nothing front or rear of it seems improbable.

    I also have side bars/sliders on it that are welded to the frame, so that's layer #2. If it gets through both, I'd have died in a normal car anyways.

    Come on over - it's a nice forum with tons of helpful ( if a bit nuts ;) ) people.

    EDIT: They only have stuff currently for the older Tacomas.
    http://4xinnovations.com/pages/cages/cages.htm - something like this might work, though I.m sure someone at MC or on the forums would know more than I do about this.

    http://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/1.htm
    My sliders are these - it might not look like much, but it's enormous compared to nothing or even an internal steel bar in the door. The new Tacomas are very good but the older ones like yours and mine aren't designed for side impacts, so this is pretty much all you can do. Combined with a 2-4 inch suspension lift, it will be at their front grille height. The cage and this make for a very tough side "wall" from them to get through.

    EDIT - if it's a normal 4x4, a lift isn't required, really - just put 30-31 inch tires on it and go.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Now I know a host will soon delete the spam above but I find it kind of appropriate that in best car for a teen driver we get a shoe commercial....
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • adragadrag Member Posts: 3
    Honda Civic Si or an Accord hands down. I don't care for the new ones as much. Prefer 1999 - 2005. They're sturdy, solid cars. Low maintenance, have good sized cargo room. You can forget to put oil in, drive them into the ground and they keep going.
    Believe it or not, they handle well in the snow. Just add a little weight to the back.
    I drove mine across the Coquihalla hwy in BC in the winter when it was closed. Several times with all season tires. Everyone else was in the ditch or stuck. The secret is not to brake and down shift even in an automatic. I had a 18 wheeler trailer slide over my car and drag me for half a mile at 100km. Car was a little twisted but I was completely fine not a scratch. Several nights before a woman in a 4X4 truck had the same thing happen she didn't make it.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,933
    An Si for a new teenage driver? Hell no!

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Why?

    Shouldn't cost more than $5-6k a year for liability ;)
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    My son will be driving in two years. The best car for him will be a 2005 Passat wagon or a 2000 Honda Odyssey. His choice.
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    Remember though that the Odyssey is sold in Japan and the rest of the world with a 4 cylinder engine. The automatic in the U.S. version is identical and is not designed to work with a V6. Hence the enormous number of transmission failures that are plaguing it. I'd drop it as soon as possible and get something more reliable, because a $3000 transmission repair bill is a large amount of the car's entire worth at this point.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    He's had the van for 11 years and you're telling him it's unreliable?
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    I'm saying that in another 2 years, it'll be a 13 year old Honda with a new driver at the wheel and almost for certain the transmission, if it's not dead by then, will likely not survive a brand new driver who doesn't drive it as carefully.

    13-15 years for an Odyssey is about it as far as the transmission and electrical systems are concerned. Something is going to cause a big repair bill by then.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    The van is 11 yo as fezo noted with 120K on it. I've gotten plenty of life out of it and right now it's used as a third vehicle getting driven maybe 50 miles a week. Thus far, it's been a reliable and bullet proof vehicle. Remember, the vast majority of that vintage Odyssey DIDN'T have the transmission issue.

    If my son kills it when he gets it, I'll be fine with that. Today the car isn't worth the cost of a transmission. When it dies, I'll call one of the charities.

    The plan is actually to have that Odyssey go to Maine so my in-laws can use it in the summer for grocery runs and the such. If it lasts a couple of more years, then the boy can have it or the VW wagon as I plan on getting another car when he learns to drive. That car will be used and will be passed down to his sister 3 years after that.
  • suydamsuydam Member Posts: 4,676
    That sounds like a great plan. That van should have a lot of life in it, and my cardinal rule is never give a valuable car to a new teen driver. The only caveat I would add is that with a van, it often will have more people in it than is good for a new driver. For that reason I prefer an old sedan -- big, old, and slow!
    '14 Buick Encore Convenience
    '17 Chevy Volt Premiere
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    The only caveat I would add is that with a van, it often will have more people in it than is good for a new driver.

    Oh I know that. But MA has some pretty strong restrictions on new drivers. Further, we're pretty lucky in the fact that he's rule follower.

    In reality, he'll most likely get the VW wagon.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,348
    edited November 2011
    ...continues to be the 1975 BMW 2002 I bought a few years ago. It's inexpensive to run as well as maintain. I did buy an LED tail lamp retrofit kit to make the car a bit more visible- and I replaced the seatbelts with rebuilt units. My son has also attended the two day teen school at the BMW Performance Center as well as the one day Street Survival course. I believe that proper training is a more important factor than vehicle selection.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    I believe that proper training is a more important factor than vehicle selection.

    That works for reducing the odds of being the cause of an accident, but it doesn't do anything towards surviving an accident caused by someone else. For that you should really want your son's car to have safety systems that weren't available in 1975. Air bags, side impact strengtheners, improved rollover protection, crumple zones, and other designs, materials, and technology make accidents not only survivable but can drastically reduce the severity of injuries.

    I say this only with the best wishes for your son's health in mind. I've personally seen how the lives of those around me were impacted as a result of auto accidents. About six years ago one friend's teenage son became quadriplegic as a result of an accident in a '93 Accord. Rollover protection & ABS + airbags probably would have changed that. 30+ years post-accident my sister still limps & had to deliver her kids via C-section as a result of an accident in a late '70s car (she was a passenger) that broke her pelvis. Side impact strengtheners & again airbags would probably have changed her life.

    In the past 13 months, though, two other adult male friends both walked away from separate accidents (both were unavoidably rear-ended while commuting on the highway) as their cars had crumple zones, whiplash protection, & air bags. The cars were both totaled but that hardly matters as my friends were both able to go home to their families.
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,348
    Well, the car does have crumple zones and side guard door beams. And I'll trade a bit of rollover "protection" for the ability to have virtually unimpeded 360 degree visibility. An SRS is a good secondary mode of protection, but the US systems are primarily designed to protect the imbeciles who don't wear their seatbelts(an unwarranted interference with the Law of Natural Selection).

    The only downside is that my wife tries to tempt my son to take her X3 so she can drive the '02, but he rarely falls for her schemes.

    One final thing; if you happen to check out the BMW 2002 FAQ you'll find it has over 9000 registered members- and 100-200 members and guests are usually online at any given moment. Our fondness for the 2002 hasn't resulted in our extinction so far...

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    Air bags, side impact strengtheners, improved rollover protection, crumple zones...

    Air bags - no

    Excellent seat belts - yes. (zero play/has to be adjusted to each driver - designed more like a racing harness than a typical retractable design)

    Side impact protection - yes.

    Crumple Zones - yes.

    Rollover protection - well, the center of gravity is so low that if you roll it, you'll be among the few dozen other than rally racers in the 70s and people who are doing similar kinds of stupid activities. (cool as it is, rally racing *is* blatantly insane)

    If it matters that much, put a roll bar in the thing. It'll look cooler as well. ;)

    Some older cars are plenty safe, even by today's standards. Not all of them, to be sure, but Mercedes, Volvo, and BMW always put safety as a priority, even then.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Back on the Ody - my SIL has an 04 Ody with over 240K on it. No transmission issue.

    I've had two. One did have a tranny go but Honda paid for the whole thing and had me in a laoner for the two days to fix it. I just traded on the second one at 94K and no issues and got a Solara convertible. Not at all a comparable vehicle but it's November 14 and I had the top down today in Jersey. Sweet.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    And I'll trade a bit of rollover "protection" for the ability to have virtually unimpeded 360 degree visibility.

    Again, my point is about protection when the car is in an accident, not accident avoidance. I give your son the nod that with the added training he'll be an aware driver, probably above average, and has less chance of being the cause of an accident. But that counts for little should someone else be the cause.

    An SRS is a good secondary mode of protection, but the US systems are primarily designed to protect the imbeciles who don't wear their seatbelts

    Umm, no. They're designed to supplement seat belts, not act in their place. That's why they're called a Supplemental Restraint System.
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    Federal laws mandate that they be strong enough to act as a primary restraint since not all 50 states had mandatory seat belt laws when they were first required in passenger vehicles (1993 or so, IIRC)

    As such, they are often far too powerful and cause needless injures where a seat belt alone would not. In essence, as they are in the U.S., they are really only offering any improved protection at highway speeds, since seat belts do more than enough without the airbags at city speeds.
  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    If New Hampshire would step up & pass a mandatory seat belt law (it apparently still doesn't have one except for minors) then perhaps we could move towards the Euro standard, which does assume the occupants are belted.

    We'll have to agree to disagree WRT whether they're useful at low speeds. My mother-in-law is coming up on her second anniversary of broken ribs that won't heal after she was in a relatively low speed (~35MPH) collision during which the air bags did not deploy. She was belted but suffered the broken ribs & many other minor injuries + some major bruising. An airbag would have kept her from hitting her head on the dash & possibly downgraded the rib injury to severe bruising.

    I've just known too many people who've been in accidents. It's colored my opinion, but basically the more safety stuff I can get in a car the better.
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,348
    As such, they are often far too powerful and cause needless injures where a seat belt alone would not. In essence, as they are in the U.S., they are really only offering any improved protection at highway speeds, since seat belts do more than enough without the airbags at city speeds.

    Exactly.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • jerro95jerro95 Member Posts: 1
    I would have to agree with the cars that you've recommended. But it has come to my attention that you said "No Civics or Integras, insurance is to insane".

    I don't think that a Honda Civic would be expensive for insurance. The Civic isn't even considered a sports car. It has a 4cyl. 1.6L engine which only outputs 127 hp which isn't that much (1998). Back a few years ago, my sister drove a stock 1995 Civic HX hatchback. She was under my mom's insurance and my mom never complained about it being expensive. For it's size and practicality, I don't understand why the insurance would be that high, UNLESS the car has massive after market engine upgrades. Other than that, insurance for a civic shouldn't be expensive
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,304
    edited October 2012
    The key factor is "Under my mom's insurance". It was insured as if your mom was driving it, not your sister.
    Funny, you were replying to a post from 2006, and I guess so was I. :surprise:
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    OK, I'll play back to the future.....

    I can tell you that under the folks' insurance or not it's tough to insure a young driver. It costs me nearly twice to insure my daughters' cars than mine and my wife's. And that's when our cars have collision while the kids do not (both old miled up cars).

    At least in another 14 months my oldest turns 25 and her rate will plummet. Maybe not long after that she'll marry her boyfriend and my insurance costs for taht car drop to zero.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,304
    You are saying the cars the kid's drive are in their name or not?
    Our kids don't own any cars, they just drive them.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    No, they're in my name but you need a primary driver on each car and until you have more car than drivers you have to assign individuals as primary driver of each car. If I get one more car I can be the primary driver on that, too, and it would be cheap to insure (as much as car insurance is ever cheap).
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 236,760
    Yeah... we have four cars for three drivers... The one that my 18-yr-old is listed on is about $1100 per year... A similar car that is just "extra" is only $360.....

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  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    What do you insure $500 worth of liability? Our adult cars are about that. The kids are over $2K. Total bill is around $5K!
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,348
    We have a 17 year-old and no one in the family has an at-fault accident or a ticket; we pay $4300 annually for five cars.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 236,760
    Full coverage on all with $500 deductible

    250K/500K/100K on liability...

    2011 Infiniti
    2006 BMW

    and two old cars (each with a value of around $3500)..

    Two adults and an 18-year old male..

    About $3000 - $3100 total premium per year..

    It is pretty cheap, but my homeowner's insurance is up over $1400/yr, now.. :(

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  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Well, I pay half your homeowner insurance so we're almost getting even here....
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • igozoomzoomigozoomzoom Member Posts: 801
    edited November 2012
    A fairly recent trend in the insurance industry is REQUIRING a teen driver to be listed as primary driver on a vehicle, regardless of whether they actually are primary! For example, a married couple has a 2010 Infiniti G37 and 2012 Honda Pilot. Their 16-year old son only drives one of the vehicles on Saturday and Sunday to a part-time job, no more than 25 miles each week. But the insurance company will require the son to be primary on one of the vehicles and that car will be rated accordingly (premium will triple in most cases)!

    Prohibitively expensive insurance cost is one of the main reasons many teens aren't getting licensed until they graduate high school. I'm an independent insurance agent and I have definitely seen a decrease in teen drivers being added to policies over the last five years. Of course, some parents simply aren't telling their insurance company about their teen drivers! That's a very risky gamble, of course. If the teen has an accident, the insurer can choose whether to pay or, what I see most often, they will only pay the other (not-at-fault) driver's damages. When the insurance company discovers an unreported teen driver (because of a claim or any other source), they have the legal right to bill you retroactively to when the teen started driving! The retroactive billing is usually accompanied by a cancellation notice, which will make it more difficult and more expensive to find a new insurer.

    It's bad enough for the parents of a teenage girl, but the cost is BRUTAL for a teenage boy! I routinely see the entire policy premium increase by 250% when a 16-year old male driver is added!!! It's more like 170-180% to add a 16-year old female...

    Recently, I had a couple that I've known for years call me because their 17-year old son was getting his license and a cheap vehicle of his own. The increase to add him and liability-only coverage on a $5000 car was going to increase their premium by $3350 per year with their current insurer. I told them that it would be a bit less expensive (possibly $500-$800/year less) if they waited until he turned 18. Then they confided that the reason their son needed a car was because he had to get a job because his girlfriend was pregnant. They also said that the he and the girlfriend would be getting married before the baby was born. When I quoted their policy, if the son was married it would save $1400/year! The following Saturday, the teenager parents-to-be got married.

    That story is sad on a couple of levels, but I haven't seen an epidemic of teenagers getting married just to reduce insurance premiums....yet!
    2015.5 Volvo S60 T6 Drive-E Platinum, 2012 Mazda CX-9 GT
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    speaking of insurance limits, make sure your property damage is enough to cover some of the very pricey automobiles on the road today, so at least 100K.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    "[A] 2014 survey by the Insurance Institute found that when asked about safety features, most parents cite air bags and seat belts as most important. Few mention electronic stability control–a technology that Ms. McCartt says can be incredibly effective in reducing the types of crashes involving teens.

    Often young drivers have trouble judging turns or go too fast around curves, which can cause them to lose control. Electronic stability control counteracts this, helping the driver keep control of the vehicle in a skid. This has been critical to preventing many rollover crashes.

    While mandated on all new cars today, it wasn’t required as standard equipment until model year 2012, making it particularly important for parents to check if it’s available when buying a used car, Ms. McCartt added."

    Dad, I Really Do Need a New Car (Wall St. Journal - may be registration only)
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    If you are under 35 and bought a car in the last year or two after not being able to previously afford one, please email PR@edmunds.com by Friday, March 13, 2015 to share your story with a reporter.
  • skyisthelimitskyisthelimit Member Posts: 46
    You should get a Volvo XC60. A 2010 model costs $18,000 and it is included in the Institute of Highway Safety's list of safest vehicles to drive list.
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