What car to buy, how to insure it
By Susan Nienow CONTRIBUTING WRITER

File photo While every teen dreams of driving a flashy new sports car, experts usually recommend that beginning drivers start out with a vehicle that is larger and older.

If parents are going to buy an additional car for the family when a teen reaches driving age, they should follow the advice of experts: Don't go too big or too small. Large SUVs can be harder for inexperienced drivers to steer and maneuver while subcompact cars have the highest fatality rate of any category of vehicles.

New vehicles rated safest by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety for electronic stability control and side, front and rear impact include the Acura RDX, Audi A4, Audi A6, Honda CR-V, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Entourage, Kia Sedona, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Saab 9-3, Subaru B9 Tribeca, Lincoln MKX, Ford Edge, Suburau Forester, Subaru Legacy and Volvo XC 90.

But, that doesn't mean other cars are unsafe. To check the crash results of other cars, visit www.iihs.org/rating/ and www.hhtsa.dot.gov.

Art Heinz, insurance agent for Nationwide, doesn't recommend starting off with the nicest car. A bigger, older car might be the safest and least expensive to insure. Look for cars with ABS brakes and driver air bags. Passenger and side air bags are a plus.

However, most cars are only as safe as their drivers. "Statistically, good students are safer drivers," and often qualify for a "good student" discount on their insurance premiums, said Heinz.

"The first year is the most important," he cautioned. "If you see or hear anything [from your teen], it is probably twice as bad when you're not around. You want your child to come home safely. You can't take this too seriously."

Heinz noted that very few kids pay for their own insurance.

Eric Armstrong, Allstate insurance agent, recommends Allstate's Teen Smart CD program with driving tutorials and student workbook. Completion of the program may lower insurance rates up to 10 percent. It teaches kids how to anticipate problems, and addresses speed and space management.

Warren Winner of Chesterfield Insurers suggests that parents make their child financially responsible in some way. The teen should know that when he has an accident, insurance rates will go up about 30 percent - an increase that will stay in effect for at least three years.

If parents are going to buy a car, Winner recommends that they check on the cost of insuring different types of vehicles. Sometimes inexpensive cars are not necessarily inexpensive to insure.

Christine Kearns, personal lines insurance manager for Chesterfield Insurers, suggests that you only need liability insurance on an older car that will be driven by a new driver. As the years go by the rates will gradually decrease as long as the driving record is good.

Insurance rates are determined by the age and years of experience of the driver, the driving record, the make, model and year of the car, prior insurance record and good grades. Safety devices like air bags can reduce the rates. Teen driving resources

www.reportmyteen.com www.teendrivers.com www.driversedge.com www.streetsurvival.com www.carcontrol.com www.safeteendriving.org