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Morning all,
My daughter has passed her driving test and now looking for her first car. Hoping to find something around 7-8 years old, budget 4k, and hopefully reliable!
It's been a long time since I've looked at this part of the car market. Am I correct to think that something along the lines of a Ford Fiesta would be the go to car?
Hoping to find something with a FSH and that has been looked after over the years...
At the moment I'm thinking:
Ford Fiesta
Vauxhall Corsa
Seat Ibiza
VW Polo
Peugeot 208
Renault Clio
Any advice on what to avoid, look out for, etc much appreciated.
And if anyone happens to be thinking about selling their similar to the above car soon please let me know.
Kia Picanto can be added to the list.
No idea what the prices are like at the moment but 2yrs ago the 11yr old 5 door, low mileage Picanto that I sold for 4k went back on the market for 6k.
All the kids I ever see seem to drive Fiestas and Corsas (and, living in Harrogate so plenty with £££££££s) quite a few much newer Mini Coopers.
I have just over a year to go, but one of my twin daughters has a nice nest egg (the other bought a horse LOL) and she's leaning towards a Fiat 500.
The main issue I have is that it will need to be reasonably 'cool'
Me, I'd buy an old reliable whatever the hell as long as it goes every time I turn the key and I don't care what it looks like. But hey...
Nothing cooler than a Panda
I'd think you could usefully add
VW Up
Toyota Aygo / Citroën C1 / Peugeot 108 (?)
to the list
Yaris, Aygo (and the Citroen/Pug Equiv).
You might just get the new shape Aygo for £4k. Engines are bomb proof and they are easy to fix and relatively cheap to insure. Corsa's and Fiestas can be expensive to insure for youngsters as it's the most popular. Fiesta's - watch out for the ecoboom engines.
Polo/Ibiza/Fabia - looking at a fairly old one for £4k.
Do a few auto trader searches and try insurance comparisons. That first year driving will be significantly more expensive !
Avoid cars from the North East & Scotland, especially if not looked after and hosed off underneath - they go rather crusty underneath.
Cool = expensive insurance.
We run a 60 plate Aygo as a spare for son/daughter. When my son's not using it, I'll use it as a shopper as I'm not running my 'posh' diesel van to the shops and back (won't do it any good), It's been pretty good over the three years we've had it, but needed a bit of work when we got it as the previous owner just 'drove it' - new discs/pads, full exhaust and cat, aircon recharged (I found the leak - loose sensor), alternator, and I've undersealed it (cleaned up suspension and coated it).
A Jazz won't make the cool list.
We recently bought a 2016 Fiesta for just over £4k.
Nice little car.
£20 tax. Sips fuel. Not a rocket ship. "My Key" (so you can limit the speed, audio volume and other settings.)
If you are going for the Eco-Boost check the service history. You'll want one that has had the timing belt done and has had new oil / filters at regular intervals.
You do need reliable thrown in there, as it soon get's expensive if you can't do the spannering, and you'll be on call out to collect in a breakdown, unless you have family AA/RAC (PS get breakdown through your bank account - saved me £400 a year.
@Zedsdead - All the cars you have listed are the most common ones driven by young new drivers. Unfortunately this means they are also the ones that are involved in lots of accidents and as a result the insurance on them can be high for new drivers. Bear this in mind when looking for a car.
When my 2 started driving we did lots of looking and ended up with a Suzuki Swift for the boy child and a Skoda Fabia for the girl child (4 years apart). Both were significantly cheaper to insure than a Fiesta, Corsa, Polo, etc.
Not cool- but the Hyundai i10 we bought six years ago has been brilliant. Both offspring failed to break it learning to drive and one now uses it every day to drive to work. Prob done 25,000 miles and it's been super reliable. It's a '53 plate so has needed more than just servicing but it appears to be bomb/young adult proof. She's taken 3 friends on quite long trips in it with no issue. Small boot, but then it's a small car.
I've been so impressed with it, when she's home for a week this summer, I'm going to properly fix the bumper we taped back omn when her brother drove it into a hedge a few years ago 😉
Am I correct to think that something along the lines of a Ford Fiesta would be the go to car?
Our 21 year old Fiesta won't die.
The odd thing wears out (this year it's had 2x new rear dampers and the exhaust) but in reliability terms the only time the OH has ever called the AA on it was a flat battery due to a loose connector on the alternator.
It's comedically cheap to insure (£130, but that's not high risk teenagers).
NA petrol so no wet belt, no turbo, no DPF, no addblue. Although having said that my brother is the opposite to me mechanically. Ours get's serviced on schedule or sooner, his 1.5 diesel B-max has done 160,000 without even an oil change. It's almost annoying
Nothing cooler than a Panda
...I think Panda's are great but try telling a 17 year old they are cool! 🤣
My daughter started out in a '60 plate 1.25 Zetec Fiesta (not EcoBOOM! 💥). Cheap to buy, run and get spares for. She ran it for 3.5yrs and 45,000 miles with no major issues.
Insurance wasn't vastly different to any other similar cars either.
Am I correct to think that something along the lines of a Ford Fiesta would be the go to car?
Our 21 year old Fiesta won't die.
The odd thing wears out (this year it's had 2x new rear dampers and the exhaust which cost a total of £180! £90 for a cheap pattern exhaust, £30 to fit it, £60 for the dampers which were an easy DIY job) but in reliability terms the only time the OH has ever called the AA on it was a flat battery due to a loose connector on the alternator.
It's comedically cheap to insure (£130, but that's not high risk teenagers).
NA petrol so no wet belt, no turbo, no DPF, no addblue. Although having said that my brother is the opposite to me mechanically. Ours get's serviced on schedule or sooner, his 1.5 diesel B-max has done 160,000 without even an oil change. It's almost annoying.
Unfortunately I think the inner skin of the drivers door is about to rust through, it'll just be cosmetic when you open the door but it'll annoy me.
Do make sure you run the 'compare the market' insurance comparisons for the possible cars.
Our Aygo is currently around £800 a year for a 21 year old and 24 year old (who has points) on it. It jumped for a year when my daughter passed her test a couple of years ago by about £400 for a newly qual driver. My son's put 35k on the car in three years, and he has his own car too (that's broken often - one track car and an old BMW for towing, that's been broken for 6 months). We end up letting him have the aygo to get to work reliably. We're now on a second set of tyres in that time. £60 each = cheap.
My son started with a 1.2 Fabia Monte Carlo (65 plate) but he's turned it into a stripped out track car with new engine - it's not road legal.
I weep with these insurance costs. My rather expensive van is just £400, but I am old.
160,000 without an oil change what a tight git but I don't believe it and as for the don't buy from Scotland or the North East what pish and a bit racist
Driving a Kia will get them invited on the next undateable series very nerdy
My son's first car was a Seat Ibiza, (well after the Piccanto donated by his Grandma, which he refused to drive (it was awful)) - The Ibiza was nice, decent interior, handled well. Cool enough for a fussy teenager. He managed to write it off, but it was a nice car while he had it. Partner's daughter has one too and she drives all over the place in it. She never maintains it so it's died a few times, but seems pretty reliable for what it goes through.
Skoda Fabia 1.0, non Tsi engine.
VW reliability.
Cheap(er) insurance (beware terms and restrictions for black boxes/apps) as they are uncool.
Too underpowered to get into mischief
Surprisingly roomy inside
Not many blindspots, so good visibility.
Child#2 is now using ours. Does what she needs, if she wants more she can pay for it.
Too underpowered to get into mischief
Never underestimate the ability of teenagers to pedal slow cars fast!!
The speeds I got out of my 1.3 Escort Popular in the 1980s where epic! 🤣
I don't believe it
I once had to move his car around the yard and found one brake circuit had completely gone, could have turned it round without the steering wheel, so I've no reason to doubt it when he says he's done no servicing on it 😂
"Unfortunately this means they are also the ones that are involved in lots of accidents and as a result the insurance on them can be high for new drivers."
Sounds about right, couple of friend kids have bought MX5's and received relatively cheap quotes (well as less expensive than for more 'normal' cars)
Sounds about right, couple of friend kids have bought MX5's and received relatively cheap quotes (well as less expensive than for more 'normal' cars)
I assume that will be, in part, because they are a two-seater so fewer mates in the car egging them on to go faster etc.
I was gonna say Kia Picanto, Hyundai, Fabia, Yaris, Jazz, Swift.
They might want to be flexible on the "cool" bit — better to have affordable insurance, eh?
I think the Swift looks great though, much cooler than my early cars (apart from the OG Mini obvs).
because they are a two-seater so fewer mates in the car egging them on to go faster etc.
ah-ha! Makes sense that... egging on caused the Ibiza write-off! After the one thing I told him when he started driving was "Never show-off"!
Currently going through this with my lad who’s just passed his test. He’s looking at 10 year old Corsa 1.4T Black Edition cars around £3k and £850 to insure.
I did find him a nice 218i but at £5.5k it’s more than he wants to risk on his first car.
He’s looking at 10 year old Corsa 1.4T Black Edition cars around £3k and £850 to insure.
Are you sure that quote is correct? You're normally looking at £2k+ for the first year.
Son has a Citroen C1, same as a P-107 / Aygo. Small engine with cam chain that goes on for ever according to the reports, just be aware that there's also an issue with the heater elements (not just a comfort thing, needed for keeping windscreen clear) and it's a ****er to get to on RHD cars - practically have to dismantle steering column to get to it whereas it's behind a panel on the LHD!! It cost me £550 to have a £60 part fitted.
Daughter has just got a Picanto after 3 years mainly trouble free on a Mitsu Colt. The 2012-on (I think) are also chain cam and facelifted and are not bad looking cars actually, quite well appointed for the price and very low Ins group. I haven't turned off the Autotrader alert so regularly get an email with ones available, we paid about £3500 for a 2014, 1.2, 60k miles from a dealer with FSH.
On insurance - cost is not only how many are crashed but also how easy to get parts. That's where we 'made a mistake' on the Colt, not a common car and so insurance wasn't the cheapest - going to a 7 year younger 2500 more valuable car and her insurance dropped.
He’s looking at 10 year old Corsa 1.4T Black Edition cars around £3k and £850 to insure.
I'd have been less surprised if you'd said an £850 car and £3k to insure.
Unless you're like my Dad, who still introduces me as his lad or his boy. My Dad's 87 and I'm 56.
We found that the number of seats impacted insurance. VW Up and it's ilk can only carry 4 people including driver so I believe are a bit cheaper to insure.
Left field choice is an MX5. You'll get one for 4k but it will be rusty, so the money you save on insurance will be spent at the welders
I looked at this not long ago for my nephew who was 18 and just passed his test. To get the cheapest insurance combined with cheap road tax the answer was the Ford Ka. Think his was £2.5k with about 50,000 miles on the clock. Being a young lad the insurance was still ludicrous even with a black box in the insurance policy - but it was substantially cheaper than a Fiesta to insure.
The 1.3 petrol is very reliable - I think it’s shared with Fiat (the Fiat 500 shares the same underpinnings), but avoid the diesel version like the plague.
We did look at the Aygo and its French sister cars but my nephew was very against having one of those for whatever reason.
The sensible answer is above - 107/108/C1/Aygo, whatever fits the budget. 1.0 only, don't be tempted by the 1.2 wet belt version. This is what we were looking at last summer for my son.
Issue was, there was no cool factor in those cars for him. And as he was earning (good apprenticeship with great money attached) we widened the search to something (slightly) more expensive to insure and run - a 2013 1.6 Mini One. Tyres are still cheap (put a set on when we got it, together with a rear bearing, service, etc) but fuel costs are definitely higher. But it's cool. And nice to drive and very well equipped. Feels special. Was about £150 more a year for him to insure than the C1 etc but only a small proportion of the overall insurance cost. Obviously with a black box. Insurance for his first year was north of £2k.
Nearly a year on, he loves it still and it hasn't cost us anything major. 11/10 would recommend.
I probably should have mentioned that my lad is 25…
The Corsa is a group 13E, so pretty cheap. With me as a named driver, but not the primary user, it goes down to £710.
Came on to say Fiat panda as well. Had ours 5 years now (it’s a 2015} and it’s been great. Just needed the usual consumables of a car at that age, tyres, brakes, timing belt and battery at various services over the years. Parts seem to be cheap as chips. One thing to watch if you do look at Pandas is the state of the oil sump as they rust badly as they are exposed. we changed ours when we bought it as getting the sump plug out was an issue! cost well under £100 IIRC.
You would be welcome to buy it as we are trading it in in the next few weeks (wife ordered an EV) but unfortunately we are over in Ireland.
We're going through this currently and Fiesta seems to be our answer. I don't know a lot about the 1.25 petrol one though so any info appreciated.
Mrs Weeksy owned an Ecoboost Fiesta which was superb as is here current Focus she's had from new to 50,000.
Thanks all!
The mx5 is an interesting thing but as with many Japanese cars rust is a problem I don't want to get familiar with again...
Whilst the Skoda is great it looks very unlikely she will go for one. But never say never...
I note the wet belt issues that Ford has, is this on all of their engines? And if it is FSH then is it still an issue?
Mini is indeed cool, however my previous experience of them is at around 10 years old they start to leak oil everywhere.
Peugeot is a good shout
Seat Ibiza would work
Corsa a good shout (do Vauxhall still suffer from rusting badly?)
I think we may need to up the budget to 5k...
...I think Panda's are great but try telling a 17 year old they are cool! 🤣
We will soon be in a similar position to the OP (not set a test date yet but will soon). She has views on what's cool. She has a much smaller budget than the OP. The reality is any car will actually be cooler than no car, she knows this and accepts that what she can afford to insure, tax, fuel, purchase are not necessarily the same as the ones that she aspires to own. My parental advice is to do what I did - have the best car you can afford, completely ignoring coolness, and then after a year when insurance is hopefully marginally more palletable consider upgrading. She may ignore that advice but I suspect she will want my help working out whats a dud and whats not. I'll also encourage her not to be scared about stuff that might need minor TLC - learning how a car actually works is good education.
I am looking for the same now, but we don't want lots of cars and given the lack of use, I think I will sell my van. So it needs to be a low insurance group but still good to put a bike or 2 in. I think a fabia estate is the answer and probably with the 90hp TSI so it's definitely not quick, but also not the slowest as I will drive it loaded up. Anyway, I have not mentioned it to my son yet, but I am sure it will be youth cool, yeah?
I note the wet belt issues that Ford has, is this on all of their engines? And if it is FSH then is it still an issue?
Just the Eco-Boost. If it has had regular oil / filter changes and the belt done at the right intervals it should be OK. Well, that's what we hope with ours!
Cost of a belt change is about a grand!
Can't go wrong with a Ford Fiesta, that was my first car.
Although I deeply, deeply regret not buying the red Toyota MK1 MR2 the local garage had for £1,500. 😎
He’s looking at 10 year old Corsa 1.4T Black Edition cars around £3k and £850 to insure.
Are you sure that quote is correct? You're normally looking at £2k+ for the first year.
Lots of young lads crash Corsas. That's just how it is and how insurers view it. Even a friend's lad with a 1l Corsa was paying 50% more than our lad for his 1l Fabia.
Missed the clarification around lad being 25, but point about Corsas still applies.
Although I deeply, deeply regret not buying the red Toyota MK1 MR2 the local garage had for £1,500
We should have a thread for that.
Mine were:
a Mk1 Ford Capri 2.0l Ghia in showroom condition (by the time I saw it, the Mk3 was out so it was getting older, but it looked beautiful)
And just like you – a Mk1 MR2 – I test drove one, but was put off by it not being a T-Bar and was still looking when a massive financial change happened – I had to bail my parents out and got that 'car loan' to stop them from having their house repossessed 🙁
Can't go wrong with a Ford Fiesta, that was my first car.
Although I deeply, deeply regret not buying the red Toyota MK1 MR2 the local garage had for £1,500. 😎
The more I'm looking at what is available locally the more I'm thinking the Fiesta is possibly the best bet - if it has FSH! I do wonder if the wet belt issues are made much worse due to either not being serviced, and/or using the incorrect oil...
I'd go with a Lolvo C30 but I'm told that's not cool. Even though it clearly is very cool.
My next door neighbour has just this minute arrived home in a Citroen C1 - I can only assume it's for his 17 year old son that is about to start driving.
My boss' daughter also learnt to drive in a C1 as her first car in the last couple of years.
So my sample of 2 says C1 is the perfect car.
I had a Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus. Back in 2000 that cost over £800 for my first year insurance, hate to think what insurance costs are like these days.
C1, 107/8 and Aygo are the same car with different bits stuck on. Easy to drive but there aren't loads of creature comforts. My daughter isn't so keen as she learnt in a Kuga with electronic handbrake, clutch assist, hill start assist etc etc. She's got to learn about bite points and handbrakes now !
So my sample of 2 says C1 is the perfect car
I can see the attraction – I have driven the Aygo version a few times. They have great all-round visibility, are nice and small and the wheels are pretty much on each corner so much less risk of accidents when parking, manoeuvring etc (ie, not much risk of being caught out by a bit of overhang bashing something).
I thought Fiestas/Corsas were best avoided as they are what every young driver manages to crash therefore silly expensive to insure
Also why get such small cars?
Junior had a 13 plate BMW 114i and now an Alfa Romeo Brera - both relatively cheap to insure for a 20 year old.
£4k will get a late model MK1 facelift Aygo with super low miles, or a higher Mileage early MK2. It's still going to be a 10 year old car though.
The main issue I have is that it will need to be reasonably 'cool'
If I were you I'd drop this requirement. "A car" is inherently cooler than "no car." My first car was a 13-year old Fiesta with more rust than steel. It was cool, I had a car!
Today my primary metric for a new driver would be insurance. You can probably google something like "lowest insurance cars for new drivers 2025" and get a top 10.
Kia Picanto for my son, also known as Guido Ferrari 🤣. Really good car to be fair, cheap, simple and Ferrari red!
One point that I think has been mentioned in one of the comments above, if they're a young driver then get yourselves (parents) or even grandparents added as named drivers. Brings the quotes down a bit.
The speeds I got out of my 1.3 Escort Popular in the 1980s where epic!
I had a MkIII with a 1.6 CVH engine - it was essentially a detuned XR3. It was a paradigm shift from the grotty Fiesta but it was a Friday Night Special, anything that could go wrong did. The week I bought it it was vandalised, all four door panels kicked in (by my then-girlfriend's bitter ex (last I heard of him he got banged up for armed robbery)). Pretty much set the tone for my entire ownership. I eventually got rid after stuffing it into the back of a Mitsubishi Colt because I was too busy checking out the legs on a lass across the road to look where I was going.
I did find him a nice 218i but at £5.5k it’s more than he wants to risk on his first car.
This is a good point. Get the car you want - the "cool" car if you will - as your second car. Your first car is a beater, it's where you learn how not to mistakes again. If it's your pride and joy dream motor and you throw it through a hedge you'll be devastated.
Incidentally,
I have a friend whose day job is penetration testing (ie, hacking) vehicles. Someone asked him how they could get started in this field, he replied "go to a breakers and buy a dashboard taken out of something French."
- Hyundai i10
- Volkswagen Polo
- Skoda Fabia
- Kia Picanto
- Toyota Aygo X
- VW Caddy
- Fiat 500
- Dacia Sandero
- Renault Clio
- Seat Arona
I see it as a balancing act while trying to avoid the obvious choices - Fiestas, Corsas, etc. The aim being to find something obscure enough that not many young drivers have them, but not obscure enough for spares to be an issue, while also not being uncool. My eldest still hopes to drive my MINI Cooper SD in 5 years or so... good luck with that.
-
Dacia Sandero
This would be a great choice if it wasn't for:
(actually a good option although probably fails on the uncool bit)
I followed a car yesterday with this sticker on the back. Hate to think how my driving as a 17yr old lad would've coped with a black box for insurance purposes...
- Hyundai i10
- Volkswagen Polo
- Skoda Fabia
- Kia Picanto
- Toyota Aygo X
- VW Caddy
- Fiat 500
- Dacia Sandero
- Renault Clio
- Seat Arona
Is this the cheap insurance list? You can get a van?? Hmmm this might change things.
Buy my Fiesta from the classifieds and have 3.5K left over for insurance and some cool mods. Run for a couple of years without issue and then use the money saved to buy something cooler and have much cheaper insurance by then too.
Are you sure you're a farmer? I've just checked the MOT history for your Fiasco and there's not a single mention of bailer twine anywhere...
We've just helped youngest find a first car, albeit two years after he passed test.
Currently he's 20 in a fortnight. On a multicar policy. His mum and I on the policy, commuting, 12k miles a year.
We found that a Honda Civic 1.8ivtec was cheaper than Fiesta, Fabia, Ibiza etc.
£678....
He's already discovered that a slightly larger car is ace when heading out for a ride or going climbing with his mates. And he's discovered that 138bhp of VTEC goes bwaaaaaaah....
I forgot to add:£1400 + 2 new tyres gets you a one owner, FSH (all with Honda), amazing condition, 2006, with 48k miles on the clock, top of the range Civic 1.8 .....He and pals all agree it's so totally different from most other first cars, it's in the cool category.
renault twingo. ours was very reliable. That said, we just bought a 5k 2016 fiesta with a FSH and 85k miles for more coolness.
Got to say the KA and Picanta are both great cars for money.
We inherited both. When we inherited the Kia it the it was worth about a grand. It did 7 years with one track end and minor sensor fault in relation to a belt. Even better for a learner the engine was gutless
- Hyundai i10
- Volkswagen Polo
- Skoda Fabia
- Kia Picanto
- Toyota Aygo X
- VW Caddy
- Fiat 500
- Dacia Sandero
- Renault Clio
- Seat Arona
Almost all good suggestions. As noted above, Caddy might be an oddity. And you're unlikely to get an Aygo X for the budget, as that's the current model and only been on the market for a couple of years.
If you are going for the Eco-Boost check the service history.
Ensure it had the correct oil used, the wrong grade of oil will eat the belt in a shorter timescale or sludge up with similar catestophic results.
This will point you at isurance group 1 cars https://www.finder.com/uk/car-insurance/insurance-groups/car-insurance-group-1
What age does the insurance cost go from insanity to realistic?? My eldest is 14 and this is looming but given that we live about 500m from a Manchester tram stop the licence might be obtained and not used for a few years
What age does the insurance cost go from insanity to realistic?? My eldest is 14 and this is looming but given that we live about 500m from a Manchester tram stop the licence might be obtained and not used for a few years
I don’t think it’s all loaded on the age. Age+length of license+postcode+car make up the big risk factors, then add in mileage, SD&P/Commuting/Business, occupation, other drivers etc and with the right shopping around you may not be as scared. That said, I did an experiment with fake details for my daughter, 17 driving a £1200 Picanto, with black box and wife and I as name driver etc, 8k miles SDP, £500 excess - and given the damage she could cause to other vehicles never mind harm to people the quote £1500 for someone who just passed their test didn’t seem crazy to me.
And just like you – a Mk1 MR2 – I test drove one, but was put off by it not being a T-Bar and was still looking when a massive financial change happened – I had to bail my parents out and got that 'car loan' to stop them from having their house repossessed 🙁
The one I was going to buy was a T-Bar with the side intake ducts. 1987 model with the 1.6l supercharged engine. Needed a lot of work though as this was in 2001 and it had been driven with spirit.
I still wonder what my love life would have been like in the sixth form had I bought that car (this was in the Isle of Man where you could take your test when you were 16). 😏
I still wonder what my love life would have been like in the sixth form had I bought that car (this was in the Isle of Man where you could take your test when you were 16). 😏
You'd need to open the T bar roof to get much action in an MR2
I have nothing useful to add but this.
Gutless Skoda Fabia 1.0 here. Colour edition so it has some visual pizazz but at 60 bhp it looks better than it goes.
BUT so long as I’m paying for it and insuring it I have the final say. Luckily for her my 18 year old daughter likes it.
I also drive to ‘save the posh van (California)’. Cheap, easy runaround on the narrow roads of Holmfirth - I love it!
The main issue I have is that it will need to be reasonably 'cool'
If I were you I'd drop this requirement. "A car" is inherently cooler than "no car." My first car was a 13-year old Fiesta with more rust than steel. It was cool, I had a car!
Oh I completely agree!
Gutless Skoda Fabia 1.0 here. Colour edition so it has some visual pizazz but at 60 bhp it looks better than it goes.
After seeing one of those in the classifieds on here, I immediately added it to my imaginary list for when the kids are old enough to start driving in 5 years or so. Perfect first car IMO.
I have just run insurance comparisons for skoda fabias. And a post 2015 Fabia hatchback with 90ps comes in at c£1400 for the first year with black box and me as a grumpy old git named driver and the youth as the main driver. But a post 2015 Fabia estate with 110ps comes in £1350. Bigger and faster = cheaper! Anyway, my neighbour who has a youth in a Ford Ka says both those are great as the Ka came in at £2k insurance!!! Oooof.
As we are going to look at a car today with the intent to purchase I had my lad re-run the quotes last night just to be sure.
Corsa 1.4T Black Edition, 8k miles, 25 year old with 0 NCB and 0 Experience as main driver, 55 year old with 35 years experience and 2 non fault accidents in the last 5 years as a named driver. £738 with Hastings Direct YouDrive which includes a tracker. To lose the tracker nearly doubles the price.
Excess is £545 for him, £345 for me.
Car is 118bhp and group 13E.
I don’t think it’s all loaded on the age. Age+length of license+postcode+car make up the big risk factors, then add in mileage, SD&P/Commuting/Business, occupation, other drivers etc
100% this - if, say, 200 Fiestas were involved in claims in AB1 2CD, and only 50 identical Fiestas in EF3 4GH were involved in claims, then the insurance would be cheaper.
Another thing you can do is try ticking and unticking options – for example, I added business travelling to our insurance policy for my wife (she is an attendance officer at a school, so does home visits) and the insurance went down! I assume it comes down to that specific statistical model.
Another thing you can do is try ticking and unticking options
A word of caution here: I did this last renewal time and the cheapest offers on comparison websites suddenly disappeared. I rang one of them and they explained that multiple quote requests with slightly different parameters in quick succession can trigger their 'fraud' warning. I explained what I'd done and why, they accepted my explanation but still refused to insure me because Computer Says No.