Safe Car for a New Teen Driver

Hondas have good safety and reliability ratings. Midsize cars are usually a good choice. I like smaller cars myself, since they seem easier to handle, park, and such.

I would teach, or have someone teach, a new driver what types of things to be aware of with a car, to notice when something could be going wrong. Some advice as to what to do in various emergencies is also a good idea. I don't think we do enough of that. The car is only as safe as the driver.

Honda CR-V. We got my daughter one 7 years ago when she was 16, and it's still running great. Plus they're pretty safe.

Something extremely "uncool" and tank-like. An older car, driven to & from church by a little old lady.

An older model Honda civic?

Saturns have a lot of good safety features. Sedans typically have the most safety features, since they are built for as family cars. Stay away from suvs, and tall pickups. They roll over easy and can be difficult to see effectively whats going on around them.

A tank?

Does she need to drive right away? I know that some teens' parents want them to drive right away b/c it will make life easier. I would suggest calling your insurance company and finding out "when" the rates will go down for your child. In many cases for girls, the rate drops a year after they are eligible to drive. It may be worth waiting a little while.

If you really want to buy him/her a car go to a Honda dealership and take a look at a used/certified Accord or Civic. In general, Hondas are safe and reliable... you drive those things into the ground.

My first car was a 1988 Cutlass Sierra (in 1996). That thing was a road yacht, which is exactly what my parents wanted. They took a mechanic with them to examine the entire thing and I suggest you do the same!

One with the keys in your pocket and the tires removed!!!! :-)

Be careful when buying an older car with low milage. If the car sat too much and wasn't started and let run a few minutes daily the seals could be all dried out and you will have to replace all of them. Experience is the best teacher. I bought one like that 10 years ago. Exeryone told me it was a great car and a good deal. Luckily I bought the extended warrenty--I ended up replacing the entire power steering system--and the cooling system--the computer and several other parts, all covered by the warrenty. Thousands of dollars in repairs over a year. Finally got it running great and got rear ended by a careless driver with no insurance, totaled my great car.

If you go to kbb.com you can look up what possible cars you are interested in. They will show the length, width of the car along with gas mileage etc... However, it will also show safety ratings on rash tests.

You can also call your insurance company and ask about insurance rates. If it has a high rate then it prolly doesn't have a good crash testing rating. They may also be able to recommend something.

I personally like Saturn's. They have a good strong frame and have held up to (that I have personally seen) crashes awesomely (if that is a word). My friend had a 2 door and someone ran a red light and t-boned her. You couldn't what kind of car it was, but she only had 2 scratches and bump on the head. I swear by them now.

Also wanted to add that the Kia has a 10 year or 100k mile warranty on all their cars.

We did some research and found that a Kia Soul was perfect for a teenager. Also read an article that said the same. It's in expensive(top of the line runs for a little over 20K), safe, it doesn't go fast and all the standard features also make it safe. Inside has blue tooth. So at a push of a button on the steering wheel the phone can be answered and is on speaker. Radio and climate controls are also on the wheel. And it's still stylish looking for your teen. The car has only been out for a couple of years, so we only found two that were used at the time. However we are
starting to see more of them on the road now.

I know your up north, but DON'T go to Kia Fremont. The sales person we got was horrible, really tried talking us out of getting a more expensive one, and the finance guys lied. We caught them in so many lies. We went in with a blank check from capital one and they did not like that, because they were not going to make money off of that. But that is for another story. But their sales and finance department are also affiliated with Nissan of Fremont, next to them. Good luck. BTW, my son loves his Kia Soul, and we are happy with it also.

A safe car is typically expensive. So you'll have to find a used car. Volvo is the safest car you can possibly buy. My friend who drove a big sedan (can't remember what kind) was in a head on collision with a volvo sedan. His car was totaled, the volvo was practically unscratched. Ever since then, the only cars my friend buys is a volvo. If you decide to go the SUV route, check the crossover variety such as Nissan Murano, Acura MDX, Infiniti Fx series. These are built on sedan platforms but designed to provide the benefits of SUVs, they are lower to the ground much like sedans and therefore have a lower center of gravity than the classic SUV and are less likely to flip over if the driver takes turns too fast which is typically what teenagers do.

We have snow where we live now, so we needed a good 4x4...we bought our teen a 2001 Izuzu Rodeo, it was $6K and so far, so good!

You want Safe and Inexpensive??? It is hard but you can find something....

My daughter drives a 4 yr old Mercedes CLK 350 and it is a good safe car. It is used... by me for 4 yrs so we know the car well. We are loyal to the Mercedes brand and won't drive anything else. Most people never drive anything else once they've driven one.

To go buy something new for her we'd spend at least $25,000 and I have not seen any cars on the road for $25,000 that I'd put her in.

That said...you see a lot of teens in Honda's and Toyota's. I'd steer clear of big SUV's due to them being more difficult for a 16 yr old to handle and the roll over rate is sky high.

It is scary sending them out the door with keys to the car.

The biggest SUV you can find!! :)

I would say something smaller, like a chevy cobolt. They are inexpensive and pretty safe. Some also come with onstar which is so worth the cost.

My husband always says he's going to buy our son a used Volvo and disable the turbo charger! Volvos are definitely on of the safest cars you can buy, and they seem quite reliable too, although I've never owned one myself.

Ford Fusion or Focus. They are SAFE and they have an AWESOME feature called MY KEY. This allows parents to set the volume on the radio and the highest speed you will allow the car to go. Super cool huh? Plus you can get SYNC, this is hands free, voice activated phone system. Ford is 100% about safety and these cars are priced right. You can lease or buy. The Fiesta is even less money, BUT it's kind of small if you ask me....I am just use to a SUV.

You can get the friends and family discount at Ford as well. Don't know anyone who works for Ford? Send me a personal message and I will help you out :)