[BEM-S4]

If looking used and you have a decent mechanic in your area you'd be hard pressed to find a safer value car than a 3 or 5 door 9-3 Saab anything up to 2002. Saab still had their hands in design up until then and the cars are INCREDIBLY safe but still fun to drive and very fun / quirky. Also with the hatch design it's perfect for just about anything a kid could need to use a car for. $4-5K, survive high school, if needed get something newer for college or skip a car those 4 years and get newer with warranty upon graduation when work commute becomes a necessity.