First car for daughter
First car for daughter
Author
Discussion

geek84

Original Poster:

620 posts

109 months

Hi Folks

My daughter will be finishing university this summer and in the process of choosing her first car.

Can you give any advice regarding make/model?

Thank You

Magic919

14,163 posts

224 months

A nice Bentley convertible in blue.

Bomberharris

344 posts

168 months

I’ve gone for a Suzuki Vitara

Can be had in 1.0 T / 1.4 T or 1.6 NA, I did buy her a Hydundai i10 but i wanted something larger and more road presence as I had a bad experience in it with inconsiderate bullying driver

AlexGSi2000

714 posts

217 months

Whats the budget?

98elise

31,401 posts

184 months

Given how horrific insurance will be, I would go for a low tax car to soften the blow. My daughters first car was an Toyota Aygo, then she got a Hyundai i10.

The Aygo (same car as C1 or 107) is very very basic but are quite fun to drive. The engines are pretty robust and chain driven so not a huge amount to go wrong. They can suffer with rust so watch that, and higher mileage examples can burn oil.

The i10 is much more refined. The one my daughter has is also chain driven so no belt to worry about. The engine feels more powerful than the Aygo and it takes steep hills easier.

Trevor555

5,085 posts

107 months

Vw Up

Seat Mii

Skoda Citygo

Pre April 2017 cars are £20 road tax.

Post Dec 2016 are the facelift. (Better radio)

I'd choose one from that 4 month timeline.

66HFM

798 posts

48 months

Has she passed her test yet?
My 17 year old daughter was only interested in a Fiat 500, my options for Aygo/C1/107, Fiat Panda etc fell on deaf ears.

If you go for the 500 make sure its the 1.2

Tagteam

402 posts

46 months

we bought a vw up , great car and one of the cheapest insurance . insurance is the main concern when buying

Petrus1983

10,839 posts

185 months

VW Up / Citeron C1

Wacky Racer

40,647 posts

270 months

Magic919 said:
A nice Bentley convertible in blue.
She might find it a bit difficult getting in a tight parking space, also high insurance might be a bit of a problem.

Otherwise, good shout. biggrin

Petrus1983

10,839 posts

185 months

Wacky Racer said:
Magic919 said:
A nice Bentley convertible in blue.
She might find it a bit difficult getting in a tight parking space, also high insurance might be a bit of a problem.

Otherwise, good shout. biggrin
Back in the good old days such cars created an insurance algorithm quirk whereby if you looked at how many 20 yr olds had crashed a Bentley vs VW Golf it would show a Golf was a lot more dangerous (as more had been crashed) so it was more expensive to insure. Daily insurance on my dads 328 GTS was £16 when I was 18.

Scrump

23,731 posts

181 months

98elise said:
Given how horrific insurance will be, I would go for a low tax car to soften the blow. My daughters first car was an Toyota Aygo, then she got a Hyundai i10.

The Aygo (same car as C1 or 107) is very very basic but are quite fun to drive. The engines are pretty robust and chain driven so not a huge amount to go wrong. They can suffer with rust so watch that, and higher mileage examples can burn oil.
The Scrumplets have both had a 107 as their first car. Insurance was cheaper than many of the other options and they are mechanically quite robust. Have a tendency to let rainwater in, but can be fixed with new/upgraded seals.
After a year or two they moved on to other cars but by then had built up some NCD which helped a lot. After moving on to other cars they realised how economical the 107 is.

Clad-Hach

249 posts

11 months

Suzuki Swift 1.2, 2010-2017, unburstable engines and running gear, cheap to run £35 road tax, its a comfy easy to drive car, the pick of the models is the SZ-L.

This is the SZ-L.


POIDH

2,896 posts

88 months

Scrump said:
98elise said:
Given how horrific insurance will be, I would go for a low tax car to soften the blow. My daughters first car was an Toyota Aygo, then she got a Hyundai i10.

The Aygo (same car as C1 or 107) is very very basic but are quite fun to drive. The engines are pretty robust and chain driven so not a huge amount to go wrong. They can suffer with rust so watch that, and higher mileage examples can burn oil.
The Scrumplets have both had a 107 as their first car. Insurance was cheaper than many of the other options and they are mechanically quite robust. Have a tendency to let rainwater in, but can be fixed with new/upgraded seals.
After a year or two they moved on to other cars but by then had built up some NCD which helped a lot. After moving on to other cars they realised how economical the 107 is.
Do remember that 'small' and 'tiny engine' is not the only defining factor in insurance cost.
Our Fabia Estate was £80 a year cheaper than the hatch.
My sons 140bhp 1.8 Civic (Vtec, yo) is £140 cheaper than his brothers Swift and £180 cheaper than our Fabia estate....
Look for 'grandad' cars - less crashed by new drivers as fewer own them.
A Fiesta or Corsa of similar powah was significantly higher when we looked at buying cars.

Tri_Doc

605 posts

157 months

Trevor555 said:
Vw Up

Seat Mii

Skoda Citygo

Pre April 2017 cars are £20 road tax.

Post Dec 2016 are the facelift. (Better radio)

I'd choose one from that 4 month timeline.
Any of these. The up had a 'beats' special edition with a decent hifi. Fine to drive, cheap to run, solid.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20070130

Double Fault

1,427 posts

286 months

Just been in the same situation...went for a Mazda 2.

Very solid little car with a slick gear change. It's my main car now smile

nordboy

2,857 posts

73 months

66HFM said:
Has she passed her test yet?
My 17 year old daughter was only interested in a Fiat 500, my options for Aygo/C1/107, Fiat Panda etc fell on deaf ears.

If you go for the 500 make sure its the 1.2
Mine wanted a 500, so bought her one. She hated driving it from the start, so it didn't last long. She had 3 cars before she even passed her test!!!!

She now absolutely loves her Aygo, and we've just had what would be her 2nd renewal quote through and as I pay, I'm happy to say it's now only a smidge over £500 a year.

AB

19,581 posts

218 months

Petrus1983 said:
Wacky Racer said:
Magic919 said:
A nice Bentley convertible in blue.
She might find it a bit difficult getting in a tight parking space, also high insurance might be a bit of a problem.

Otherwise, good shout. biggrin
Back in the good old days such cars created an insurance algorithm quirk whereby if you looked at how many 20 yr olds had crashed a Bentley vs VW Golf it would show a Golf was a lot more dangerous (as more had been crashed) so it was more expensive to insure. Daily insurance on my dads 328 GTS was £16 when I was 18.
It still happens. My Bentley insurance is less than half the price of anything else, despite being the most valuable car. It makes no sense really.

So I'd start off by comparing insurance quotes on various things to find your own best option. I like the Jimny idea.

TarquinMX5

2,512 posts

103 months

Manual or auto licence (assuming a full licence holder). Budget, intended use (1- mile each way local commute or weekly 300-mile motorway commute?), 2/4 doors. ICE or EV? Suitable for diy or not etc..




therams

297 posts

208 months

Skoda Fabia,or vw polo 1 litre seem to be the choices around here

Latest models have good sat nav and CarPlay. Being able to play Spotify while driving seems to be a thing for my kids