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70s/80s sedan. Lots and lots of steel is good for a new driver.
What’s your budget? Buying outright or you taking out a loan? How much will you be driving?
If cost is a major factor- just get a cpo Honda/toyota. Even if they are more expensive than other cpo’s at first glance, their cost over the life of the vehicle is a lot lower (that why they are priced a bit higher).
If you want to buy new my general advice is to avoid first year model cars (. Manufacturers normally have to work out a few kinks before vehicles are reliable.
Tesla
Well, when I was dealing with similar, I found an early 2010s Ford Taurus, one owner car that serves the purpose well. 5 years later, it still drives very well, and I've only had to replace tires and the battery. It's roomy but has enough hp to get out of its own way. I think it was a good choice for us.
Have you looked at Nissan Sentras or Hyundai Elantras? They don’t get as much hype as Toyota and Honda, so they’re usually more affordable but still reliable.
Nissan’s CVT transmissions and Hyundai’s engines are why both brands suffer from major depreciation, and why both brands have faced recurring class action lawsuits on these topics.
These vehicles are cheap because they are poorly engineered and cost more to fix than they are worth.
I am in the same boat. With twin granddaughters.
I just picked up a 2012 Kia Forte for $1200. 150k on the clock. Decent running doesn't seem to need much more than a cleaning.
I looked at quite a few, being in the rust belt and most are just rusted out.
They're out there just keep looking.
If this is for a teen especially, I wouldn’t actually be THAT concerned with reliability as statistically the odds of that car making it to high mileage before being in an accident is fairly low. For the money, I think a Kia / Hyundai is probably a good sweet spot in terms of cost and relative reliability (or at least generally cheap to fix). Especially if you can find a dealer that’s still dishing out the 8 year 100k mile warranty (not sure if they’re still doing that)
I think it also depends on where they’ll be driving. If it’s a couple miles to school work, anything is probably fine since a breakdown doesn’t leave them many miles from home. If distances start getting greater, I don’t think I’d get a 2012 Hyundai./Kia. My daughter drives a 2012 Subaru, but I’ve owned it since new.
I’d probably be looking at Honda/Toyota/Subaru/Mazda, 4-8 years old.
You’re right - Toyotas hold value like crazy. 20 year old Toyotas for $5000 isn’t unheard of.