A guide to buying your teenagers first car on the Sunshine Coast

When you first got your license, your parents probably handed you they keys $500 piece of scrap metal and said, “If you break it, you won’t get another one”. Back then the Sunshine Coast roads were far less crowded and drivers were far less distracted meaning the roads were a lot safer. Your parents also probably knew Caloundra’s local mechanic quite well and repairs wouldn’t have cost too much either.

A lot has changed since then and you would probably think twice on buying your teenager the cheapest running car you could find on Carsales or Gumtree as it might break down and cost you more than what it’s worth. Not to mention the safety of your young driver could be jeopardised, as most cheap and older cars aren’t fittest with the best safety technology. We've put together a couple of rules we think are important when buying your teenager their first car.

Rule #1 Don’t listen to your kids

As a parent, you want to choose a safe and reliable car for your teenager that will get them from A to B and that won’t blow your budget either. As a p-plater, most of the driving they would do is locally and occasionally on the highway. Despite what they think, they probably don’t need a big four-wheel drive or a sports car.

Rule #2 Consider a car with the best safety features

Like I mentioned before, older cars don’t always have the best safety features if any at all. This can be quite concerning as we know how inexperienced our teenagers are in driving. The Yaris is packed with safety features to keep those new drivers safe on the road and help prevent any bingles. Here are some of the safety features that come with the Yaris Ascent:

Reversing camera – Helps to navigate into tight parking spots and avoid hard to see objects

7 SRS airbags  - To your teenager and their friends safe in the case of a collision

Advanced braking - Every Yaris features Anti-lock Braking, Electronic Brake force Distribution, Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability and Traction Control for an ever safer drive

Rule #3 Look for best value for money

The Toyota Yaris is one of the best value small cars on the market. It might be small but it’s packed with features that will have your teenager zipping all around the Sunshine Coast with a smile on their face like Bluetooth connectivity so they can take calls hands-free and stream their favourite music. Not to mention when they realise how cheap it is on fuel!

Toyota Yaris at Sunshine Toyota

Sunshine Toyota currently has great deals on Yaris. So if you’re looking for a safe, reliable and affordable first car for your teenager then come in to chat to one of our team about becoming a Yaris owner simply or follow this link to test-drive today. If you would like to check out Sunshine Toyota’s current Yaris deals click here.