Many of us shop for used vehicles and don’t mind buying an older car if it has low miles on it. There are some cars you should stay away from, especially if you’re buying them as the first car for your teen driver. The biggest problem with these cars; safety. They haven’t performed well in crash tests and aren’t built to protect you or your offspring in a crash. Specifically these vehicles either rated marginal or poor for the moderate overlap front crash test or the side crash test. These cars also receive a poor rating in either roof strength or head restraints and seats.
2002-2005 Saturn L-Series – This car has a nice look to it and is efficient to make it a nice first car if it was safer. The L-Series received a poor rating on the side head restraints and seats. This was supposed to be a competitive midsized model, but certainly isn’t one you would ever want to trust in a crash.
1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am – Here is a car that looks cool and was one of the most popular small coupe or sedans to drive for many years. This car received its poor rating on the moderate overlap front crash and the testing of the head restraints and seats. If you are in one of these cars there is a high likelihood of a head injury in a crash.
2000-2006 Nissan Sentra – This was the first version of the Sentra to move from the subcompact to the compact class and it received a poor rating for the head restraints and seats as well as in side impact collision tests. There is a higher than average likelihood of a head injury if a car was to broadside this Sentra.
2000-2006 Mazda MPV – Here is a vehicle that should frighten you; how many of you owned this Mazda minivan in the past? This vehicle is one of the most dangerous on the road with a poor rating for the side impact crash test and head restraints and seats testing. There would be a higher than average chance the driver would receive rib injuries in this vehicle.
2006-2009 Kia Rio – The Kia brand has made significant progress over the past few years, but this Rio from only a few years ago wasn’t safe to drive at all. This car was rated poor on the side impact crash and for the testing of the heat restraints and seats. Thankfully, models after 2009 have much better safety equipment and ratings to be good cars for you to buy.
2001-2005 Kia Optima – The story for this car is similar to that of the Rio. This car, while an attractive and popular model at the time, scored poorly on the side impact crash test and for the head restraint and seat evaluations. This is a car that has come a long way since these early days of being unsafe to drive.
2006-2011 Hyundai Accent –It might surprise you to have a car on this list that’s built in this decade, but this is one that you need to avoid. This is a car that was highly popular because of the small size and low price, but it scored poorly on the head restraints and seat tests as well as on the side impact test making it a car that might just break your pelvis.
2001-2006 GMC Sierra 1500 –This is a surprise on this list because trucks usually have so much surrounding the occupants that everyone is protected. This truck scored poorly for the headrests and received a marginal score on the front crash impact test. Thankfully this truck has improved dramatically since this generation.
1996-2005 GMC Safari – This van has been sold as the Chevrolet Astro and is a work van that you might see on the road. Avoid trouble in your business and stay away from this as your work van. This is a vehicle that scored poorly on the moderate overlap front crash test and for the heat restraints. The testing showed a front crash would result in serious leg injuries for a driver of this van.
2000-2005 Dodge Neon – Here it is the most dangerous car to drive in America. This car received a poor score on the side crash impact and for the headrest safety. This car was the car driven by more people who were killed between 2002 and 2005 than any other car. Thankfully it has now been discontinued from our market.
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