To me, the sad part isn't the cost of used cars available to teens but the lack of interest teens have in fixing up their cars compared to decades ago. There is so much less interest in getting hands on, fixing them up MECHANICALLY and cosmetically and taking pride in repairing things, and mostly for the males, improving the performance. That seems to be gone for the majority. I'm not saying there aren't some that still have that interest but it's nothing like it once was. Granted expensive diagnostic tools are necessary for a lot but older cars don't need as much and prices on basic diagnostics are coming down.

Most seem to be just as happy in mom's suv as they would be in a tuned Civic (not what I would want but whatever). Grease under the fingernails is icky to even male teens now. I'm amazed at how many families with male teens have a lawn service mowing their lawn. That tells you something right there. I know they are busy with school, etc. but I cannot believe parents do this! I had school, sports, etc. but there was no way my azz wasn't mowing the lawn!