Please provide input on cars to buy for a new driver (insurance, 2010)
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-Looking for something gently used that will last for 8 years or so.
-Gas mileage isn't important, won't get a ton of miles put on it.
-Looking for something that is at least moderately sized for safety.
-Thinking of spending 8k but have some flex there if I need to go higher.
-Nothing with egregious repair costs \ notorious reliability
These are my initial thoughts but keeping an open mind as to deviating from this intial list.
Sedans; Camry, Focus, Elantra or Crown Vics. IMO all great cars, if want MPG then its the Elantra or Foucs, it thats not the main issue check out Camry's and Crown Vics.
Low Mileage well maintained 98-01 Jeep Cherokee XJ with the 4.0 I-6 are great along with the Late Model Ford Ranger and Mazda B-series PU trucks with the 4.0 SOHC V-6 both can take lots of abuse and can go for 8 years with no problems other than basic maintenance.
8 years for a first car? Seriously, you expect a 16-year-old to stay committed to a car for 8 years?
Or is the 16-year-old just the first of a few first-time drivers coming along in the family? That would make sense.
Regardless, I tend to be old school on this subject. A kid's first car should be a cheap POS. And by POS I don't mean unsafe or unreliable, just something cheap enough that nobody is out much if it gets torn up. After 6 months to a year driving the beater without destroying it let him or her trade up to something nicer.
I'd second the Crown Vic suggestion. It's an old, established platform, nothing state of the art that has to go back to the dealership for service, very reliable, very safe, typically low initial cost, decent gas mileage for a big car. Plus a trunk big enough to hold two kegs. Wait, forget I said that......
A truck makes a great first car, too. When I was in school a hundred years ago a lot of the kids drove pickups because the insurance was generally less expensive for a teen driver, no idea if that's still the case or not. Again, if this is an option, go for a later model of an older platform as there's a better chance that any bugs in the initial design will have been worked out.
Stick shift. If they don't learn to drive it now, they never will. Do him a favor.
Forget about any connection between size and safety. It doesn't work that way. Whatever you do, don't tell him that it is big enough that he doesn't need to worry about avoiding accidents because they are more likely to kill the other driver. And smaller cars do less damage to other people lives and property, which might keep insurance rates down.
Pickkup truck, so if you ever need to haul anything, you have someone to call that can't say No..
Are you a numerologist, fixated on the number 8 and multiples thereof?
Ditto on the Pontiac Vibe and the Toyota Matrix twin. Both are based on the Corolla and can last forever. My two older kids are driving them, a 2006 and 2010 model. Very versatile for hauling stuff like to college. The Pontiac is generally a couple thousand less than a comparable Matrix, but it is the same car.
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