First Car for Daughter

[lost in espace]

My daughter passed her test last week, second attempt seems a good driver from my time in a Fiat 500.

We can buy a Mini, I have arranged to see this one at the weekend Cooper 2008 90k and looks well looked after, sensible vendor. Insurance with black box is £1100, tax £135.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195470165140?mkevt=1&am...

However I was thinking about bork potential and am now thinking she is better off with a £5/6k VW Up with sensible miles, more mpg, £20 tax, still looks fairly cool. The insurance is £600 black box.

She has seen this cat N she really likes not so sure myself. We plan on keeping for 3 years.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334451487447?hash=item4...

I think the Mini will be scrap value in 3 years, whereas an Up will retain half of its value, and they would both cost roughly the same to run over the 3 years.

The Mini has 120bhp, Up rather less!

Any thoughts on my thinking and comments or alternative cars? I know this has been done to death, sorry!

[smn159]

Got my daughter a C1 when she passed. Reasoning was that the bloke round the corner had a well looked after low mileage one and she liked the colour.

Turned out to be a decent choice - kept it a couple of years before someone drove into the back of it and she replaced it with a Fiesta

[AndrewO]

I went 2015 60bhp polo for daughter no:1 and 2016 95bhp polo when daughter no:2 passed. Both cars were fun to drive, the 60bhp one lacked power outside of 30mph zones.

Neighbour has a Mini 1.2 Dec'2015 for sale if interested, Retired owner 37k mls. £10k, £30tax

[ZX10R NIN]

lost in espace said:

My daughter passed her test last week, second attempt seems a good driver from my time in a Fiat 500.

We can buy a Mini, I have arranged to see this one at the weekend Cooper 2008 90k and looks well looked after, sensible vendor. Insurance with black box is £1100, tax £135.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195470165140?mkevt=1&am...

However I was thinking about bork potential and am now thinking she is better off with a £5/6k VW Up with sensible miles, more mpg, £20 tax, still looks fairly cool. The insurance is £600 black box.

She has seen this cat N she really likes not so sure myself. We plan on keeping for 3 years.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334451487447?hash=item4...

I think the Mini will be scrap value in 3 years, whereas an Up will retain half of its value, and they would both cost roughly the same to run over the 3 years.

The Mini has 120bhp, Up rather less!

Any thoughts on my thinking and comments or alternative cars? I know this has been done to death, sorry!

The Mini will still be worth at least 1k maybe more if she looks after it, it seems to have all the right work done.
All in it seems a decent buy.

[Sir Bagalot]

Whatever you buy just ensure you do a VCheck on it.

Vote here for C1/107/Aygo here.

Cheap to run, insure, tax etc etc

[ReverendCounter]

Another PHer said he found Volvo C30's were low cost insurance for young drivers.

[stevemcs]

VW Up for me, 500's are not the most reliable, i bet most of the ones you look at have the mileage flashing

Other options would be the Kia Picanto, Renault Twingo, Suzuki Swift

[dontlookdown]

Well done hee for passing. Nice work.

Got my daughter a Yaris when she passed back in April. 68 snorting bhp;)

Up is a great small car, also the Skoda version - Citigo.

Rum a few insurance quotes before you buy, the results can be surprising.

[lost in espace]

Thanks for all the input. The Mini is the one we are going for, nice guy selling from a lovely house. If it was me I would probably go for an Up, but my daughter wants the Mini. It looks a good one, assuming the pan roof doesn't rattle and the engine resists exploding. I spreadsheeted the costs, and there isn't much between them costwise and I suppose 120bhp is safer on the motorway when you need power to overtake a truck.

[Levin]

I remember when the advice of the day on here was a Peugeot 406 2.1TD because they supposedly had preposterously cheap insurance. That being said a Mini is a great call and, if it has a panoramic roof, is nicely specced in my book too!

[hothatch1.6]

Recommend MiTo also, same engine as fiat 500 twinair. Buying one for my better half to learn in and insurance is good value.

[sjc]

In 2018 I bought a 2009 1.6 petrol,80K miles
Mini Cooper for 3 grand as a first car for my daughter. It’s now on 135,000 miles and (touchwood) still running lovely.Other than general wear/tear/service items and oil consumption (which they’re known for) the only think it’s needed is a water pump. I went for a decent spec one with cruise/Bluetooth etc and she still loves it to the point I’ve just had a body and wheel refurb on it as she doesn’t want to change it. Get one with a decent history and they are cracking little car.

[sjc]

ReverendCounter said:

Another PHer said he found Volvo C30's were low cost insurance for young drivers.

That was me as I bought one for my son,probably more of a lads type car really.

[georgeyboy12345]

lost in espace said:

My daughter passed her test last week, second attempt seems a good driver from my time in a Fiat 500.

We can buy a Mini, I have arranged to see this one at the weekend Cooper 2008 90k and looks well looked after, sensible vendor. Insurance with black box is £1100, tax £135.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195470165140?mkevt=1&am...

However I was thinking about bork potential and am now thinking she is better off with a £5/6k VW Up with sensible miles, more mpg, £20 tax, still looks fairly cool. The insurance is £600 black box.

She has seen this cat N she really likes not so sure myself. We plan on keeping for 3 years.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334451487447?hash=item4...

I think the Mini will be scrap value in 3 years, whereas an Up will retain half of its value, and they would both cost roughly the same to run over the 3 years.

The Mini has 120bhp, Up rather less!

Any thoughts on my thinking and comments or alternative cars? I know this has been done to death, sorry!

Me personally, I'd avoid those R56 generation Minis as the Prince engines they came with had reliability issues. I'd also avoid buying any kind of car that has been written off as you'll struggle to sell it on, especially as you only plan on having it 3 years. There's also the safety element to consider when buying something that has been in a crash previously, though I'd be more concerned about the value to be honest. Finally, I'd avoid buying off ebay unless you are really know what you are doing.

There's loads of good stuff available on autotrader for a 6 grand budget. These are all low running costs with insurance under group 20 and tax £30 a year or less.

A non-Cat N VW Up 1.0 that still has low miles at 46k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209109...


A newer F56 Mini Cooper D, though slightly leggy at this price
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207017...


Alfa Romeo MiTo TwinAir
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204255...


Fiat 500 1.2 Pop
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210140...


A rear-engined Renault Twingo 1.0 SCe
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208198...


Toyota Aygo 1.0 VVT-i
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210120...


Ford Ka 1.2 Zetec
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208198...


Suzuki Swift 1.2 SZ2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209260...


Mazda 2 1.3 SE
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210160...


Finally, as a somewhat leftfield option, what about this Honda CR-Z - manual, looks sporty, but actually not that fast and very frugal with it's hybrid set-up. A bit older than the others, mind.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211091...

[lornemalvo]

I bought my wife a Skoda Citigo and it is an utterly brilliant car. In my view the UP/Citigo/Mii are the best small cars you can buy (and I've owned over 70 cars of all types)

[Pat H]

georgeyboy12345 said:

lost in espace said:

My daughter passed her test last week, second attempt seems a good driver from my time in a Fiat 500.

We can buy a Mini, I have arranged to see this one at the weekend Cooper 2008 90k and looks well looked after, sensible vendor. Insurance with black box is £1100, tax £135.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195470165140?mkevt=1&am...

However I was thinking about bork potential and am now thinking she is better off with a £5/6k VW Up with sensible miles, more mpg, £20 tax, still looks fairly cool. The insurance is £600 black box.

She has seen this cat N she really likes not so sure myself. We plan on keeping for 3 years.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334451487447?hash=item4...

I think the Mini will be scrap value in 3 years, whereas an Up will retain half of its value, and they would both cost roughly the same to run over the 3 years.

The Mini has 120bhp, Up rather less!

Any thoughts on my thinking and comments or alternative cars? I know this has been done to death, sorry!

Me personally, I'd avoid those R56 generation Minis as the Prince engines they came with had reliability issues.

My wife had a 2010 R56 Cooper.

We got shot of it at 82k.

Was using oil, the timing chain job was on the horizon and the front bottom arms were on their way out.

Doing the bottom arms properly is a nasty job.

She had the car for six or seven years and it was pretty robust, though fairly thirsty.

Had a big appetite for tail light and sidelight bulbs and more electrical gremlins than you can shake a stick at.

The sidelights are a bh. Some intellectual gnome thought it was a good idea to have to remove a front wheel to replace the bulb.

It was quite a funky thing, but it was definitely past it’s best when we got shot.

My daughter’s first car was a 15 year old K11 Micra which had done 18k and was bought from a little old lady. She still has it 5 years later and all it’s needed beyond routine servicing has been one bulb and a couple of rear brake cylinders.

[Silvanus]

hothatch1.6 said:

Recommend MiTo also, same engine as fiat 500 twinair. Buying one for my better half to learn in and insurance is good value.

Very good shout and a great first car

[Silvanus]

sjc said:

ReverendCounter said:

Another PHer said he found Volvo C30's were low cost insurance for young drivers.

That was me as I bought one for my son,probably more of a lads type car really.

Why do you say that, I know a couple of young lads with MINIs and a couple of young ladies with Volvos, a V40 and a C70 CC.

[CarCrazyDad]

georgeyboy12345 said:

A rear-engined Renault Twingo 1.0 SCe
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208198...

Got to be that?

Basically a 911!

[lost in espace]

Right I am on the 620 to Peterborough to get the mini. This is my check list. If I have missed anything let me know.



I still think an Up would be a better buy but decent ones without moon mileage are a lot more expensive than this mini.