Cheap First Car

Owning a cheap first car brings with it both advantages and disadvantages. Let's start with the advantages first. The number one advantage to having a cheap first car is the cost.

The cost of the car, the cost of the loan payments, the cost of insurance may all be cheaper than a more expensive model. Teens usually don't have a lot of money to spend on a vehicle and neither do their parents.

Parents typically either pay rent or a mortgage, pay for their cars or vehicles plus all the other household bills. They look at a cheap first car for their teen as a learning vehicle that won't cost an arm and a leg and still get their young driver where they need to go, such as school, work or social activities.

The kind of cheap first car one chooses, however, so that it truly is inexpensive. Some cheap first cars that are not well maintained will end up costing more money than a midrange car that is in decent shape.

So, this is one of the disadvantages of a cheap first car. The vehicle may have been "rode hard and put away wet" as the cowboys used to say. If major repairs are needed then the car is not so cheap.

In addition if the car needs one small repair after another, the accumulation of repairs may mean that this cheap first car is in the shop a lot, inconveniencing the teen and the parents plus the ongoing expenses of maintaining and repairing the car.

A cheap first car can be an asset if it is a transitional vehicle to something better. For instance my first car was a bonafide clunker. If there were a "Cash for Clunkers" program back when I bought it I would have taken advantage of this program.

But, my cheap first car was a transitional vehicle to something better. Because of my cheap first car, I was able to get a job, make money and 9 months later buy a truck that I really liked that was not so cheap and did not break down all the time.

So, there are instances where a cheap first car does make sense. It also makes sense if a person simply does not have the cash or credit for something better. If that's all you got, then that's all you got, as they say.

But, if you can pay a few more dollars for a vehicle that has more safety features, such as side impact air bags or is well-maintained and won't leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere then it may be a wise investment.