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What to consider in a first car for a young driver

So your looking to buy a car for your beloved son or daughter. Or maybe to give him or her some insight into what they should buy?

There are many things you should consider since they are so young. Such as what vehicle they want, or what options they want in it, or what they want there friends to think of there car. Most of all, you should think of safety first.

My first car was a 1993 Cadillac De ville that my father bought for me for $3000, 3 1/2 years ago. This thing was a boat! I absolutely loved it. I received looks everywhere i went, it had more options in it than most cars have now a days. The best part about it that both my father and I liked was that it was made of steel and not fiberglass. So it was very, very safe. I had this car for 2 years before the transmission went, so we got rid of it.

My second car was a 2002 Dodge Stratus. My father bought for me for $6000, we decided to get a little more expensive car because I have not been in an accident and we both agreed this would be a good car if i were to ever get into an accident. I had this vehicle for 9 months before I got into my first accident.

My buddy and I were coming back from a casino in February, 2 days after a big snow storm. While driving down the highway, I went to pass a tractor trailer on the left hand lane. When all of the sudden I hit a patch of black ice. I started to swerve left and right, then I totally lost control. I went right in front of the tractor trailer( thank god he didn't hit me) and went into the ditch(which was more like a mound of snow). I then got some air from hitting the snow at 65 mph, we then landed on the driver side, then rolled onto the roof, then passenger side, then back onto the wheels. I asked my friend if he was alright and he said yes and kicked the door open to get out, I was in a panic because of just rolling my vehicle, then I got out. Remind you, it was winter time and about ten degrees outside, and there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground. So after getting out i was in such shock, I could not feel the cold. Thank god a passerby stopped and called 911, the police and ambulance took some time to arrive because they couldn't find us. We ended up going to the hospital to be checked out, and we both left in about 2 hours without a scratch on us, and i mean literally, not a scratch.

All-in-all, What i am getting at, is buy your son/daughter an inexpensive, used vehicle with an excellent crash test rating. My stratus did not have a roll-over crash test rating, but from personal experience i give it a 10 out of 10. Believe me, if you planned on buying a nice vehicle for your son/daughters first car, DON'T! Buy them a car that is easy on the checkbook and has a great crash test rating. Because if you ask me, both me and my friend should have been seriously injured or maybe even worse.

Learn more about this author, Chris Ostrovskis.
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