Used car with Automatic Emergency Braking??? Opinions? Teen driver!

[Julian]

 

[scokill]

So I ended up getting her a brand new Kia Forte GT (didn't want the GT- but availability forced that). It has all the safety features we were looking for. A Kia Forte GTLine would have been a better choice (more features, less power) but we simply couldn't get our hands on one! We found one at Battleground Kia in Goldsboro - called to confirm it was there, drove over there and it was sold by the time we arrived! (now I'm 99% certain it was sold before I left too...serious bait and switch there). That said, that dealer had one Forte on the lot (first time we found one on the lot) so we bought it (despite the bait and switch game they played). I would NOT recommend this dealer....but we do like the car!

And yes....I had to pay more than MSRP, $2500 more, but not the $5995 more than both local dealers wanted and wouldn't budge. So I feel raped...but my daughter is smiling and we no longer have to coordinate 2 cars with 3 drivers (yeah....1st world problem for sure).

My oldest daughter had Kia Soul. We bought it for the crash rating. Little did we know that she would be in an accident where a guy ran a red light and ripped the front of the car off. My daughter and friend were wrapped in airbags. Just a side burn from the air bag. Bought a new model withe the insurance proceeds. She was in a 9 car pile up where an aluminum ladder fell off of a truck on a highway. Total Soul number two. We then bought a Sportage for her.

In the mean time, wife and I bought a loaded Sorento. It had every feature possible. It wasn't cheap. We had driven a Lexus RX350 and chose the Kia over the Lexus. It's been a great car.

We bought my youngest daughter a used Kia soul and she drove it for a couple of years. It only had 35K miles on it and it started using oil....a lot of oil. The dealership said it was a crapshoot whether Kia would cover if something happened to engine as they technically said there was nothing wrong with it as it was in the upper end of normal consumption. The time expired, not mileage. We sold it and bought new Mazda CX30. It has all the safety features and my daughter loves it. We found a dealer that didn't charge market adjustment but we essentially bought it sight unseen off the truck.

 

[Julian]

My oldest daughter had Kia Soul. We bought it for the crash rating. Little did we know that she would be in an accident where a guy ran a red light and ripped the front of the car off. My daughter and friend were wrapped in airbags. Just a side burn from the air bag. Bought a new model withe the insurance proceeds. She was in a 9 car pile up where an aluminum ladder fell off of a truck on a highway. Total Soul number two. We then bought a Sportage for her.

In the mean time, wife and I bought a loaded Sorento. It had every feature possible. It wasn't cheap. We had driven a Lexus RX350 and chose the Kia over the Lexus. It's been a great car.

We bought my youngest daughter a used Kia soul and she drove it for a couple of years. It only had 35K miles on it and it started using oil....a lot of oil. The dealership said it was a crapshoot whether Kia would cover if something happened to engine as they technically said there was nothing wrong with it as it was in the upper end of normal consumption. The time expired, not mileage. We sold it and bought new Mazda CX30. It has all the safety features and my daughter loves it. We found a dealer that didn't charge market adjustment but we essentially bought it sight unseen off the truck.

Yeah...their 10/100,000 power train warranty is good! We have a Hyundai also (basically same cars) and its been good. The new Forte was only 2k more than the used ones with 20k miles on it! Still insane car pricing....and if I could wait until the fall we'd probably have paid under MSRP, I'd said I'd get her a car for graduation.....

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Yeah...their 10/100,000 power train warranty is good! We have a Hyundai also (basically same cars) and its been good. The new Forte was only 2k more than the used ones with 20k miles on it! Still insane car pricing....and if I could wait until the fall we'd probably have paid under MSRP, I'd said I'd get her a car for graduation.....

We went through the same thing when my daughter got her Jeep Renegade last week. I told my daughter look at the small difference between new and used prices. Then, look at the difference in interest rates between buying a new and used car, and see that the difference in cost between the two is even less! Plus, it's nice to have that full warranty again. Pretty much a no-brainer to buy a new car in this market IF you can find what you want.

Used car prices are nuts. We bought our daughter the Chevy Sonic (in part due to the 10 airbags) eight years ago for 15K (new) and got a 10K settlement for the Sonic being totaled in the hit-and-run. I really happy she got a new car as there have been a number of safety features added since her last car.

Hope your daughter safely enjoys her new car for a long time!

Jim

 

[Julian]

We went through the same thing when my daughter got her Jeep Renegade last week. I told my daughter look at the small difference between new and used prices. Then, look at the difference in interest rates between buying a new and used car, and see that the difference in cost between the two is even less! Plus, it's nice to have that full warranty again. Pretty much a no-brainer to buy a new car in this market IF you can find what you want.

Used car prices are nuts. We bought our daughter the Chevy Sonic (in part due to the 10 airbags) eight years ago for 15K (new) and got a 10K settlement for the Sonic being totaled in the hit-and-run. I really happy she got a new car as there have been a number of safety features added since her last car.

Hope your daughter safely enjoys her new car for a long time!

Jim

Yeah....lots of new safety features! Automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist (it does a better job than my Audi by far), cross traffic warnings, blind spot warnings, pedestrian warnings..... not sure there is a safety feature it doesn't have! My car (admitedly its a 2018) will whine at me if I take my hands off the steering wheel for 30 seconds, the Kia will go 2 minutes - and holds the car steadily in its lane, while the Audi will pinball a little. Plus it has a huge 10.5" touch screen, remote start/lock etc.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

10'5" is a big screen!, the Renegade has an 8.4" screen (the same as in my 2020 Ram). When using the built in navigation, turn information also pops up on the instrument cluster screen. What a huge improvement over my daughter using her iPhone on a mount that was constantly falling off the windshield!

Jim

 

[granpachuck]

So my daughter is about to get her license (WARING TO RALEIGH NC DRIVERS!!!!).....and we are pondering getting a 3rd car....and given her driving skills, Automatic Emergency Braking might be a valuable "investment". Looking at a used car.....

Nissan's have it on their Sentra's - pretty cost effective choice.

Anyone have any personal opinions?

I did go through this list:

https://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/great-used-cars-automatic-braking-and-other-active-safety-features-2019-281474979953294

Best of luck Julian, as a father of 6, I can share some of our experiences that might help with your decisions. My oldest daughter was picking up her sister one night, another family runs a red light and creams them. Broken neck, among other injuries. Kids recovered, dad still has not, been 22 years..

A young lady was driving drunk and t boned our family car, 3 of my children in it. We were not. Suburban rolled several times, all glass broken, tires flat. Car destroyed. I almost had a stroke going to the scene, my kids were there brushing glass off them . Bumps and bruises. Incredibly lucky there.

There are plenty more.. but I would get every safety feature available. Driving is getting statistically more hazardous. I am sorry that this might make you worry more, but people just do not pay attention.

I saw in another thread you asked about homeowners, and umbrella coverage. I think you said you had 1 million. Consider double or tripling that. Add medical fees if you haven't already, and increase your deductible on home and auto. I have USAA, not the cheapest , not even close. They have paid out a ton for us, customer service is top shelf.

 

[Julian]

Best of luck Julian, as a father of 6, I can share some of our experiences that might help with your decisions. My oldest daughter was picking up her sister one night, another family runs a red light and creams them. Broken neck, among other injuries. Kids recovered, dad still has not, been 22 years..

A young lady was driving drunk and t boned our family car, 3 of my children in it. We were not. Suburban rolled several times, all glass broken, tires flat. Car destroyed. I almost had a stroke going to the scene, my kids were there brushing glass off them . Bumps and bruises. Incredibly lucky there.

There are plenty more.. but I would get every safety feature available. Driving is getting statistically more hazardous. I am sorry that this might make you worry more, but people just do not pay attention.

I saw in another thread you asked about homeowners, and umbrella coverage. I think you said you had 1 million. Consider double or tripling that. Add medical fees if you haven't already, and increase your deductible on home and auto. I have USAA, not the cheapest , not even close. They have paid out a ton for us, customer service is top shelf.

USAA is only available to people who served in the US military or their offspring/dependents. My brother has it...we don't qualify.

Agree on the safety point--which is why I want to get her a new car with every new safety feature available (which we did). A few brands are putting them into most of their models (if not all). I was surprised that Toyota didn't have blind spot monitoring in their Corollas (until you get to the top of the line). You pay a premium for Toyotas but get less safety features.

Happy with the purchase so far.....lets hope it remains accident free!

 

[granpachuck]

USAA is only available to people who served in the US military or their offspring/dependents. My brother has it...we don't qualify.

Agree on the safety point--which is why I want to get her a new car with every new safety feature available (which we did). A few brands are putting them into most of their models (if not all). I was surprised that Toyota didn't have blind spot monitoring in their Corollas (until you get to the top of the line). You pay a premium for Toyotas but get less safety features.

Happy with the purchase so far.....lets hope it remains accident free!

I had not seen your post that you already made your purchase. Looks like you did very well. I am aware of the USAA restrictions, and did not mean it to sound like I was recommending them. If someone is price comparing, USAA will not fare well.