Recommendations for vechicle for a new teen driver?

I want a safe car for when my son starts to drive, but I'm extremely concerned about my insurance premiums and also I feel that the odds are good he'll be in a fender bender in the first 12-18 months he starts to drive on his own. So it is a balance between protecting his safety and protecting my financial intrests.

My dad wants to buy him a brand new car but honestly, I don't think I can afford the insurance. I'm terribly fond of both the Yaris and the Fit.

I want to get a used car that I can only do liability only insurance.
Headrests and lap/shoulder belts are a priority but what else do I need consider?

We are only 1.5 miles from school. My son turns 15 in December but only got a 2.9 gpa last semester so I won't let him get his licence until January when he bring home at least a 3.0 gpa for the good student discount on my insurance. He won't be able to drive to school until the following September becasue they don't have parking spaces available for the sophmores anyway. He mostly "needs" to drive in the spring when he has tennis practice every single day for 6 weeks or so.

I drive an '06 RAV4 and I love my car. It would probably be a nice vehicle for him but I don't want to give it up. Of course if I wasn't hauling around teenagers every day, I wouldn't need such a big vehicle anyway.

Whatever I get for him, it needs to be compatible with car seats for my 4 yr old in case I need to commandeer his car or if he needs to pick her up from preschool himself at some point.

I'm fortunate that my parents are willing to "help" but sometimes it is problematic. I'd actually rather he have to work and save to buy his own car - I think he'd take better care of it if it was "his".

Any suggestions? Please toss out any random ideas and I'll start making a list and doing some research!

Rules for me growing up:
A ticket or at fault accident meant no car for at least 1 month depending upon severity of the transgresion.
Any thing that was my fault that caused the insurance to go up, I had to pay the difference.
Taking poor care of the car meant no car for at least 1 month as well. This meant oil changes, keeping it cleaned out, tires aired, telling dad about check engine light or funny sounds, etc.
Reminders that the car belonged to my parents & I must earn the privilege of using it, ie. no back talking, failing to do chores, or doing poorly in school.
Any alcohol or drug use meant the car was sold & license taken away until I turned 18.

It must have worked. Still have no at fault accidents, one ticket issued, but it didn't stick, and I've only been stopped one other time. I still take good care of my cars.

As far as what to buy, I'd look for something used & safe. The kids with the 'cool' cars feel the need to showoff & that's when the trouble starts.

ETA: I'd avoid an SUV due to rollover risk. Young drivers are particularly bad about the 'over correct' error that causes rollovers.

I agree that new car + new driver = disaster waiting to happen.

I've always been a cautious driver, even as a teen and only recently got my first new car. My cars as a young driver were:
early '90s Dodge Caravan with wood panel
mid '90s Pontiac Grand Prix

The Caravan was my main vehicle and it didn't do anything cool other than hold alot of people. It was safe, hard to park (which made me good at it!) and ugly. I thought then & now that it was the perfect 1st car. Most of the people I knew who got new cars when they got their license got in a wreck within 6 months. For me, a nice, new car of my choosing was something to work up to.

Go the used route - easier on your mind & wallet.

I'm in favor of a minivan or station wagon (not a subaru).

Something the teen wouldn't ever consider fixing up to race. Why put the temptation out there? That means no Fit or any Honda in general except the Ody/Ridgeline/Pilot/CR-V.

Yaris is ok if you don't get that S-package, but the reviews and ratings are uncharacteristcly horrible for a Toyota.

I'd shoot for a used Dodge Caravan or Ford Freestyle. Better yet, a Toyota Previa. It may be supercharged, but it's a 4 cyl supercharged. I know a guy who drove one in high school. Definitely not a speed racing mobile. Should be quite cheap by now and since it's a minivan, insurance has gotta be low.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Especially thoughts on the "rules". My son is very responsible but you know how they get with that "pack" mentality of a bunch of teenage boys. Sigh.

The other thing I forgot to mention is that we have a small lot, so this vehicle is destined for crowded on street parking. I'm looking at $2-3,000 to add a concrete slab to be able to park on our own property and that isn't going to happen any time soon. I do not want a new or even newer car out there on the street and all that entails.

I was thinking whatever we get would be "mine" and we'd share, thus the fuel efficiency of something like the Fit or Yaris. My RAV4 is pretty good with fuel but I transport my little one 200 miles at least once a month to see her dad, so having something a little better in the fuel usage would be nice for those trips.

Anyway, I'll look for used. I hate to tell my dad he's be over ridden on the new car thing. He is planning to retire soon and won't be able to buy an "new" car anytime after he retires and this is something he wanted to do for my son but I really don't think it is a good idea.

Some older relatives of ours just moved into a nursing home and I'm going to have to check and see what is in their garage. I know they need to get it sold asap to drop their auto insurance, so whatever it is might be a good option.

I don't know what to tell you on the car.

My older son bought his first car when he was 15.5 yrs old. He bought a 1978 Pontiac Grand Lemans for $500. It had 83,000 miles on it with very little rust. He bought it from a little old lady that was going in a assisted living facility and paid for it with his own money. He also has his own car insurance policy and has to pay for that too.

He has a job at McDonalds and works the whole year, after school and during summers. He is a super tight wad. Has a savings with over $5,000 in it that he saved on his own. His GPA is 3.96. He wants to go to college to be a civil engineer. He'll be a senior this year and will go to high school part of the day and college the other part. He's now 17 and acts like a little old man.

My 15 yr old on the other hand spends every penny he gets, can't get a job working with equipment until he's 16. No McD's job yet. He does mow lawns for cash. He is a honor roll student but not straight A's like his brother. He needs to purchase his own car like his brother and he knows that. He think's were terrible for not buying cars like other kids parents do. He is going to cause me gray hair. I keep threatening him with NO learners permit at age 16 unless he can be more responsible. Lose the attitude and bad mouth. He's making up for what his older brother DOESN'T do. :hitselfonhead: