First car choice

[CAH706]

Hi all

Appreciate this has been done a few times recently.

Currently looking for a first car for my 17 year old son.

Budget is a maximum of £5k excluding insurance.

There is a 2013 reg Citroen C1 at a local garage that I use for my car repairs so I know they are a good reputable option. At £4,400 the car price seems a little on high side but it comes with service , MOT and a warranty which I’m confident they would honour.

I’ve also seen a Vauxhall Adam which looks ‘smart’ and is a bit newer and better looking. £5,400 for a 2016 reg on 55k miles.

Lastly a Kia Picanto, 2015 reg at £4k and 67k miles.

Insurance is very similar on all cars and my son isn’t bothered which we get.

There isn’t loads of choice where I live and I’m slightly wary of using unknown garages if I start to venture towards Bradford or Burnley.

Based on the 3 cars above, any thoughts on which would be the better option?

[TurboHatchback]

Have you done any insurance quotes? I would assume if you have £5k for car + 17yr old insurance then you would need to be looking at £2k cars rather than £4.5k cars.

Also one of the golden rules of used car buying is do not buy a car from Bradford.

[Krikkit]

C1 has the most charm of them all.

I'd buy a cheaper, older one and save some budget to have it sorted front to rear - spend a grand on one then have new tyres, suspension, clutch, exhaust etc and enjoy.

[scot_aln]

That feels like an awful lot of money for a 13 year old C1. I'm sure back 13 years ago they were often retailing for not much more that. I know inflation and all but still. I thought the Citroen version was normally the cheapo of the Aygo clones.

[CAH706]

Apologies I don’t know how to multi quote.

Thanks for the responses.

Insurance quotes have been done assuming my son has passed his test and they all come out around £1000 without needing a monitoring system. I must admit I was expecting closer to £2000 but suspect the area we live in helps.

I do have reservations buying him from garages in an around Bradford and similar in and around Burnley if remove these options it leaves me with very very little choice.

The Citroen C1 does seem very expensive and I would’ve discounted it immediately had I not known the garage who have always looked after me well in the past.

To be honest it has been an eye-opener how expensive these types of cars now are!

[66HFM]

That C1 does seem expensive, although you are paying top retail money.

For context, I bought a 64 reg Fiat 500 1.2 Colour Therapy, 69k, new MOT, FSH etc privately for £2,700 for my 17 year old learner driver daughter, I do appreciate that Fiat 500s have more of a female audience but I do enjoy driving it.

As mentioned above, I'd be looking more around the £1-2k for a C1/107/Aygo and through a bit of money at it giving it a good service / overhaul. Cars for 17 year olds tend to have a habit of having scratches and dents easily added to them....

Ideally I was looking at spending £2k max for a Fiat 500... budget creep.

Good luck!

[Terzo123]

Aygo, C1 or 108 would be a good option. I bought an Aygo almost a year ago for my then 17 year old daughter.

Insurance was reasonable, circa 1300 quid without a black box.

The little car has been great and the 1.0 engines are meant to be bullet proof.

[MrWideFit]

I may be bias but a 2012-2024 shape fiat panda is worth a look,

Mine is very low insurance costs for a young driver, pennies to maintain, decent interior quality for the price and the 1.2 engine is a tried and tested unit

A lounge spec will have bluetooth for music and hands free and aircon which is always a bonus in a little city car

[schlep]

consider a corsa limited edition. 66/67 reg

cheap to insure, tax and service, ok on juice. look the part without being quick.

[CAH706]

I like the panda and the C1, aygo and 107 are all options as well

The corsa is a little more on the insurance but not prohibitively so.

The issue is finding cars near where I live (Skipton) as some of the surrounding areas have garages with less than great reviews!

[Moonpie21]

Given you said pick one of the three I'd go with the Kia Picanto.

Purely because it is the newest and will, I assume, have the best safety type features. Secondly it is the cheapest and gives you the most budget for fixing, in my limited anecdotal experience cheap small cars are made to a price point and things can wear out a little quicker...

A couple of families I know brought their sons first car corsas and there is a fair bit of wear and tear repair on them.

I love the panda, smart for 2 and IQ as first car choices, but I have no idea on insurance compared to your three choices or availability in the area.

[duckson]

Just pick something with a cam chain and not a wet belt.

Oldest son got a 1L Kia Picanto about 4yrs ago now, insurance was cheap ish compared to other options.

Youngest son has just got a 1.4 Corsa Limited Edition for ~£5k (one owner, sub 50k miles) last September (he was 17 last May), insurance was reasonable compared to other similar car options - blackbox with Quote me Happy was ~£1900.

Not sure where people get quotes for £1k without black box, must come down to area although we aren t in a bad area ourselves. Although saying that if your son is a student then it tends to be a chunk cheaper than if they are working (which my sons are).

[Rob 131 Sport]

Alfa Mito. My daughter has one since age 17 now 20, that we’ve owned for 11 years.

Lovely cars with reasonable insurance that also have some street cred.