Top 4 First Cars For Your Teen Driver

It’s come to that time in my life that I’ve been dreading, but, waiting for with excitement!  Next year, my daughter will be driving! Her father and I have started to discuss getting her a car.  We are making the decision to get her one that will (hopefully) last her six to eight years.  This will get her through college and started in her profession. We figure the car will be a minimum of nine years old and preferably with less than 90k miles on it.  I was even looking at SUVs, because we live out in the country, and figured she should have all wheel drive for bad weather, but, her father suggested against that due to less gas mileage and more expensive to upkeep.  Good reasons of course. So, back to cars we go!

He and I are both putting in a minimum of $2,000 to $3,000 because we don’t want to get her a junker. As stated, we want it to last awhile! So, I took to Kelley Blue Book and researched car values and which ones had better gas mileage per gallon. Since she will be paying for her own gas, it’s the least we can do, lol. Here are the top four that I came up with in the $6,000 range:

• 2004 Toyota Corolla: We all knew this would make the list! Toyota makes great cars to begin with. So, we know they will last a long time! The 2004 Corolla gets 24/City and 34/Hwy. It’s an automatic, which, just starting out, is good for any teen. This is a four door car, which, may be better for car insurance.  It won’t be considered a sports car. Actually, do they even look at it that way anymore?  I’ve had one car, years and years ago that was a two door and I laughed when they told me it was a sports car. Per KBB, the “Suggested Retail Price” is $5,128.00.

• 2008 Ford Focus: Ford is not a bad brand at all. Although, I will admit my surprise when I saw that it was made in Mexico.  I thought all Ford cars were American made! The Focus offers 24/City and 33/Hwy per gallon. Again, not bad at all! The Focus comes in automatic and 4-Speed with overdrive.  The mischievous parent in me wants to get her this one and make her learn to drive a stick shift before she can drive her car. 😛  This car only has two doors, which, I know is what she prefers for her car. Not what I prefer for our insurance! Per KBB, the “Suggested Retail Price” is $5,633.00.

• 2007 Hyundai Elantra: Hyundai’s are another great car. Great design and well developed. They offer 25/City and 33/Hwy per gallon. I remember wanting an Elantra when I was a teen, because it was pretty. But, alas, I ended up with a Pontiac Phoenix.  That thing was a steel boat!  The Elantra comes in the 4 door model.  Per KBB, the “Suggested Retail Price” is $5,373.00.

• 2005 Toyota Prius: Say what you will about a Prius, but, hello… Toyota!  They made my list twice and the Prius is actually my top pick because of gas mileage.  It offers 48/City 45/Hwy. For a mid first decade car, that is the best you’re going to find!  The Prius comes in the 4 door model. Per KBB, the “Suggested Retail Price” is $5,817.00.

Looking at the pictures, it’s funny how they all pretty much look alike. I guess that was the design of it’s time!  Not bad looking cars though.

The pricing that you see here, these cars are with mileage OVER 100k. As stated, we are hoping to get a car with less than 90k miles on it for longevity. So, if we were to choose one of these four cars, we would have to get lucky, or, modify the year of the car.

For your teen driver, what car did they end up getting? What did you like or dislike about it?