Teen Drivers: A Parent's Guide: Part 2

Teen drivers: A Parent's Guide

Your insurance will spike when your youngster gets a license, no question. But your kid's grades, the type of car, driver training and other factors affect what you'll pay.

It is almost always cheaper to add teenagers to an existing policy than to exclude them and instead buy an additional car and insure that, says CarInsurance.com consumer analyst Penny Gusner.


Not-so-hot wheels
If your household has several cars, it can help to have your new driver assigned to a specific one -- the one that's cheapest to insure.

If your child will have a car of his or her own, one place to start when looking for a car is the IIHS website, which lists insurance losses by make and model for vehicles built prior to 2010. Those vehicles with lower auto insurance losses will typically have lower auto insurance rates, while providing more protection if your teen is in a crash, Rader says.

The site also has a listing of the IIHS's top safety picks for 2011 and older model years.
Compare car loans
June Walbert, a Certified Financial Planner for USAA, says a vehicle with a "bigger, faster engine costs more money to insure and more money to repair."

And just having a car with a powerful engine can be a temptation, Walbert says. "If you have that kind of power available, perhaps you'll use it." Instead, she recommends four-door sedans and crossover vehicles.