Unbelievably, here I am at that point in life- my older child is driving. It was just the other day I bought her first car- a Little tykes cozy coupe for her 1st birthday. Now she is wanting something a little bigger and a little faster.
What do your kids drive, and how is it working out for you? Looking for advice and recommendations. So far we have heard to buy a used import as they are more reliable and long lasting. All the ones we have come across are quite pricy and very high miles. DD will be driving it for at least two years, then she tells us she is going away for college, so it should be available for her younger brother.
We are looking to spend $4 to $6 K, hopefully closer to $4. Yes, she will be contributing to the purchase.

High miles isn't as bad as it used to be. Especially with an import. Just make sure that the transmission gets checked out before you buy and also if you are buying a Honda, make sure the timing belt has been changed at 90-100,00 miles.

My sister is still driving her '97 Honda CRV with 170,000 miles every day! LOL;

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My son bought a used Honda Accord. We did lots of research into mileage, safety, repair history, etc., and this has worked out well for him.

The only problem with the used Hondas, though, is that they do hold their value, so resale prices can be a bit high. It takes time to find the right one at the right price.

Good luck! Wish we could stuff all ours back into the Little Tykes cars!!

My son has a 1996 VW Passat with about 80k miles on it. Solid and safe car, decent gas mileage, decent reliability. I wanted to get him something a little nicer, but am glad we went this way because he's had a few minor mishaps (backing out of the garage and what not )

Many of his schoolmates had much, much newer and nicer cars, but he was happy with it. Now it's sitting in my driveway with its driver gone away.

cj/

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We have had a lot of luck with Saturn, as far as reliability in inexpensive cars. DS 16 is driving a 2003 Saturn Vue. It's a bare bones vehicle - no power windows or locks, no bells and whistles. And it's a 4 cylinder which was big to us. It's got the look of an SUV (well, enough for him) and the gas mileage of a compact car.

DH did a lot of on-line research when we were shopping - he found that this vehicle a year older than the one we bought had a lot of transmission problems, but found really good reviews for the one we settled on. I'd definitely look for as many on-line reviews as possible. After reading someone's horror story on here about Carfax, we didn't bother with that.

We've been very happy with the three Saturns and Honda that we've owned - they were all very reliable vehicles.

Good luck car shopping!

You may have better luck buying from a private party than a dealer......cars in that price range are very popular and the good ones sell fast. Check the newspaper, the bulletin board at the grocery store or just let many people know you are looking for a good used car! I found one for my dd from a co-worker....I mentioned at lunch that we were looking and he let me know his wife was expecting their 3rd baby so they were buying a minivan and selling a 1995 Lumina with 80,000 miles---it was a great car for $1200!

Also, spend the money and get the car checked by a certified mechanic BEFORE you buy it. Check transmission, head gasket, timing belt, brakes, exhaust, airbags, etc etc. In most states, used cars are sold AS IS, no lemon law protection, even from dealers. No 3 day right to rescind or cancel the sale either.....if it breaks in two, you own both halves!

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I would talk with your insurance company before buying any car. Over the years we've had many cars and presently have 6. I've found that the foreign vehicles have much higher insurance rates. Also, if you need any kind of repair work done to them it is much more expensive.

Personally I wouldn't own a foreign car again for the reasons stated above. Although I will be the first to admit my little 2000 red New Beetle was so cool and fun. We won it in a sweepstakes for Old Milwaukee beer and I had to beg my DH to keep it instead of selling it right away. I always tell people that every time it needed a repair we almost ended up in divorce court because he would give me this, "I told you so" song and dance. Oh well, it was a great 5 years driving it around.

My DS has a Dodge Stratus that he's been driving for over 2 yrs. It has 128000 miles on it and it still runs great!! It's also good on gas. He loves the car too. We had talked about getting him something else when he went to college but he said he's rather drive th Stratus til it dies!!

Jen

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When we took our oldest daughter car shopping (six years ago), we told her we would help her purchase a car as long as we approved of the vehicle and it was within our price range. Well....after shopping for weeks and having several heated discussions, she insisted on a little ford sports coupe. It was over the amount we could afford. So...that was the day our little girl learned a very valuable lesson. We did let her get the car, we helped her get the loan, and she learned that the only way she could keep the car was to get her first job. That was the best thing that we could have ever done for her. She went on to pay for the car, and became a very reliable employee of our local Pizza Hut! She appreciated that car, and took very good care of it. To this day, I am very proud of her work ethic and I think that by making her work and pay for her own car....she learned to be more independent. We did agree to pay for her car insurance as long as she remained on the honor roll at school (which she did). I work at a local High School and I have to say that nothing ticks me off more than to park in the parking lot and have a 16 year old pull in beside me with a brand new $20,000 car that mommy and dad bought for them. Its not fun when they drive a newer/better car than most of the teachers.

Good luck with whatever you decide to get. My 17 year old son drives DH's old 2000 black Camry. It's a great car...very reliable and even though it's eight years old, it looks pretty good still. DH got the Town and Country minivan. I've got the Caddy! ~Lisa

I have to disagree about the cost of maintaining a "foreign car". Maybe it's because I live in a metropolitan area, or maybe foreign means porshe or fiat. But we are a total TOYOTA family here. We have had 8 Toyotas since we were married and happy with each and every one of them. We never get rid of them until they are really old and have tons of miles. My DD is driving a 95 with 130,000 and it works like a top.
The only maintenance we have ever had to do is the regular oil, brakes, tires (maybe a battery) kind of thing and that is because we keep our cars forever. Finally her radiator broke last month but the car is 13 years old! With all our cars there is very little problems. I just love Toyotas.

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Take a look at a SMART car. I just love them and if my daughter was at a driving age I know that is what I would want for her (and she wants one too) They are sooooo cute.

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The biggest factor in buying my son's car was it had to have 2 air bags - I wanted my son and which ever friend he had tagging along to be safe.

Update- we found DD's first car. A VW bug was her heart's desire. We weren't really looking for one, but this one came our way. She is over the moon.

Super cute car If I didnt have kids I would love to zip around in one of those.

How cute! Glad she found something she's so excited about.

What a cute car! It sure beats my first car - a 1968 Datsun

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My daughter would be over the moon and then some. Bet you didn't stick to your $4,000-6,000 budget! My kids will probably not get that new of a car to start with, but I'm sure she's very pleased that you upgraded a little.

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It is actually a '99- just very shiny and in very nice shape- reasonable miles too. We did stay at the lower end of the budget. Now the extra expenses are adding up- sales tax, registration, insurance, inspection. We also bought a carfax report prior- and then carfax sold my email addy to a VW dealership near us!

For the first car, I ALWAYS recommend buying a very cheap, used import..

and when I say used, I mean, old and no more than $600.

The first car is usually always trashed in some way, shape or form as they learn to drive and experiment. However, some ppl don't have to worry to much about that happening, but in my experience EVERY one of our boys' first cars were always trashed within the first few months.
We bought their first one, and if they kept it a while, we would upgrade them. However, if they wrecked it, or trashed it by their own doing, the second was on them!

Mailady,
Oops, I just saw your post that you found her an adorable bug! How sweet! I bet she IS over the moon! I would be too! Lucky girl!!!

Cute car. My son's friend's sister got one for her first car.
Congratulations. I'm sure your daughter will have a lot of fun driving it.

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I want that bug for myself.....but not really a family car.

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