Is this a good deal?

[Golfbone]

I'm looking for a first car for my teenager and was thinking of getting him a new Hyundai Sonata but it's a lot of car for a new driver....relatively large and 21K so if he dings it I'll be pretty upset.

Local dealer has a 2009 Corolla S in silver/black int. 26,500 miles and he'll take 11,500 for it. Car is in excellent condition. Seems like a good price for it but I'm new to this.

Good deal? Good car? Looking for reliable and safe transportation that my kid can keep through college and hopefully medical school....10 years.

[msncorolla422]

Originally Posted by Golfbone

I'm looking for a first car for my teenager and was thinking of getting him a new Hyundai Sonata but it's a lot of car for a new driver....relatively large and 21K so if he dings it I'll be pretty upset.

Local dealer has a 2009 Corolla S in silver/black int. 26,500 miles and he'll take 11,500 for it. Car is in excellent condition. Seems like a good price for it but I'm new to this.

Good deal? Good car? Looking for reliable and safe transportation that my kid can keep through college and hopefully medical school....10 years.

I believe so as that is relatively low miles for the age(might have been made in 08) and just check out the history report and examine the car really carefully and take your time seeing how it drives and such. is it a 5spd manual?!?!?!?! haha get him one!

[Golfbone]

It is an automatic with a single owner and clean car fax report.

[msncorolla422]

Originally Posted by Golfbone

It is an automatic with a single owner and clean car fax report.

well make sure he is happy with it of course...make sure all the recalls have been done and if he has any problems come on here again and see if the is a TSB for it (technical service bulletin it think is what its called)
but yeah...just keep an eye our for anything suspicious about it as it is too me a really low price. what dealer is it from? Toyota?

[Golfbone]

The dealer is JB autohaus in NJ. He sent me a carfax and I saw the car and it looks great. Will drive it this week

[blk09rollale]

drive it on the highway and make sure you will be able to tolerate the electronic power steering.

[TACO_KID]

Corolla is a good choice, but if you were thinking Hyundai then why not Elantra ??

a college kid car that lasts 10yrs in PA weather?

[Zembonez]

A good first car for a teenage driver is one that you don't mind selling for salvage within a few months. It usually doesn't take long for them to poke the first one into something because it doesn't quite handle like they did in Gran Turismo.

[zythr]

+1 plus insurance is going to be costly for him

[RBK]

Originally Posted by zythr

+1 plus insurance is going to be costly for him

Main reason my parents bought a 4 door, automatic, non-black corolla. However they charged me extra because I had the S, which offers no additional HP?

[BLiT]

Yeah, the insurance blokes are pretty damn stupid. Well, actually, it's quite the opposite.

They classify the S trim with the XRS simply because the S implies "sport." Believe me, I know. I've seen my $3,000 a year insurance policy. >.<

None the less, a Corolla S is a great starter car. If he's interested in motoring, there are a few simple and cheap mods to keep him occupied between school and, hopefully, work. If not, you at least know he's in one of the safest cars on the road, while keeping him happy because it looks good. More good news is that all 2010 Corollas and later come with traction control standard, so he'll have a hard time throwing it into a ditch being anything other than plain stupid.

I've also noticed that I myself have benefited from having a new car. Being new, I've babied it, while many of my friends have been 'less caring' of their cars. Because of the price and especially the insurance, I hardly ever speed and do my best to obey every traffic law to avoid risking making my parents (HA! that's a joke...) have to pay any extra. (If you didn't pick up on that, I get to pay my insurance bills if they ever go up.) =P

In short, I say get them a Corolla. Not too powerful that they'll hurt themselves but not so slow they'll catch hell for it from their peers.

It's also fairly cheap to fix... presuming you don't have to replace a door.
I still owe my mom the $900 I promised her for my half of the repair costs.

[SuperchargedMR2]

Originally Posted by RBK

Main reason my parents bought a 4 door, automatic, non-black corolla. However they charged me extra because I had the S, which offers no additional HP?

Originally Posted by BLiT

Yeah, the insurance blokes are pretty damn stupid. Well, actually, it's quite the opposite.

They classify the S trim with the XRS simply because the S implies "sport." Believe me, I know. I've seen my $3,000 a year insurance policy. >.<

None the less, a Corolla S is a great starter car. If he's interested in motoring, there are a few simple and cheap mods to keep him occupied between school and, hopefully, work. If not, you at least know he's in one of the safest cars on the road, while keeping him happy because it looks good. More good news is that all 2010 Corollas and later come with traction control standard, so he'll have a hard time throwing it into a ditch being anything other than plain stupid.

I've also noticed that I myself have benefited from having a new car. Being new, I've babied it, while many of my friends have been 'less caring' of their cars. Because of the price and especially the insurance, I hardly ever speed and do my best to obey every traffic law to avoid risking making my parents (HA! that's a joke...) have to pay any extra. (If you didn't pick up on that, I get to pay my insurance bills if they ever go up.) =P

In short, I say get them a Corolla. Not too powerful that they'll hurt themselves but not so slow they'll catch hell for it from their peers.

It's also fairly cheap to fix... presuming you don't have to replace a door.
I still owe my mom the $900 I promised her for my half of the repair costs.

Than change insurance companies. Most companies will classify the Corolla by the engine, as does mine so the insurance is no different between the CE, LE, XLE & S.