Discussion
My nephew is learning to drive so I have decided to buy him a car, budget wise looking at spending no more than £2500.
As he is only 17 I expected the insurance to be crazy, I did a few quotes and it seems like I can get a 1.0 Corsa or 1.0 KA insured for about £1800, so looking at only spending about £700 on a car.
Other than the Corsa or the KA, any other cars I should consider, had a look on google for group 1 insurance cars but they all seem to be less than 5 years old and considerably more than £700.
Fiesta's seem to be higher insurance groups starting at group 3. Had no luck finding insurance group info on the micra's or lupo. Not sure what else will be in the price range.
Auto trader used to list insurance groups for cars, but for some reason that seems to be black now.
As he is only 17 I expected the insurance to be crazy, I did a few quotes and it seems like I can get a 1.0 Corsa or 1.0 KA insured for about £1800, so looking at only spending about £700 on a car.
Other than the Corsa or the KA, any other cars I should consider, had a look on google for group 1 insurance cars but they all seem to be less than 5 years old and considerably more than £700.
Fiesta's seem to be higher insurance groups starting at group 3. Had no luck finding insurance group info on the micra's or lupo. Not sure what else will be in the price range.
Auto trader used to list insurance groups for cars, but for some reason that seems to be black now.
RZ1 said:
My nephew is learning to drive so I have decided to buy him a car, budget wise looking at spending no more than £2500.
As he is only 17 I expected the insurance to be crazy, I did a few quotes and it seems like I can get a 1.0 Corsa or 1.0 KA insured for about £1800, so looking at only spending about £700 on a car.
Other than the Corsa or the KA, any other cars I should consider, had a look on google for group 1 insurance cars but they all seem to be less than 5 years old and considerably more than £700.
Fiesta's seem to be higher insurance groups starting at group 3. Had no luck finding insurance group info on the micra's or lupo. Not sure what else will be in the price range.
Auto trader used to list insurance groups for cars, but for some reason that seems to be black now.
Personally I think everyone should learn to drive in a larger car, that way they aren't scared to drive bigger cars later on, nor should they have such issues with space awareness. On this note for any learner I would avoid any compact hatchback at all.As he is only 17 I expected the insurance to be crazy, I did a few quotes and it seems like I can get a 1.0 Corsa or 1.0 KA insured for about £1800, so looking at only spending about £700 on a car.
Other than the Corsa or the KA, any other cars I should consider, had a look on google for group 1 insurance cars but they all seem to be less than 5 years old and considerably more than £700.
Fiesta's seem to be higher insurance groups starting at group 3. Had no luck finding insurance group info on the micra's or lupo. Not sure what else will be in the price range.
Auto trader used to list insurance groups for cars, but for some reason that seems to be black now.
Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
300bhp/ton said:
Personally I think everyone should learn to drive in a larger car, that way they aren't scared to drive bigger cars later on, nor should they have such issues with space awareness. On this note for any learner I would avoid any compact hatchback at all.
Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
Agree with all these points. My first car was a Ford Sierra. Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
As much as I agree about the whole 'Bigger car' theory, if he's not confident in a car he's not going to learn how to park it. He'll find ways to avoid tricky parking due to the size of the car whereas if he was in a small car he might attempt that parallel park into a tight space or reverse bay park into a tight space, etc etc.
I learnt to drive in a Focus which I found much more beneficial than other people who were learning in Mini's, Fiesta's, etc. When I passed I purchased a Punto which was absolutely fine. I had the confidence to learn how to park properly and I don't feel like I can't park bigger cars as the technique is mostly the same.
Plus if it's mostly going to be him in the car there's really no point to go for a big saloon that's going to cost more to run, tax, service, etc.
For £700 I'd be looking at Polo's, Punto's, Pug 106's, Corsas, mk1 focus or Astra. Insurance is always going to be a big hit on the first year so if you can find it for £1800 that sounds like a bargain, personally the cheapest I could find was £2200 which was with a lot of searching.
I learnt to drive in a Focus which I found much more beneficial than other people who were learning in Mini's, Fiesta's, etc. When I passed I purchased a Punto which was absolutely fine. I had the confidence to learn how to park properly and I don't feel like I can't park bigger cars as the technique is mostly the same.
Plus if it's mostly going to be him in the car there's really no point to go for a big saloon that's going to cost more to run, tax, service, etc.
For £700 I'd be looking at Polo's, Punto's, Pug 106's, Corsas, mk1 focus or Astra. Insurance is always going to be a big hit on the first year so if you can find it for £1800 that sounds like a bargain, personally the cheapest I could find was £2200 which was with a lot of searching.
300bhp/ton said:
Personally I think everyone should learn to drive in a larger car, that way they aren't scared to drive bigger cars later on, nor should they have such issues with space awareness. On this note for any learner I would avoid any compact hatchback at all.
Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
I partially agree, however with a bigger car comes a bigger more powerful engine, which I don't want to give him. Max engine size I want to get him is a 1 litre.Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
Of course this is something you could spend weeks arguing about, bigger cars are larger and could be safer etc, however on this occasion I am only prepared to get him a small car. He can then upgrade to something larger as and when he wants to
Grimezy93 said:
As much as I agree about the whole 'Bigger car' theory, if he's not confident in a car he's not going to learn how to park it. He'll find ways to avoid tricky parking due to the size of the car whereas if he was in a small car he might attempt that parallel park into a tight space or reverse bay park into a tight space, etc etc.
I learnt to drive in a Focus which I found much more beneficial than other people who were learning in Mini's, Fiesta's, etc. When I passed I purchased a Punto which was absolutely fine. I had the confidence to learn how to park properly and I don't feel like I can't park bigger cars as the technique is mostly the same.
Plus if it's mostly going to be him in the car there's really no point to go for a big saloon that's going to cost more to run, tax, service, etc.
For £700 I'd be looking at Polo's, Punto's, Pug 106's, Corsas, mk1 focus or Astra. Insurance is always going to be a big hit on the first year so if you can find it for £1800 that sounds like a bargain, personally the cheapest I could find was £2200 which was with a lot of searching.
Agree with all the above, plus if its a smaller car im hoping he is less likely to drive his mates around in it.I learnt to drive in a Focus which I found much more beneficial than other people who were learning in Mini's, Fiesta's, etc. When I passed I purchased a Punto which was absolutely fine. I had the confidence to learn how to park properly and I don't feel like I can't park bigger cars as the technique is mostly the same.
Plus if it's mostly going to be him in the car there's really no point to go for a big saloon that's going to cost more to run, tax, service, etc.
For £700 I'd be looking at Polo's, Punto's, Pug 106's, Corsas, mk1 focus or Astra. Insurance is always going to be a big hit on the first year so if you can find it for £1800 that sounds like a bargain, personally the cheapest I could find was £2200 which was with a lot of searching.
Good shout on the 106's totally forgot about them.
The insurance I found for £1800 was with a black box type device and was based on him only being allowed/insured to drive the car between certain hours, think it was something like 7am to 11pm
RZ1 said:
I partially agree, however with a bigger car comes a bigger more powerful engine, which I don't want to give him. Max engine size I want to get him is a 1 litre.
Of course this is something you could spend weeks arguing about, bigger cars are larger and could be safer etc, however on this occasion I am only prepared to get him a small car. He can then upgrade to something larger as and when he wants to
It's a fair point, but worth considering that a bigger engine in a bigger car offers the same performance. Of course this is something you could spend weeks arguing about, bigger cars are larger and could be safer etc, however on this occasion I am only prepared to get him a small car. He can then upgrade to something larger as and when he wants to
A 1.6 engine in something the size of a Vectra, is about a quick as a 1.0 Polo?
Matt UK said:
It's a fair point, but worth considering that a bigger engine in a bigger car offers the same performance.
A 1.6 engine in something the size of a Vectra, is about a quick as a 1.0 Polo?
True, I had a 1.4 cavalier which was slow, all my mates had nova's. In the end I used to drive everyone in my car as it was bigger, hence the reason I want to get him something small. A 1.6 engine in something the size of a Vectra, is about a quick as a 1.0 Polo?
A smart car would be perfect, just a shame they are not manual
RZ1 said:
Agree with all the above, plus if its a smaller car im hoping he is less likely to drive his mates around in it.
Good shout on the 106's totally forgot about them.
The insurance I found for £1800 was with a black box type device and was based on him only being allowed/insured to drive the car between certain hours, think it was something like 7am to 11pm
Ah yes, I almost went with one of those but didn't understand why the quotes started off more expensive (on some occasions) than proper insurance did. I didn't like the small-print saying they could raise the price if needed and as I was a new driver I had no idea how good or how poor I'd be!Good shout on the 106's totally forgot about them.
The insurance I found for £1800 was with a black box type device and was based on him only being allowed/insured to drive the car between certain hours, think it was something like 7am to 11pm
In hindsight though, driving a 1.2 Punto was never going to break any land-speed records and I think I would have been quite alright with a black box. Acceleration was nippy but not rapid and I never really have the grip beneath me to hammer it round corners so I didn't bother. On the motorway I'd struggle to go much above 75 unless it was downhill and as for driving times, I only ever really commuted to work so it would have easily been within those hours. So I definitely wouldn't be put off by the things they measure with the box. If I had one in my MX-5 however...
But back on topic, don't rule out a 1.2 or 1.4. They won't be much quicker than a 1.0 but should offer enough cruising ability for the occasional motorway trips (which I assume he may want to make at some point). In a 1.0 he probably won't have a lot of confidence on the motorway and won't really have enough overtaking ability to make any progress.
I appreciate you're trying to look out for your nephew but he's going to learn in his own time whether you want him to or not. If it's a feeling of responsibility as you're buying it for him then perhaps he should be saving up and buying a car himself; I could afford lessons, car and insurance all on an apprenticeship wage of £95 per week while still paying my parents a small amount of rent so I don't buy the whole 'it's too expensive' argument. Cheap cars can be found and insurance can be paid for monthly; he'll probably appreciate the car a lot more if he's had to make an effort to save for it.
Back to the point though, I just got my 160bhp MX-5 coming straight from my 60bhp Punto which my mum hates because she thinks I'm going to be a reckless idiot and get myself into an accident. My dad sees it the other way in that if I have a bit more power under my foot I'm going to be able to safely overtake on the motorway or I'm not going to go for silly overtakes on country lanes as I'll be able to do them much quicker. I'm not saying buy him a 2.0ltr petrol, I'm just saying don't narrow it straight down to a 1.0 as he may find himself in more trouble if he's trying to build his confidence on the motorway but doesn't have the power behind him to confidently pull out behind a lorry and overtake.
Edit: And about him ferrying his mates.. He's going to do it whether you like it or not. Would you rather it's in a tiny tin-box that's overloaded from the weight of 4 teenagers or a 1.4 astra that's still a very slow car but can handle the weight of 4 passengers comfortably? Why is he not allowed to ferry his mates around if he wants to?
Edited by Grimezy93 on Monday 9th December 11:53
Matt UK said:
300bhp/ton said:
Personally I think everyone should learn to drive in a larger car, that way they aren't scared to drive bigger cars later on, nor should they have such issues with space awareness. On this note for any learner I would avoid any compact hatchback at all.
Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
Agree with all these points. My first car was a Ford Sierra. Something Mondeo or Vectra sized is far better vehicle to learn in. And in many cases when I've looked, insurance has often been no more expensive either. And you'll buy more Mondeo for your money than you will KA or Fiesta.
Some great feedback chaps, thanks.
He Is paying for his own driving lessons but I have decided to help out and buy and insure his first car, so instead he can save for uni.
Totally understand the comments about the bigger cars and comments about having more power for motorways etc, something to think about.
what's the easiest way to get an idea of what will be cheap to insure, other then sitting in front of my computer and putting random car details into comparison sites?
He Is paying for his own driving lessons but I have decided to help out and buy and insure his first car, so instead he can save for uni.
Totally understand the comments about the bigger cars and comments about having more power for motorways etc, something to think about.
what's the easiest way to get an idea of what will be cheap to insure, other then sitting in front of my computer and putting random car details into comparison sites?
A mate of mine got a 1.4 Saxo yesterday.
Rang up Admiral and they said if his parents changed to their "multicar" deal it'd save his parents about £50 for the year and they'd do his (3rd party F&T obviously) for just under £700, absolute bargain for a 20 year old on his first car I thought he'd initially budgeted £1200 for insurance.
Might be worth a look if its feasible n your situation.
Rang up Admiral and they said if his parents changed to their "multicar" deal it'd save his parents about £50 for the year and they'd do his (3rd party F&T obviously) for just under £700, absolute bargain for a 20 year old on his first car I thought he'd initially budgeted £1200 for insurance.
Might be worth a look if its feasible n your situation.
RZ1 said:
Some great feedback chaps, thanks.
He Is paying for his own driving lessons but I have decided to help out and buy and insure his first car, so instead he can save for uni.
Totally understand the comments about the bigger cars and comments about having more power for motorways etc, something to think about.
what's the easiest way to get an idea of what will be cheap to insure, other then sitting in front of my computer and putting random car details into comparison sites?
That's pretty much the only way! There are regular articles about the cheapest cars to insure but like you've already said, they're aimed more at newer cars like 2010 Yaris's, etc. He Is paying for his own driving lessons but I have decided to help out and buy and insure his first car, so instead he can save for uni.
Totally understand the comments about the bigger cars and comments about having more power for motorways etc, something to think about.
what's the easiest way to get an idea of what will be cheap to insure, other then sitting in front of my computer and putting random car details into comparison sites?
What I do is normally use Confused.com, once I do a quote it saves all my details and I can log straight back into the quote and just change the reg for a new quote. Once you've got an idea of the cheapest from that site, try some direct sites using a specific car and try that. I found LV was cheapest for my first couple of years but now it's Admiral.
I think there's sites directly aimed at young drivers like Young Marmalade and Quinn Direct. I've heard good things about Quinn but fairly sure you need to phone up for a proper quote so may be worth waiting till you've found an actual car.
dave7692 said:
A mate of mine got a 1.4 Saxo yesterday.
Rang up Admiral and they said if his parents changed to their "multicar" deal it'd save his parents about £50 for the year and they'd do his (3rd party F&T obviously) for just under £700, absolute bargain for a 20 year old on his first car I thought he'd initially budgeted £1200 for insurance.
Might be worth a look if its feasible n your situation.
His parents don't drive and I don't want to add him to my policy as already got too many carsRang up Admiral and they said if his parents changed to their "multicar" deal it'd save his parents about £50 for the year and they'd do his (3rd party F&T obviously) for just under £700, absolute bargain for a 20 year old on his first car I thought he'd initially budgeted £1200 for insurance.
Might be worth a look if its feasible n your situation.
RZ1 said:
His parents don't drive and I don't want to add him to my policy as already got too many cars
Fair enough, I just thought I'd throw it out there just in case.Also when I was looking I found that generally slighty bigger cars were cheaper to insure (for example Focuses were generally cheaper than the equivalent Fiestas). Also I found at his age avoid anything Honda/VW like the plague as insurers seem to have a special "triple that quote" button for those makes.
Grimezy93 said:
I've heard good things about Quinn...
Really? http://www.fsa.gov.uk/library/communication/statem...They were dodgy as f
k, if they're any better now it's because they're being run like a proper insurance company and won't be as stupidly cheap as they were.RZ1 said:
Matt UK said:
It's a fair point, but worth considering that a bigger engine in a bigger car offers the same performance.
A 1.6 engine in something the size of a Vectra, is about a quick as a 1.0 Polo?
True, I had a 1.4 cavalier which was slow, all my mates had nova's. In the end I used to drive everyone in my car as it was bigger, hence the reason I want to get him something small. A 1.6 engine in something the size of a Vectra, is about a quick as a 1.0 Polo?
A smart car would be perfect, just a shame they are not manual
At 17 I was originally a miffed about being a young lad borrowing the family Sierra, then realised it wasn't all bad. Sorry, I'll stop now
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