Let's say, for whatever reason, you only have $3,000 to spend on a new car. You probably wouldn't expect them to be as safe as a new car, and you'd be right, but if you pick the right car, you can get surprisingly close.
Usually, these cars are going to be about 10 to 20 years old. This means 2000 to 2010, an era which saw rapid progress in car safety features and crashworthiness. Here are some safety features you don't want to go without, even if you've only got a small budget:
Clean history. Most cars at this price will have had at least a fender bender at some point in their life. But don't get something that's been in a major wreck, or, worse, has been totaled. Airbag deployment is a yellow flag; frame damage is a no-no. If the car's been damaged in a major crash, it may not be able to protect you as well in a subsequent crash.
Good crash test ratings. Don't settle for less than a 4-star rating in any NHTSA test, and try to get as many 5-star ratings as possible. A Good IIHS offset rating and Acceptable side-impact rating is a good minimum guideline; Good in both would be better, and a Top Safety Pick - they go back to 2006, so probably one of the earlier ones as I write this - would be ideal.
Side curtain airbags. These started becoming common on new cars around 2004, and most new cars had them by '08. They're pretty easy to find; about a third of cars on sale even at this price have them.
Electronic stability control. Mandatory on all new cars since 2012 and available on many cars as old as the late 2000s (and SUVs as old as the mid-2000s), this is an evolution of anti-lock brakes (a must-have safety feature at any price) that has been touted as the best safety advancement since the airbag. If you're in a tight spot, ESC can help save your life.
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