First car for my niece £9k budget

[nunpuncher]

I'm sure many of you can sympathize with the predicament of being the families dedicated car expert. Expected to advise on the best cars in segments which you otherwise have no interest in.

Well I find myself charged with taking my 20yo niece shopping for her first car. Technically it's her second car after she bought a ds3 then wrote it off 2 weeks later into the back of a 991.

The requirements are £9k, reliable, cheap to run, Bluetooth. Usage will be mostly around town short journeys with the occasional short motorway trip.

All suggestions welcome.

[timberman]

My daughters first car was a VW UP

it was about a year old when she got it and cost £8k

she kept it for about 2 1/2 years with zero issues and traded it in for a new T-Roc in 2020,

she was getting over 50 mpg average and probably over 70 mpg on longer drives, so it was cheap to run, cheap to insure and the car tax was only something like £20 a year,

also being a high up meant it was pretty well equipped with sat nav air con etc, it even had a big glass sunroof and fancy alloy wheels,

I believe the later models were also available with emergency city braking which may prove useful,
I'm just glad she didn't run it into the back of my 991 while she had it

[Emeye]

Dacia Sandero - a new one.

My son's gf has ordered one and the finance on them is peanuts - you can buy one outright for not that much more than £9k.

Why buy second hand in this market when you can get a full warrantied car with factory LPG for a similar price?

Unless you need one immediately - I think there is a 2 - 3 month wait.

[eleveneleven]

I had the same task last year, niece the same age as yours with a similar budget. Only difference being car had to be an auto.

If it was up to me It would have been a Micra They come well equipped for the price and insurance was reasonable. Suzuki swift sport was the second option, great little town cars, fun to drive. A yaris would have been a good shout if considering a manual, same with Citroën C1. She didn't like any of em.

Her options.
Merc A Class - don't ask!
Audi A1 - couldn't find one in budget
Mini Cooper - wasn't well enough equipped

Ended up with a 2012 1.4 DSG Polo. Expensive for what it is and wouldn't have been my choice but it's a nice car to be fair Had a full service done immediately (including gearbox) and added a double din head unit for apple car play. No issues so far, she's made up with it.

Anyway take a look at a Suzuki swift sport it's the best all rounder.

[georgeyboy12345]

Nissan Micra 1.2 N-Tec
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203253...


Hyundai i20 1.2 SE
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203023...


Seat Ibiza 1.0 Sol
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203163...


Renault Clio 0.9 TCe
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203033...


Toyota Yaris 1.2 VVT-I
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203173...


Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 EcoFlex
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203223...


VW Polo 1.0 Bluemotion
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203273...


Ford Fiesta 1.25 Style
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203023...


Audi A1 1.2 TFSI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203284...


Fiat 500 Twinair
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203093...

[Canon_Fodder]

nunpuncher said:

Well I find myself charged with taking my 20yo niece shopping for her first car. Technically it's her second car after she bought a ds3 then wrote it off 2 weeks later into the back of a 991.

.

I should imagine a low insurance group will be quite important too!

[biggbn]

F56 mini, brilliant drive, surprising character, reliable.

[ZX10R NIN]

208 Allure Premium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202102...

Black Edition:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203033...

DS3 Prestige:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107145...

Kia Rio 4:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202012...

Ibiza FR Technology:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201061...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112060...

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

208 Allure Premium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202102...

Black Edition:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203033...

DS3 Prestige:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107145...

Personally I wouldn't even consider a car with the 1.2 Pure Tech engine due to the wet belt, same goes for any Ford with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine

The belt tends to disintegrate and the bits block the oil pickup leading to low oil pressure and a dead engine.

[highet]

bought my 18 year old daughter Toyota Aygo when she passed her test 3 months ago - virtually new 21 plate was 11k - great little car - bluetooth, carplay, sat nav, aircon,rear camera - pretty nippy for 1litre and surprisingly roomy ( i'm 6ft 2 and am much more comfortable in back than wifes clubman ) and not too hard on insurance either - also if you get it serviced by dealer you get freetoyota warranty extension every year up to 10 years

[OutInTheShed]

Canon_Fodder said:

nunpuncher said:

Well I find myself charged with taking my 20yo niece shopping for her first car. Technically it's her second car after she bought a ds3 then wrote it off 2 weeks later into the back of a 991.

.

I should imagine a low insurance group will be quite important too!

£6k for the car and £3k for the insurance....

[timberman]

OutInTheShed said:

Canon_Fodder said:

nunpuncher said:

Well I find myself charged with taking my 20yo niece shopping for her first car. Technically it's her second car after she bought a ds3 then wrote it off 2 weeks later into the back of a 991.

.

I should imagine a low insurance group will be quite important too!

£6k for the car and £3k for the insurance....

I think a lot depends on the postcode,

my daughter paid less than £600 for the first years insurance on her VW UP and no black box fitted

she has been driving for nearly 6 years now and iirc, her recent renewal was over £900,

difference is she now lives in West London.

[nunpuncher]

I don't think her insurance was that bad. What it will be like now with a total loss claim on it I'm not sure. She can work that out herself.

Appreciate all the replies and sharing of experiences. Was quite surprised to read about that issue with the 1.2 pure tech engine. I looked in to that engine before she bought the DS3 and I didn't see anything about this. I'll narrow the list down and get her to pick a few to go see over the next week.

[biggbn]

Kia picanto 1.0 gt-line S, these are meant to be brilliant little things, nippy, well made, great spec, great warranty. We bought our daughter a nearly new picanto four or five years ago, older shape, but totally reliable and quite characterful. The turbo triple is well rated, although am not sure if it falls in budget

[mikeyr]

Wonder if this might be a better route - https://www.evanshalshaw.com/peugeot/just-add-fuel... - no worries about extras then but with slight proviso, prices will go up with a claim apparently! *unless she has 2 years protected NCD*

[jaydeeuk1]

Emeye said:

Dacia Sandero - a new one.

My son's gf has ordered one and the finance on them is peanuts - you can buy one outright for not that much more than £9k.

Why buy second hand in this market when you can get a full warrantied car with factory LPG for a similar price?

Unless you need one immediately - I think there is a 2 - 3 month wait.

Lead times are a lot longer than 2 months for the stepway and jogger (and they're concentrating on this model the most as it has the highest margin), so I imagine the sandero which is the most popular is at least the same. Parents in law ordered a stepway in Feb and told August / Sept delivery, jogger is May / June for pre orders, or summer onwards for new orders.

[stevemcs]

VW up is the answer

[Mikebentley]

i10

[biggbn]

stevemcs said:

VW up is the answer

Or the Seat or Skoda versions. Aygo triumvirate are also excellent albeit for me now, the Toyota is the most modern and smart looking!!