Hoping to get him through high school. Well not only high school and then 4 years or college and now 2 years including driving it to Texas for his current job as an engineer, and he won’t replace it yet because it hasn’t needed anything but oil, brakes, tires, and a battery in almost 8 years of ownership.

Bought my twins a 1997 Jeep Cherokee for $2300 in about 2016 and if got them through high school, and 3 years into their military time including me driving it cross country from Arizona to North Carolina for them. They just let it go and opted to buy their own cars, but otherwise only brakes, oil, and a battery to keep it on the road including a cross country trip.

Got my step daughter a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 for $2000 in 2019, it’s still going but has needed brakes, burns some oil, and she has hit multiple things so glad I didn’t spend more.

Basically, if you are handy at all, you can buy a cheap car for teens for under $3000 that will more than last for them, even if they aren’t sure it’s the cool car at the time, all of mine except the Hyundai are vehicles their friends all like better than the more expensive car their parents got them.