Freedom Wheels: The Teen’s Search for a First Car

By Christina Schrempp and Jonathan Shealy

aThEENs 3410 staff

Long lines, long waits, awkward-looking identification pictures: to most, visits to the DMV are dreaded experiences. Visit any DMV and notice the crowd. Everyone looks miserable except for a small select group: teenagers eagerly waiting to take their driving test. Watch them as they anxiously fiddle with their keys, you can almost see the wheels of the brain spinning with dreams of a weekend cruise around town with friends, windows down, music up, far from the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad. Now all they need is a car.

"Having a car and license simply means independence to me and to the average teen," said Betty Migombo, an 18-year-old senior at Clarke Central High School. "For years and years we had to get our parents, friends, or siblings to drive us where we needed to go, but being able to do that for yourself is a lot better. It sounds cheesy but it's almost like a freeing experience when you realize that you don't have to beg my mom to drive me to the mall, you can just do that for yourself."

Teens make up 7 percent of all licensed American drivers, and by the end of 2010, research estimates that 26.1 million 16-to-20-year-old drivers will be on the roads. U.S. News and World Report reports 286,269 teen drivers in the state of Georgia, accounting for 38 percent of the state's total teen population. Clarke Central High School alone has nearly 800 driving-age students. For the past five years, the school has sold between 275-325 parking permits to students.

The teen market is a sizable one, and local car dealers know it. "We have a ton of parents come in with their teenagers ready to buy a new car," said salesman Philip Hayes of the Toyota Mall of Georgia dealership. Since no one under 18 is allowed to finance a car at a dealership in the state of Georgia, car salesmen often have the job of pleasing two (sometimes) opposing parties: the parents and the teen. As Hayes explains, dealerships must be skilled in pitching their products in such a way that produces a happy compromise between the parents' focus on safety and durability and the teen's need for style and customization. "Sometimes I'm tempted to get a car just because of how fast it can go, how technologically advanced it is, or just simply by the brand, and that most of the time doesn't resonate with them," said Migombo of her car-buying differences with her parents.

For teens, size, style, and convenience are the highest selling points. "It's the little things that matter," said 17-year-old Emily Allen, a junior at Clarke Central High School, "This might sound stupid, but windows are important. Not all my friends have [automatic] windows and no one wants the kind you have to crank. Also...clickers to open the car. I don't have one...a lot of people want them. It's convenient." Size, while a big factor for teens, depends on the needs of the individual. Allen is content with the size of her 2000 silver Volkswagen Beetle, commonly called a "Bug," ("I wanted a small car, something easy to maneuver"), but explains how her friend's Nissan Xterra better fits her busy lifestyle: "She basically lives out of her car...so the size is good for her, she can carry all her books and friends and stuff and have room for all her tennis stuff that she needs for practice after school." Migombo says she also likes SUVs but claims the four-door sedan would be "ideal".

To teens, cars often represent their unique personalities. The bubbly, friendly Allen certainly feels this way about her fun, hip Volkswagen: "It's my dream car. I saw it in 1998, when it first came out. It had daisy wheels...I told my dad I wanted it. He said, 'When you’re old enough, I’ll be able to afford that car'. So when it came time for me to get a car, I definitely knew what I wanted." Her parents had been talking about getting her the car since she got her learner's permit at 15. They finally found the perfect "Bug" in Savannah, and her father, who fixes cars, restored the car's interior and gave it to his daughter for her 16th birthday. "My car's very girly," she says with a smile. "[It] fits my personality very well. My friends always say that. I can’t imagine driving any other kind of car."

Many parents and teens do share one important requirement for a car choice: low gas mileage. "When it comes to the basics like gas mileage we are pretty much on the same page," says Migombo. While parents often foot the bill for insurance, many Athens teens are responsible for paying for their own gas. "All my friends pay for their own gas," says Allen, who uses her entire summer job paycheck to pay for her gas expenses during the year. Additionally, for teens going off to college who plan to do a lot of traveling, good gas mileage is a necessity in any car choice. "Since I'm going to go to college in Alabama and my family is moving to North Carolina, I would really like a car that has very good gas mileage," says Migombo. "I wouldn't want a car that needed to be filled every other day just because the gas mileage sucked."

"A lot of my peers have cars like Toyotas, Nissans, and Hondas," says Migombo, a good choice according to experts and dealers. These entry-level cars are relatively inexpensive and combine all the qualities important to teens and parents alike: good gas mileage, style, safety, reliability, performance, low insurance rates, good size for passengers, and driving comfort. Unsurprisingly, these cars are some of the most popular among first-car buyers. While "entry-level" may bring to mind cringe-worthy images of a cramped interior, boring specs, and standard (a.k.a. if you are lucky, you might get a CD player and power locks) features, today's entry-level cars are well equipped and spacious.

Take the 2010 Toyota Corolla and Scion, two of the most popular entry-level models: satellite radio capabilities, MP3-compatible auxiliary audio jack, and power locks all come standard. Same goes for the Honda Civic and Ford Focus, all cars priced under $20,000, perfect for a tight budget.

According to Allen, however, a passerby won't see a bunch of brand new car models lining the parking rows at her high school. "Most people have used cars," she explains, noting the numerous black and navy blue Ford Explorers, the collection of 1999-2000 Honda Civics, and "lots of hand-me-down cars." Both she and Migombo drive used cars as well (a 2000 silver Volkswagen Beetle and a Toyota, respectively). While she admits that she'd instantly take her parents up on an offer for a new car, Allen is skeptical as to if the risk is worth the payout. "I think it's a little ridiculous, anything can happen," Allen says of her peers who own new cars. She tells of a friend who received a new car for her birthday, only to get in an accident a few months later. "It wasn't her fault but now she has a big dent in the back of her brand new car. That's a lot of money wasted."

Migombo's parents agree: they decided to wait till graduation to reward Migombo with a new car after she was involved in a small accident a few months after she received her license. Lucky for Migombo, her graduation is just around the corner: "I'm a senior and I'm beyond excited. Excited doesn't even describe it."

Jayne O'Donnell, an auto writer for USA Today, takes the opposite approach, focusing more on the safety aspect of newer cars, considering the fact that teens are much more likely to get in an accident: "While it's common to seek out a used car for a teen driver, keep in mind that a vehicle more than three or four years old is pretty unlikely to have the latest safety equipment. Only in the last three years have many non-luxury cars had stability control or side airbags available. But if you're lucky enough to find an affordable slightly older model with the right features, go for it." Since price is such a major factor, O'Donnell suggests that the important thing is to get the safest car you can afford. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, car accidents are the number one cause of death for teenagers, as 3,500 teens were killed in 2008. On its Web site it states that: "The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash."

In a time marked by automotive uncertainty, now more than ever, aesthetics are taking a back seat to dependability and safety in the minds of parents and teens alike. The 2009 bankruptcies of several car companies and the recent Toyota recall have left customers demanding responsibility from their car companies. "People are just concerned whether the cars they're buying are safe and whether the problems have been fixed," said Hayes, the Toyota salesman. "We're just trying to reassure them that they're buying quality vehicles." Lucky for the local Toyota dealerships, Toyota seems as popular as ever among young drivers and their parents. Migombo speaks of her father's preference for foreign-made cars like Toyota, and lists the brand as a personal favorite as well: "A Toyota is just very economical and overall doesn't have a lot of problems. It's the kind of car that I could rely on to take me through my years of college." According to Hayes, the company's sales have returned to normal after a decrease the first three weeks after the recall announcement.