Dear Dr. Wes and Kyra:

I heard your webinar on driving, and we’re just at the point of getting our 16-year-old son a car. As parents, we’re in some disagreement. My husband says the car should be older and not too valuable since kids tend to have a lot of fender-benders. I say we need to get something that’s safer to survive a more serious accident.

Wes: Kyra and I have achieved a great milestone today. We’re being asked one of the perennial questions from NPR’s Car Talk. Though now retired, it will probably live on in reruns until cars drive themselves. You can decide which of us is channeling Click and which is Clack as we honor their memory today, especially Tom Magliozzi, who just died last November.

Dr. Wes Crenshaw and Kyra Haas

There’s logic in both your argument and your husband’s. Here’s what you don’t want to do: make your child’s first car an awesome late model ride. Kid cars are not family status symbols. Too many families put too much money into a vehicle that has a statistically high chance of getting dented up or worse. So your husband’s point is well taken.

On the other hand, you want the safest vehicle you can afford and still keep the price in the “okay to bang up” range. It’s a complicated math problem: how much is your child’s safety worth against the need to affordably manage risk.

My suggestion is that you look for a small, cheap, and reliable compact as old as you can go and still get good crash stats and curtain side airbags. Some folks recommend a big car or even an SUV based on supposed crashworthiness, but you have to weigh that against the number of teens your kid can cram in there. The more space, the more teens and statistically, the higher the risk. Though far less economical, a 4×4 pickup is can be a pretty good idea on this variable because it can only hold 2.5 teens, including the driver, and is good in snow. However, it may not be as tough as a car at crash time. Study all that carefully on the Consumer Reports website or app, plus reliability stats.

Whatever you do, don’t buy a Mustang, Camaro or other hot rod to live out a mid-life crisis yearning to live vicariously through your child. Trust me on this. I owned a 1969 Camaro with a 327, Holly double pumper, four on the floor, twelve-bolt rear end, etc. It went fast. My friend had a Trans Am. It went faster. Don’t ask any questions, especially if you’re in law enforcement.

These cars were really bad ideas. Don’t make the same mistake with your kid. Buy something boring, slow and good in crash tests, and leave the Corvette for your son’s own midlife crisis in about 30 years. He’ll be ready for it then. Hopefully.

Kyra: A friend of mine hydroplaned into a stop sign this winter. Another dented her bumper by backing into a parked car. The Corolla I drive has numerous unaccounted for scratches from sitting each day in a high school parking lot full of inexperienced drivers going too fast and parking too close to other vehicles.

Teen drivers have the highest average annual crash and traffic violation rates of any other age group. According to GEICO, one-fifth of 16-year-old drivers have an accident within their first year of driving. And those stats bear out what Wes said about the likelihood of accidents increasing with every additional passenger.

I researched teen crash statistics when I was 14 and 15. It was so bad I was afraid to get behind the wheel until I was 16 ½. While I don’t recommend letting those figures deter driving completely, I think they’re worth keeping in mind, regardless of what vehicle you purchase for your son.

I agree that smaller, older, safe and reliable cars are the best choice. Flashy new ones won’t last a day in the school parking lot, no matter how safely your teen drives.

?On the air: For the third half of our show, join Dr. Wes on the podcast of the ADDitude Magazine webinar discussing best-practice driving tips for kids and young adults with ADHD (Hint: they’re pretty helpful for all teens). Check out dr-wes.com for details.

Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is author of “I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD & ADHD.” Learn about his writing and practice at dr-wes.com. Kyra Haas is a Free State High School senior who blogs at justfreakinghaasome.wordpress.com. Send your confidential 200-word question to ask@dr-wes.com. Double Take opinions and advice are not a substitute for psychological services.