Keys for teens' wheels

As the mother of a 16-year-old son, Nancy Sayles Kaneshiro remembers the family's conversations when he wanted to buy a car. “First Ian wanted a truck, then a Lincoln Town Car, then a reconditioned police car,'' says Kaneshiro of Woodland Hills, California.

“We wanted him to have a fuel-efficient, safe car and one that we could afford.''

After searching for a few weeks, they settled on a 1989 Honda that had been serviced by the same mechanic Kaneshiro used.

After a few improvements — a coat of midnight-blue paint, a spoiler from a salvage yard and a sound system — the car was ready to transport Ian to school, baseball practice and social activities.

Rite of passage

As a new school year begins in the US, automobile showrooms and used-car lots are sprinkled with families undergoing a rite of passage: choosing the first car for a teenage daughter or son.

Questions about safety, reliability and affordability loom large for parents, who must balance their offspring's desire for something sporty or “cool'' with their own preference for a more modest and safer sedan — or maybe a Sherman tank!

“It's the parents' responsibility to help their kids through this process and not be bullied by their kids that they must have a new Mustang,'' Kaneshiro says.

Brandon Bogart, a professional race-car driver and founder of In Control Advanced Driver Training in Massachusetts, has trained more than 10,000 teen drivers.

He says: “If teens are brought into the process of choosing the new vehicle, they'll inevitably be more responsible and, hopefully, safer drivers.''

Vehicle of choice

In a survey recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that few parents consider size when providing a vehicle for a teen, even though size and weight are crucial aspects of crash protection.

“It may be a hard nut to swallow for parents concerned about fuel prices but small cars are a bad choice for young drivers,'' says Russ Rader, an official for the institute. “Parents should start with mid-size cars that have top crash-test ratings and the latest safety gear. They should stay away from the smallest cars.''

Bogart advises parents to beware of SUVs and trucks for new drivers. “They're difficult to control,'' he says.

He emphasises that the most important safety feature is not how many airbags a car has but whether it has an anti-lock braking system — ABS. “Airbags help you in a crash but ABS helps you avoid a crash.''

Bogart thinks the “safest'' vehicles on the road are mid-size four-door sedans, such as the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Ford Taurus.

“There's a difference between sporty and powerful,'' he says. “The Honda Civic, Volkswagen GTI, Scion tC — they're all safe, reliable and have great crash-avoidance capabilities.''

Margaret Ritsch of Fort Worth, Texas, bought her 16-year-old daughter a Mitsubishi Lancer with 116,000 miles on it.

That met her goal of finding a one-owner Japanese-made car with a clean record on CARFAX and a price tag under $5,000 (Dh18,363) so they could pay cash.

Carol Meerschaert of Paoli, Pennsylvania, also intended to buy her 16-year-old daughter a used car — until her daughter's friend got stranded in a car that would not start.

“The thought of my daughter stuck on a road at night squashed that idea,'' she says. They chose a new car.

The wry joke in some high schools is that vehicles in the students' parking lot outclass those in the teachers' parking lot.

“We live in a neighbourhood where fathers buy their kids a new Lexus or lease them brand-new cars,'' says Rob Frankel of Encino, California. He took a different approach with his teenage son.

“I offered him $5,000 [Dh18,363] towards any car he wished,'' Frankel says. “If he wanted something more expensive, he could use his savings, within reason. This taught him how important shopping around can be.''

His son eventually found the car of his dreams: a 2003 red Mustang convertible. “He made sure it was in great shape and we made sure we got a good value,'' Frankel says.

Beyond decisions about the car itself, families must resolve other issues, such as who will pay for fuel and insurance.

Meeting halfway

Frankel buys a tank of petrol a month for his son in exchange for driving two siblings to and from school. This relieves the parents of carpool duty.

Frankel also pays for basic insurance on the car, with a proviso: If his son does anything to cause the rates to rise, he must foot the bill for the increase.

In other families, students must pay for all car-related expenses.

Aaron Cooper, an educator with the Family Institute at Northwestern University in Illinois, urges parents to listen to teenagers' wish lists for cars — the colour and styling they prefer, the options they would like and whether it has manual or automatic transmission.

“But don't be afraid to force a compromise,'' he says. “The final decision rests with those who pay the bills.''

Rather than indulging students' pursuit of status and identity, he suggests saying no to the fancier model they prefer.

“Your ‘no' gives them practice on delaying gratification and discovering a sense of gratitude for what they have. A big, fancy bow atop the hood is the only bling a teen's car needs when it comes home from the lot.''

Responsible teens

Safety specialists urge parents to use the arrival of a first car as a teachable moment, an opportunity to talk about safe driving.

Many families also insist that driving and car ownership are privileges contingent on certain conditions.

Reflecting on the process of buying a first car, Kaneshiro says: “It teaches responsibility if it's handled properly.

I think Ian got more out of this experience than kids who are handed a brand-new car.

He appreciates what it takes to run a car and the expense.''

Ian is not just the one benefiting from his Honda. Describing the “tremendous amount'' of driving parents do, ferrying kids to school and activities, his mother says: “I got my life back when he got this car.''