17 what car?

[B3ALP]

As the title really. The Boy will be 17 soon so we are looking for a 1.0 ideally 1.2 at a push. 2 grand max, age not really important.
Something he can play about with cheaply, wheels, lower the usual stuff you do when your that fantastic age.
His preference at the moment in a VW Polo or Lupo I think the Lupo is a bit small?

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Edited by B3ALP on Tuesday 4th March 12:03

[mini1380cc]

B3ALP said:

I think the Lupo is a bit small?

I would appreciate your thoughts.

A bit small for what? Its a good car to start out with. If his requirements are the same as most 17 year olds then it fits the bill...... cheap to fuel, handles well and the passenger seats reclines flat.

[JDMDrifter]

Lupo/Arosa
Ford Ka
Honda Jazz/Logo - if you want him to never get laid

[billzeebub]

Lupo

[Monty Python]

B3ALP said:

As the title really. The Boy will be 17 soon so we are looking for a 1.0 ideally 1.2 at a push. 2 grand max, age not really important.
Something he can play about with cheaply, wheels, lower the usual stuff you do when your that fantastic age.
His preference at the moment in a VW Polo or Lupo I think the Lupo is a bit small?

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Edited by B3ALP on Tuesday 4th March 12:03

I shudder to think what the insurance company will think when he starts putting all these modifications on it.

[northwest monkey]

Mk1 Ford Ka.

Pretty easy to work on, good to drive and loads available.

I can understand the appeal in a Polo or Lupo though.

[AB]

Isn't it about time someone recommended a classic?

Or something that qualifies for classic insurance anyway. With just a £2k budget the insurance each year will outweigh that anyway.

I'm so glad I'm a few years older and missed out on being shafted good and proper by insurance companies.

[vtecyo]

I had a Corsa C 1.2 SXi in gold. Absolutely great first car. Looked great, took lots of abuse, comes with "sports" seats and lovely aluminium *cough* effect *cough* interior.

Plus because it was gold all the chav girls loved it. What more could a 17 year old boy want.

GV52 VLZ was the plate, so I'd avoid that one if you come across it..

[Chicane-UK]

northwest monkey said:

Mk1 Ford Ka.

Pretty easy to work on, good to drive and loads available.

I can understand the appeal in a Polo or Lupo though.

Would give a thumbs up for these. Great little cars really. Used to drive my ex's MK1 Ka quite a lot and enjoyed the go-kart handling. Whilst it wasn't quick it'd do motorway speeds just fine, and even with a few people in the car would still accelerate / behave as if it was just you in it. I even did a few hundred mile drive down to Cornwall and back and didn't get out feeling like I'd just gone a few rounds with a kickboxer. And as was said, easy and cheap to fix.

Just check them thoroughly for rust, and the MK1 Ka's had a known problem with the steering racks failing so see if there is a receipt for that having been done.

[RizzoTheRat]

AB said:

Isn't it about time someone recommended a classic?

Or something that qualifies for classic insurance anyway. With just a £2k budget the insurance each year will outweigh that anyway.

Can you get classic insurance at that age?

If insurance is an issue (some of the tales of 17 year olds forking out thousands to insure small engined fiesta/corsa/etc are scary) take a look at stuff that 17 year olds don't tend to drive and therefore don't crash. A similar thread last year had someone reckoning he could get cheaper insurance on a Volvo 850R than he could on a 1.2 supermini.

[jbsportstech]

Best thing to do is get quotes on lots of cars as some maybe cheap but if they have trends of being crashed by sub 25 year olds they may have high premiums.

[vtecyo]

RizzoTheRat said:

Can you get classic insurance at that age?

If insurance is an issue (some of the tales of 17 year olds forking out thousands to insure small engined fiesta/corsa/etc are scary) take a look at stuff that 17 year olds don't tend to drive and therefore don't crash. A similar thread last year had someone reckoning he could get cheaper insurance on a Volvo 850R than he could on a 1.2 supermini.

A good friend of mine had an L reg 3.0 V6 Camry auto. Cost hardly anything to insure!

[VinceM]

Wife's step-nephew has just got a 1.2 SEAT Ibiza. He says it's £1600 to insure, fully comp, with the black box installed with Tesco. A decent Ibiza should be in budget for under 2k - he paid much less than that and from what I'm told it's a decent looking car.

[Lanxx]

RizzoTheRat said:

Can you get classic insurance at that age?

If insurance is an issue (some of the tales of 17 year olds forking out thousands to insure small engined fiesta/corsa/etc are scary) take a look at stuff that 17 year olds don't tend to drive and therefore don't crash. A similar thread last year had someone reckoning he could get cheaper insurance on a Volvo 850R than he could on a 1.2 supermini.

You used to be able to, I had a quote 3 years ago (when I was 17) from Footman James on a Classic Mini, though I think they may have changed their policy to 21+ now. There must be others that allow 17 year olds. The quotes were very reasonable for me too, about a third of the price of your standard 1.2 Clio, Fiesta etc.

[rswift]

I don't think you'll get classic insurance at 17, and usually you need to have another everyday car.

At 48 I don't have to worry about the high insurance that our youngsters get hammered for, but I'd start with the insurance first, and just be happy with wheels & independence.

I'm sure I saw a list of cars for younger drivers published somewhere.

Edited by rswift on Tuesday 4th March 13:38

[rswift]

Just one thought, SMART car. Much less likely to "drive like a 17 old" without 3 mates egging you on !

[Maxus]

With bit of budget creep (£2,500) you could get a MINI One. having looked into it I was surprised how cheap these were to insure.
They appear a bit more substantial than most supermini's

[Jim AK]

Maxus said:

With bit of budget creep (£2,500) you could get a MINI One. having looked into it I was surprised how cheap these were to insure.
They appear a bit more substantial than most supermini's

Budget a fortune to fix the chocolate gearbox & power steering or get documents to prove they have been fixed

Check for water leaking into boot well (hi level brake light, rear window seals or rear lights)

Check the myriad warning lights illuminated on dash (ABS EML etc)

Even if all that is ok walk away especially if it's in Estate Agent green!!

Dreadful choice IMO.

[FredClogs]

Statistically, under 25, for every passenger in the car the risk of an accident doubles. Given this fact I suggest a road going racer, like a BAC Mono or such, must be cheaper to insure.

[KarlMac]

1.0E Lupo.

If he's into his cars theres plenty of budget fettling and OEM+ stuff he can get his teeth into.