Your best bet in a used car will be a well-maintained American car. I don't want to get into the U.S./rest of the world "discussion" being held on other threads. I'll just say that proper maintenance has more to do with a car's trouble-free operation than where it is made. Right now, there are some decent American cars out there, but perception has not caught up with the reality, so American cars suffer more depreciation than many foreign cars. As a buyer of a used car, you can take advantage of that. Some of the cars you might want to look at include the Ford Taurus, or just anything midsize or larger from GM. I'm guessing that, since you got to the age of 16 without being a "gearhead," you mostly want a comfortable, reliable car. These will do the job. They shouldn't cost a fortune for insurance, either. Mikie is right -- even if you're paying for your own insurance, it will be cheaper to piggyback on your parents' policy than it will be for you to go solo. Ask about discounts if you get good grades in school or are willing to drive only a certain number of miles per month, etc. Finally, what else I wish I'd known about cars at your age? Having a car is a joy and a privilege -- and a responsibility. As a teenager, you have the benefit of quick reflexes and (I hope) formal training. You can be an excellent driver. But there's no substitute for experience -- especially at night in the rain and on icy roads. I knew how to steer out of a skid -- until the first time I found myself in one and narrowly missed a fence as I spun into a farmer's field. It's different when it really happens. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you're immortal (every teenager thinks so; so did I). You're in control of almost two tons of metal and glass and plastic, so be careful. When I was 16, nobody had cell phones and we were lucky if the car had an FM radio, nevermind multi-channel stereo systems and iPod links and the like. I know teenagers are better at multi-tasking than they used to be, but you still have one primary task in a car -- driving. Don't be distracted by fiddling with the stereo or talking with friends. It's okay to concentrate on driving. Professional auto racers do. Have fun! Getting my first car was a blast. I hope you find one you really like and have many happy miles with it.

Ooh, I"m the mean mom on this one-no, I never let my kids eat or drink in the car. Ever. Not when they were tiny, not older with fast food, not now as teenagers. I bought my (first ever in my life) brand new vehicle when I was pregnant with my first child. To be honest, I knew that the crud of food detritus that ALWAYS results from little ones and food in a car would be impossible for me to bear so I figured it was best not to even start it. So we never did. I do have to say that if you are going to have a no-food rule in the car, it probably has to be something that starts from the very beginning. I think it would be extremely difficult to enforce once the kids (and mom :) are used to it. Oh, and I am such a neat freak I couldn't bear to let my toddlers sit in a high chair and smear food all over themselves. Just couldn't stand it. So no photos of my one year old wearing birthday cake all over the face, body and furniture, no watching them smear peas into a paste all over "brrr, gives me the shudders to think of it) etc...they feed themselves fine anyway nowadays. They'll probably be talking about mean old mom in therapy for years though! Ann

I've seen major differences, too. We insured with Allstate for 30 years. For our cars and our home. During that whole time, we had our pick-up broken into twice, we hit a deer once, someone pulled out in front of me and I hit her van (her insurance paid) and someone broke into our garage and then stole CD's out of my car. No tickets though. When our kids were teenagers, they made us insure ALL our cars for them driving them, even though there was NO WAY they were going to be allowed to drive anything but the used car we bought for them to share. It was quite expensive. Our son got several tickets and every time he did, all our insurance premiums went up. Then, seven years ago, we bought a house in the next town that is practically a suburb of the city that we lived in, and sold our current house. Even though we only paid $68,000 for our new house, Allstate insisted on insuring it for $125,000, and the premiums were huge. We then started shopping around. We found Shelter Insurance which allowed us to insure the new house for the same amount but at a much lower rate. Our car insurance quotes were a lot less too. Of course the kids were long grown up by then. But we had a grandson growing up in our house. When he started driving, I told the agent he had his own vehicle and he was not going to be driving ours. She said, "Fine". His insurance is kind of high, but the vehicle is an older one so that helps. When we left Allstate, after having been with them for thirty years for our house and two cars, do you know no one at Allstate even bothered to even ask why we were cancelling our insurance with them? I guess they didn't need our business any more. The big question that you have to ask, when it comes to insurance, is what their performance is when you need them. For that you'd just about have to ask people who've had that experience. With Allstate, at first it was easy. The adjuster looked at the damage, we got three estimates and then they gave us a check. The last time we had a claim was when we hit that deer. They wanted my husband to drive the car 50 miles to Tulsa for the adjuster to look at it! Can you imagine driving a car with a crumpled hood that wouldn't stay closed, a dangling headlight and who knows what kind of internal damage, 100 miles total? My husband said he'd call the insurance commission, so they made arrangements to look at the car locally. The year we had so much hail, we put in a claim for damage to our concrete patio. There were circular areas about the size of a saucer, where the top layer of the concrete flaked off, but it didn't show up until winter after water had seeped into the fine cracks and then frozen. Our claim was denied, the adjuster said it was "normal wear and tear". I've known people who have insured with smaller companies and then they can't get any service. Sometimes they insist that you use cheap parts for the repair. Buying insurance is getting so complicated. Make sure you're comparing exactly because there are so many variables, and make sure you know what those are and whether you need them all. If you have an older car that's not worth very much, it may not be worth having the part that replaces your vehicle if you wreck it.

Sometimes brokers, not being tied to one company, can shop around and find better rates than one can get from a tied agent ... and one can check the offerings of the tied agents, as well, (e.g. Allstate, State Farm, etc., I think). Read the contracts carefully, as the coverage may vary substantially, as well. Also, the costs aren't the only consideration ... good idea to ask around among friends to learn what kind of experience one has with various carriers when one makes a claim. Ask friends also about their premium rates - and coverage. Check my Christmas gift. If you could afford to replace your car if it were totalled, you might choose to carry no coverage in case of collision (i.e., that'll fix your car in case of an accident where no one else at fault). My car is 22 years old and I haven't had collision insurance on it for my 2 year ownership ... or on the '93 Taurus that I got about 4 years ago and was totalled within a couple of years (I have "no fault" insurance, so, the reason for the accident having been adjudged to be not my fault, my company paid their evaluated value of that make, model and year of vehicle) or the '90 Dodge Colt that I had for about 7 years ('98 - '05) before that. Have you checked Consumer Reports? Some people swear by their gradings (and I think that some swear at them). Maybe buy a/some share(s) of Berkshire Hathaway "A" or "B": the B shares, 1/30th of the value of the original "A" shares, sell for about $3,300. Then buy your insurance from Geico ... and let some of your premium return to you as profit. Since Berk Hath doesn't pay dividends, you won't have any ongoing income on which you'll need to pay tax (but the share values have grown nicely, over the years: the "A" shares, now selling for around $100,000. could have been bought for about $12.00 in '65, when Warren Buffett took over) and they last paid a dividend of about a dime a share in 1967. Do you have a financial calculator? I figure that that investment of about $35.00 is one of the best investments that we all, as managers of our own private money, should make. When I enter "present value" as "$12" and enter the period of investment as "44 years", then enter "future value" as "$100,000", then ask for the rate of interest/growth involved ... it tells me that the average compound rate of growth has been >22% (if you figure 45 years to next year, it being now so close ... still >22%). To calculate that figure on your regular calculator, enter "1.22 X 12 =" and it will show that after 1 year your value has grown to $14.64. Press "=" again and it will show that after 2 years to $17.86; press "=" again and after 3 years to $21.79. After 11 years - $106.939; after 19 years $524.829; after 23 years $1,162.67; after 31 years $5,706.05; after 34 years $10,361.32 ... ... and after 44 years ... sorry, it appears that I goofed, as it shows a result of only $75.685.637 ... and it makes only $92,336.477 after 45 years, not the $100,000. - but it grows to $112,650.50 after 46 years. So - to grow to $100,000. after 44 years means that the percentage rate was a bit higher than 22%! Not something that you'd complain about, I'll bet! Caution: growth rates of stocks are not smooth: sometimes they grow quickly for a short while, sometimes take a large drop (e.g. over 30% for many during the past year) ... and sometimes drag along for substantial periods with little change. However - you can see what the cost may be of delaying starting an investment program for just one year - as the chop-off is one year shorter, at the end. Unless you added more from time to time as you went along. And how much tax have you been required to pay over those years? Since 1967 - nothing! What's the most important component in building wealth? For most of us, in most circumstances ... time! ole joyful P.S. I used Berkshire Hathaway by way of illustration: I'm not suggesting that that company's shares might be a good investment for your program. And future rates of growth (or loss) may vary substantially from past results. o j