Buy somehting basic, as recommended. For my money a Hyundai Accent is a good starter car; easy to drive, inexpensive to operate, and reliable. Skip any thought of an overrated Volvo or an over-advertised Volkswagen.
When my son started driving in 2007 I bought a used 2002 Ford Escort for him to drive. The Focus is what replaced the Escort when it’s production ceased, so the Focus is probably a pretty good choice.
Wouldn’t hurt to ask your insurance company. Even though he’s 20, he’s still a new driver, and will be treated as such when calculating his rates. They deal with this kinda stuff daily and will steer you in the right direction.
Will he be driving a lot of miles? If so, you need a relatively fuel efficient car.
But, if his mileage is moderate, a lot of people here highly recommend a Ford Crown Victoria in good shape, that has been well maintained. Some claim the lowest cost per mile, based on low selling price. Crown Vic’s are not sexy, since they are viewed as an old folks car, which on the other hand often means well maintained.
I never again want to drive anything but a mini-van, but if I had to, I would definitely look for a Crown Vic.
Something with ABS and airbags and a decent crash rating. As new a model as possible will have better crash protection.
The law of gross tonnage only matters at low-ish speed crashes, and a tank will be harder to maneuver in an emergency. If you hit a wall, or a tree, the weight of the car is not an advantage.
ABS is a very big deal. ESP would be nice, but budget may stop that.
“Wouldn’t hurt to ask your insurance company.”
I just saw an article on that today. The vehicles with the lowest insurance are SUVs and Pick-ups. What’s that about size again?
A Volvo for a kid’s first car? No way! He’ll be embarrassed to drive that monstrosity. Maybe when he’s 35 and has two kids and a partner, but now? Not a chance.
Thinks about this from his perspective. He needs something highly reliable, and if it breaks down the parts are cheap and easy to obtain and easy to find a cheap mechanic that knows how to fix it. And it needs to look presentable for going out on dates and taking the guys to pizza and beer. And it needs to be small and easy to park as he’s probably going to be parking in those huge college parking lots.
You want to get him a car which has a high sales volume. One of the most popular small cars sold. That means there’s plenty of options to choose from and the parts will be cheap and easy to find. I’d get him a used econobox with ultra-high Consumer Reports reliability marks., like a Honda Civic or a Toyota Yaris (or the older Echo), or a Corolla. There’s a couple of smaller Fords worth considering too. Have him do some test drives at the new car dealers, then buy a used version of the car he likes from CraigsList or newspaper or internet ads.
A Volvo? No.
Honda and Toyota are too over priced on the used market. In several markets you’re looking at a 2~3 year old Civic/Corola with ~40k miles on it and they want almost as much for the exact same thing as a new one would.
I expect that there’s a reason the price for Civic’s and Corolla hold up better than other cars.
Here’s how to test my theory. People vote w/their dollars. The VW Golf and Toyota Corolla compete head on and are priced about the same as new cars. What does the Kelly Blue book say about the price of the Golf and Corolla as 10 year old used cars? 2002 models in other words. How are they priced? If there’s a big difference, since people aren’t compelled to buy one vs the other, there’s a reason for why folks prefer one over the other. People want to buy good reliable used cars. And they show it by voting with their dollars.
“A Volvo for a kid’s first car? No way! He’ll be embarrassed to drive that monstrosity.”
He’ll be happy to drive anything, My oldest child was ecstatic in 2005 when I let her drive my 1998 Regal every day.
It depends on the kid. He is 20 and doesn’t have a car. That could have been me. I was bookish, practical, but spending my money on necessities only, which didn’t include a car.
If he is a practical person, he’ll likely want a practical car, reliable, not too flashy, with enough cargo space to hold his hobby gear, or sports gear, and room for a couple of friends. In my case, art gear and camping gear would have beeen the challenge, so I would have loved a small Japanese wagon. My classmates wanted custom vans upholstered in purple shag (it was the seventies), or small Toyota pickups for their surfboards. Others had rusty old Italian roadsters because they had seen The Graduate. No practicality in them.
You might talk with him and together make a list of his requirements. Ask about his commute, campus parking, grocery shopping habits, vacation plans, and anything else automotive. Try to keep it light and fun. Tell car stories from your youth. After you have a list of needs, hit the CR Car Guide and web sites like this one to narrow things down to a few solid models. Luckily, there are good, safe cars and trucks in every category. Good luck and have fun.
He’s 20. I’d start by asking him what he wants. If that’s consistent with the advice you’ve gotten here, problem solved. But if he’s thinking Jeep Wrangler, Camaro or Smart Car, you’ve got different ground to cover.