A CAR salesman has revealed the top five cars that are both safe and cheap for an inexperienced teen driver for under $5,000.
When a teenager becomes a new driver, it can be a scary moment for parents, especially as they try to find a cheap but safe car for them to drive as they learn the ropes.
Kenny Martin, the owner of Salem, Virginia’s Competition Cars and Classics, has mentioned on his TikTok (@kennycompcars) his top five choices for young drivers after being repeatedly asked by parents.
“I get asked the question a lot, ‘what is a good affordable car that I can get for my teen driver?'” he said at the beginning of the video.
“For a teen driver, I’m not one that believes in spoiling the child, and I think every American should spend five grand or less on their kid’s first car, and you want something safe, as reliable as possible, for as cheap as possible.”
The first car he mentions is the Scion XB – a trendy, cube-shaped, and compact car from one of Toyota’s now-extinct subcompanies.
“The XB is made by Toyota, it’s a boxy little car and looks like a rolling toaster oven going down the road, but man they’re a really good car,” said Martin.
He said that despite the shape and dimensions, there’s a lot more storage space that anyone would think.
“They’ve got a lot of space inside, so if you’ve got a tall kid, they will fit,” he said.
“If they carry a lot of sport equipment or whatever it will fit in the back, and you can find these cars for under five grand.”
From personal experience, Martin says that due to the manufacturer, it’s sure to last.
“My son’s first car was an XB, and it had 284,000 miles on it and when a deer finally finished it off – it’s a great choice,” he said.
Unless buying from a private owner where the pricing is a little more flexible, CarGurus’ website indicated that the average price nationwide for a Scion XB through their process was just about $6,000.
Scion was discontinued as a brand in February of 2016, so the last model year for the XB was 2015.
Martin was spot-on for the reliability, with CarParts.com giving Scion three out of five stars for their reliability, despite their rapid depreciation rates and funky shape.
Redditors commented on a thread asking if it’s an ideal first car, with many citing space, powerful engine, good mileage and safety features as reasons they make good cars.