Car to learn / 17 year old girl / general help

Car to learn / 17 year old girl / general help

Author
Discussion

boxst

Original Poster:

3,699 posts

144 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
Not me, but my daughter. She will be 17 in a few weeks and I would like to buy her a car. It's been a long time since I've looked at anything like this and it seems to be a minefield of insurance, and vast price ranges. I would like to spend £3K or so and it needs to be cheap to insure.

Can anyone help me? What car to get, best way to insure it (me as the driver?) and any advice.

Thanks,.

Steve

MorganP104

2,605 posts

129 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
There are lots of small, cheap to insure cars in your budget, but the one I'd go for is a Toyota Yaris.

Others you might want to consider are the Nissan Micra, Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1, Peugeot 107, Ford Ka.

Out of that lot, the Yaris is still the best option.

kiethton

13,883 posts

179 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
boxst said:
(me as the driver?)
If its her car and she's using it the most that'd be fronting....better to put yourself as a named driver - still brings the cost down but is legal

You'll find that whilst still on L plates the cost is more reasonable, I'd still be looking at the standard fare of C1's, Aygo's etc. altough think a little alternative too

Something like a nissan Pixo, suzuki splash etc looks wk but as fewer young people drive them they're a little cheaper to run/insure

SystemParanoia

14,343 posts

197 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
BMW S1000rr HP4

Monkeylegend

26,226 posts

230 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
boxst said:
I would like to spend £3K or so
That should cover the insurance wink

How about something like Kia Picanto.

Dimebars

881 posts

93 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
Just be aware that her learner insurance will be cheaper than when she actually passes


hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
MorganP104 said:
Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1, Peugeot 107, Ford Ka.
I think they are all too small, I'd go a class up. Mazda2, Swift, Fiesta, Yaris (as you said) that sort of thing.

jamiebae

6,245 posts

210 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
Start with the insurance and work from there. You may well find that some cars are several hundreds cheaper to insure than other similar ones so that could be what makes the decision.

She has never driven before so is unlikely to notice that a Yaris is better than an Aygo, in fact I know a lot of young people who would prefer the Aygo as it's smaller. Normally fuel economy is important too, especially if sprog is paying for her own gas.

Stuff I'd look at:
Suzuki Alto - my sister has one, she's an awful driver but nothing has gone wrong since it was bought new for £6k in 2013. It's now worth £2.5k and is just about the cheapest thing to run you can buy. They also come in pink if that helps.

Aygo/107/C1 - ultra cheap to run, cheap to buy and plentiful. One is no-doubt cheaper to insure than the others.

Fiat Panda - Can squeeze 3 mates in the back with seatbelts on (important? maybe), cheap to fix and more reliable than you'd think. They're also quite fun to drive.

Nissan Pixo - it's an Alto with a different badge, built in the same factory in India and mechanically identical. Not available in pink though.

Vauxhall Agila - Only if she has no sense of style, but it's robust and cheap

Hyundai i10 - Ugly, but reliable and decent to drive

VW Fox - Decent value, good badge

Stuff I'd avoid
Ford Ka - It's a cost-reduced Fiat 500 and quite horrid in most ways

Fiat 500 - You pay a tone extra for the looks, I actually prefer the Panda (having owned both) to drive and it's far more practical too

Anything bigger than the above suggestions - means higher running costs (fuel and tax, if not insurance) and probably an older car with more miles for your money.

As I'm bored here are a few examples of what I'd be buying:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

davek_964

8,796 posts

174 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
A friends daughter started with a Clio a few years back.

I'd be wary of spending too much on a first car. She almost certainly WILL scrape it on something once she's passed her test.

ETA : On my very limited experience of 17 year olds - I'm surprised she hasn't already volunteered acceptable cars?

Pixel Pusher

10,188 posts

158 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
boxst said:
best way to insure it
When my daughter was learning to drive, we used Marmalade to get her insured. This was on a 2010 vw polo 1.2 which I think is group 3 or 4.

https://www.wearemarmalade.co.uk/learner-driver-in...

Cheap & flexible.


boxst

Original Poster:

3,699 posts

144 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Thank you for all your help. I will have a look at those cars and insurance.

MrBarry123

6,025 posts

120 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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SystemParanoia said:
BMW S1000rr HP4
hehe

codenamecueball

529 posts

88 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
+1 for she will crash it at some point into something. I did it twice after passing my test. Very glad I bought a banger instead of PCPing a nice new £99/mo box

sawman

4,915 posts

229 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
I have been looking at this too, two windows open , one with autotrader and one with compare the market seems to work best, as has been noted insurance cost whilt learning is cheaper than after passing test. I have been adding a year to my daughters age and ticking the box for full licence less than a year to get post passing prices . I spotted a nice looking alfa 147 for less than a grand last week, insurance was more than for a nearly new fiat 500

caelite

4,273 posts

111 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
MrBarry123 said:
SystemParanoia said:
BMW S1000rr HP4
hehe
Is this the new "turbo 'Busa"? biggrin

CanAm

9,114 posts

271 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Don't buy a car without asking her first. A neighbour bought his 17 year old daughter a car which she refused to drive because she "wanted a Peugeot".

boxst

Original Poster:

3,699 posts

144 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
My daughter isn't that fussed, I've shown her a few of the ones suggested here and they are all okay. Just not white or brown seems to be the overriding criteria and preferably something her iPhone will connect to for music.

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah

12,787 posts

99 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Renault Twingo and Seat Mii are apparently two of the cheapest around to insure, and I guess both would be on the money.

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah

12,787 posts

99 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.
Joking aside, early ones would be classic car ins eligible!

jamie w

175 posts

170 months

Thursday 23rd March 2017
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I'm looking for something for a learner daughter too.

A common problem with a petrol Yaris is oil leaking from the timing chain cover. Both I've looked at so far have been suffering from this.

It's not a quick or cheap fix either.

Edited by jamie w on Thursday 23 March 01:23