Helping your teenager into their first car is a massive challenge for many families – and not every parent can help financially.

It is one of the biggest automotive quandaries – and as a motoring expert one of the most common questions I get asked.

To be blunt, a teenager’s first car can become a life and death decision – based on the safety of the vehicle.

Years ago I attended a head-to-head crash test of a 1998 Toyota Corolla and a 2015 Toyota Corolla – when Australia’s top crash safety authority ANCAP demonstrated just how much car safety has improved.

The catastrophic result of the 1998 Toyota Corolla crash test was so chilling, a news photographer who also attended immediately phoned his nan who had the same model 1998 Toyota Corolla and told her not to drive it. He helped her into a newer used car the next day.

Of course, a used car must fit within a budget for the teenager or the family. It’s a massive financial burden at a time when many teenagers are yet to join the workforce.

Here’s the dilemma. Drivers aged 18 to 25 are way over-represented in fatal crashes because of:

  • Driver inexperience
  • Risk-taking behaviour (especially among young males whose brains are still developing)
  • Older, less safe, and poorly maintained vehicles due to cost

Some safety experts advise parents to let their teenager drive the family’s new-ish car, while mum or dad drives the old banged-up used car.

It’s a radical suggestion, but at least it gives the teenager a better chance at safety – because novice drivers are far more susceptible to making mistakes and ending up in a fender bender.

Some jurisdictions in Australia have briefly experimented with cash incentive schemes after crash data showed just how vulnerable young drivers are in older cars.

Sadly, there is no easy answer to helping your teenager into a safe car – but we have come up with some tips that might help.

Few novice drivers can afford a new car, but if the budget does stretch that far, please consider a vehicle with a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

You can see the safety rating of most popular cars here.

When buying new, most five-star cars are in the $25,000 to $35,000 price bracket (such as the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia Cerato among others).

However, understandably, most first-time buyers end up in the budget end of the used-car market.

The good news is you can still find a safe and reliable car within a certain budget.

Car safety really started to improve about 10 years ago.

So if you’re buying a used car from 2015 onwards (such as the white Toyota Corolla in these images), chances are it has a five-star safety rating – and you can check the safety score via the same link here.

Some other rules of thumb (though this criteria alone does not guarantee safety):

  • Make sure the used car has six or more airbags (not all cars equipped with six or more airbags have a five-star safety rating – because vehicle structure also plays a role in protecting occupants, but it is usually a good sign).
  • Rear-view cameras started to become more widely available from 2015 onwards, but were still relatively new.
  • Check the tyres – or budget on new ones. Most customers buy tyres on price. But they are the only point of contact between you and the road, so buy a quality mainstream brand tyre (if budget allows) such as Bridgestone, Dunlop, Goodyear, Kumho, Hankook.
  • Before you buy, check the used car’s service log book history. Most cars require routine maintenance every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.
  • If the used car does not have a log book, walk away – or get an independent inspection by the NRMA, RACV, RACQ etc. Unfortunately this costs from $200 to $300 depending on the provider.
  • If the log book is a bit patchy, that’s better than nothing. But also consider an independent inspection. Or walk away.
  • Also ask for the second key. All new cars come with two keys, and it can be expensive and a hassle to get a new, second key for an older car.

Independent used-car vehicle inspections are expensive, so only order one for a used car that makes your final, final, final shortlist.

But that $200 to $300 fee could save you buying a lemon car that requires thousands of dollars in repairs.

The check could also find minor problems that you could use to negotiate on price.

So, which brand of used car to buy?

After years of receiving calls and emails from customers with conked out cars, I’m going to make some sweeping generalisations.

Don’t buy a used European car.

They are cheap, but once they are four or five years old they start to develop problems and cost a lot to keep on the road. That’s why they’re cheap. The seller is trying to get rid of it because of the rising maintenance costs.

European car companies spend more time on the style and design of the vehicle and the materials used in the cabin.

Japanese brands spend more time on engineering reliability and treat design somewhat as an afterthought. In order of preference, the Japanese brands that make my shortlist for used cars include Toyota, Suzuki, and Mazda – and then Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi, whose reliability varies but is still better than the Europeans in my experience.

Hyundai and Kia cars from 2015 onwards are also worth a strong look.

All of the above advice comes with the caveat of getting an independent check on these vehicles. And you might buy a European car that gives you no trouble. But in my experience the odds are stacked against you.

With all that said, hopefully these starting points will help navigate your way to a safe car for your teenager – and get the thought process going.

Good luck. And be patient.

Be warned. The condition of used cars varies greatly.

And some unscrupulous sellers will sell damaged and repaired vehicles.

An independent inspection should be able to detect vehicles with bad crash damage and technical hiccups.

Within your budget, try to aim for as new a car as possible.

And for the sake of reliability, tell Boy Wonder (or Princess) they aren’t getting a used European car to start with.

They can treat themselves on their second car – after they drive Nan’s 2015-onwards Toyota Corolla for a few years.