Car Buying 101 for New Drivers

If you have a teen driver in your family, you may want to get your child a car of his or her own. For many parents, that means getting a more affordable pre-owned automobile.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, about 83 percent of parents who purchased an automobile for their teen driver bought a previously owned car. Every year, the institute creates a list of safe vehicles for teens that’s broken down into two categories: best and good. If you look over the current iteration of that list, you’ll notice that some of the vehicles can be found in our pre-owned car inventory, including the Toyota RAV4.

Safety Ratings

While the IIHS list is certainly helpful, you shouldn’t solely rely on it to choose a previously owned vehicle for your teenager, as there are many other things you should consider. A given car’s safety ratings are one additional thing you should think about. It’s important to research the ratings a vehicle received from the IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Size, Weight, and Power

In addition to safety ratings, you should also consider a previously owned vehicle’s size and weight. As a general rule, it’s advisable to look for larger, heavier automobiles when you’re shopping for a young motorist.

When you visit our Toyota dealership serving Des Plaines, IL, we’ll tell you that you also need to consider how powerful a pre-owned car’s engine is. If the engine emits enough horsepower that your teenager might be tempted to push his or her limits, you may want to move onto another previously owned model.

To learn more about the things you should keep in mind when you’re shopping for a pre-owned automobile for a teen driver, get in touch with our dealers at Schaumburg Toyota today.