Looking for a safe, reliable and economical car for my teenage daughter any suggestions?

Answer 1

I would always recommend an import a honda, toyota, mazda because of resale and reliability. However right now you can make some good buys on Saturns. Often times the first car isn't cared for really well and the Saturn's price wise and reliability is pretty good. Find a car, get it checked out for major engine,trans... issues. Have them look at the structure to make sure its sound and get the best price you can. The more expensive the book value the more the insurance. Saturns have a fair book value, some of the imports tend to have inflated prices. Ask around work... sometimes a car from someone that you know the history is good too

Answer 2

I would avoid any American or European made cars. They don't have the the reliability that Japanese cars do. As far as Japanese cars go I would zero in on Toyota, Subaru and Honda only. Check consumer reports and you will see that these three auto makers rock. They make everyone else look like armatures. Example compare Mercedes Benz and you will be blown away by how low they rate. It's a really good idea to check consumer reports if your buying used. For example you don't want a Subaru Forester that is older than 2002. They had problems with their drive system, however from 2003 on they are stellar. It's worth the time to research each and every contender,
Just a personal note, if I were buying a car for my teenager I would get something a little ugly, safe of course, but ugly just to keep it real.

Answer 3

A lot of people on here advocate smaller, 4-cylinder cars, which is fine, but it's worth remembering there are two pedals down there and both are important. When I taught at a driving school in Colorado we always recommended a 6-cylinder so that the car was less likely to be under powered. That said, the safest car, with the best affordability and cost of ownership actually wasn't a Toyota, but, of all things, a Buick Regal. She won't win any races, but they are solid, reliable cars. In addition to the added power, the car is large enough to protect her in an accident, but small enough to park in most parking spaces. She'll have seating for five, but won't have the "cool car." (Might mean her friends won't want to ride with her all the time--the #2 cause of accidents being friend distractions.) Good Luck!

Answer 4

I'm probably the last person who needs to respond to this, but on the cheap, you can't get any safer than a Saturn. You'll also find that insurance rates on a Saturn are much lower that most of the other vehicles folks are going to mention.

I'd also recommend getting a Saturn Vue SUV. Why? Well the 4 cyl engine is the same engine as the Saturn Ion, Chevy Cobalt, and Pontiac Sunfire which are much smaller cars. And it still averages 25mpg in mixed driving.

It will also meet your daughter's future needs. If she's going to college, she's going to need the extra room for trips home, and earning extra gas money taking friends to the mall. Plus she won't feel the need to 'upsize' to something larger down the road unless she just feels the need to replace it.

Interior space on the Vue is almost equivalent to some larger SUV's like the Ford Explorer, but you don't get the truck handling, and you definately don't get teh truck gas mileage. Besides, will you daughter ever have to tow a bass boat?

I own a 2003 Saturn Vue 5-speed, and although the car was a step down for me, for all the money I save in payments, gas, and insurance, I don't think I'm ever going back to a larger SUV.

And even though many other crossover SUV's will be mentioned, consider this, one major maintenance item on those vehicles will be changing the timing belt every 60K miles. Not so with the GM Ecotec engines. It has no timing belt. That's $600 to $1000 she'll save over the life of the vehicle.

Hope I'm not boring you or sounding like a salesman. I'm not by far. I just enjoy my Vue and encourage others to enjoy it too. At any rate, good luck.

Answer 5

I think a Corolla is a great option. It's fairly cheap, very reliable, and gets great mileage. Also, for bang for your buck, especially for your children, look at a used car. You'll get a much greater value, and any car 5 yrs old or less from a reliable company like Saturn or Toyota should last your child long enough.

Answer 6

Can't go wrong with a Honda or Toyota and for that amount of money you won't find much with under 150K miles but that's ok if it was maintained and the timing belt was changed. You will also probably be looking at a car built in the late 80'S to very early 90'S for the money you want to spend.

Answer 7

The Toyota will be a good car for her but you have other options as well if the Corolla isnt really what you are looking for then you can look into a Honda Civic a Ford Focus or even a Saturn.

Answer 8

The Honda Fit is new in the US for 2007 and in it's very first year here it made it onto Car and Drivers 10 best list. That says something. It's inexpensive ,it's safe, and it comes with alot of standard features that she would like, such as a jack where you can plug in your iPod to the stereo.
it comes standard with ABS, front, side AND side curtain air bags and electronic brake distribution. It's an excellent car.

Answer 9

i believe the first car for any teenager should be a disposable car, one that is probably going to get dinged and banged up by the inexperience of the driver. it should be mechanically sound of course, and strong enough to withstand the abuse of a teenager.

i recommend the old mercedes 240D and 300D of the W123 series. these old tough cars are legendary for thier simplicity and durability. they are heavy and extremely safe, slow, so you know your kid is not going to be racing around in it, and need just enough maintenance to teach basic motor maintenance without being complex.

most people who start with one grow to love them. surf over to mercedesshop.com and do some reading about them there.

in fact, pretty much any of the mercedes cars from the 80s are going to be great 1st cars. id try to get the early / mid 80s diesels as a first choice then the W126 S class cars (300SD, 420SEL, etc) then the 300E, which is newer, safer (good) and faster (not so good.)


in my opinion teenagers should not be given cars; they should earn them. a kid getting good grades and doing all thier chores, saving money for thier own car and all that should definitely get help getting a car.

one not getting good grades, constantly skipping school, always in trouble, not doing anything to get themselves a vehicle, and so on, should get a bus pass. and that bus pass should not be an excuse for being late or absent from things and events they are supposed to be at.

a car is a responsibility. and IMO a mature and responsible teenage should get all the help they need. this is a critical time for teaching life lessons. in the real world nothing is given to you, you have to earn it, and often there are expectations that come with things you are given.
so if you do decide to get her a car, make sure it comes with some strings; she should be responsible for taking her younger sisters to school and so on.

a car is a responsibility. it needs repairs, and maintenance, and upkeep, and cleaning and that kind of attention. its not just an appliance like a dishwasher.
peoples lives can be affected by cars. you could lose your house if you dont have enough insurance and she critically injures someone in an accident. so tread carefully.

im not trying to lecture you on how to raise your kids, just sayings its golden opportunity to teach adult lessons in a way that can impart the responsibility that driving a car brings.
and make sure you set some ground rules about who can drive the car, how many people can be in it, that curfew still exists and be prepared to take the car away if your rules are not met.

Answer 10

I think a toyota corolla or a camry would be the ideal car for any new driver. Reliable ,safe, very economical.