First car for daughter

[cowboyecosse]

My daughter's turned 16 now and I've been thinking for a wee while about what sort of car to get her for her first car. Have a year to prepare so thought I'd ask you all what you reckon.

I want to get her something 'different', was thinking about some classics like an old Morris 1000 or something but safety is a priority so a newer car would probably be better.

Got to thinking about a Smart Roadster-Coupe. 2 seater convertible, tiny engined, good handling and I know it'll be different to what her pals will be running around in. Cheapest comprehensive insurance for her on a provisional was just under £400 a year too, which is an amazing price for a 17 year old.

I also have time to shop around for a decent one as I was reading http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=122... and seems quality can vary.

That said I'm all ears for suggestions of a better car to fit the criteria.

Safety - Something that won't kill her on it's own and will stand up to morons in their cars trying.
Handling - I'm new on the road and want to keep it between the hedges way not let's see how sideways we can take the BP roundabout way.
Style - Like I said, something a bit different to C2s and Corsas. She wants to drive the 'stang, this should divert her attention from that!
Price - I'm not in oil and gas so something around 5k is probably about it.
Insurance - Yeah, I know.

Any stories of your own around getting the kids a car gratefully received!

[cowboyecosse]

S2red said:

£400 WOW thats cheap to insure for your daughter as main driver

Yeah that's what I thought! It did range from just under 400 to well over 2 grand from comparethemarket. was probably going to take the 2nd (just over 500) quote as it was from adrian flux and not some insurance company I've never heard of probably based in the channel islands.

[cowboyecosse]

Driver101 said:

The Mini is cool with the kids.

Most young ones end up with Corsas and Fiestas as they are cheap to insure, run and replace parts.

She is likely to have a knock and a scrape or two.

I thought of an old Mini to begin with and actually quite fancy getting an old Mini to do up anyway, so that'd be 2 birds with one stone. Chances are it'd still be in primer when she turns 21 though...

Never owned a Mini and I think that's a glaring omission from anybody's car history. *adds Mini to the list*

[cowboyecosse]

Welshname said:

Only problem with the classic mini for a young female driver is lack of power assistance.
Steering will be heavy, brakes will be heavy etc. Maybe not ideal.

Only thing with those insurance quotes too would be to double check what the cost would be if she wasn't a provisional driver. I'm pretty sure it will go up.

As for suggestions I've got nothing other than the usual. Can't think of anything quirky that would be cheap to insure and run. Maybe a Figaro? 1.3, automatic and convertible?

Figaro fits the bill perfectly. She might think it's a bit cutesy (very much the tomboy) but it's going on the list because I like it's quirkiness. Thanks for that!

[cowboyecosse]

LOL @ the V8 Lexus barge!

I'm not too worried about the insurance, I know it's going to be high for a new driver, it's a hit we need to take. If it's upwards of 2grand well, that's the price. Don't need to insure it yet anyway. She can get a paper run... ;oP

Was more thinking of the actual car in this thread as I (perhaps for my own selfish reasons rather than what she wants but hey, I'm paying for it and Dad[with you guys help] knows best!) don't want her running about in another 'meh' car. I realise the small hatch clios and fiestas etc. are popular with the kids for good reasons and some of those, such as insurance, are well valid.

I want to get her something a bit off-beat from these kinds of things. Smart Roadster-Coupe, Nissan Figaro, old Mini, old Fiat500, original Beetle convertible all kinda fit the bill here. Something that most kids in Aberdeen won't have even seen never mind be driving. I'm not really looking to get her anything samey as her pals, though I appreciate the suggestions as there IS merit in this approach and it would be the approach of you know, a sane thinker.

[cowboyecosse]

I think there's at least some merit in that as well. The idea that if there's something special they'll look after it better. Least that's the theory right!

[cowboyecosse]

SSC! said:

What does her mum think? While I appreciate your idea (trust me it's something I would want for my daughter one day also) putting your child in a car with no airbags and slightly old would not be something I would be happy with for her first car, let's face it we have all probably had a few wee bashes as kids after we passed our test only back in the day we were made to pay for the damage ourselves and not claim insurance lol. If she's a tomboy chances are she's probably had wee shots of your car and maybe breeze through driving but it's the other idiots on the road that would worry me at least for the 1st years driving.

Yeah this is what led me to the roadster idea. Safety and innovations get better year on year so a newer car *should* be a safer one. The safety issue is the one that will be the decider ultimately, all other points equal. Wouldn't like to see the state of an old mini vs an SQ5, Cayenne or Range Rover Sport (which in Aberdeen are numerous - so a likely match!)

I've not asked her mum about older cars in so many words, she liked the smart tbh. anything that won't have all her mates piling in and won't find every hedge in the area will be fine with mum. (famous last words)

Perhaps a better idea is to get something newish but plainer as the first car with a view to getting her something "better" after a year of trouble-free motoring... My first car was a 1986 950 Fiesta and I totally loved it. Someone mentioned earlier that the chances are she'll love ANY car as it's *hers*. Maybe it's time I put what she wants first and not my own ideas eh... hah

[cowboyecosse]

blueg33 said:

First car for my son was (is) a 10 year Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v. Goes well, is well made (except for window regulators), has abs and aircon. Cost £500 to insure as a provisional with wife as main driver and now he has passed his test costs £1300 without blackbox and son a main driver.

As its an atypical type for young drivers but insurance is cheaper than for the equivalent Fiesta, Polo, Golf, Saxo, Clio etc

Junior is 6' 4" and plays in a band, so anything smaller was a no go because he and stuff wouldn't fit

Good suggestion, I didn't even consider practicality! lol She plays bass and goes snowboarding so something that'd fit her gear would probably help as well!

St. Anger said:

Why has nobody mentioned an MX5 yet? I had one as my first car (and my second!), taught me a lot about driving and it's quite different from the usual. When she does eventually crash it, replacement wings/bumpers/wheels etc are cheap as chips. Was cheaper for me to insure that a Corsa, less than £1000 to buy, and it had pop up headlights.

That's a good idea too, I hear MX5s are also road-huggers so should keep the car:hedge ratio down. I'd actually quite fancy an MX5 for myself...

mcm66 said:

We got our daughter a Ford StreetKa convertible. She loved it and kept it for 3 years, called it her "bubble". OK to insure and reasonable to repair. You will take the insurance hit in first year but 2nd is so much better. Ours halved. Put another adult driver on (you/wife) makes it much cheaper too.

I like this one too, had a quick swatch on autotrader there and these are cheap as chips. *adds to the list*

Cheers folks!