The 9 Worst Cars To Buy Your Teenager Even If You Can Afford Them

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For those with the financial wherewithal, buying a teenager their first car is an exceptionally nice gesture. While a child may want to assert their independence and establish their own identity, your main criteria for choosing a vehicle should be safety, reliability, fuel consumption and upfront and maintenance costs.

Setting aside cost, getting a car that is too powerful or that has too much tech can lead to excessive speeding and distraction. High horsepower vehicles and larger, hard-to-handle jeeps and trucks are not necessarily the best choices for an inexperienced driver. Likewise, roadsters or convertibles are those going through midlife crises, not those new behind the wheel.

Fuel efficiency and potential repair costs are things to keep in mind for anyone purchasing a new vehicle, however, with new vehicles costing so much now and young drivers more likely to get in an accident, spending an upfront bundle on your young driver’s first car is wasteful, even if you can afford it. Picking a model known for break-downs is inappropriate too.

New or used, you can’t go wrong with models that have topped reliability listings for years, like a Mazda 3 sedan or hatchback, Acura Integra, Honda Civic or Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Subaru Impreza or Outback or Toyota Corolla or Camry. There are many affordable big SUVs and trucks on the market, but you’ll be paying more for them and they might prove to be too much vehicle for a new driver to handle.

Here are nine of the worst cars you can buy your teenager:

1. Mitsubishi Mirage

You wouldn’t buy one for yourself, so don’t buy it for someone you love. Although the Mitsubishi Mirage is one of the cheapest and most fuel-efficient cars you can buy, this subcompact should be avoided, according to Consumer Reports’ road test ratings. The G4 and the hatchback are the two most deadly cars on the road, according to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stats.

2. Chrysler Pacifica

Tracking “20 potential trouble areas, from nuisances — such as squeaky brakes and broken interior trim–to major bummers, such as potential expensive out-of-warranty engine, transmission, EV battery, and EV charging problems,” Consumer Reports give the Pacifica Hybrid the lowest reliability score out of any model, an abysmal 14 out of 100.

3. Dodge Challenger

The Challenger is big on muscle and style, but with speed comes responsibility, and many new teenage drivers struggle with the independence given to them with the keys to a car. According to the IIHS, the Dodge Challenger 2WD had a death rate of 154 per million registered vehicle years 2018-2021.

4. Ram 3500

According to CarEdge, four Ram models — the 3500, 2500, 5500 and 4500 — are the most expensive cars to maintain, averaging a 10-year repair cost of $25,411. The worst offender is the 3500, which will cost about $25,844 for maintenance and repairs during its first decade. Pickups offer performance, comfort, and utility, but there is a 38.5% chance that a 3500 will require a major repair during the first five years of ownership and a major repair probability of 79.19% in the first 10 years, making them a costly choice for a teen.

5. Volkswagen Jetta

Though still popular, the Volkswagen Jetta has lost a bit of luster throughout the years and isn’t worth what you’ll need to shell out to get one for your teen. Reliability is an issue, as frequent mechanical problems and costly repairs are significant drawbacks to ownership. RepairPal ranks Jetta 21st out of 36 compact cars for reliability and reports higher-than-average maintenance costs. Consumer Reports has it at dead last — #16 out of 16  — for compact cars, with a reliability of 24 out of 100.

6. Chevrolet Bolt

Although a new Bolt is expected in 2025, GM discontinued the Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV at the end of 2023. Despite a low base price of around $27,000 and an attractive driving range of 259 miles, the cars suffered from a long list of recalls, including defective battery fires, per TopSpeed.

7. Land Rover Range Rover

Known for its rugged four-wheel-drive vehicles, Land Rovers are driven hard. On average, it will cost you $735 in annual repair costs for a Range Rover in year one and about $18,228 for maintenance and repairs during its first 10 years of service, per CarEdge. Reliability has been called into question by RepairPal, who ranks Land Rover 31 out of 32 for all car brands, and Consumer Reports, who lists Land Rover as the second worst car brand, ahead of only Jeep.

8. Rivian R1T

Although Consumer Reports gave the R1T a 22/100 reliability score for 2024, site reviews are positive and this Rivian has enough battery capacity for an estimated 400 miles on a single charge. The model has only been available for a couple of years, so long-term reliability reports aren’t available. However, based on price alone, there’s no reason to buy your newly-licensed teen an $80,000 EV.

9. Hyundai Accent

MotorTrend has called the Accent “unforgettable,” with an acceleration that is inexplicably slow. While that might suit your teenage driver nicely, the Accent is also one of the most dangerous and deadly vehicles on the road. Despite being an IIHS Top Safety Pick for 2019, the Accent has a driver death rate nearly identical to the rear-wheel-drive Challenger variants, at 152 Deaths Per Million Registered Vehicles.

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