A Guide to Buying Your Teen’s First Car

Your teenage son or daughter has finally learned to drive. This is a coming of age moment for them, and in a way for you, too. They have completed another step in their transition to adulthood, and you have completed another step, via helping and supporting them, toward having them out of the house. Or at least having a sweet job that allows them to pay rent.

But there is still a lot of worry as cars aren’t exactly known for being perfectly safe. Especially for young adults. In Australia road accidents are the leading cause of death among 16 – 20 year olds. You can’t take a risk of buying or trading in your old car.

But your teen has to get their independence, so the best you can do is having a say in the first car that they drive, by buying it for them. Here is a list of things you can do to make sure the whole process runs smoothly.

Have a talk with them

Sit your teen down and announce your decision to buy them a used car. If you are a millionaire your kid will be incredibly angry at this and demand a brand new BMW at the very least, because it’s the best first car for a teenager. If you are an ordinary person your teen will be absolutely thrilled. Tell them that while you welcome their input into what vehicle you choose to get them, the decision is ultimately yours. I’m sure they’ll be fine with this. Emphasize safety and responsibility while driving, and discuss what this usually means, i.e. No texting while driving, no drunk driving etc. If interested then probably share the ultimate used car buying guide with your teen.

Shop for the car

After your kid says “I think I’ll buy my car online,” and you say “No, I’ll be buying your car online”, the main things you will be looking for in a vehicle will be affordability and safety. Affordability, because you don’t want to waste too much money on the kid, as it will spoil them and spoiled children turn into horrible adults. Safety, because you want to reduce the risk of them being in an accident by as much as possible. Pretend to take your kids’ suggestions seriously, but ultimately do all the choosing yourself, because teenagers aren’t mature enough to know what’s good for them.

Police your teen

As was mentioned above, teens account for a huge chunk of Australian crash statistics. This is because they aren’t as smart as adults. You will have to have the last word on all automobile related decisions, at least until they finally move out of the house.

Lay down the law about such things as usage of seat belts, ban drinking before driving, and give them all the statistics and logic behind such measures, including why they will probably die in a fiery blaze of crunched up car if they decide to text and drive at any time ever. Add to that eating, putting on makeup, or wearing headphones. If they break the rules, break their bones. Figuratively. With a good telling off. You don’t have to then sell your Toyota or Holden, as that will be pointless.

This handy checklist of three things will provide you and your teen with a useful guide on how to not end up in a terrible auto crash. Good luck, dear reader. If you want to know where the best place to sell the used cars is, visit the most comprehensive auto buyer websites who got specific categories of selling a car.