Last month my daughter passed her G2 road test, so we’re a four driver family now. It’s a good thing I’m still working from home because that same week she got a part time job at Canadian Tire. Now she takes the Caravan to be there at 4 or 5pm, when I would normally still be at work.
Additionally, my son is expecting to start his first university co-op work term in January. Uncertainty is high due to Covid, but if he manages to find a placement it may be remote and online or it may be in person.
A student car could be on the horizon for our family. Good grief, that would make 6 vehicles (even if 3 of them don’t get driven in the winter).
Before we get into this you should put this great blues track from Larry Garner on to get in the right frame of mind:
My criteria for a student car is that it must have a manual transmission and cost under $10k Canadian. Being slightly interesting would be a bonus, here’s what I’m thinking so far:
1 – Toyota Yaris. I think a student car should have some punitive quality to it, and a Yaris certainly fits that bill and is the cheapest thing to get the job done. These are tough little cars, regularly showing up in the classifieds with over 300,000km on them.
2 – Jeep TJ. This would have the benefit of being much, much cooler while still being punitive (or is that punishing?). The newest TJs were built in 2006 and rust is an issue around these parts. An un-rusted un-modified TJ commands a good price, and although a removable top may be a hit with young people will they enjoy the jouncy ride and vague handling?
3 – Mini Clubman. I’ve driven one of these and it was a hoot, the stretched Clubman version has more room for camping or loading a mountain bike through the split rear doors. Most ads for older Minis seem to include a long list of parts that were recently replaced, which is a bit disconcerting..
4 – Acura RSX. I really like these, one of my co-workers has one and it’s an enjoyable, reliable car. As I commented on David Saunders’ auction post a couple of days ago it is difficult to find one that’s not rusted or modded or both. And as you can see there is a hefty price premium for a nice example.
5 – Scion TC. Certainly not a looker like the RSX, but reliable Camry mechanicals wrapped in a coupe body could convey the right message for a young accountant. And the hatchback can still swallow the mountain bike and other bulky items.
6 – Honda Element. This is a bit of a wild card, these have really grown on me but I suspect the kids would be horrified. Most Elements I’ve seen for sale are used up with high kilometers, owners of good ones seem to cherish and hang on to them. Still, manual transmission and lots of space is a draw.
7 – Ford Focus / BMW 3 Series. Another idea is to let the kids drive our 2013 Focus and upgrade Mrs DougD’s car. Manual transmission – check! Sub $10k price – well……
So that’s it for now. Who knows what’ll happen but I’ve got a pretty big spread of vehicles to consider. Do you have any suggestions, warnings or encouragement on how a Dad can keep all these cars running?
I know they’re popular with kids, but as a parent a Wrangler would be about the last thing I’d want my kid to learn to drive in. Tricky handling, poor crash test results, and removable doors & roof don’t go well with teenagers’ risk assessment skills.
We’ve had Wranglers, and I don’t hate them, but they’re not ‘real cars’, they’re slightly nicer 4-wheeler & UTV replacements best left as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle. Plus I can’t imagine daily driving a vehicle with an uninsulated interior in Canadian winters.
Hoo boy – both a chore and a fun time are ahead for you.
Of the listed choices, my own favorite is the Element. Of course, I have an Element crush, so there’s that. Or the Jeep – you will be able to easily sell either if you ever need to, but I’m betting the Element will be the lower-upkeep choice.
My own two favorite kid-car choices are missing: The FoMoCo Panther or a 3.8 Buick. These are starting to get old but there are still nice senior-citizen owned cars which gets you a well maintained creampuff at the cost of something not terribly cool. OK, horribly un-cool. But cool costs. My three teens were unable to kill the 93 Crown Vic (not for lack of trying) and one is still driving the 06 Lacrosse even though he can probably afford to replace it by now. You will wrench on peripheral stuff but the main parts will run as long as you need them to and there will be some size around them.
If you really want to horrify them get an old minivan. There should indeed be a punitive aspect to a kid car – especially when kid is not buying it.
A friend of mine bought a 08 Lacrosse for his 20 yr old daughter, Bought it from a senior citizen relative. Nice car, for a GM product. But the serpentine belt tensioner on the 3.8 is leaking coolant so I’m gonna fix it as soon as he orders the parts.
Attractive daughter. Minivan. Would a father consider such a combination?
I try to avoid little dinky cars for teens and young 20-somethings for safety reasons, adhering to the mantra of “big, slow, boring” that’s often recommended for new, young drivers. Well, I’ll accept fast as long as it’s not superpowered, unless the teen in question has an aggressive streak. That usually leads me to big sedans, which conveniently are unpopular now so prices are low. My last recommendation for a new driver was a 2009 Ford Taurus Limited, top-line model in last year of the glassy body style with all the safety gear like stability control, built on a Volvo platform. I also like anything with the Buick 3800.
However, neither of those has a manual, and I agree it’s good to learn using one. What does a low-trim 2016 VW Golf go for in Canada? I drive a 2007 with the stick and love it – practical, economical, safe. Mine’s been reliable too, as most of the Wolfsburg-built cars were. There was much wider availability of manual transmissions in the Canadian Golf this past decade than there was in the otherwise similar US versions.
I shopped a Scion TC myself, it was my second choice behind the VW, and it’s a good choice for the reasons you mentioned. I looked at an Element too and found the front outward view to be odd, preferring the CR-V (some of which had manuals back then). The Element still pulls at me though because it’s sooo practical, even compared to other small crossovers. Huge side door opening when rear doors are swung out, and a high roof.
Huh. I just sold my 2012 Nissan Versa Hatchback SL with 35,000 kms and 6 speed manual (plus a set of winter tires mounted on body colored steelies) for $8000 to a fellow for the same reason. He bought it for his daughter who’s just starting university and also works part-time.
Good mileage, fun to drive due to the manual, and exceptionally good on gas. No repairs, and two recalls for seat rail and airbag sensors.
It’s worth looking into. Not the sedan, though, as the interior is cheaper, and is a 1.6L compared to the 1.8L in the hatch.
Whatever you pick,, though, hopefully gives you a good value proposition!
Good luck!
Lovey shot of your daughter, could have been taken when your Bug was new! Never the Jeep Wrangler, but perhaps a Cherokee? Hard to kill but getting hard to find a clean one. I’d say the Scion for sportiness and the ability to haul stuff. Also reduced passenger space to keep friends to minimum.
Congratulations to Miss De G!
From where I’m sitting, the Yaris. A good and practical (because hatchback) subcompact, cheap to run. Tough little car, as mentioned. What engine(s) do these have in Canada?
Looks like we get the 1.5 in Canada.
I’m very interested in this topic, since my oldest is 2.5 years away from age 16 when she can get her license. And inevitably, my wife and I have been talking about if/when to get a car for the kids to use.
Right now we have three cars, and part of the problem is that we feel like adding a fourth will be onerous (we had 4 at one point, which was too much for me at the time). Anyway, if we do end up looking for a car for our daughters, our criteria would likely be similar to yours. (Our older daughter wants a Kenworth, but that’s a bit unlikely…)
Of these cars you featured here, I really like the concept of the Element. It’s flexible, well-built, not tiny like a Yaris, not tippy like a Jeep, etc. I didn’t particularly like Elements when they first came out, but the cars grew on me after a while, and right now I look at them somewhat longingly. I don’t know how tough it is to find a manual transmission example, but this seems like the winner to me here. I don’t know if kids would be horrified by an Element or not… I guess it does sort of look like a Boomer-mobile, but I don’t view them as being embarrassingly outmoded for younger drivers.
I think I’d look at the Element first here, and the Scion second. I fear that the ownership experience of a Mini would be like a punishment that would make a young driver car-averse forever.
Please keep us informed — can’t wait to hear of your decision!
The problem withe Elements, as Doug already pointed out, is that they have a cult following, almost like VW buses. Meaning it can be quite hard to find ones that aren’t very high mileage.
Doug, these both meet your criteria (manual transmission, under $10k, and semi- to non-punitive) plus there would be minimal problem with resale. Another advantage is you would not care about a dent or two and both are quite usable for other tasks you may have. Both are in Toronto.
An admittedly different vein of thought, but I have seen variations of this done by people I know…like light beer, it may not be for everyone.
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/city-of-toronto/2010-ford-ranger-sport/1528478737
Or, if you want to go all out…
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/city-of-toronto/1996-dodge-ram-3500/1532347585
I don’t offer the Ranger in jest (although I stumbled upon the second, which did meet criteria!) – my sister had a ’92 that got her through college for both her BS and MS degrees and it was ideal for her.
Yeah I think about a Ranger occasionally, it barely missed the cut for the post. Again it’s hard to find a good one and my 2WD 1988 Ranger was so horrible in the snow I don’t know if I’d inflict RWD on the kids. On the other hand you can do donuts in the snow, so you can see my conflict here.
Our Wrangler (a JK, admittedly) has worked out very well so far for our daughter – the 2door is small enough so that when a group wants to go somewhere they take someone else’s car, easy to see out of, durable and easy to find parts for when or if something happens, body on frame so it’s solid and at a similar or greater height than most other vehicles, simple to park, easy to see the corners of, mechanicals that can be fixed easily and cheaply (no choice once over 100k miles or a decade old is really completely bulletproof), and they hold their value even with a dent (just fib it happened on the Rubicon, probably adds value).
However I am glad it has traction and stability control. It simply will never get stuck, but is twitchy enough that the electronics can come into play.
The biggest factor is simply your daughter’s maturity and training level. If she’s smart and responsible enough as surely any DeGelder is, then a Jeep won’t be a problem.
But you left off the dark horse! – that metallic blue 4cylinder and automatic ’92 Mustang with snow tires and low miles that will surely be for sale soon in a province a couple to your west…
I hadn’t thought of that, the NWT dealer sign almost makes up for the automatic transmission.
And a mere 34 hours away, if we leave now DS may be done with it by the time we get there 😉
Road trip!
I’m sure he’d meet you halfway. There must be a bus or something for him to get back afterwards. 😀
I’d be game if he was. 🙂
I’d have to go with the Element or Yaris. Then the tC, which you may recall was on my short list before I bought the 3g Fit. Son No. 2 and his wife drive an Element, and love it.
Element, Yaris, tC. We picked same cars in same order
A friend of mine has an identical Element (a 2004, I think) that he bought a few years ago with over 200,000 km on the clock. He does most of the maintenance himself, and it continues to give him great service with few issues.
I’m not a good person to offer advice on this topic, as neither of our kids got cars until after COLLEGE graduation. Nor did my wife, and I got my first car as a college junior. But 3 of those 4 cars were MT, all 4 cylinder, none 4wd. I vote for the Yaris. BTW, 3 and 4 years later, respectively, both kids are still driving the same cars which were hand-me-downs (well, in one case a sell-me-down) from us. 12 and 20 years old now and still running fine.
Being a university sophomore, I feel that my car-owning future will be similar to the one in your family. 😀
Although I would for sure want a car, the rational thinking/family tradition still wins and grounds me down. The closest I was to owning a car was this summer when I was allowed to drive the company vehicles home. I had two for two weeks and one for a month. The fairly new white Citroen vans are not exactly what I would choose, but the company paid for all the fuel and I had my share of fun with them. As in the saying ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’.
At home we’re 4 drivers with 2 cars, most of the time at least one is accessible. So why bother, some would say.
Anyway, from the list mentioned above the Yaris or Element would be my pick. In Europe there was a 1.8 98 kW Yaris TS version, but I think the 1.5 for such a light car is enough. An ilustrational listing of one TS ~80km from me:
https://auto.bazos.sk/inzerat/115790479/toyota-yaris-ts-18-98kw.php
Why aren’t those kids buying their own car(s)?
Advise-and-consent from The Bank of Mom and Dad, with a known upper limit on the loan. The kids pay off the loan over an agreed-upon time frame. If they’re both paying down the same car, great. Otherwise, they can pay-down their separate cars.
Mom and Dad may subsidize (full or partial) some repairs/upkeep, and insurance. Probably zero interest rate. Christmas and Birthdays get some dollars knocked-off the loan.
Mom and Dad DO NOT buy gas and oil.
Cars given to kids have no value, and are treated like crap. Youtube is full of videos of stupid rich kids wrecking their toys. When the kid has to work to afford the car, you’ve not given them a vehicle, you’ve given them one of the best life-lessons instead.
The trigger for this will be if our son lands an accounting co-op job for January-April 2021. (BTW he’s in the middle of looking for one now if anyone has a lead!!)
We can make do for now, but I won’t feel bad providing a vehicle if necessary for several reasons:
– We encouraged our kids to work as wilderness camp counselors during their high school summers. It didn’t pay well but the experience and character development was worth it, and there’s plenty of time in life for a normal job later.
– Owning a vehicle is way more costly now then when I was a teen (at least here in Ontario Canada). Just insurance alone, I paid $150 per year for my first car. I think it’s about $1,500 each just to add the kids to our insurance, and it will be more when they’re primary driver.
– Thankfully I had a reasonable amount of assistance from my parents during my post secondary education years. Mrs DougD had zero assistance and it made her life unnecessarily difficult. So our deal is work hard, get results and we will help you. I think that’s a pretty good life lesson, it’s working well so far.
I had zero assistance. I drove a cab at night and went to school during the day. Then I had to work overseas to pay my student loans.
It builds character.
My two adult boys are both in university. I provide housing and food but I make them pay their tuition. At UBC, it’s C$5000 a year. They both work as restaurant servers and make plenty to cover their fees.
I think it depends a whole lot more on how you’ve raised your kids, starting well before they turn 16. If you’ve raised a spoiled brat, not giving them a car isn’t going to change that and if you’ve raised grateful and respectful kids giving them a car isn’t going to turn them into spoiled brats.
Speaking of ungrateful kids reminds me of a story from several years ago. The 17 year old had been given a new BMW when he turned 16 and If I remember right it was a M. Apparently he decided that he wanted a new car, forget what it was, Dad said no, you’ve got a car that is more than fine.
So the kid hatched a plan, he gave the key to some other kids from school, telling them they could take what they want and get rid of the rest. So they took it out in the woods removed the seats, tires/wheels and set it on fire.
Lets see. Arson, Insurance fraud.
I’m sure it didn’t happen, but I can only hope the kid and his pals found themselves suited up in orange for their new summer jobs in highway beautification!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Sad to say, I know of a similar story out in Southern California. A kid was unhappy that his parents had given him a lowly Honda Civic, so he kept disconnecting the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) to set a fault code in an attempt to convince Mom the car was a lemon. Of course, the PCM failure record showed the car parked and idling each time the code set, so the dealer wasn’t buying it.
After that approach failed, the car was mysteriously “stolen” and someone pushed it over a cliff above the Pacific Ocean (I assume it was the kid, but who knows…). I saw the car after the wreck- Every body panel bashed, and the ocean waves had driven gravel inside the instrument cluster bezel.
I saw a ’95 Toyota Tercel on the road in the GTA last week so my vote is for the Yaris. I’d actually suggest you look for a Corolla – they’re all over the place in Canada so it shouldn’t be much trouble to find one for your daughter. With snow tires it would be a safe, economical and reliable ride – exactly what you probably want for your daughter.
Go with the Element. Great when they go off to college or get their own apartment.
Would like to get one with a manual transmission, if possible. Today, so few kids can handle a stick shift.
TJs, in my experience, are not great winter vehicles. The short wheelbase and high centre of gravity are not confidence inspiring.
Pickup trucks seem to be a vehicle of choice for teenagers here. Fuel economy is pretty poor if she is passing her own running costs.
What makes more sense is likely a vehicle of Mazda 3 hatchback or Toyota Corolla size. The later might be harder to find in manual transmission guise.
You had to ask? She’s standing in front of it. 🙂
Ha, I might do that to my kids but I don’t think I’d do that to the car, since old VWs dissolve in salt water. 🙁
That was my thought, too.
They were popular kid cars back when I began driving.
We didn’t know any better back then, but I think a modern kid would find the punitive factor very high once the novelty wore off.
I’d be wary of setting up a kid with one now because of the price of survivors and the safety features of modern vehicles.
My son just turned 16, and has no interest in my ultra-cool crusty-rusty F100. He would much rather drive my grayscale Subaru.
I’d vote for the Yaris or the Tc. Neither is very exciting but both are dead reliable and good values. Nothing worse for new drivers or parents of new drivers than an unreliable car. Honda Fit and the other members of the Scion clan also fit this bill. Also if I’m going to get really upset if my new driver gets in a fender bender with this car, I’ve spent too much money on the car.
The photo of your daughter with the Beetle is terrific. It looks like it could have been taken in 1973.
A Scion TC is a great student car. I’d be worried about the Yaris in an accident, the body is made out of aluminum foil you know. My oldest had one of the pictured generation and while it was fun and zippy, it really just didn’t feel all that safe.
I’d avoid the TJ, that’s an awful lot to hand a new driver in the winter.
I just remembered that my niece, who came of driving age in the late eighties in rural Ontario, started with a Hyundai Pony – 4 cylinder, manual, rear wheel drive. I think she still drives a Hyundai thirty years later.
you can get a brand new base Chevy Spark or brand new base Nissan Micra for about 10k Canadian that come with full warranty and no surprises.
My vote would be for the Focus and a new car for mom. Presumably your daughter has done a fair amount of driving in the Focus while learning and that familiarity is a good thing for a new driver.
The second choice of this bunch would be the Yaris, in general they are cheap and reliable as long as they have been half way maintained. It should also be cheap to insure with a 16 yo driver.
Of course as Jason noted Panthers are a good choice and that is what my kids got as their first cars and they are still driving them many years later.
My vote is the Yaris, or a Corolla, both manuals, or a Camry. Any high mileage car you roll risk of a tranny replacement, which would cost close to what a hooptee would cost. And with a manual they pay more attention.
For you and the missus, while I like the way Beamers look and drive, I wouldn’t want to maintain one!
Most of the cars on your list will most likely be money pits, unless your daughter is mechanically inclined, especially the Mini and BMW. The only exceptions might be the Yaris, Focus, and maybe the Scion if you can find one in good shape.
The Hondas are too old, rust will be a problem and many of the rubber parts like bushings will need to be replaced. I had a friend with an RSX, the power windows didn’t work and it didn’t seem to age well. The Scions I see don’t look well taken care of either. They all seem to have the plastic piece above the licence plate broken and hanging by wires and the fart can exhaust belching smoke. Better off with a Camry or Corolla.
PIck something heavier with a good crash rating than any of your choices here. You want something with a barely adequate motor, low center of gravity and crush room for the inevitable one car wreck or accident with another vehicle, i.e. non-hoonable and safe. No way would I get that Jeep.
A Century, Malibu, Fusion or 300 with the V-6
This is my reaction as well. Here’s a recent list of recommended vehciles for teen drivers from the IIHS and Consumer Reports: https://www.iihs.org/ratings/safe-vehicles-for-teens
There won’t be many manual transmissions available in these vehicles, so my recommendation is that your children learn on your hobby cars. I love driving manuals myself, and I’ve always had at least one in my personal fleet.
I’m not so sure though that teens really need to learn to drive manuals, as they will inevitably become obsolete, something like the slide rule that I learned to use in high school but was phased out by the handheld calculator by the time I was halfway through college.
Great photo by the way — your daughter is lovely and the composition is superb!
I am in agreement with those recommending the Yaris. One point to consider…isn’t the Mazda2 basically the same car? If so, that may open more possibilities for you and Mazda resale values are not as high as those of the equivalent Toyota.
My daughters, now in their mid-twenties, shared a series of VW Jetta sedans and our experience with them was quite good. They handle well, are safe (we know this from experience: the first Jetta was totaled in a chain-reaction accident 30 days after we bought it), and the B5 generation (2005-2010) is pretty reliable, especially in five-cylinder form. Manual transmissions were standard, (though ours were equipped with an automatic in anticipation for use as a commuter car in a major metro area) and Jettas so equipped may be more common in Canada than here in the U.S. Both daughters ended up in New York after college and had no need for a car, so we sold the last one for a surprisingly high price.
It’s a second gen Yaris (XP90-series) model years 2006 – 2011, no Mazda connection.
The last Yaris available in the US was Mazda 2 based, that was not the case in other markets.
We bought a Yaris 3 door manual trans new in 2007, and it was a fantastic car in every way. Was very fun to drive with the stick and had plenty of legroom for me in the front, which is rarely the case. Still my wife’s favorite car she ever owned, although shoulder issues make a manual a no go for her now.
Well done on the test!
Mini or Element – should be dependable, something a bit different if still practical, not over powered enough to cause “young person traffic moments”.
We bought a 2018 Focus Titanium for our new 16 year old high school student. She wanted a small car, we wanted a safe car. She wanted a fun car, we wanted an affordable car. She wanted a lot of options, we wanted a car that could be given to one of the twins in a few years. She wanted a Fiat because they are “cute”, we wanted something dependable.
We buy domestic brands for the economy and the ecology. It is better to shop local than ship global.
This is a great question! First off, the Mini. I happen to be in University, and I happen to have two friends with Mini Coopers! Well, one just sold his, so I’m down to one Mini owning friend. One has a Mini Cooper S, first gen in Indi blue with a manual. The other was a slightly newer Cooper John Cooper Works, both of them lightly modified. Both needed some substantial work, and the Cooper S has some rust issues that are apparently common to them on the quarter panels.
My friend with the Cooper S had an E39 540i M-Sport 6 Speed before that, and let me use it to practice driving stick, but decided he wanted something less broken. I probably wouldn’t recommend a Mini just based on the fact that they seem to need a fair amount of work. (I spent some time over Thanksgiving weekend helping my friend re-fit his right front suspension assembly…) They are an absolute blast to drive though, no question about it, and not awfully unpractical.
Have you considered a newer Jetta, Golf, Golf wagon or Passat? I found a few on Autotrader under $10K with a manual, and with reasonable mileage, and they seem fairly popular. Or an Acura CSX (or even TSX)? If you want something safe, they are a good bet. The 8th gen Civic EX-L (same generation as the CSX) we had for a short period of time was written off in a side on impact and my mother walked away with only bruises.
My other recommendation would be a Mazda 3. We had a 2014 Mazda 3 Sport GT for a few years, and it was a blast to drive. (Automatic, which we prefer, but I’m sure the manual is fun too!). Pretty good on gas, as well, and very reliable.
Toyota is also a very good bet, I have friends with Matrix’s and they like them quite a lot, and they’ve been very reliable. One actually had a manual Yaris 2 door he got rid of when he recently got a Fiesta ST, and he quite enjoyed the Yaris.
Admittedly, none of these are particularly interesting choices, but hopefully something fun and interesting is found! And as a side note, I agree about insurance here in Ontario! Amusingly, I happen to know my broker, so he lets me just send him random stuff I’m interested in for a quote, and it comes out to basically the same rate for whatever I would drive. My ’16 A4 allroad? Same rate as if I was to buy a E39 540i or a Mercedes W124 wagon, despite the allroad being safer than both, and less powerful than the 540i.
That Acura is a nice car if you can get it reasonable.
I wouldn’t go with any of those. My daughter would be driving a VW Golf, Jetta, or Hyundai Elantra GT with 7 or 8 airbags! Those all came in 5-speeds with excellent safety records.
Not sure where you’ve gotten the impression these cars have poor safety records, but I imagine any of them would be comparable to the same year VW or Hyundai. I’m familiar with the Element’s safety rating, and it’s as good as any of the competitions:
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/honda/element-4-door-suv/2007
Back in the day, both of my girls got to drive… a Cavalier! Imagine that…
May I humbly suggest something depending upon your tastes and budget? A late model Sonic would be a very handy little car and pretty safe with having 7 or 10 airbags. I’m a little leery of the Ford Fiesta, actually leery of the trans from Hell. Possibly find a manual version?
Or a 6-10 year old Malibu. Nice size, good fuel economy, not too quick, but not so slow as it can’t get out of it’s own way. See also: Ford Fusion.
Just a couple of thoughts. You know your daughter best, so it’s on you, Dad. 🙂
“Student Car.” This feature reminds me of the 1991 Escort I bought as a car for me and our two teens years back. Poor car was in two different collisions on two different corners of the body with the oldest daughter at the wheel and I had her pay for repairs.
Then my son turning a corner at a good pace got into loose gravel hit a parked pickup damaging a third corner of the car. Yes, he paid for the repairs too. The Escort was looking pretty good after all that body work until I was rear-ended by an impaired driver.
The moral of my story, don’t buy too nice a vehicle for your teenager/student. There is a good chance they will bend some sheetmetal.
Of these I’d go for the Yaris, Scion or the Acura. The Yaris and Scion would take teenage abuse well and are cheap and easy to fix. The Acura actually looks really well cared for and might be my favorite, but the price is a bit much for a car of that age. The Element might not be too bad, but fuel economy would be worse than the other three. I’d avoid the Jeep and the Mini like the plague.
You could always let her drive your retro-stang, Doug. 😉
All kidding aside, I think I agree with Vince above regarding the choices here, being most partial to the TSX, and then the TC.
Re: punitive- You should have seen Middle Daughter’s face when I told her I was giving her my Isuzu Pickup.
Here’s a not-mentioned choice. Pontiac Vibe. Toyota reliability without Toyota resale value.
I’d run, not walk away from any Mini unless you have the time, money and wrenching skills to keeping on the road. I really wanted one, so bought a 2 year old 6 spd base model. Fun to drive but what a pile of crap! It’s crazy expensive to run – the tires got under 20K of tread life, and I wasn’t hooning. It was constantly needing repairs and I sold the car with only 70K miles after $4k USD in repairs in one year. Do yourself a huge favor and buy a nice older Honda Fit.
Well, that evaporated fast. Let’s see if it ever shows up.
To continue… A former coworker bought himself a new jeep and a kidney belt to go with it. His words. Roof off, doors off gets old fast especially in the rear seat in full wind. He wound up buying another car for the 70km commute on Hamilton and gta roads. “I was peeing blood every weekend” is how he put it. Funny though, thirty years later and he daily drives a Jeep.
Another friend had a mini. Bought it new and drove it to the poor house. He said he had enough and sold it before it broke again. Nickle and dime you to death he said. Except nickles were 500 and dimes 1000.
You are two years late for my 06 Sentra. 5spd, cruise, air, everything worked, oil sprayed new struts all around lower control arms ball joints, bushings, brakes and exhaust. I even took care of the infamous 2006 fuel pump issue. Trailer hitch for the occasional trailer use, roof racks for the canoe, summer and winter tires too. Whatever the car needed over the years I owned it. I never connected with it. The final straw was another loose ball joint from the sink hole under the level crossing on Ottawa St. N. I ordered the parts and bought another car too. The Sentra sat around with no interest as far as buyers go. Probably due to the three pedals. I called up my best friend and offered it to him for $500 and it breezed through the safety check. He drove it for almost two years and sold it for twice what he paid for it.
I appreciate the local perspective 🙂
If an Element is what you’re after, Legends on Melvin has a grey and blue one $5995 and it’s been sitting there a while. Might be able to force a move. Haven’t looked closely at it though. Most likely automatic.
The comment I started with that evaporated was about the lack of feel and effort on Toyota’s clutch pedals. I drove the Yaris’ predecessor, an Echo with 5spd, and the clutch pedal had all the feel of stepping on a dry sponge. It was like I suddenly couldn’t drive anymore until i learned to judge it by pedal height. After that it was a blast.
From this list, my choices would be the Element, followed by the Scion. Perhaps the Acura too, if you can find one that hasn’t been thrashed by aggressive drivers. In any case, I expect the Acura would still be a cop-magnet.
Forget the BMW and Mini money-pits. The Yaris is a reliable but tiny, tinny death-trap.The Jeep is nasty handling and rollover-prone.
Considering safety, reliability, comfort, and fuel economy, my top choice would be a boring 4-cylinder Camry.
Happy Motoring, Mark
More airbags good. Probably the tC, as others have said definitely not the Jeep. (Had a Ranger made the list I’d suggest a “no!” on that too – not the best in an accident to say the least.
My #1Son insisted on a stick. (Smart kid if I do say so!). If you can find a 2004-2008 generation Mazda 6 with a stick it’s a good first car. Fun to drive, not too much power, new enough to be reasonably safe in a crash. I like the wagons but probably even harder to find with a stick. We got him an 06 and 8 years and 2 more kids later, it’s my dd. Biggest downside is it really really needs a sixth gear as it’s running >3,500 rpm at 65mph.
My friend bought his daughter a car with a manual transmission.
He doesn’t want her on the phone while she’s driving.
There are statistics that show that new drivers using sticks do have fewer accidents. IIRC it wasn’t just about phones etc.; the required extra attention helped in and of itself.
Fascinating discussion. Your daughter with the VW is reminiscent of Paul’s Vintage Snapshot:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/vintage-snapshot-margaret-ransohoff-with-her-first-car/
Scroll down to see her pristine VW Cabriolet beetle.
When my niece became legal to drive, I suggested to the bro that he get an Olds Cutlass Ciera station wagon; something so homely she would rather walk. After a fleet version burned out its electrical system during a site visit, my ardor for that idea cooled. Her parents did something worse: her mom got herself a new Cooper Mini, and gave the niece the old Mazda minivan (with broken heater coil), which she silently drove until my wife sold her the 2007 Subaru Impreza in 2017. Somehow she managed to bollix the transmission (!) within a year, and now abusing/neglecting her Honda Fit and yet it’s running fine still.
I vote for the Element because at some point she will have to move herself from home to dorm and back and elsewhere. People have suggested a Corolla, and I would suggest a Subaru for the AWD and the Impreza hatch can haul a lot of stuff (I moved my future wife from CT to NC in 2009 in one trip with that car), and the only problem during those years was a failed alternator. I don’t think Subarus come with stick though.
We bought a 2007 Mazda 3 hatchback for my 17-year-old stepson this summer. 114,000 miles for $6,000. He’s not into cars at all, but I wanted him to have something decent, plus we figured the hatchback would be handy when he goes off to college next year. It’s a sharp little car that I’ve enjoyed driving.
I wouldn’t put anybody I cared about in a Yaris. Take a look at this crash test video between a Yaris and a Camry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1BD3FrEJs
One of my best friends, ignoring my advice when buying a car for his daughter, bought her a Yaris several years ago. In 35 years of friendship, this was one of the only times I was genuinely angry with him. Fortunately, she didn’t have that car for long.
Picture didn’t take the first time.
Resized:
Having had one, that 2009 Mini Clubman S (ours was a JCM) may be a blast to drive but it was a maintenance nightmare & the parts were ridiculously expensive. (PCV valve? Nah, you buy a whole valve cover for $450! Water pump $1600?) Lease only!
And as for that ‘building character sh*t’, I’m 64 & had I gotten a few more breaks & a bit fewer ‘character building exercises’ back in the day I might not be so bitter & pissed off today…
Are you paying for the insurance? I wouldn’t be surprised if insuring a new driver in a Wrangler is prohibitively expensive, for many very good reasons. The Element would be a great choice if nice ones weren’t expensive. Maybe you can find a nice 2005 or 2006 CR-V with a K24 and a manual if you are lucky. They aren’t quite the cult classics that Elements are. I’d scratch the Mini Cooper for reasons of reliability and upkeep. Don’t let your daughter get stranded. The others all seem like viable choices to me.
I did exactly this and it wasn’t prohibitive, my insurer automatically rates the new driver on the least valuable vehicle. The vehicle with the least value was my truck and it made that truck’s insurance go way up compared to before but she could have been driving my 911 and the insurance would be the same.
That being said I would certainly get quotes for a few of the contenders to see if and how that plays into things.
None of those car choices appeal to me. I forgot who said it, but a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis sounds like a great first car for a Canadian youth.
That said, I know it’s a long hike to California, but there was a schweeeeet first car on “Barn Finds”.
A stripper ‘89 Tercel coupe, with 5-speed, and only 32k miles. On Craigslist for $5900. With student ID, $5700.
Heck, if I had a daughter, I’d consider a road trip for it, myself.
My middle sister’s former car (except in red and with automatic, none of my sisters ever drove standard). Only Toyota anyone in my family owned, same sister is on her 2nd 240SX she bought new in 1997, youngest sister had a 200SX and a 240SX before she passed away, my first and only Japanese car was a 1974 Datsun 710, so guess we’re more of a Nissan family. Middle sister didn’t keep the Toyota long, it had odd problem with heat shield under catalytic converter missing cause carpeting on the car to smolder (and maybe some of the wiring, been too long and I’ve forgotten). Middle sister is going on age 56, this would have been around 1991 or so.
Back then as only brother, and interested in cars, it was my “job” to help my two younger sisters pick out cars, while in college and early career after. I had fun doing it, but they kind of had the “opposite” problem than you, in that neither drove standard, wanted a small car (they are/were short of stature) and of course wanted something to fit their “style”. Back then most small cars still came with standard transmission, and automatics were still not common in them, plus, living in central Texas, people would put mega-miles on them as inexpensive commuters, so most had gobs of miles on them. Plus, the “style” foiled purchase of several otherwise qualified vehicles so finding candidates really did take time (plus pre-(common) internet in those days).
My role kind of petered out after my middle sister bought her first 240SX back in 1995. My youngest sister already owned a 240SX and of course we had to show it to her for approval, since 2 sisters with the same model could be a faux-pas, but youngest sister loved the idea. We drove to San Antonio to get the car, it was the day after the singer Selena was killed…we didn’t know who Selena was at the time, likely we were the only 2 people in San Antonio who were not familiar with her at that time, the salesman was commenting about it and both my middle sister and I looked at each other with our faces asking “who is Selena?”. After that both sisters started buying new cars and didn’t need (or think to ask for) big brother’s help for that task…but I still look back on that time fondly.
I would consider a Matrix/Vibe, manual transmission if you can find it rust free. The vVibe would probably be cheaper because: a) orphan brand discount, b) GM brand discount but it still has old school Toyota underpinnings that will be reliable at a not Toyota cost. It’s also a hatchback with folding rear seats, so it’s very practical, can seat 5 in a pinch, but is small enough to park easily.
My brother is the Vibe guy in our family, he’s had 4 or 5 of them so they’re not very interesting to me.
I also detest GM quite strongly, between the cars our family had in the 80’s and working in the industry in the 00’s. I can’t say I’d NEVER buy a GM vehicle, but it would take quite a bit for me to go there.