Best Used Cars for Teens Under $20,000

These safe, reliable used cars and SUVs are well suited for young drivers

By Jeff S. Bartlett

Parents choosing a car for their teen driver have a tough decision to make because they need to strike a balance between cost and safety.

The temptation—often born of necessity—is to buy a less-expensive, bare-bones model or to pass down an older family car. But because the car will be transporting their children, we feel that parents should pick the best and safest car their budget allows.

Teenagers are among the riskiest drivers because of a combination of immaturity, inexperience, and social pressures. Consequently, they have crash rates that are almost four times those of drivers 20 and older. Choosing the right car can help teens stay safe, but it can be challenging to balance all the factors that make a vehicle ideal for inexperienced drivers.

Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have again combined their expertise and data to create lists of used cars, SUVs, and minivans that combine accident avoidance, crash protection, performance, and reliability. The vehicle recommendations are ideal for teens, but they can serve any shopper looking for a vehicle that excels in those areas.

“In compiling these lists, we found that some of the same models that were on last year’s lists are actually more expensive now even though they’re a year older due to the tumultuous market,” says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at Consumer Reports Auto Test Center. “As the same amount of money may not be going as far, it’s even more important to make it a safe and reliable choice.”

Even amid elevated prices, we kept our cutoff at $20,000. There are many good choices for far less—just fewer than last year. For some families, the soaring prices may mean that buying a new car is the right move, particularly with lower loan interest rates. Not to worry: We have a list for that.

Even in this tight market, it’s possible to find some good options for young drivers. CR and IIHS identified about 50 used vehicles ranging from $6,000 to $19,900 that meet stringent safety and reliability criteria.

We present two tiers of recommendations: Good Choices and Best Choices.

Good Choices

To make the cut to be a Good Choice, the vehicles must have: