18yr Old First Car Sub £1500 Decent NCAP

[irocfan]

Would a beetle cut it?

+'s
It's a golf
It's quite a funky shape
2 door so unlikely to be pestered for lifts (though in fairness my 2 wouldn't consider a 2/3 door car)

[Jamescrs]

Am i.the only person on Piston heads who thinks a 17 yr old new driver should be happy with whatever car they are given and if not pointed in the direction of the bus stop?

[Ziplobb]

Not got around to insuring yet for a passed test but for the £300 we have paid to learn-to-drive Zippy Jnr has been learning in his 1989 Mk2 Golf. He loves it and so does everyone at school but it leaks and we have been chasing a coolant leak.

The last straw came when Missus Zippy had to drive it after Zippy Jnr drove to school one morning before Xmas. She has got so used to DSG and PAS in her Golf and can’t handle a 30 yr old one any longer with no PAS and 15” BBS . So I picked up a 2009 Panda 1.1 with 11k on it, one elderly owner who is giving up on driving after putting a slight crease in the passenger door but other than that it looks new after I bunged 30 sheets to the Polish .

Not got a passed quote yet but that may come after 17 Jan if nipper passes apparently it’s group 1. Not too worried about a pokey cars as he has a 1974 Escort in the garage and once he can insure it with a zetec 170 in it he should be able to control it sensibly.

[Chromegrill]

I know of several 17 year olds who have bought Rover 75s for their first car. Pros:

(1) dirt cheap
(2) dirt cheap to insure (as average age of drivers believed to be 75 so not something for teenage tearaways)
(3) increasingly becoming PH favourite
(4) highly robust in an accident
(5) lack of dealers means lots of opportunity for learning DIY repairs at enthusiast meets
(6) potential to be a future appreciating classic so incentive not to trash and crash

What's not to like?

[V8RX7]

Jamescrs said:

Am i.the only person on Piston heads who thinks a 17 yr old new driver should be happy with whatever car they are given and if not pointed in the direction of the bus stop?

That's my thoughts too.

My daughter was happy with anything but my wife made a fuss so instead of a 3dr Micra she ended up with a 5 Dr 206 which was a POS

[ninjag]

Thinking the same. My first car at 17 was a B reg Toyota Starlet 993cc in Gold aka the Golden Chariot. Loved the wee thing, had super comfy seats and I ran it a whole year with no water in the radiator! Testament to Toyota back in the day.

I then got a Mazda 323F with pop up headlights. Another bulletproof car, not a thing went wrong and no rust. The humongous gear stick was a little embarrassing though.

[anonymous-user]

How about a Fiat Grande Punto/Punto Evo

[Mr Tidy]

ninjag said:

Thinking the same. My first car at 17 was a B reg Toyota Starlet 993cc in Gold aka the Golden Chariot. Loved the wee thing, had super comfy seats and I ran it a whole year with no water in the radiator! Testament to Toyota back in the day.

I then got a Mazda 323F with pop up headlights. Another bulletproof car, not a thing went wrong and no rust. The humongous gear stick was a little embarrassing though.

I bought a 1996 1.5i 323f without the pop-up lights as a daily in 2014 - it lasted 6 months as despite the cheap road tax it was a miserable thing to drive!

Replaced it with a BMW 325ti Sport for just under £2K, that I sold last year within the OP's budget.

[anonymous-user]

Jamescrs said:

Am i.the only person on Piston heads who thinks a 17 yr old new driver should be happy with whatever car they are given and if not pointed in the direction of the bus stop?

I'm of the view that why is anyone buying their 17 year old a car at all?
If I wanted a car I had to buy it myself, so didn't have one until I was 22 and had a proper job

They seem to get it very easy these days

[Yazza54]

Fiat Stilo

Had one when I was 18, had loads of kit for the money, looked funky, drove well, 4 star NCAP and can now be picked up for buttons.

[fightingtorque]

irocfan said:

Would a beetle cut it?

+'s
It's a golf
It's quite a funky shape
2 door so unlikely to be pestered for lifts (though in fairness my 2 wouldn't consider a 2/3 door car)

Beetle is "on the list" in general, but I was reading some reviews which commented on the combination of shape and driving position making it difficult to judge the corners in parking and maneuvering, I have only ever sat in one once when they first came out and remember thinking how odd it was that the windscreen was a mile from the driver, because in the original you were right up against it (putting the engine in front will tend to cause this!). So I don't think it is an ideal first/ learning car. I was thinking of hunting down a convertible a bit later.

To the comments of "the 17 year olds should be happy with what they are given". Yes, I can see why you would say that and of course they would be. Thing is, I'm trying to use this whole thing as an excuse to add some interesting(ish) cars to the collection, under the radar. Already got 3 sporty/project cars (they don't all run) and a VW T4 in addition to mine and my wife's daily drivers but nothing really suitable for the kids to learn in or drive

[fightingtorque]

I took the plunge. £500 , which is £600 with the auction fees. Found a new door on ebay in the right colour for £80. B-post will need some massaging. Airbags all look ok. I'll collect it later this week. I've done restorations, engine swaps etc but it's my first time buying a crashed car as a project.