The Safest Used Cars For Teens Under $10,000

Every now and then, it hits me that in about three years, my oldest will be able to get her learner’s permit. And then it *really* hits me: OMG, what will she drive? We have an older car that we can hopefully keep in shape to pass off to her, but what if it’s no good by then? If we do have to buy her a new car, where do we start? You want your kid to be safe on the road, but you also have to consider your own budget and find something that will last (fingers crossed) until they’re on their own.

And all of it sounds super overwhelming.

But in a recent Consumer Reports piece, the publication came up with a great list for parents of teen drivers — these cars are safe, they’re used, and they’re under $10,000. And that sounds like relief to me.

Not only did they utilize braking and emergency handling tests to evaluate these used cars for teens, but Consumer Reports also made sure every car considered had standard electronic stability control (ESC). This is a proven safety feature that has been standard on all new vehicles since the 2012 model year, and the publication says it should be a must-have for any vehicle a teen drives.

In its rankings, Consumer Reports also excluded subcompact cars and other vehicles under 2,750 pounds, as research has found that these vehicles don’t provide adequate protection. And since teens are four times as likely as older drivers to be in a car accident, that kind of research matters. The report also doesn’t include large SUVs or pickup trucks as they can be difficult to handle in emergency situations and also have “longer braking distances.”

And finally, the report focused on what the publication calls the “Goldilocks” of cars. These options tap into all the safety features you want a teen driver to have, especially those designed to actively prevent collisions and those meant to be the most protective if a crash occurs. Think forward collision warnings and blind spot warnings — these cars also received good ratings on “driver’s-side small-overlap front crash test.”

Here are a few of the car models Consumer Reports recommended for teens: