Car for daughters 18th, is this the right thing to do?

[WAVman]

Turn7 said:

Get Insurance quotes before buying ANYTHING !!

I have. Around £800 for Ka, 500, 108. Her as main driver, Mrs and I as named.

[WAVman]

OverSteery said:

Discuss it with her, the options and the pro and cons including
- make/model
- servicing
- insurance
- mpg

and then look/buy together.

No short term 'surprise' facebook moment, but an opportunity for her to learn how to make significant financial decisions. Help her gain the skills she will need as a adult.

I think we have decided this is the way we will go.

[Turn7]

WAVman said:

Turn7 said:

Get Insurance quotes before buying ANYTHING !!

I have. Around £800 for Ka, 500, 108. Her as main driver, Mrs and I as named.

That actually doesnt sound as bad as some Ive heard fro kids....

[Mo28]

WAVman said:

I have. Around £800 for Ka, 500, 108. Her as main driver, Mrs and I as named.

Bloody hell that's cheap, I currently pay £900 and that's after having a license for nearly 6 years!

[WAVman]

Mo28 said:

Bloody hell that's cheap, I currently pay £900 and that's after having a license for nearly 6 years!

I thought it would be around £1k.

I got about 10 quotes for different cars on AT, all approx £800. Maybe due to Mrs and I being named drivers, and a requirement for a box to be fitted.

[kieranblenk]

My sister is 15 and already has began to think about what she would like when she turns 17 and gets her first car. She has her heart set on a Vauxhall Adam, everything else she has curled her nose up at for various reasons.

[gazza285]

Mo28 said:

WAVman said:

I have. Around £800 for Ka, 500, 108. Her as main driver, Mrs and I as named.

Bloody hell that's cheap, I currently pay £900 and that's after having a license for nearly 6 years!

Is that with her having a full licence? I priced up insurance for my youth as the main driver on our shed V70, £800 on a provisional, couldn't get a quote for an eighteen year old on a full...

[unsprung]

On the "throw a strop" comment... This TV spot from the other side of the Atlantic:

https://youtu.be/gKmy6ecGsZw

[biggbn]

WAVman said:

Yes. To a point.

Well don't give her anything.

Edit. Before I get slaughtered you have kinda answered your own question. If she is fussy and won't appreciate a surprise gift, get her involved in process. Prepares her for doing it herself one day.

And this is from someone who has now bought his daughters first three cars, and she is 26 now.....

Edited by biggbn on Tuesday 16th July 22:47

[soad]

[snotrag]

No one else amused by the fact a Ford Ka is actually a Fiat 500 underneath!?

[WAVman]

gazza285 said:

Is that with her having a full licence? I priced up insurance for my youth as the main driver on our shed V70, £800 on a provisional, couldn't get a quote for an eighteen year old on a full...

Yes, full licence 1 month which is the minimum on the Meerkat compare site.

[AJB88]

snotrag said:

No one else amused by the fact a Ford Ka is actually a Fiat 500 underneath!?

Thats what I was kinda getting at with my comment.

[Slow]

I would avoid a blackbox even if 200-300 more without.

[Roaringopenfire]

WAVman said:

My eldest is 18 soon and we are going to get her a car for her birthday.
She is, like most teenage girls I would imagine, a fussy bugger and knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn't like.
We want this to be a surprise. I have done my research and insurance quoting, and narrowed down to a Ka of some description. She hates Fiat 500's by the way.
I nearly bought a 64 plate Ka Zetec today, a good genuine car in lovely bright red for £3500.
However, my wife has suggested tonight that maybe we should give her the money instead of the car and let her make the decision, guided by us of course.
My question really is does this take the surprise away, or is it a sensible solution for a hard to please teenager?
I know beggars shouldn't be choosers and all that, but we just want to get it right for her.
Have other people experience of similar situations?

My advice is to find out what her friends have got. My daughter turns 17 next week and we got her a 14 reg C1 for her to learn to drive in. Many of her friends who turned 17 earlier in the year also have C1s so she was delighted to get the same. There's clearly some undercurrent about Fiat 500s. While one of her friends got a brand new one for Christmas, all her other peers seem to think they are cliched for young girls to have and don't like them.

[ninepoint2]

AJB88 said:

if she hates FIAT 500 is she likely to hate KA as well?

Give her the money.

Indeed basically the same car underneath

[WAVman]

Slow said:

I would avoid a blackbox even if 200-300 more without.

Elaborate please?

[biggbn]

ninepoint2 said:

AJB88 said:

if she hates FIAT 500 is she likely to hate KA as well?

Give her the money.

Indeed basically the same car underneath

And this matters because? I am perhaps being judgemental but how many 18 year old new drivers are concerned with their cars platform?

[ninepoint2]

WAVman said:

I have. Around £800 for Ka, 500, 108. Her as main driver, Mrs and I as named.

Guess that is her as a provisional holder, once she passes her test I would expect that to rise significantly.

[Pit Pony]

Turn7 said:

Get Insurance quotes before buying ANYTHING !!

And then double check.before you buy.

Trying to insure a 17 year old the day after she passed her test on a Bini Cooper was fun.
The Bini was bought for my wife, but knowing that when daughter passed her test she would.be a named driver. I had a few quotes for different cars with our son who is 3 years older, and the dates of birth got confused
So I was expecting to.pay an extra £1200, not an extra "sorry we can't quote" responce. Eventually we ended up.paying an extra £2100.
Cheapest would be a jizz.
We gave it her when she graduated University 5 years later and she was surprised at the increase when she moved to an L8 postcode.