Best Used Cars for Teens Under $20,000

The temptation—often born of necessity—is to buy a less-expensive, bare-bones model or to pass down an older family car. But because the car will be transporting their children, we feel that parents should pick the best and safest car their budget allows.

The Good Used Car Choices and Best Used Car Choices lists omit subcompact cars and other vehicles under 2,750 pounds because research shows that they don’t provide adequate protection in multiple-vehicle crashes. And large SUVs and pickup trucks aren’t included because they can be hard to handle, they often have increased braking distances, and they pose a greater risk to other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Even amid elevated prices, we kept our cutoff at $20,000, and there are many good choices for less money. For some families, today’s elevated used-car prices may mean that buying a new car is the right move, particularly with lower loan interest rates. Not to worry: We have a list for that.

CR and IIHS identified more than 60 used vehicles under $20,000 that meet stringent safety and reliability criteria.

These recommendations focus on “Goldilocks” models that provide the best all-around protection for inexperienced drivers. Ultimately, the goal is to select a reliable car with as much safety as you can afford. Active driver assistance systems (ADAS) are becoming widespread and are now available in many late-model used cars. Features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and blind spot warning are proven features that can help avoid collisions and are worth considering if your budget allows it.

The starting price listed is the least-expensive version in the range of years, assuming that the vehicle is in good condition with typical mileage and that it’s sold by a private party. The prices were provided by Kelley Blue Book, rounded to the nearest $100, and they reflect the average U.S. values from April 19, 2024.

We present two tiers of recommendations: Good Choices and Best Choices, grouped by car category and ranked by price.

For complete road tests, reliability, owner satisfaction, pricing, and much more, click on the model names below. 

To make the cut to be a Good Choice, the vehicles must have:

• Above-average reliability for a majority of the years listed, based on CR’s member surveys.

• Average or better scores from CR’s emergency handling tests.

• Dry braking distances of less than 145 feet from 60 mph in CR’s brake tests.

• A good or acceptable rating in the IIHS driver’s-side small-overlap front crash test. Launched in 2012, the test replicates what happens when the front left corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole.

• Good ratings in four IIHS crashworthiness tests: moderate-overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints.

• Four or five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (if rated).

These picks meet an even higher standard by requiring:

Standard automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems that earn an advanced or superior rating from IIHS in the original vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test. AEB cuts police-reported front-to-rear crashes in half, IIHS research has shown, and rear-end crashes make up nearly a quarter of all crashes teens are involved in.