Time flies! And when you are a parent it seems like time is flying on fast forward mode. Was it just yesterday that your children took their first steps, today you are searching for their first car.  While you had nothing to do with the natural growth of your children in taking their first steps, you do have a lot of say in getting their first car, so use this power wisely and not just generously. Look for the best first car for a teenager, but make sure it is safe and soft on your pocket as well.

However, model, price and brand are not the only things you need to consider when deciding to buy your teen his or her first car. Here are a few things you need to educate your teen about before hand:

Lesson’s To Drive Home

It is necessary to teach children the difference between a privilege and a right. A car is not their birth right, no matter what their friends may have told them about it. So make sure that neither you nor your teen gets pressured by peer pressure and end-up spending more than you should.
Secondly, she advises that just because it is their first car doesn’t mean it has to be as good or even better than what the parent drives around in. Keep in mind that you are buying your kid a convenience and not a status symbol.
Gail’s third and last piece of advice is to turn this into a learning experience for the teenager. Make them equally responsible for buying the car by making them maintain a “First Car” savings account. This will not only help them learn the important message of saving but with their own money at stake too, they will be more careful with how they use the car.

How to pick the best car

When it comes to deciding about the best first car for teenagers, it is important to chalk out the basic purpose it will be used for. Will the car be used for driving your teen back and forth from college over a long distance? Or will the car mostly be used locally?

Since it is your kids first car it is better that you not allow too much power into the hands of a young driver. So choose a car with a reliable and responsive chassis, one which affords good handling, quick steering and great brakes.  

According to LeeAnn Shattuck, co-owner of Women’s Automotive Solutions, with a first car parents should forget about “image” since that comes at a hefty price, instead concentrate on a car that a young driver can handle easily. Teens might look good driving Mustangs, BMW’s or SUV’s but these car’s are a challenge to drive even for experienced drivers, in the hands of a novice they can become a deadly weapon.

However, a car that is too small will not offer a lot of protection to the passengers as well as the driver. So according to Shattuck, buy your teen a mid-sized sedan with a four cylinder engine, airbags and a good crash test rating.

Save on Insurance

The next most important aspect of buying your teen their first ride is, car insurance for teenagers. According to a recent survey conducted by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company , the average amount a normal family dishes out on their teens car is nearly $3,100 per year, out of which $800 goes for insurance.  

The most common and cheapest solution people come up with is adding their teen to their own policy. According to Chris Kissell, managing editor of Insurance .com, this could cost you a lot more in the long run, the best way to handle this issue is to simply buy a cheaper car and then let your teen buy his or her own insurance.
The Road Rules
Now that everything has been settled, remember not to let them go without making them sign a "Rules of the Road" contract. This contract must include clauses pertaining to how many passengers can be in the car at one time, who will pay for gas, insurance, maintenance, and what happens to driving privileges if the teen gets a ticket or has an accident.