Best car for a new driver teen etc?

I WAS DEBATING WITH SOMEONE AT AN AUTO AUCTION WHO WAS BUYING A CAR FOR THEIR KID. THEY ASKED ME WHAT WAS A GOOD CAR AND I SAID FOR A TEEN GET AN OLD COP CAR AS THEY ARE BIG AND SAFE AS GAS IS ONLY A PART OF OWNING A CAR INSURANCE AND REPAIRS SECOND. SMALL CARS ANYTHING SMALLER THAN A FORD TAURUS OR HONDA ACCORD ETC WAS UNSAFE FOR A NEW DRIVER AT LEAST FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. WHO WAS RIGHT!

Public Comments

1. i'm in real need of a car, so i'm trying to figure this out my damn self good luckl
2. You are for all the reasons you named.
3. bought mine a 99 escort last year.......reliable enough, safe enough, roomy enough, good on gas, not to bad to insure and cheap enough that if its wrecked, no big deal.
4. My first two cars were ford escorts both 88 and 89 models. They were very safe. I know. I got stupid one day and rolled mine over two times onto its side. The roof didn't cave in.
5. I would personally get anything that has airbags, and also take into consideration how reliable the car is. You can never go wrong with newer Honda's and Toyota's. It is worth paying a little more money for piece of mind.
6. neither - hot wheels are best
7. a piece of sh*t so that when they wreck it, you won't be out too much money. i'm only half kidding.
8. Big is not always good. Theres alot of good cars out there for a teen to start with, its just a matter of taste and preference. I started out with a 83' Cutlass Supreme, then a 99' Buick Regal LS, now a 95' Mazda Protege, then someday will be a Z31 Nissan 300zx.
9. Good G-d, you recommended a crown-victoria as a first-car for a teen? As if it isn't difficult enough for the young-un's to learn parallel parking! That's a huge car! Size is only ONE factor in a car's safety. What about structure, air bags (including side and curtain air bags), and other factors? I think a Crown Vic is a horrible car for a teen. Not reliable like a Toyota or Honda, and over-sized to say the least. Unless you live in a town where EVERYBODY drives a Hummer, this is an impractical car for most people.
10. Well it really depends on what the main reason for getting the type of car you would for a new driver Would it be for safety or something that is more practical? If its for safety, you cant go wrong with a Volvo which I've heard is one of the strongest cars made, I'm not sure if that is true today though, but the problem with that probably is maintenance as with any foreign car I think small cars such as a honda civic or acura integra are great first cars, there's so many out there that they are reasonably cheap for a great car that will last for the time until they are good drivers or at least till they have gotten into their first majob accident and you will have to replace them the maintenance on them are fairly easy to do as well which can save you some money if they are willing to learn
11. Certainly not a new car. New cars have a higher insurance premium. I would stick with an auto that is around 3-5 years old for a teenager. These cars tend to have around 40,000-60,000 miles on them and aren't as burned out. Stay away from small import vehicles, other teens have probably had them and beat the living crap out of them. I would stick to an automobile that has either a 4 banger or a 6 cylinder as they will be cheaper on gas. Stay away from blazers, bronco IIs, jeeps, Suzuki sidekicks as these are all top heavy and narrow vehicles, therefore limiting their turning ability and making them very unsafe. Stick with a car that is somewhat low to the ground and which. My kids are only 10 and 8, but the 10 year old wants a 69 Camaro (of course as I do) and my 8 year old wants a 58 Impala. Try to stick with cars that are metal bodies and not fiberglass. I once had an Oldsmobile Calia and it even had steel reinforced bars welded to the inside of the doors for impact resistance.
12. old cop cars are unreliable they've already had the crap run out of them.
13. A Lamborghini, any model or year.
14. I recommend Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. They are very reliable and fuel efficient. If the couple are thinking of getting Taurus then get the one that were made after 1996. I also recommend spending $4 for one month use on the Consumer Reports website and do an extensive research on the potential car.
15. If safety is your concern, and you're looking for a good recent used car- check out the report below from the insurance institute of highway safety. It has the actual fatalities per million owner years for nearly every vehicle. Some vehicles do suprisingly better than others. Consider a Toyota Rav4 as a good, safe, practical teen car. Or a Volkswagen Passat. The both have truly outstanding real world statistics- and your teen wouldn't be embarassed about driving either.
16. It depends on the teen, safe, reliable, trustworth, honest and the big one...Mature. a newer nicer auto. If the teen is the opposite...the junker
17. well, it really depends.i just got my license not too long ago and i failed parallel parking in my mom's explorer and its a gas guzzler also. i went back the next day and i used my dad's sunfire. i did the parallel parking right and it is nice on gas. i would say a neon is a nice car to start out with. im looking for 1 myself or a cavalier or a sunfire, they are all good on gas and they are great for the new driver. :)
18. The Honda Civic is the most popular with teenagers. Used ones are reliable, fairly inexpensive, look good, and are cheap to insure.