Keeping a car for your kids

[LotusOmega375D]

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

[V8Triumph]

Honestly, I wouldn't bother. You'll be able to buy numerous 15 year old hatchbacks and for all you know your kids may want something more interesting.

[Liquid Knight]

My dad kept a Mk 1 1300E Escort for my brother and he wrote it off within a week of getting the keys in his mits. I could have killed him and I was seven at the time.

[300bhp/ton]

LotusOmega375D said:

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

erm well....

[Frances The Mute]

LotusOmega375D said:

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

Bad example of a small hatch car to keep.

Good example? Pug 106GTi

[carguy88]

Frances The Mute said:

LotusOmega375D said:

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

Bad example of a small hatch car to keep.

Good example? Pug 106GTi

Insurance on a 106 gti for someone who is around 18 would be almost £3000

The punto, being a 1.6 would be less than half that I assume...

[SWoll]

carguy88 said:

Frances The Mute said:

LotusOmega375D said:

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

Bad example of a small hatch car to keep.

Good example? Pug 106GTi

Insurance on a 106 gti for someone who is around 18 would be almost £3000

The punto, being a 1.6 would be less than half that I assume...

The difference would surely be made up with the costs of keeping a 16 year old Fiat on the road though.

As above OP, might be worth doing if it's the right car. I just don't think the Punto is that car.

[kayzee]

carguy88 said:

Frances The Mute said:

LotusOmega375D said:

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

Bad example of a small hatch car to keep.

Good example? Pug 106GTi

Insurance on a 106 gti for someone who is around 18 would be almost £3000

The punto, being a 1.6 would be less than half that I assume...

Isn't a 106 GTi a 1.6 as well?

[sjg]

My first car was the Fiat Uno that my parents had bought new in 1986, so it was 11 years old by the time I started driving.

God knows what a 17 year old will pay to insure anything that far down the line. I'd keep it though, not necessarily for your offspring, but if she's happy with it and it's doing the job OK then it's not really costing you much. If it makes it to 16 years old (and if looked after, it should) and you can pass it on, well that saves buying something else.

[LotusOmega375D]

carguy88 said:

Insurance on a 106 gti for someone who is around 18 would be almost £3000

The punto, being a 1.6 would be less than half that I assume...

Her Grande Punto is a 1.4 petrol, so slow as sh!te. I mean for a first car, pretty much ideal, what with all those air-bags and what-have-you for when it inevitably gets rolled.

[Toaster Pilot]

Just keep running it as your wife's car and see what happens - if it turns out to be a complete bag of st by the time it's getting on a bit, get rid then.

I don't really understand the points about reliability, you'll know how reliable it is because you've owned it for years!

[Mr Gear]

LotusOmega375D said:

Her Grande Punto is a 1.4 petrol, so slow as sh!te. I mean for a first car, pretty much ideal, what with all those air-bags and what-have-you for when it inevitably gets rolled.

Is it really though? A 1.4 as a first car in this day and age is actually a very expensive insurance prospect I have been led to believe.

Slow? Probably not slow enough in the eyes of your insurers!

[LotusOmega375D]

Toaster Pilot said:

Just keep running it as your wife's car and see what happens - if it turns out to be a complete bag of st by the time it's getting on a bit, get rid then.

I don't really understand the points about reliability, you'll know how reliable it is because you've owned it for years!

I haven't made any points about the reliability of her car, for the reasons you mention. It's if we decide to switch it for another old dog that those questions would arise.

I think we'll just keep it as you say in your first paragraph and see if fate intervenes.

[Toaster Pilot]

Mr Gear said:

Is it really though? A 1.4 as a first car in this day and age is actually a very expensive insurance prospect I have been led to believe.

Slow? Probably not slow enough in the eyes of your insurers!

It depends on the car, I had a 1.5 Almera as my first car and the insurance was very favourable compared with Corsas and the like.

[Toaster Pilot]

LotusOmega375D said:

I haven't made any points about the reliability of her car, for the reasons you mention. It's if we decide to switch it for another old dog that those questions would arise.

I think we'll just keep it as you say in your first paragraph and see if fate intervenes.

I know you haven't, I meant those saying "oh, it'll be a 16 year old Fiat"

[timetex]

Toaster Pilot said:

LotusOmega375D said:

I haven't made any points about the reliability of her car, for the reasons you mention. It's if we decide to switch it for another old dog that those questions would arise.

I think we'll just keep it as you say in your first paragraph and see if fate intervenes.

I know you haven't, I meant those saying "oh, it'll be a 16 year old Fiat"

What? There's no such thing.

[Deva Link]

V8Triumph said:

You'll be able to buy numerous 15 year old hatchbacks....

Not sure that's true - you can never find a good one when you want one, yet everyone you ask says they got rid of what sounds like an ideal car a couple of weeks ago.

[RZ1]

I currently have a 1996 MR2 N/A which i plan to keep until my kids are old enough to drive, i dont have any kids yet though

[Decky_Q]

I honestly wouldnt bother, there are too many factors that havent been included in the calculations because they dont exist yet.

EV's could well be the norm then and a petrol antique could be 10x more expensive to run/insure
Petrol cars may plummet in value in the future
There may be no petrol left
It could be reliable up until a point but then be a pain to keep running
You might spend more keeping the car than the price of a decent 2nd hand one in the future
etc...

Also people like to have a hand in choosing their first car, its a bonding experience thats worth at least a few hundred quid over a lifetime imo.

Now if it was a car that was a classic already or one that was definitely desitined as a future classic then I could understand as it would be hard to source and price isnt the number one priority. But, no disrespect intended, a punto is a bit white goods and a replacement is probably easily sourced in 10years time.

[Frances The Mute]

carguy88 said:

Frances The Mute said:

LotusOmega375D said:

I see these threads on here about what cheap car for my 17 year old etc. and cars like 15 year-old hatchbacks often get mentioned. Indeed I see young drivers in these kinds of car every day, so they must be sensible options, regarding insurance etc.

Anyway, buying any 15 year-old car has its risks. So this has got me thinking. My wife has a 2006 Grande Punto, which would be 16 years old by the time our eldest is old enough to start driving. Mileage-wise I would expect it to be around 65,000 by then. We're the second owners and have owned it for 3 years. It has FFSH and has been well-looked after.

The wife is happy pootling around in it, so should we keep and run it all that time and then give it to the kids when they're old enough (assuming it doesn't get written-off in the meantime), rather than selling this car and then going out and buying them a different one of a similar age? Better the devil you know? Has anyone on here kept a car for their kids over a period of year in this way?

Bad example of a small hatch car to keep.

Good example? Pug 106GTi

Insurance on a 106 gti for someone who is around 18 would be almost £3000

The punto, being a 1.6 would be less than half that I assume...

The Pug was an example off the top of my head. Who knows what the insurance would be like by the time the lad passes his test.

Either way, the Pug is hands down a better car (which was my initial point) and it's cache will only be increased by the time he gets hold of the keys.

This will make him a sure fire hit with the boys and girls alike making Dad the hero into the bargain. The alternative with the Punto is being picked on mercilessly by all insundry for a car that will constantly need a bump start and can't go out in the rain for fear of it dissolving making Dad a life-destroying bd with no sense of loyalty to his Son. Probably.