Replacement car for my daughter

My 16 y/o daughter hit a deer driving home from work and totaled her first car, a 2013 Altima (she was not injured). I don’t know much about small cars, I drive a tundra and wife has an armada, so I’m looking for opinions for her replacement car. She likes volkswagens and wants either a golf or a Jetta. As the practical parent, I’m looking at dependability and ability to do maintenance myself. I am mechanically inclined but I am behind the times technologically.
Also, trying to keep cost reasonable. Not buying new but would like to find something that can potentially get her all the way through college.
Interested to hear everyone’s thoughts.

 

Glad to hear that she was not injured.

If she needs AWD, I would get her a Subaru. They are very safe.

 

I will echo the Subaru, really good cars and good their value in my opinion. If you can find a low mileage tdi Jetta that’s AWD you’re set, especially with a 5 or 6 speed manual (although I don’t know if she likes or wants to drive stick).

 

hybird, she will thank you when she pay for gas later...

 

As the father of 3 daughters myself I'm glad to hear your's is ok. If AWD is a must, definitely a Subaru. Otherwise I would say a 2006-2013 Corolla, Camry, Civic or Accord. And unless VW has changed since I had my last one, a 2003-2004 (?) GTi VR6 straight from Wolfsburg, I wouldn't recommend one if reliability is a criteria.

 

Even better would be a non-plug in hybrid.

 

I like the Jetta also, I used to have a TDI before the lawsuit. However, in that situation its hard to argue against civic or corolla.

 

Corolla/civic is highly recommended by me if your ok with FWD.

Subaru for AWD.

I wouldn’t want to have a German car for a beginner driver. They’re expensive to maintain.

 

Toyota suv have 4wd hybrid

 

100% this. Not only are they expensive to maintain, they require more of said expensive maintenance. There’s a reason they have no resale value.

hybrid anything, with the exception of the Prius, have lower resale as well. Personally, I’m not a big fan of hybrids as you have to deal with all the BS of an ICE car (oil changes, gasoline etc) AND all the BS of an electric car (batteries, inverters etc).

I like simplicity so one or the other. But due to cost concerns I would stick with ICE for the time being.

Corolla is a SOLID car as is a civic. The subarus are pretty good as well but not really on that level of reliability.

 

I can’t argue with this. Anything from Honda or Toyota is a win. Once you get past the image of Subarus, they are a rockin car. Just be prepared to do head gaskets at 100k.

 

As you know already with daughters Altima .. a older 2010 - 2015 ish altima or better yet maxima (bigger-safer) are great cars that can legit get 300k or better.

 

Your statement clarifies what I was getting at re: a VW. The VR6 I had was an absolute blast for a skilled, experienced driver and produced many a smile for the 8 years I owned it but it came with a price. Beautiful car but I had to maintain it rigorously. It all added up and that doesn't sound like what the OP wants for his daughter. VW hasn't changed afaik.

 

My preference for a daily driver for a young adult would be:

- V6 Accord
- 2012 Camry (believe that was last year before redesign) - correct me if I’m wrong…but that generation of Camrys
- Post 2016 Kia/Hyundai
- Most any Civic
- Most any VW
- Subarus


The big reason VW/Subaru fall lower on the list is simply repair cost/parts.Toyota/Honda have them beat in parts pricing/availability.

 

My first car was a Corolla and I loved it. My daughter just turned 16 and we bought her a 2007 4runner. We got a great deal from a family member and it’s very safe. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate at all to get her a Corolla, civic or Subaru.

 

My preference would be any compact sedan or coupe from Toyota, Honda or Hyundai/Kia, in that order. Some Mazdas and Subarus could be good but I trust them less.

 

2011 was the last of the round style Camry. 12-14 was more angular, then 15-17 was rounded off again

 

Glad that she’s ok. My daughter absolutely loves the Prius.

 

RAV4/Highlander

 

Out of those two, I’d pick Rav4. smaller and easier to drive/park and also fits the younger person profile. Highlander is a “mom’s” car.

 

I could not have said it better.

Personally I went for an Corolla as they have been reliable a hell. All have exceeded 200,000 miles. One went to 275,000. Plus my current Corolla XRS get 28 to 32 mpg around town. 39 on the highway.
Plus Corolla's are safe. A step up (in cost too) would be the Camery. I have had owner Civics. The Si are nice.

 

I could see that. I wonder if the Highlander has a similar footprint as the car she had prior. I like them both as they were available with a V6, and the Highlander is fancier. Interestingly, it's not considered a "Mom's Car" here in the mountains. Subarus are though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

 

Had an 03 Camry for 11 years. Put ~250k miles on it (275k total) & was going for 300k when I hit a deer & totaled it. That car sold me on Toyota (then got the Tundra).

When my daughter turned 16, I bought an 03 Solara (Camry coupe basically) from a buddy for 500 bucks. No WAY she was gonna learn to drive using the truck lol. Solara had 187k on it. No brainer. At that age, learning to drive (and still learning to think), she’s bound to make mistakes & get in accidents. I say do it on a junker that you don’t care about.

She got into no less than 4 minor fender benders/accidents in a couple years’ time (only 1 wasn’t her fault).

A cheap Camry or Corolla (or even Civic or Accord) will run forever, have front wheel drive for winter, be dependable, safe, and won’t break the bank when she gets into an accident (not if).

She’s 21 now, and a much better driver, and is driving a 2014 civic, which is perfect for her. A newer, nicer car that still has all of what I described above.

Side note, I kept the old 03 Solara and use it as a commuter (and whenever I know I’ll need to park in a parking garage since the lifted truck doesn’t fit in them now). Has some minor issues but I’m gonna drive it till it dies. Has 227k on it now & still going.

 

Volvo is cheap, reliable and parts are plentiful in junk yards. Oh yea - you can drive me through a wall and keep in going.

Of course you could comfortably seat 8 kinds in a Volvo wagon I think - so giving one to a young driver has its own downsides too.

 

My Toyota mechanic owns a commercial building that houses a Subaru shop as well. That Subaru guy is busy as hell. Head gaskets and rebuilds all day everyday. My wife and her two friends had them as well. Safe car, all head gaskets blew and CVT was no good.

We talk cars all the time. He said the KIA is a great car but had a longevity of about 130k miles and they start falling apart. Well my wife's KIA started self destructing about 126. Still have it but we've dumped a lot of money into it. Next big repair is not going to happen because the resale value is probably a lot less.

VW's always got great MPG and I really had fun driving my buddy's Golf. Are they still plagued with electrical gremlins? If not maybe its an option. I know the Jetta's and Beetles have been pretty problematic in the pre-2015.

Camry or Corolla, Rav4......Reliable, decent value, will last, and most likely get her through the teen years and young adult with minimal cost.


Somebody on here posted this site once and I think it's a good reference for reliability research.

Here's a compact car ranking.
http://www.dashboard-light.com/reports/Compact.html


http://www.dashboard-light.com/reports/Volkswagen.html

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the help y’all. I had figured Toyota and Honda would be at the top of the list. I like the idea of getting her in a RAV4. I’ll start convincing her that it’s her idea now so when we find one we can snatch it up. Need to start the search. Thanks again to all.

 

Don’t forget Honda have Every car Toyota have excepted for trucks…

 

My last corolla went 870k before it hit an infinity at 75 mph. Even the with the axle shoved into the block, it ran like a top
Original engine, original trans. 1 water pump, one alternator, 2 wheel bearings.. that’s pretty much all that was done other than tires/brakes etc

 

Accord, but not the V6. That engine uses cylinder deactivation that turns it into an oil burner. The 4 banger is plenty anyway.
Camry, same thing. You're fine with the 4 cylinder.

 

As of right now, my daughter drives our 03 Sequoia. Nice big and safe, as well as reliable, but gas mileage, ehhh. I’ve been on the lookout for a Scion tc.

decent looking car that can be found for much cheaper than a Corolla or Camry, but comes with that Toyota reliability. I really think these are some of the best cars for your money. I consider them a little hidden gem. We have an XB (08). It’s a great little car especially with manual trans, it’s fun to drive. The downside, we paid 17 K in 2009 with 7000 K on the clock. Now it’s worth like $3000 LOL. They don’t keep the resale, but our loss is someone else’s gain. Still a damn good car.