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My eldest is due to start her driving lessons soon which means first car time is almost upon us.
Apart from the usual suspects ie C1/Fiesta/Ka etc, are there any other worthy suggestions for around £2000?
Insurance wise, they all seem to be around £2000 TPFT kept on a drive overnight in a quiet area with yours truly as a named driver on her policy.
From what I can gather, insurance group 3 cars are ideal. She’d prefer something a bit different from her friends but at the moment a Fiat 500 900cc is winning.
Sounds good, learning from the start in a smaller car is always good, a bit of wiggle room for parking and so on, the fiat will give her an easyish petrol set up, i'd just focus on making sure what you're getting is clean and accurate, 2k is that limit where you'd hitting the 100k+ cars or broken cars that have been bought cheap and 'fixed', be wary in that area when buying, a lot like bikes, buy the seller and give it a once over, test drive a definite with hopefully someone with a bit of car knowledge to have a feel for it.
Seat Ibiza
Mercedes CLS 250
Kia Picanto although they are quite boring.
£2k should get something quite tidy.
Anything really around a 1000cc and with airbags.
If shes not car orientated and your not either its just go find s low mileage one that looks right. Youd be hard pushed to really tell any difference in them.
I'd be looking at stuff with stone chips n scuffs still on it as well.
One you know its honest and it's not been painted plus she will in all likely hood add to them
85 hp Fabia.
VW reliability, cheap insurance, cheap car tax, decent size internally, good all round visibility for driving and manoeuvrability.
Mini? Should get a nice one for £2k
Smart car either forfour or fortwo for something radically different!
Think they are the cheapest cars to insure.
Renault Twingo is pretty much the same as a forfour.
Seat Mii/Skoda Citigo, both likely cheaper than a VW Up!, but same underneath. Driven all of them, including a Citigo for around 300 miles, great little car, more than nippy enough, I won’t say how fast I was going when I overtook a Disco4 on the M5…
Toyota Aygo are fun to drive, but a bit noisy, the little Kia and Hyundai city cars like the Picanto are a decent drive, and pretty reliable.
The Vauxhall Viva is fairly basic, but does have cruise control! The Adam is a fun little car as well. Corsas come with a heated screen, which is well worth having.
How about a Smart fourtwo; two seats, but then there’s no back-sear passengers encouraging irresponsible behaviour.
She’d prefer
Manage expectations, third-class motoring is better than first-class walking. Chose what "she prefers" as her second car when insurance isn't as stupid and she's less likely to be heartbroken because she's clipped a wall with her pride and joy.
Hyundai i10, great interior size, all the bits and the 1.2 is nippy with low insurance. Really great little cars.
A clio would be as good as anything.
Renault twingo. Or a Clio. Same floor plan. I taught son2 in a RS Twingo 133. He passes first time in that car. Safe too as son1 spun it into the middle barrier of the M25 in heavy rain for a total loss. 🙁
Peugeot 308 diesel.
I remember my old 306 diesel being surprisingly cheap to insure as a new driver. Don't just get the smallest car you can, a mid size one can be just as cheap as that's not necessarily what all the new drivers have and gives a bit more protection in a bump.
See also Corrolla
+1 for the Hyundai i10. Our daughter's got written off just a few weeks after passing her test (very much other drivers fault, they didn't stop and give way to the right at a roundabout). Safety systems all deployed as they should, it was a big "t-bone" shunt. Once we got the insurance settlement we went straight out and bought another i10, didn't really look at anything else.
Well put together and I think impressively quiet inside when on the move, even on the motorway...
Hyundai i10, great interior size, all the bits and the 1.2 is nippy with low insurance. Really great little cars
Another +1
Hyundai i10, great interior size, all the bits and the 1.2 is nippy with low insurance. Really great little cars.
We recently sold a massive double chest of drawers on Facebook. 1st buyer turned up in massive Skoda SUV thing and couldn't get it in.
2nd buyer turned up in i10. Despite my scepticism, he unbolted a couple of bits of trim in the back and fitted it in and drove off. Incredibly spacious little car.
Both our girls learned in a Fiat 500. We were lucky to find a low milage one at a reasonable price and it held its price well. Eventually swapped it for a Tourneo Connect as Abigale was struggling to fit a 29er and a weekends gear in it.
Fiat Panda, a 500 in a less stylish outfit which means it's far cheaper to buy. They're very cheap to run(and repair), spacious and reliable in my experience.
85 hp Fabia.
VW reliability,
As bad as that? 🙂 Its better to judge cars by their actual track record than an outdated preconception. Theres only one VW group car inside the top 20 for reliability and its at number 20, the Fabia only just sneaks inside the top 50. If only everything in life was as reliable as a 40 year old advertising slogan
Possibly not a helpful response, but why do you / she need another car? Is it “she’s old enough to drive, so is getting a car because it’s what her mates have done” or do you live far enough away from everywhere that she can’t walk / bike / use public transport?
If it’s the latter, fair enough. If it’s just because that’s what everyone else has done, maybe get her to think about the environmental impact and the fact that private car ownership is not a great idea in the long run...
She’d prefer
Manage expectations, third-class motoring is better than first-class walking.
Depends a bit on the economics. There are two costs to owning a car - buying it and running it. The problem with buying a car you don't really like for price / VFM reason is you still need to keep spending money on it whether you like it or not to keep it running. A pound spent to fix or maintain a car you do like is better than a pound spent to fix one you don't. Liking something is important so her preference is something worth taking into account.
Vw reliability - haha - maybe for there always being another thing to replace (I've had two polo's and a golf).
i10 looks very smart - never paid attention to it before!
I was a big fan of my mk6.5 fiesta, and regret selling it. Solid car. Very cheap everything really - tyres, high mpg.
As bad as that? 🙂
Well, currently on our 3rd, 4th and 5th Skodas and had nothing fail except a battery. So based on our experience, a Fabia made sense and was his choice for driver visibility and cost.
Waiting to see what his first insurance renewal comes in at next month.
A pound spent to fix or maintain a car you do like is better than a pound spent to fix one you don’t.
True enough. But if you can halve your costs in the process...
I dunno. My thinking is, at the My First Car stage, any car is better than what you had prior which was "no car." And the more you love it, the more it's your perfect pride and joy, the more you'll be gutted when you prang it. And the likelihood of which is why in the first couple of years your insurance is two grand.
My 18 year old daughter passed her test last autumn. She got insurance quotes on loads of different cars and petrol C1/107/Aygo were the cheapest.
She bought a '07 C1 in the end fully comp insurance with a black box was just short of a grand.
How about a Suzuki Swift. Great little cars, reliable and very safe. They always get good write ups for driver satisfaction and ownership.
How about a Suzuki Swift
Nah, they end up in a ditch the first time you drive one after passing your test. At least, that's what happened to me.
Have you checked fully comp insurance prices? The difference is often very small (or even comp can be cheaper) as those who do TPFT insurance make more claims/are higher risk. Beyond that cheaper insurance will come from more random vehicles, the superminis that a lot of first drivers get are also the ones they crash so again the insurance risk/cost is high. Worth trying some more leftfield choices.
Definitely avoid Corsas, Ibizas or anything that 18 years olds think are cool and crash a lot - they are the cars with rubbish claims records and attract big premiums.
Fwiw, we got a manual Fabia as our two existing cars have to be automatic due to MrsMC's disability and Jnr needed to learn in a manual. He insured in his own name as a learner with me named on it, and I'm the main driver as I (will) use it to commute - Admiral weren't the cheapest at that point but were the cheapest for when he passed his test and the insurance ramps up. Coming up to his first renewal next month, having passed his test in May. He didn't have a black box but uses an app, and Admiral have already told him that as reward for driving a slow car carefully he'll get an extra 10% off his renewal.
207, 1.4. Plentiful, still look quite fresh, decently economical and brisk enough, easy to fix if they get bent and pretty safe to crash in.
Just got one last week for my 18 year old and its all they need. And we got fully comp insurance with Admiral for just over £1k, no black box, wife and I on the insurance.
TPFT is more expensive than fully comp often.
Can't believe no-one's said Yaris.
Also think outside the box, premiums are driven based on risk and history of car models in particular age groups. E.g. Tons of new drivers get C1’s and therefore tons of 17-18 year olds crash C1’s. Look for something that isn’t necessarily the norm for a new driver.
Volvo C30 or focus rather than fiesta, maybe Mazda 3?
Left field suggestion...
My stepdaughter did this a couple of years ago and ended up with a Vauxhall Tigra. 1.4 2 seat convertible. Insurance was about half the price of anything else as with only 2 seats the potential insurance pay out for maiming your passengers is significantly reduced.
Plus she bought it in November and sold it 2 and a half years later in a sunny April and made a profit!
£2k insurance??? Blimey!
My daughter's 1st car was, and still is, a Seat Mii, bought 4 years ago for about 5k, and insured through Elephant for £900 fully comp with no black box. It's about half that now.
I thoroughluy recommend them, and the car!
Peugeot 308 diesel.
When cities like Bristol are introducing bans on older diesel cars?
I think not.
Can’t believe no-one’s said Yaris.
Out of all the cars we get through at work, the Yaris is the one that most consistently suffers from flat batteries.
It’s apparently due to the micro-switch in the boot that turns on the light in the boot not disengaging properly if the rear hatch isn’t really firmly shut.
Other than that they’re good little cars.
Thanks for all the replies loads to get on with there, I'll try and answer all of the questions/suggestions.
I did consider a mini as they are cheap as chips but for the smaller 1.2 engine you're looking at a later car at 4k ish. I've upped the budget to around £2500 to give us a bit more choice.
Great shout about TPFT, fully comp is indeed coming in slightly cheaper. I'd have honestly never thought to look and I'll feel better knowing her car is properly covered too.
i10 looks a good shout, I'm leaning towards Aygo's at the moment, around 2012 onwards. I've also seen a few Fiat 500 900cc Twinairs for similar money.
I'm trying to avoid VAG where possible, I'm coming to the end of seven years of misery with my VW Amarok, but the VW Ups seem to be reasonably priced and look a little comfier inside.
VW Ups seem to be reasonably priced and look a little comfier inside.
Make sure you drive one before you buy. My sister had one from new and I found it a hateful little car to drive.
Adding more named drivers can reduce insurance too (there are 3 on my daughter’s policy and each one brought the cost down).
I’m used to a pickups (need one for work before the bashing starts), so they will all feel like go karts to me.
We’ve done exactly that with the insurance, by adding both myself and the wife it reduced the premium.
Went through this a few years ago and tried numerous cars. The VW Up was by far the best bet. We just got the 60bhp Move. Nicer to drive than the i10, Aygo etc and as it’s not a common youngsters car like a Corsa the insurance was much cheaper. It’s been our second car for a few years and is great around town but I’ve also done a few long journeys in it (some with bikes on the roof or in the back) and it’s perfectly acceptable. Does slow down on big hills a bit though! Will keep it for a few more years as the daughter will start driving in just over a year. We used Marmalade for the sons first year of insurance after passing his test. It has a black box and he earned NCD but it is limited usage and is done in addition to our insurance. Cost about £800 plus the £120 we pay.