Looking for feedback on what car to buy for a teenager, going from home to school and to the local store. I did a google search and the Hinda Civic and Toyota Corrolla came up in the search. lookin to spend 4000.00 max
Any opinions?
96 chevy monte carlo…it’ll save u some money too. it was my first car and never had to do anything but change the oil. my advice is spend the least money u can on a dependable car that runs good.
JUst something to think about. A small, regular cab pick up (Ranger, S-10) will limit the number of passengers he can take. Teens tend to get into more trouble “showing off” by driving too fast, doing stupid things (boys) or simply being distracted by others in the vehicle (girls). I know I stereotyped and either sex can get into trouble either way but from my observations (I see it daily… I work at a high school)a bunch of young kids in a car withan inexperianced driver is rarely a good recipie 
I always felt better with my two daughters in a somewhat bigger car than what you are looking at. Find an older GM car with the 3800 v-6 that runs and drives good. The motors run for 200-250 thousand miles without much problems. They might not be the coolest car around but for the first one they sure work good. Just my .02
Wow lucky kid! My first vehicle was a 79 ford f-150 for $800.
VEGA-$400.00..sweet car 
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Wow lucky kid! My first vehicle was a 79 ford f-150 for $800.
I know where there is a 93 GMC Sierra, for $800 right now !!! Safe and 4 x 4 !!!
Either would be a fine choice I think. Will save you money too if you are having to fork over gas money. Do they want a car for sure? And you can probably get a pretty decent one for $4000.
MY first car at 17 was a Ford Escort stick shift in the hills of Duluth. Cost me a total of $150.00. Lasted me about 2 years.
I hear you, though, on the teenager thing. My daughter is 14. The rule is… NO riding with teenagers until you can driver yourself! Even at 14.. she has freinds that have boyfreinds that have their license. My wife thinks I am WAY over protective with these rules… but we all have heard the stories of the kids getting in accidents… stopped on the rail road tracks in Anoka, etc. FACT is.. preventing my daughter from getting into a vehicle with a bunch of teeny boppers WILL increase her life expectancy!!!
Kirt, I think you are headed in the right direction, the only problem I can think of with your choice is the possibility of theft. Both the Honda and Toyota are front wheel drive and fairly easy to drive in the snow compared to a small truck or any rear drive vehicle for that matter.
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If you are in snow and ice country, stick with a front wheel drive vehicle…
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Wow lucky kid! My first vehicle was a 79 ford f-150 for $800.
Wow…That makes feel old 
My first car was a 53 Chevy Belair..2 door hradtop…
The first cars I got my daughters were “grandma”cars 1 an older Buick,and 1 a Pontiac… 
I think a used Civic or Corolla is a great choice. Low maintenance, great mileage make for lower costs to operate.
I bought a used 1999 Altima for my boys over 6 years ago and it’s still running like a top with minimal maintenance and over 130,000 miles on it now.
I’m only 30 shark! You definitely can’t beat the smooth ride of a Buick.
Think protection, a 1956 Buick might be a start…
With teenagers it’s usually not “if” but “when” they will get into a collision, buy something that will help keep them safe. imho
Al
Mine was a 1951 Henry-J for $50. Wish I had it know.
I started off w/a Mustang and then 3 Camaro’s….
I got pulled over a lot.
Oh the memories, I hear yah. My first vehicle, 1962 International Scout, I had to repair the body and install the passenger door that was missing it had a snow plow, made some coin with that truck 
.
My vote is for the larger GM car for saftey and reliability reasons as well. LeSabre, Bonneville, Grand Prix, just make sure they have the 3.8 (grand Prix could get other engines) gas mileage in the mid 20’s, they run forever, cheap and easy to fix if anything does go wrong and you can find a pretty nice one for around 2-3000.
the best car i think is a corolla/prizm/accord. you can find a 00 with sub 100k miles for around 4 g’s. front wheel drive. the 2 engines run forever. its front wheel drive. mine has airbags and abs. i get about 35mpg. its slow. sounds about perfect.
My first car was a truck 
, I’m only 20 and I’ve never looked at a car, I love my truck never felt safer. Safety is key, and the best way to teach someone to drive is to take them out on a frozen lake this winter and give them the wheel. It teaches them throttle control and how to recover a slide, that goes for any vehicle.
Back in Herb and my day, we didn’t have the luxury of the internal combustion engine.
…the old gray mare ain’t what she use to be….
71 cadillac coupe de ville. V-8 472. Totally the way to go. You could hit a snow plow with it and not even know it. 
They’re probably cheap too.
We purchased a ’94 Chevy Lumina for our daughter at 16 – lasted until she was 20. Now she purchased a Ford Focus 4 door sedan. Much better gas mileage.
We purchased a ’95 Grand Am – red for our 16 yr old son. (What were we thinking!!!) But no tickets, yet.. I don’t think this one will last as long though.
He really wanted a Ford F150. Maybe next time..
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