What car for a teenager? Pug' "just add fuel?" on a 108?

[kambites]

M1C said:

kambites said:

How about a Yaris if you want something a bit less... French.

107s (just as C1s and Aygos) are mainly Toyotas underneath. Defintiely more Japanese than French. Made in Poland, i think.

Ironically, a lot of Yaris''e'e's's'sss were made in France!

I know, hence the smilie.

That doesn't stop some people thinking the 107 is going to be an unreliable heap and the Toyota will be a paragon of reliability, though.

[angels95]

These 'just add fuel' deals seem to make a lot of sense, and take the stress out of owning an older car, with guaranteed reliability, a warranty, etc.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum though, it might be worth running a few quotes on older cars. I'm 21 and insurance seems to be 'relatively' cheap for me now, but I bought an N-reg 306 when I was 19 (which won't die and I still have it now)!

It's a 1.9 and it replaced a newer Corsa 1.2, and despite being a larger, more powerful car, the cheapest quote worked out about half of what it would have been to renew the Corsa, so it was a no-brainer for me.

Don't know what the cut-off is for classic insurance, or whether it was just an anomaly, but might be worth running a quote for a pre-1997 (20-year-old+) car to see if there is any difference. Try an old Micra or something similar.

One benefit of having an old car is that you don't worry about it picking up dents or scratches, but the main concern is whether or not it's going to be reliable. Having said that, mine's been totally dependable, and I think simplicity is key to reliability.

[ILoveMondeo]

MG CHRIS said:

Why isn't the kid buying his own car give him some responsibility in life and lessons of value of money. Yes help him out but he will treat the car a lot better if he has to use his own money to pay for it. Yes its expensive it was expensive for me 7 years ago but I found treated my first car better than friends whos parents bought there's. Also they all crashed or at least had one bump which caused damage while I still yet to damage any of my own cars to this day.

Driving is a privilage not a right he will appreciate it in the long run.

He's a full time student. Commuting by train, leaving home at 6:30am, getting home at 6:30pm every day. Studies two hours each evening And studies 1/2 day Saturday and Sunday.

It would be about 5 years before he could afford to buy one working a part time job, if he allowed himself a few hours sleep each night.

Also, because I can and I kinda like him.

[ILoveMondeo]

QuartzDad said:

ILoveMondeo said:

Thank you! "Black box" I'm assuming is having a telematics thingummiebob installed?

Yep, plus an 8000 mile per annum limit - you can pay more if required. Due to various admin cockups the thingummiebob didn't get installed for a month so he had a month of 'free' miles and unmonitored driving.

Having the thingummiebob there is good IMO, he drives much more sensibly than I did at 17 as he knows he's being 'watched'.

I agree, I think they are a good idea, especially for kids, I drove like a tt at that age as did most of my friends.

[gkw90]

battered said:

I drive one as a work hack. Great car. 44mpg from a 1.8 petrol? No chance. Mine does high 30s on a run, maybe 40, 30 around town. 44mpg if doing a constant 50 up the M1 restricted bit, maybe.

They are good to drive, surprisingly, and last well. They don't break down, mine is 2.5 years in and has gone from being a neglected 90k mile version to a decent 130k mile example. Needed routine stuff last MoT, handbrake, broken spring, suspension strut bearing. Nothing serious. Easy to service as DIY or indy. Everyone can mend them.

44 measured from the pump on motorway journeys, honest guv! Totally agree though, drops a bit around town though and in mixed driving was an average of 37.

Can't argue with the rest of it, all just old car consumables. Used a bit of oil from what I remember.

[Shore]

Piss them right off and get them a K11 micrA