These Are The Best First Cars For Teenagers

They are stupid cheap, even if relatively new. That means you don’t need to pay for collision insurance and won’t cry too much when they total it.

Because they are new, they have modern safety features. They are FWD, and not fast unlike many other EVs. EV means they aren’t likely to drive too far away. You can further enforce this by confining them to 120v charging, which in practice means no more than 30 miles of driving per day. That also allows them to just charge in the driveway with a long extension cord. As long as you don’t live out in the country, that should get them to school and back and their summer job, but not so far you can’t come get them when they wreck the car.

Submitted by: golfball

Whatever the kid can afford. Mow lawns, deliver papers, whatever - I’m not buying you a car outright, kid. You’re going in at least halfsies on this thing. If I buy the whole thing, you ask me every single time you want to take it somewhere. If you want to have a say, you better pony up at least half.

Insurance is a pain and I’ll cover that unless you think I’m covering the insurance on a Mustang GT for a 16 year old boy. Hell no. I’d have to sell both my kidneys to cover the first year, forget that noise. And I’m not giving a new driver a shitload of power, you’re not gonna be a headline on my watch.

Yesterday’s question looking at under-$5000 cars is especially relevant today. I figure get as new as you can for maximum access to standard safety features and minimal use/maximum value remaining, but within reason too - you don’t need a 1998 E-class, I think this ‘10 Prius is more your speed and you won’t be hitting me up for gas money.

Submitted by: Elhigh

I leased a Kia Niro EV for one of my 3 teens a few months ago. So far, it’s been great. Under $200/month, no gas cost, low insurance cost, and it’s the perfect size for her with all the latest stuff. I have a little heartburn about putting a teenager in a brand new $46k car, but when it comes down to actual cost of ownership it’s probably less than a used Accord. Yes, if she messes it up I’ll have to fix it, but I won’t spend a dime on repairs and maintenance so it evens out.

Submitted by: Bo Darville

Bought my son a 2006 Buick LuCerne with the weak 3.8L when he turned 16 two years ago. Perfect for a teen because it’s not cool and it’s not fast.

Submitted by: Go Hawkeyes

personally I think you need to find something that fits in the middle of a venn diagram of:

1. less than $5000

2. modern safety equipment

3. easy to get parts for/ reliable

so to fit this it needs to be a long running model that has cheap running examples from the last 10 years. so I recommend a Kia Soul.

a quick search on car gurus finds a lot of examples for less than $5000 with just north of 100k miles. the car is a strong seller so there are a lot of them available and they are known to be fairly reliable (usually in the top 20 for reliability as far as models go) it’s also a crossover hatchback so you can carry more stuff while also getting the driver higher off the ground than a compact or sedan (safer for the driver while also giving them more view of the road.) the only real downside is depending on the year and the height of the driver the A pillars can obstruct the view. on the bonus though it’s such a stubby car that regardless of how poorly they estimate the distance to the next car when parallel parking they’ll still undershoot it by a foot.

Submitted by: Bigburito

Simple: Whatever car you own now but don’t want anymore and want a new one for yourself. Hand-me-down’s all the way.

Many rich parents I know actually plan this by buying whatever they’ll hand down some five/six years before their first turns 16.

I’m smarter than that. I didn’t let my kids get a license until they were 18. Less insurance. And, let them buy their own (first son got a hand-me-down Prius from his uncle, second bought a “totaled” Honda Fit).

Submitted by: joke#118

Safe, older, cockroach reliability.

Safety: Obviously. They’re going to get into some type of accident, whether that’s a parking lot fender bender or a high speed collision. This also includes enough speed to not get run over on the highway and good brakes.

Older: Visibility is a priceless amenity that is difficult to find in newer cars. Give them a good greenhouse and small blind spots.

Reliability: New drivers should really only have to concern themselves with 2 things outside of the act of driving. Keep gas in it and keep oil in it. A handy parent or decent shop should be able to take care of the rest and on the cheap.

I’m thinking 6th/7th generation Accord 4-cyl, ideally with a manual.

Submitted by: Air Conditioning is for Scrubs

The best new car for a teenager is something relatively new (for safety) but that is also old enough/cheap enough that the teen can modify it as they want with whatever money THEY are making. Let me break this out so it hopefully makes sense.

My first car was a Ford Focus. At the time I was in HS and working at Pizza hut on school nights. My parents selected a car for me that had a known (if still growing at that time) aftermarket behind it. The idea was, if I modified the car with MY money and the parts were MY choice, then I would feel attachment to MY car. The hope is I would care enough about the car and the money I had put into it (and thus work, both earning the money and installing my own parts) to act as the little angel on my shoulder and prevent me from doing anything dangerous or stupid in the car. By the time I graduated high school I had about $8.5k in the car (mostly engine) and had made a name for myself in the Focus community as someone to turn to for advice on the automatic transmissions and the 2.0L Zetec motors.

Turns out, my parents were right. I did some STUPID stuff in the car but I never put my life or my passengers lives in danger through my antics. Additionally, more than once I got challenges to street race and I turned them down. Why? Because I had my work, my life, rolled up in the car and like hell if I’m going to get it impounded or crushed.

Other kids in my school had similar cars (Del Sol, Neon, Civic DX) but those kids who had their parents pay for modifications and shop installs, well those cars got destroyed before senior year. 2 Del Sols with blown motors (janky turbo kit), 2 flipped Neons (same crash locations, same driver), a few totaled Mercedes, and the random Ford/Chevy truck all disappeared from the school lot over time, but the Focus with the giant wing, and the ground scraping Integra-Powered Civic DX (my buddy James’ car) made it every single day.

Submitted by: Umoja

2nd generation Mazda6. The ones between the tiny 1st generation and the 3rd (last) generation we all know and love.

Good safety ratings and relatively modern equipment (ABS, assortment of airbags, stability control, Bluetooth, backup camera if optioned, keyless entry, etc.). Price that won’t break the bank and relatively reliable/cheap to to own and insure. The four-cylinder models have the Mazda/Ford developed 2.5 that any Ford dealer or oil change shop can service. The V6 Touring and Grand Touring ones have Ford’s 3.7 and over 200 horsepower. Of course, that might be *too* powerful, depending on the kid.

Submitted by: mazda616

Used Corolla.

Cheap, bulletproof, slightly archaic tech wise, not particularly fast or sporty, decent on gas.

Submitted by: John Static

Scion xB. Great visibility all the way around. Slow enough to not get you in trouble or get the insurance rates up too high, but still reasonably fun to drive.

Submitted by: icemilkcoffee