As the year goes on, more students turn driving age, get their drivers license and start driving without a parent in the car. This leads to several headaches for both the students themselves and the parents. There is one question that has been raised time and again by students going through this and that is what car should the student get. These often fall into two different categories: the beater car and the new car.
Every person remembers their first car no matter the age. Almost anyone that is asked about their first will happily explain every detail. They will explain their car’s defining features, for example, a dent from a fire hydrant or maybe its interesting color scheme. For almost every person, their first car is special, and what type of car that will be sticks with them for life.
When questioned over which side of this debate she stood on, the Spanish teacher, Emily Haffey, gave her opinion and supported the beater car side of the question.
“I truly think a junker, like any kind of car that you don’t care that you can run into things, is a good first car,” Haffey said.
It was also considered that newer drivers might have a different opinion and share a different perspective, but if anything the newer drivers that were asked were even more fervent in their views about the importance of the beater in comparison to a nice new car.
“Beater car 100 percent, no doubt in my mind,” Dylan Fortner (10) said.
This raises the question: why does a student think a beater car is better? Haffey believes it is cheaper, but most students have parents funding a portion of or the entire car. So Fortner (10) explains what makes a good first car to him and what type of car he would like.
“A good car it needs to be something reliable and old, a good Mazda CX5,” Fortner (10) said.
While Fortner (10) presents a commonly held belief about what is important there are a variety of different things people look for in a car, though reliability is usually one of if not the top. Max Holbrook (12) presents another very important factor to consider for a first car.
“If the user is comfortable, I think that is the most important factor. So it could be different things. It could be the size of the car, the way it feels on the road, but as long as the user of the car is comfortable that is the most important,” Holbrook (12) said.
There is a belief that if the driver is comfortable they will drive better because they are less distracted. Therefore, if a junker car fills out the necessary requirements it is the preferred choice in this debate.
“I think kids should have a beater car for their first car. It’s cheaper for insurance purposes. As a parent, I don’t worry as much that my son is out in his junker car. Like if you run into something you run into it. It’s a dent, it’s fine,” Haffey said.
The consensus from the students and teachers seems to be that a first car should make the driver comfortable and is reliable and safe, with the additional benefit that if the driver hits something it will not singlehandedly drain their wallet. These are the important factors to look for in a first car.
“I think a good car for a student is something that is a little smaller, and easier to navigate. Just teaches them the basics. It doesn’t have to be something fancy, just something reliable and practical,” Holbrook (12) said.
