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Smart Shopper Best Car for a new teenage driver
554 messages, Last post on Nov 08, 2009 at 7:33 PM
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So what would you folks put your 16-year old teen (female) into? I am not all that concerned about mpg, as she will not be driving it much - just back and forth to school, and to soccer practice (local). I guess it's possible she could put 20 miles/day on it, but that is on the high side. And it's likely that in a year or so, she will be shuttling her younger sister around, a bit. I would like it to have AWD, as we have a place in the mountains and she may need to drive it up there in the winter. I am leaning toward a small wagon, but I want it to be safe, as we live in California which means a fair share of freeway driving. Yes, I am willing to buy used, and I don't necessarily expect her to take this vehicle to college. I can hand this one down to her younger sister and get her a different, higher MPG vehicle for college, if she even needs a car for college. (I didn't have one, and it wasn't a disaster.) Oh, and let's keep the dollar limit at $20k. Used Volvo V50? Really used Volvo V70? Am curious if any of you would recommend an SUV, as I believe teens should not drive SUVs as I don't believe they are likely to know how to handle them. I think the rollover risk is less in a convertible. We use a particularly dangerous section of freeway, notorious for overturns, so I'd like to miminize the potential for that.
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Replying to: alp8 (Aug 09, 2006 9:04 am)
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Replying to: bumpy (Aug 09, 2006 10:32 am) |
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Replying to: alp8 (Aug 09, 2006 9:04 am) Odie Odie's Carspace
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Replying to: odie6l (Aug 09, 2006 12:44 pm) I was thinking of an old Volvo V70 (XC70?) wagon, with the rear seats taken out. "Why?" people might ask. I am guessing Odie has the answer.
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Replying to: alp8 (Aug 09, 2006 2:19 pm) Also most of the 2 seaters from the late 90's you could get with-out much power to it = less chance of speeding + better MPG. Odie Odie's Carspace
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Replying to: odie6l (Aug 09, 2006 7:07 pm) come on, odie!!! teenagers are tremendously impaired by having more passengers in the car. Hell, I can barely drive when I have 4 teenagers in the car. Teens are actually very safe drivers when they are in the car, alone. but thank you for your ideas!!! My daughter is a pretty sensible kid, so I think she'll be a fairly conservative driver. We'll see once we really get out there. |
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Replying to: bumpy (Aug 09, 2006 10:32 am) |
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| Basically a Toyota but cheaper and a lot of cargo room. | |
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Hmm, interesting question. I've got an 18 year old daughter who is heading off to college next week and we bought her a Saturn ION 2 equipped with ABS and traction control. Not sure that you need AWD if you only head to the mountains a few times a year. We live in Colorado and probably see more days of bad weather in a single winter than she will experience in several years - traction control, coupled with plowed roads, should be more than enough. That way, the other 360 days a year, you don't have the weight penalty of the AWD dragging down mileage. But, I do like the idea of the Vibe .. test drove one with some friends a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised with how much room there was inside.
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