Aaron Widmar
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How to Choose a First Car for Your Teen

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tips to choose the best first car for teen driver young adult safe vehicle
How do you decide which car is best for your new driver?

Ask any teenage close to the legal driving age how many days they have until they can finally drive themselves to school, and they can tell you the exact number down to the hour. While students are excited to get their first car, this can be a scary transition for a parent. Choosing the perfect first car for your teen is important, so make sure you consider these suggestions by automotive experts.


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Choose a large vehicle

Your assumption may be to choose a small, compact car for your teenager because it’s cheap, easy to maneuver, and won’t cause much damage if collides with things it shouldn’t. However, the opposite is actually true: When it comes to a young adult’s first car, bigger is better.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the heavier the vehicle, the safer it is. It’s physics! When two objects collide, the larger one will be impacted less because its momentum yields greater force than the smaller object due to its mass and weight.

So, a used SUV would be a safe option for a teenager instead of a new subcompact hatchback. Plus, the less damage that it receives, the less it’ll need to be repaired.

Research safety ratings

Looking at the crash test results of a vehicle is a solid indicator of how safe your teen would be in a collision. Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the IIHS publish safety ratings for all models annually and are terrific resources when looking for a car for your teen. Avoid any models that performed poorly in test collisions.

Find must-have safety features

Over the past years, new cars have been given more and more safety systems to monitor and assist drivers in potentially dangerous situations. You can find many of these features on pre-owned cars now, so look around until you find a model that has the essential components. These should include a backup camera, a proximity alert, and blind-spot alert.

Teen driver settings

Parents can now adjust and set limitations for the settings and operations that their children perform in the car while driving. For instance, Chevrolet offers an available built-in system called Teen Driver Technology, which lets you set a speed alert, a volume limit, and generates a report of your teenager’s driving performance. If you want to teach your child good driving skills and have the money to afford this technology, it’s one worth splurging for.

Choosing the right car for your teen doesn’t just come down to price or convenience. It’s better to invest in a safe, sturdy vehicle rather than a cheap beater, so do your research carefully. Your child’s safety could depend on it!


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