How to Select a Car for a Teenage Driver With the Lowest Insurance Rates
Teenage drivers can be expensive. In addition to the costs of providing and maintaining a car, teenage drivers are expensive to insure. Teen drivers pose a higher risk for insurance companies because they are more likely to be in accidents than more experienced drivers. While there is no escaping the fact that teen insurance is costly, there are some strategies parents can use to ease the strain on the family budget. One of the first things parents of teenagers should consider is how to select a car with the lowest insurance rates for a teenage driver.
Instructions
Select an older car. Older cars tend to be less expensive to insure for teenage drivers. This is especially true if you will be taking out a loan out on the car. The lower the value of the car, the less expensive it will be to insure against theft or replacement. If you are able to buy the car outright for your teenage driver, your insurance rates will be even lower because you will not be required to have collision and theft insurance. Don't go too old. While the lower value of older cars makes them cheaper to insure for teenage drivers, safety features such as anti-lock brakes and air bags also bring insurance premiums down. Anti-lock brakes and air bags became standard features on most cars in the mid 1990s.Consider selecting a car with modern safety features for your teenage driver. Not only is it safer for your teenage driver to have them in her car, it could save you money. Select a car with a smaller engine. Much of the price for insurance premiums is figured based on the size of a vehicle's engine. Generally speaking, the more powerful the car's engine is, the more risk it poses to insurance companies, especially with teenage drivers who are not always as responsible as more experienced drivers. Consider selecting a car with a 4-cylinder engine. Select a car with a good safety rating. Visit a website such as safercar.gov to review the safety ratings of a car before you buy it. Cars with better safer ratings tend to cost insurance companies less money for hospitalization, and some of the savings are passed along to you and your teenage driver.
