The car market is huge, with endless options for cars. Considering what the best first car would be is hard because there are a lot of things to consider.
The easiest decision is used or new. Used cars are much more affordable for a teenage budget. Along with this, wrecks are more common with younger drivers and crashing a used car is much less expensive than crashing a shiny new car from the dealership.
When buying a used car, it’s important to check mileage. As a baseline if the mileage is over 100,000, you might want to consider a different car.
It’s also important to find a dependable car like a Mazda, Honda, Chevy, or Ford. Instead of focusing on how the car looks or the paint job, it’s much more important to make sure the car will last you as long as possible. Find a car that has a reputation of being dependable, cheap to fix, and durable.
“I drive a Chevy hatchback, and I love it. It’s small. I haven’t had any problems with it. I think it will last a long time,” said senior Sanai Mondie.
Some of the newer car models actually tend to fall apart sooner than earlier models. The optimal year of the car should be somewhere between 2000 and 2015. It’s cheaper this way as well.
My first car was a manual transmission instead of an automatic. This is why I’m biased on this issue. Driving a manual transmission allowed me to better understand the workings of my car and have better control over the motor. It made me a better driver, so I recommend a manual transmission.
When buying your first car, make sure to take it on a test drive and look and listen carefully for any damage, unusual sounds, or malfunctions in operation. Do background checks on the cars you’re looking to buy, and make sure they haven’t been in any serious accidents.
Gas mileage should be low on your first car. No one has the money to spend $40 on gas twice a week. Good gas mileage would be considered around 20-25 MPG.
My first car was a 2005 manual Mazda 3. It has good gas mileage, a smaller build, is dependable and cheaper to fix if anything is damaged. It is also a less expensive car that can fit the budget of high schoolers. I would recommend it to anyone who asks for advice on their first car.
