'Best Cars to Buy for Your 16-Year-Old'

Best Cars to Buy for Your 16-Year-Old

By Brian White at 05/31/07 09:22

The first question should be whether or not you should buy your kid a car, but an article where I just say "No" isn't very interesting, and I'm sure I can't convince you otherwise. In case you're wondering which car you should buy your teenager, I have only a few suggestions.

- Keep it cheap, and I do mean cheap. During the steep learning curve, kids invariably play bumper cars with the darn things, and it's bad enough you have to pay for other people's fenders, you should keep your own as cheap as you can.

- Nothing too comfortable. No need to give them unrealistic expectations as to what a car should be. They'll never appreciate the higher rungs if they don't start at the bottom of the ladder.

- Nothing with a distractingly great stereo, and hopefully, nothing with a radio at all. Music does distract, as does flipping stations.

- No sport or muscle cars, unless you want to pay for the tickets or the casket.

- Big is safe, but so are bright colors, technically.

If anybody has specific suggestions, for price, safety and efficiency, I'd love to hear them.

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Comments

i no y its cheap coz there

I think there should be more individualism in things these days. Its very unfortunate that at any age, people are categorized in demographics. Don't get me wrong, young people from the ages of 16 to 25 are more likely to be reckless behind the wheel, but thats a demographic. I've had my car for almost a year, not a single accident, dent, scratch, fender-bender, NOTHING. And as far as buying a "cheap" car goes, how "cheap" are you talking about Mr. White? "Cheap" as in: "My kid who is so apparently irresponsible behind the wheel of a car, and will most likely get into accidents or die, is going to get a car that's cheap."? I have some unfortunate news for you Mr. White, when it comes to automobiles, money buys safety. You say a big/bright car is safe. I understand the "big" part of it, but, the color of a car doesn't seem to catch with me. I understand that a vehicle may be more noticeable, but the color isn't going to prevent you from getting ejected through the windshield when someone crashes into you head-on. There are almost 3000 teen deaths a year due to drunk drivers. NOT TEEN DRIVERS, DRUNK DRIVERS. I have had 3 friends in the past year die in car accidents. After I mourned their death and my loss, I screamed at the sky asking them why they had to be more statistics. I choose my words carefully in saying that there should be an evaluation of a child's responsibility behind the wheel of a car. We, nor any other "age group" should be considered demographics. Its not fair to me that I get pulled over because I look young, when there are 30 year-old business men, dragging in their BMW's down route 9.

My daughters car rolled this weekend three times. She lost control of her 07 Nissan Sentra while driving back to her school. You want a car for your child to drive? This is the one. She walked away with a seatbelt burn, a few bumps and aches. The car unfortunately is totaled but I am going out and getting her the 08 as soon as I get the insurance check. Cheap doesn't mean safe,and this little car isn't expensive but not cheap. It is built for safety and my daughter is alive because of it. That plus she had her seat belt on, which many teens think is a bad thing to wear. Nissan Sentra

is a great car for your kids.

I Think the nicer the better my son want a BMW 325i convertible for his first car and I said yes it's good so they get it out of there system. Besides he goes to a school with other very rich familys so if he had a car like a nissian or ford he would be made fun of so I said yes. Its only 50K with every thing he wants.

only 50K? do you even realize how much money 50K is? for a car for your son? tell him to get a job and pay for his own stuff and dont let him ride through life on your coat tails.

He will get made fun of at school for not having a beamer? you realize that if he has a convertable and the top is down and he gets in a car accident and not wearing his seatbelt (because you know just as well as i do that teenagers dont wear their seatbelts that often) he is pretty much in a casket right? a convertable for a teenager is a huge mistake. he should get a job and pay for a car himself and if you wanna help him out with it thats fine and great, but dont just fork over the cash up front, your not teaching your kids anything by doing that. At least if he works towards something he is going to appriciate it a heck of alot more because its his own hard earned money that is at stake and once he gets out of school he will be way better off than his classmates that just get everything they want whenever they want.

He only thing that makes me more angry than kids that get whatever they want whenever they cry about it for a long enough time period is the parents that sit back and allow their own kids to use them. You realize he isn't even going to be looking at you as a parent, but as a check book.

Buying him that car is just going to turn him into a massive ego monster that is going to be way up on his high horse and god forbide, if by some freak accident in his 50k beamer he gets knocked down and have to walk around with the rest of us real people, he may actually catch a glimpse of himself in a mirror, puddle, or something and he isnt going to like what he see's one bit.

is a dodge charger a good car for a 16 year old??

This is a response to Eddie G. I understand why you may be offended by being "lumped" into a demographic age bracket. You are obviously wise and intelligent beyond your years. But not so wise as to not realize that you are going to be lumped whether you like it or not. At least until human beings evolve a little further. you also have to understand that it isn't you personally that Brian W. is talking about. you are probably responsible beyond your age as well; it's your peer group. The REST of the 16 - 25 year olds in the bracket that are to blame. Of course I am still generalizing, but the point remains; it is statistics that are against you. It isn't that some adult is siting around saying "all 16 year olds are stupid and irresponsible." It's that when the police and various government agencies gather data from accidents, they find that the 16 - 25 year old age bracket is more often involved. It might not be a fact that YOU will get into an accident, but it is a fact that MORE PEOPLE YOUR AGE DO.

And if you think it's all unfair, imagine being 41 and having every 16 year old you meet assume you don't know who Slipknot it.

Those are pretty harsh.

I mean, if your kid works hard and gets good grades then he/she doesn't deserve a beater.

But not by any means does he/she deserve a car over 15,000.

You need to base your car buying descisions on how well your kid drives and how much they deserve it.

tell him you'll match what he raises by himself. he will probably end up getting about 4k-6k on his own. he will have a window of about 8k-12k. this forces him back a couple of years to an older car and if he does some research he will find that and 8 yr BMW 3-series is about 7k ,or a 7yr. old Infinity i35 is about 8k-9k. Both are luxury cars and both are in his price range. he will respect dropping that much of his own money into a car but he won't be stuck with an old 1990 Saturn that is falling apart...

I am 15yrs old right now and i hate a socialist,ageist government or group of people that stop me from doing anything short of buying a candy bar at a gas station. i'm with you Eddie...

I just turned 16 and can't get my lisence until Janurary. I feel scared to get my lisence because of the way people saying 16-25 year olds aren't responsible. And that they aren't any good at driving so they get into car accidents.

I have a 1973 chev z28 with pazy trac 10 inch drag radials and a b and m supper charger and the car is easaly pushin 550 hp,and i have a 1000 nija so.

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