Buying for 16 year old son... decisions...

[Bc2005]

In Virginia, cities and counties assess personal property tax on vehicles, and in my city it is 5.33% of the book value of the vehicle (I think they use black book value, but don’t recall for sure).

For example, on my 2024 Toyota RAV4 Prime I paid about $2,200 property tax in 2025. They sent me a bill on August and it was due in early October. I used to get a tax sticker for the windshield, but now it’s electronically checked against the license plate.

[Rocket455]

Lots of valid opinions and insights here. OP, I'd recommend something older with ground clearance and higher seating position for a new driver just getting their first taste of public roads. Doesn't have to be body-on-frame, maybe a crossover for better road manners and MPG. 2nd/3rd gen Lexus RX, Honda CRV, Ford Escape, Subaru Forester, etc. The compact and mid-size crossover segment is absolutely massive, lots of stellar offerings to choose from practically every manufacturer.

[Alfisti]

You sound like AI man.

[Rocket455]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

You sound like AI man.

I kid you not, that's not the first time I've been accused of that!

[Innovade]

Manual BRZ/FRS/GR86 or Miata.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Innovade

Manual BRZ/FRS/GR86 or Miata.

My problem with this suggestion for a fresh driver is that they're small and RWD with easily defeatable stability control. The RWD is obvious - a BRZ can easily slide around in the rain with only mildly aggressive inputs (speaking from experience of owning one), same in the snow. I won't speak of a Miata as I only drove an ND once in the dry.

The small part (in width and height) is an issue with the ever increasing size of other cars, both for passive safety (as crash ratings are between vehicles of similar size and weight, and in a crash between a big vehicle and a small vehicle the small vehicle suffers higher forces and more damage to car and people) and for active safety (being small makes you harder to see out of a high waist-line, high ground-clearance car). I'd argue that a new driver doesn't have enough mental resources or the experience to operate a vehicle in traffic and also take a defensive posture of "that car is gonna change into my lane but he's not seeing me".

[Maxp]

My uncle bought my cousin a Honda Civic for her first car. She was a great kid and a good driver. A drunk in a bro-dozer killed her on a highway in Mississippi. The front axle of the truck hit the windshield of the Civic. My uncle regrets getting her that car and not an SUV every day.

[Brandoch]

It's sad that people think, the bigger the safer. An SUV doesn't automatically have better safety ratings then a car.

[Maxp]

Originally Posted by Brandoch

It's sad that people think, the bigger the safer. An SUV doesn't automatically have better safety ratings then a car.

Being higher absolutely matters when giant trucks are lifted so high their bumpers never touch the car they hit.

[maticCRO]

For a first car, i would say something with front wheel drive or AWD, skip the Rwd because it can be more dangerous especially in rain /snow, and kids will deff play with ESP off/TC off..
My first was a Golf 4 75hp, i was over the Moon. I think you could go that route, some okay looking reliable Front wheel drive car that can be easily replaced in a few years. If it was my kid, i would go for something like Golf 7 with Lower milleage and Diesel engine up to 100hp

[Brandoch]

Originally Posted by Maxp

Being higher absolutely matters when giant trucks are lifted so high their bumpers never touch the car they hit.

I barely survived

[Phillies8008]

Originally Posted by Brandoch

I barely survived

Holy crap – it's hard to believe you survived at all. A testament to how incredibly safer cars are today than in the past. I know everyone complains about the ballooning weight of cars, and of course it's not all because of safety systems, but I'll take that over not being able to walk away from a wreck like this.

I hope you're doing well now and don't suffer from any lasting effects!

[Brandoch]

Originally Posted by Phillies8008

Holy crap – it's hard to believe you survived at all. A testament to how incredibly safer cars are today than in the past. I know everyone complains about the ballooning weight of cars, and of course it's not all because of safety systems, but I'll take that over not being able to walk away from a wreck like this.

I hope you're doing well now and don't suffer from any lasting effects!

Broken:

• Right tibula and fibula
• Left tibula and fibula
• Left femor (in the middle)
• Left hip neck at the femor
• Left index finger
• Right wrist
• Left foot
• Lower jaw
• And a brain injury

I was an aircraft maintenance engineer before, I am not now.
This was almost 10 years ago.

[maticCRO]

Originally Posted by Brandoch

Broken:

• Right tibula and fibula
• Left tibula and fibula
• Left femor (in the middle)
• Left hip neck at the femor
• Left index finger
• Right wrist
• Left foot
• Lower jaw
• And a brain injury

I was an aircraft maintenance engineer before, I am not now.
This was almost 10 years ago.

Jeez, thats tough, but at the first glimpse of that wreckage, i wouldnt expect for a person to survive this, thank God you made it.
Was that a Viper or a Mustang with white stripes, sorry my knowledge of (possible) American cars isnt that great

[Brandoch]

Originally Posted by maticCRO

Jeez, thats tough, but at the first glimpse of that wreckage, i wouldnt expect for a person to survive this, thank God you made it.
Was that a Viper or a Mustang with white stripes, sorry my knowledge of (possible) American cars isnt that great

2002 Chevrolet S10 Xtreme. It turns out that the GM platform that is the s10, Sonoma, blazer, Jimmy, astro van, and safari are one of the worst safety rated vehicles on the road. I of course did not know that at the time.
ALWAYS look at crash data before buying a vehicle.

[freakystyly]

sadly relevant

credit to xkcd

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

That'll work perfectly for my daughter - the only attribute of a car she cares about is the color. And specifically for battery longevity, discounting the first 2 Leaf generations (that has air cooled batteries which is just bad design), EV batteries seem to be holding great. Plus there's a lot of low milage used EVs (the shorter range of economy EVs probably helps with low milage) so I would expect we could get plenty of life out of them. Also, most EVs just slowly lose range, it's not a catastrophic failure. Show me a cheapo ICE econobox with catastrophic engine failure that won't get trashed.

There's a lot more cost to EVs than most people think, especially older used ones. Battery failures, just like ICE failures, are rare but when they happen, EV and ICE cars are usually mechanically totaled. An EV has a motor, a battery, and transmission, meaning it has one extra expensive to fix drivetrain component than an ICE vehicle. Then there's the whole thing of making sure your kid keeps the thing charged.

There aren't many "cheap" used EVs out there that I'd trust outside of a Tesla and in that instance, a sub $15K used Tesla sounds very scary to me compared to just buying a teens a used $15K Corolla, Mazda 3, Civic, Accord, etc.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Brandoch

The only way we learn and grow is by trying.
Giving a child a car is not letting them learn. They need to learn how to save money by making their own and buying their own car. In this world especially in North America, financial literacy is extremely important.
Also, when you spend your own money you tend to appreciate and care for it more.
No loans, no credit cards, just saving money.

I fully agree, kids need to pay their share and learn the value of a dollar. However, finding a reliable used cars for under $10K is nearly impossible in the US and even at $10K, chances are it's going to be a bit rough and need work in the first year or two. There are cheaper used cars out there, but they'll likely be very unreliable.

I was a child of the 1990s and we could have an after school job and afford to buy a ~5 y/o reliable used Japanese car ourselves. It would be extremely hard for a 16 y/o to afford a $10k-15K car themselves these days even working ~15 hours a week during the school year (more in the summer) making ~$12/hr.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Maxp

Being higher absolutely matters when giant trucks are lifted so high their bumpers never touch the car they hit.

Being higher also means a much higher probability of a rollover and rollover crashes have the highest injury and fatality rates of all types of crashes. Being higher also generally means worse braking and handling/avoidance dynamics. I'd rather be lower and have a vehicle that has a better chance of avoiding the crash all together.

[Maxp]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Being higher also means a much higher probability of a rollover and rollover crashes have the highest injury and fatality rates of all types of crashes. Being higher also generally means worse braking and handling/avoidance dynamics. I'd rather be lower and have a vehicle that has a better chance of avoiding the crash all together.

I like to be low and fast with great brakes, but when I bought my daughter her first car she got a crossover SUV. I live in the South and we have ridiculous trucks everywhere. First time drivers have a very high rate of accidents.

[ShocknAwe]

Toyota Camry/Corolla

Honda Civic

VW Jetta/Golf

Mini Cooper

Teach them Manual.

[nick3753]

Smart and sensible choice is used, relatively low mileage, high reliability with high safety rating, front wheel or all wheel drive, snow tires over all seasons, not a lot of power, but not so little it can’t accelerate safely to merge.

We are not always so smart and sensible though.