What to Consider When Buying a Car for a Teenage Driver
If you plan to buy your teen their own car when they start driving (or they plan to buy one themselves), you want the safest and most reliable car that fits your budget. Here’s what to look for when choosing a car.
Consumer Reports has compiled a list of their recommended vehicles based on the following criteria, which you can also use to narrow down your choices:
- What additional safety features are there in the car? Typically these are Electronic Stability Control (ESC), side and head airbags, and anti-lock brakes. They specifically say that you should completely rule out vehicles without anti-lock brakes.
- How did the car perform during the crash tests? Cars with high scores in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash tests are good rates and important to research, especially for young and inexperienced drivers.
- What model year does the car have? Some functions come standard on vehicles after a certain year. For example, ESC is almost always included in cars built after 2012.
- How reliable is the car? You will have to rely on other people’s testimonials or well-known review sites to determine how the car will perform in the coming years, but consider durability, total cost of ownership, and repair costs.
Beyond this criterion, Consumer Reports notes that some cars (SUVs, large pickups) are more prone to rollover, while others encourage dangerous driving (sports cars). Check out the full list at the link below for specific recommendations, but some that have passed the above Consumer Reports criteria include the Acura TSX, Ford Fusion, Nissan Sentra, and Kia Optima.
Best Used Cars For Teens | Consumer reports