What 2019 Car/SUV for teen drivers?

[kymom99]

The best 2018 car for a teen driver is a 2008 or older vehicle. New drivers are going to ding and dent as they gain experience. Don't waste money on a new car.

Buy a cheap reliable vehicle in cash. Avoid collision insurance and get up your liability. For my new driver, I got them a 2002 Toyota Solara that runs excellent for $1200 with no collision option and increased the liability protection to 100,000/300,000. The one and only vehicle I will by buy them.

My son drives a 2002 Buick. I agree about the dings especially from other drivers in the school parking lots! His was my dad's car that he bought new. It had 24k on it when he passed. The taxes on it are dirt cheap. Just this weekend I rode in it and noticed a clanging noise in the back. So I'm sure we are in for a fairly expensive repair but the car has paid for itself many times over. We paid my mom 6200 for it in 2008.

 

[valee]

I second the recommendation to get a reliable used car. Your insurance premium will be lower, as well as any local property taxes. After spending $2-$4K on the car, calculate how much your monthly payment would have been if you had purchased a new car, and put that money away regularly in a separate account. That will quickly give you a stash that can be used in case of a bigger mechanical repair (e.g., transmission), and will also start a nest egg for the next car.

 

[StuckinPA]

I'll chime in here as I recently purchased a new vehicle and drove many of what are being suggested here. If the vehicle will actually mainly be for you, the one I loved best - and went with - was the Honda CRV. My goal is to pay it off and have it for many years reliably and payment-free. Love the features and that Hondas are safe and known for longevity. I also drove the RAV 4 (Toyota) but did not like it as much as the CRV. Drove the Subaru Crosstrek too, as I owned one previously but started having trouble with it and did not like the updates. The older version was better in my opinion. My runner-up pic was actually the Honda HRV, which is more of a crossover, and I though sporty, well-equipped and reasonably priced.

 

[DLgal]

I am planning to give my son my low mileage 2007 Honda CR-V when he turns 16 in two years. I barely have 75K miles on it and it's still in perfect running condition. I will likely lease a car when that time comes. I feel fully confident in the safety of the CR-V for teen drivers.

HOWEVER, I will caution that a newer car with all the bells and whistles and technology may not be the best option for a new driver. I find that those things are very distracting and provide kind of a false sense of security. So, keep that in mind. That is a huge reason why I kept my older car rather than trade it in for a newer model. I want my son to learn to drive a car that has NO FANCY SCREENS on it, or sensors, or any of that stuff.

 

[Klayfish]

I agree that a used car is a great bet for a teen driver, but I think OP was going to share the car with her son, not just give it to him? Another thing is to be careful of how old the used car is and specifically what it is. Yes, newer cars have technology that can be distracting, no doubt. But collision safety is ever evolving, at a pretty rapid rate. For example, the Chevrolet Cavalier was produced all the way to 2005, so you could buy one that isn't that old. However, from a collision perspective, they're death traps. I've seen hundreds of them wrecked and I would NEVER let my kid in one. Even an big ol' GM, like a 1990s or early 2000s Caddy is far less safe than a modern Honda Civic.

 

[duketennisgal]

I vote you keep your husbands car for sure! I have a '14 Tucson and absolutely love it still. Bought it new and plan to drive it till the day it dies if I can. It's the perfect size for me, I hate cars but did NOT want a large SUV.

Never had any problems, just standard oil changes, and tire rotations. Just had to put new tires on about 3 months ago but no other major costs.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We did a 2010 Toyota Tacoma for our son. He's had 2 dings in 2 years, one was his fault, the other was not. I concur to stay away from Mazda-our CX-7 has been a nightmare. Multiple recalls, headlight issues, sudden acceleration problems, broken seats, standard tires that are specialty and cost double than most vehicles. The car is literally disintegrating and is the newest of the 3 we own.

We are going Rav 4 on the next vehicle. Reliability is key.

 

[cbl1]

We did a lot of test driving and my daughter liked the new Jeep Compass best. After having driven it now myself a good number of times I do really like the car!

 

[MillauFr]

Those statistics really don't mean anything. The "safest" from insurance perspective has a ton to do with the people that drive them, not the car itself. Not only that, those statistics also stem from the damage the vehicle causes to others, not just the damage to the car (and people) the company insures. You're better off using IIHS crash data. Most modern cars are quite safe.

Agreed. You are far safer driving with a good driver in a car that gets poor crash results than you are with a poor driver in a car that gets excellent crash results.

 

[Klayfish]

Agreed. You are far safer driving with a good driver in a car that gets poor crash results than you are with a poor driver in a car that gets excellent crash results.

I think you meant to say it the other way around. From a safety perspective (of the vehicle driver), you're far better off with a bad driver in a car with good crash test results.

 

[cbl1]

Someone put I shouldn't have gotten the Jeep Compass - then deleted? What did you have against the Jeep Compass (its actually a completely new model just came out last year).

So far we have liked everything about it. Not to big - not to small. About every safety feature. Even 4-wheel drive modes for bad weather.

 

[Klayfish]

That was me, I apologize. I realized right after I posted that you may have already bought it, I thought you were just test driving it. I'm glad you like it.

 

[cbl1]

No problem I was just curious as to what you didn't like about it?

 

[Klayfish]

If you like it, then that's what really matters...that's the beauty of the car market, hundreds of choices to fit everyone. The only thing I'd caution on is to evaluate it as the bumper to bumper warranty gets close to expiration. Under the sheetmetal, it's very closely related to the Fiat 500x (and the Jeep Renegade), which does not have a good track record.

 

[tvguy]

Someone put I shouldn't have gotten the Jeep Compass - then deleted? What did you have against the Jeep Compass (its actually a completely new model just came out last year).

So far we have liked everything about it. Not to big - not to small. About every safety feature. Even 4-wheel drive modes for bad weather.

I don't know about anything deleted but Jeep vehicles since Chrysler bought them pretty much on every list of cars to avoid because of poor quality and reliability
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/jeep/compass

Kind of sad because Jeep under AMC was pretty much bullet proof.

 

[cbl1]

My company gives us all the Dodge minivans for company cars and I am on about my 10th one with not an issue. I really like the new Chrysler Pacifica version as well (has as rental when we went to Disneyland last year). Plus Jeep side has done some great things with the new wrangler. Yes hopefully they get past some of the reliability issues but they are putting out some very nice cars right now. The new compass we got has a lot of safety features and tech for its price. Hyundai Tucson was our second choice but wasn't nearly as fun to drive as the Jeep (similar price).

 

[JinxedSydney]

I guess I'm in the total minority here. When I was a teenager, I bought my own first car, a VW Rabbit. It was ugly, but also solid steel. I had it until I was rear-ended by a semi. (*should clarify--it was a low speed collision and the driver glanced off my bumper instead of full on crushing me*)

Fast forward to my oldest. Last year, she knew she'd be inheriting my 1997 Honda Civic. It had just over 230k miles on it and we bought it new. We've always had the timing belts changed, it's never been in a wreck. Yes, the paint job was fading. Yes, the window tint needed to be removed because of bubbling, but I wasn't going to take out a loan for a first year driver. It may not have all the bells and whistles of a new(er) car, but with a new stereo and bluetooth mic, it'll do.

 

[Mom2m&k]

Well back to the Santa Fe... I have had one for a few years now. It will go to DS in two years when he is 16 and it’s paid off. I love that car and think it will be perfect for him!

 

[HeatherC]

Whatever you choose, I would also agree about buying a new used vehicle still under warranty. We recent purchased a 2016 Kia Sedona that was still under warranty and saved thousands over a brand new one.

Highly recommend the Kias and Hyundai’s. They are very reliable, get good safety ratings and have the best warranties.

Good luck to you!

 

[tvguy]

Whatever you choose, I would also agree about buying a new used vehicle still under warranty. We recent purchased a 2016 Kia Sedona that was still under warranty and saved thousands over a brand new one.

Highly recommend the Kias and Hyundai’s. They are very reliable, get good safety ratings and have the best warranties.

Good luck to you!

My mechanic says Kias and Hyundai's seem very very good, and they do have great safety features and warranties. The only question I have is, anyone else live in an area where Hyundai and Kia dealerships keep going out of business? Our closest Hyundai dealership was owned by a big local family owned company that sells Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Chevy, and they closed it. They also dumped Nissan, but that was because they were getting caught up in all the transmission failures Nissan was having and getting sued. Hyundai doesn't seem to have any issues, nor does Kia, but the dealerships keep closing. A co-worker has Kia and the dealer here also sells Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep. They only have one Kia tech on staff, and there is a week long wait for an appointment. A great warranty is no good without a dealership to honor it or a mechanic available to fix it..