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What Parents of Teen Drivers Should Know About Sports Cars

It’s stressful enough for parents when their kids want to start driving. What makes it even more stressful is when parents have to grapple with their kids wanting to drive a fancy sports car. This type of vehicle symbolizes a lot of things for teenage drivers — boys in particular. 

Sports cars represent the pinnacle of driving. They go really fast, look amazing, and cost a lot of money. The last item on the list is a way for young people to brag about their parents having a lot of money to spend on vehicles. 

This isn’t a problem every parent is going to experience. Sports cars are out of the price range of most budgets, but many teens might get a job to help buy a sports car. It’s important to discuss the reasons why teens want these cars, and how parents can afford to insure them and take care of them if they are purchased. 

Cheap sports car insurance for young drivers is available if you shop around and know what are the cheapest sports cars to insure. We’ll talk about this and many other topics related to sports cars for teenage drivers. 

Why Do Teens Love Sports Cars?

What does a teenager want more than anything in the world? It’s usually the ability to feel like an adult. They want to be free from their parents’ restrictions and crave respect from their peers. The rebellious nature of many teens is a simple response to them being sick of childhood and desiring more mature activities in their lives. 

A sports car is the type of purchase that gives a person an adrenaline boost. It ups their confidence for a long time afterward. It’s a short-term solution to a problem that will go away in the long run. It doesn’t mean a teenager can’t love their sports car for decades after they receive it, though.

Focusing on strictly the driving aspect of the sports car experience, buying one of these vehicles will instill confidence in young drivers that their parents trust them behind the wheel. There is an allure to getting in a sports car, and operating one requires precision that should not be taken lightly. 

If a parent has a sports car they drive themselves, it might be a better option to let teens drive their parent’s car. This way the parents can be responsible for the many extra concerns that go into sports car maintenance. They can keep a better eye on their child, and the teen driver will feel more cautious driving because it’s not their car. 

Are Sports Cars Safe? 

Sports cars get a bad reputation for being unsafe to drive because they encourage the person behind the wheel to go faster and turn recklessly. While some people could argue that the added safety and performance features make sports cars safer, they still are risky for young people to drive over other cars. 

One of the most important parts of a car that every parent wants their kids to have is good brakes. When you buy a sports car, the brake system is spectacular. This is to prevent accidents from happening when drivers are going at such high speeds, but it’s very dangerous for teens to be going that fast. 

It is important for young drivers to develop great braking skills. You can find non-sports cars that have great braking systems, anti-lock brakes, and other safety features to keep them protected behind the wheel. 

It is important to note that sports cars also have other technological assistants in place. This could range from parking assists to extra mirrors to see in blind spots that are normally hazardous to maneuver. If teens do end up driving a sports car, you can at least have the peace of mind to know they have high-end safety additions. 

If kids are using their parent’s sports car, they may want to keep it from getting damaged because they don’t own it. This added motivation to stay safe, along with the technology available, makes driving a sports car manageable for young drivers, but still not more ideal than your typical family car.

Can You Get Good Insurance for Sports Cars? 

This is a sticking point for buying a sports car for your teenager. Insurance for young drivers is already very high. If that is combined with the higher insurance that comes with sports cars, there’s going to be an incredibly hefty amount of cash sent out for auto insurance in this scenario.

This is why the better option would be to have your kid drive a sports car you own. Add them to the policy you are already on and you could get cheaper rates than your kid would insuring it on their own. This is because they would not be considered the primary driver of the car. 

If this isn’t enough of a discount, ask the sports car dealer you bought the vehicle from for recommendations on insurance policies. They will often have connections to give you the best insurance discounts and rates possible. 

Make sure your child has taken a defensive driving school class. They could also take a special class that specializes in the safe driving of sports cars. Insurance companies love to see that young drivers have done their homework and practiced safe driving in a controlled setting like a driver’s ed course. 

Other Things to Consider With Sports Cars

This entire discussion doesn’t matter if you can’t afford to buy yourself or your child a sports car. The point here is to encourage peace of mind when driving a sports car that can’t be replicated with other vehicles. 

Parents should remember sports cars are not only expensive to buy, but they are pricey to keep up with. You never know when the next random part that needs to be shipped in from a foreign country will go out. This leaves you in a financial bind and wondering where to take the vehicle to get the best estimate for maintenance. 

Making sure the vehicle can be serviced, preferably where it was purchased, is one of the vital aspects to consider before buying a sports car. If all the things we’ve talked about sound appealing to you, there is no reason to be afraid of your teenager driving a sports car. Just make sure they don’t rub their fancy vehicles in their friends’ faces. 

About the Author: Shawn Laib writes and researches for the auto insurance comparison site, CarInsuranceComparison.com. He wants to help parents understand the risks and rewards of buying their child a sports car.