[tdavidl]

i'm in the same boat, not for the wife, for the 16 yr old...not one comment on this thread about the safety issues of the cars....as I'm doing my searches & readings i'm more concerned about safety issues than gas mileage...its gotta have all the airbags, abs brakes, traction control, whatever....

so any feedback on what used car to look for no older than 2008, no more than 75,000 miles in the $15k range +- a couple grand ?

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by tdavidl

i'm in the same boat, not for the wife, for the 16 yr old...not one comment on this thread about the safety issues of the cars....as I'm doing my searches & readings i'm more concerned about safety issues than gas mileage...its gotta have all the airbags, abs brakes, traction control, whatever....

so any feedback on what used car to look for no older than 2008, no more than 75,000 miles in the $15k range +- a couple grand ?

My wifes Altima V6 is simply great in the snow. Far better than my 2009 Camry V6. Both have TC too. Hers is a 2012 but that body style was around for a long time and can easily be had for $15,000. So many of them are soild with 4cyl's so that makes the V6 models sell at a premium price. We traded in a 2005 with a v6 and was surprised at the difference in value. If you do go the Altima route, stick with the previous gen cars. 2001 - 2005 had issues with rust in the floor boards. Ask me how I know.

[John V.]

Originally Posted by tdavidl

i'm in the same boat, not for the wife, for the 16 yr old...not one comment on this thread about the safety issues of the cars....as I'm doing my searches & readings i'm more concerned about safety issues than gas mileage...its gotta have all the airbags, abs brakes, traction control, whatever....

so any feedback on what used car to look for no older than 2008, no more than 75,000 miles in the $15k range +- a couple grand ?

Raised 4 boys, all in their 20s now.

Best safety feature, bar none, a parent in the front passenger seat. From experience, I knew they would be better drivers with me in the car than with their best buddies in the car.

2nd best safety feature is a reliable car. You don't want them broken down on the side of the Interstate. Good tires is also a must.

None of my kids was allowed to get their license "on time".

Once they got their license, they were forbidden from having friends in the car with them, no exceptions, for at least about 6 months. They were also forbidden from accepting rides from new drivers. It meant we carted them around to places when most kids were allowed to be passengers many months sooner. But that was our rule.

None of my kids owned their own car, they had to ask permission to borrow the car I made available to them.

My oldest rolled the '98 Sunfire convertible a day after he graduated HS, at slow speed. Luckily he and the friend with him walked away unscratched. The car and its air bags and ABS was totaled. The airbags probably helped.

Another son did a 360 at about 50 mph in the '03 Jeep Wrangler on the main road leading to our neighborhood. Not entirely his fault except that he was inexperienced. Luckily hit nothing and remained upright. When I saw him 10 mins later, pretty sure he was very shaken. My youngest was in the Jeep with him.

Youngest's biggest excitement as a young driver was blowing up the engine in the '97 Safari on the Interstate. He is probably my most conservative driver. He now drives the Jeep around Lincoln, NE, you can catch him on air, he does TV weather there.

Oldest got multiple speeding tix before he turned 20 plus the wrecked Sunfire under his belt. He wrecked the old Taurus I had given him after college because of tailgating. 3rd rear ended a guy at slow speed. Minor damage to the Sunfire, but expensive repair to the car he hit. Both the Taurus and Sunfire had ABS. Air bags did not deploy in either of these rear enders. Just bad judgment on the part of young drivers following too close and being impatient.

They all managed to have their share of issues.

My cars weren't even safe in my driveway. Oldest failed to set the parking brake securely on the '99 Sunfire convert (replaced the totaled one). It rolled down the driveway and narrowly missed smashing into the neighbor's mailbox. A neighbor rang my doorbell in the middle of the night to say my car was sticking out in the road, an accident waiting to happen.

Most cars have ABS and air bags (the Jeep lacks ABS, but it was an option). I didn't worry about those features too much except to get a break on insurance.

Just tried to control the opportunities for disaster. I don't understand parents that allow their kids out into the morning hours. That's like Russian Roulette. My kids hated the restrictions and I'm sure didn't always follow them.

Be prepared for sleepless nights. When you're laying in bed and you know they should be home any minute and you hear sirens blaring from somewhere, it is tough to sleep.

IMO, any 2008 up car will work. The trick is to control the young driver until he/she gains the experience. That takes, oh, maybe 20 years. Good luck with yours.

[tdavidl]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

My wifes Altima V6 is simply great in the snow. Far better than my 2009 Camry V6. Both have TC too. Hers is a 2012 but that body style was around for a long time and can easily be had for $15,000. So many of them are soild with 4cyl's so that makes the V6 models sell at a premium price. We traded in a 2005 with a v6 and was surprised at the difference in value. If you do go the Altima route, stick with the previous gen cars. 2001 - 2005 had issues with rust in the floor boards. Ask me how I know.

thx for the advice, i drove a 2002 maxima for about 10 yrs & will never buy another nissan again, after about 6 months rattles all over the place...they use plastic fasteners for the body panels & wheel wells & probably many other areas...garbage....manual 6-speed engine was fun to drive though

Originally Posted by John V.

Raised 4 boys, all in their 20s now.

Best safety feature, bar none, a parent in the front passenger seat. From experience, I knew they would be better drivers with me in the car than with their best buddies in the car. no question about it....just not practical to drive with him when he wants to go over a buddies house for a couple hours & doesn't make sense to drive twice as many miles going back & forth to drop him off & pick him up.

2nd best safety feature is a reliable car. You don't want them broken down on the side of the Interstate. Good tires is also a must. agree as well. before i turned my 2007 volvo s60 over to my 18 yr old (he got his license the day after he turned 18) i put 4 new tires on the car & had it serviced.

None of my kids was allowed to get their license "on time". as i said, my oldest was 18 when he got his, more by his choice and my 16 yr old just got his & he turns 17 in may...so not quite "on time"...but not as late as the 18 yr old either...my wife and i are being VERY cautious with how much he'll drive & where...we can tell the difference in driver maturity between our 18 yr old who waited and the 16 yr old...the difference is quite scary really

Once they got their license, they were forbidden from having friends in the car with them, no exceptions, for at least about 6 months. They were also forbidden from accepting rides from new drivers. It meant we carted them around to places when most kids were allowed to be passengers many months sooner. But that was our rule. we have similar rules...in fact the 16 yr old has a buddy over now & they wanted to goto the mall...as silly as it sounds they each took their car...we won't let ours drive any other friends and we won't allow him to ride with anyone who hasn't driven long enough to allow kids to drive....it's a state requirement here in MD

None of my kids owned their own car, they had to ask permission to borrow the car I made available to them. that's what we're doing as well, however, we will have enough cars so they can drive one when needed, the cars will remain in our name & we have the keys....they have to ask for th keys

Most cars have ABS and air bags (the Jeep lacks ABS, but it was an option). I didn't worry about those features too much except to get a break on insurance. correct, MOST do, some don't and some fare better in crash tests as well. some have roof bags as well, some don't. i'm less concerned about gas mileage than i am about safety...if it costs me more in gas to get a safer car so be it....kinda like tires...if the safer tires cost more, so be it. i know this won't make them 100% accident proof or 100% injury-free proof...but anything i can do to increase their odds of reducing injury or worse i will

Be prepared for sleepless nights. When you're laying in bed and you know they should be home any minute and you hear sirens blaring from somewhere, it is tough to sleep. ha, already been there done that...18 yr old was bussing tables at a rest about 10 minutes away....it was rest/bar/concert hall type place so it didn't close on the weekends until 2amish...we made him text before leaving so we knew he was headed home & some nights when they were really busy the texts didn't come until 3amish...tossed & turned until he walked in the door...

IMO, any 2008 up car will work. The trick is to control the young driver until he/she gains the experience. That takes, oh, maybe 20 years. Good luck with yours.

thx...yea, not looking forward to the next 8-10 yrs :-)