If you were looking for a car for a young lad?

[mk1]

Right, interesting question this one.

If you were looking to purchase a first car for a 17 year old, what would you go for?

Bearing in mind that insurance is astronomical on all cars and that for all Mini's the initial purchase price is also horrendous, regardless of whether they are old or newer.

It is possible to insure many "practical Classics" like 1100's 1300's A40's Moggie Minors etc for about 1/3rd the price of a modern bean can, but these are of course less reliable & inevitably less safe, so what would you do?

Your suggestions are welcomed.

Mark F

[Smiffy]

Should keep 'em safe

zombie-car-1.jpg

[Pandora]

Surely the wee guy inthe photo next to your '59 when you bought it isn't that old already???

I had exactly this conversation with a neighbour a few months ago. It came as a shock to find out that what I consider 'modern' cars were almost as old as my '69 Elf was when I bought it at 18!

Minor was the best option we came up with in terms of cost / practicality, but safety - not so sure. Of course with modern ignition systems etc they are far more reliable, but kids these days, would they understand a 'choke' ? "it's connected to a What, Dad? Is that by a USB cable????"

a Metro is surprisingly old now, and they tell me the '80s are having a revival, so that might be a cheap option with cheap insurance and be 'different'

Beetles were cheap, but have shot up again in recent year or so.

Finding an 1100 is geting tricky. An A40? Like a Minor, its steering is brobably not the best introduction to driving!

Safe things like Golfs are so dear, let alone the insurance.

Buy him a bus pass.

Al

[rolesyboy]

Hi Mark, I would think a Ford KA would be a good insurable bet. They can be bought for peanuts and cheap to fix etc. Lupo good or Seat equivelant cheaper still.
The classic car insurance thing is fine but you might want to bear in mind this is only provided the driver is insured in another vehicle ie your day to day car.
I have heard of a number of 'kids' reducing their premiums by half or a third by fitting one of these black boxes that monitors your driving behaviour and habits.
Whatever you do it will be an expensive outing. Glad I haven't got to think about this for another 6 years

[rich@minispares.com]

Peugeot 205 diesel


classic shape, economical, slow

quite rare now, so you would probably have to pay a premium for one that's in nice condition

try to buy one that's been restored, saves all the hassle



oh, and the really rare ones have a bmc green painted engine - very desirable

[northern monkey]

my two suggestions are in no way "cool" cars but are simple to fix (loads of cheap bits at the scrappers),plentyfull,small engined ( not enough power to pull a zip down),and cheap to buy....vauxhall corsa...v.w. polo....there are loads for sale so you can pick up a "polished to death" few owner car for sensible money..airbags,abs etc

Mick

[almondgreen]

I would take a Polo or Lupo.

[mab01uk]

Most modern supermini hatchbacks like Fiesta, Polo, Clio, etc are very cheap and reliable if you buy a good one of the previous generations to whatever is the current model. I started both mine on a Mk3 Ford Fiesta Ghia 1.25 a few years back, cheap to run, fix, insure and fairly simple to work on but with airbags, power steering, reasonable Eurocap safety, etc.
Insurance was a lot less with Elephant with a parent on the policy as a named driver for first few years......parent as the main driver/owner used to work years ago but is now called 'fronting' and not really legal or if detected comes up on the 'confused' type computer quotes as a rejected quote.

Much as I would have liked to recommend a classic Mini, I don't think it wise for todays youngsters to be running round in any 1950/60's design on modern roads when far better safer cars are cheaply available and if anything happened how would you feel?.......anymore than I would have welcomed my dad expecting me drive an original Austin 7 as my first car in the 1970's! (I had a clapped out 1965 850 Mini-Minor in 1974).

[Lakeland997]

If the youngster can afford £85 per month then spend your money putting down a £2500 deposit on a new Volkswagen UP.
50 plus MPG, 5 star safety, lowest insurance group possible, three year warranty, three services for £250 great fun to drive.
In my (totally biased) humble opinion it's a true 21st century Mini unlike that bloated thing from BMW.

[mk1]

Thanks for the fantastic input!

My thinking has been illuminated by all the above comments.

Thankfully I don't have to put my hand in my pocket for another couple of years yet, but after a conversation over Christmas I was set thinking.

Much as I would like to inflict an 1100 or moggie minor on Adam, I reckon an UP or something similar is a far better plan of campaign. I did think about a yellow Fiat Cinquecento with one red door, if you know what I mean



This just leaves the question, will he ever learn to do any more than check the tyre pressures & washer bottle? Maybe not

M

[rich@minispares.com]

This just leaves the question, will he ever learn to do any more than check the tyre pressures & washer bottle? Maybe not

knowing adam, I doubt he would even do that!

[Pandora]

how about a Seat or Skoda? basically Golf safety and reliability, but not the costs. Not sure about the insurance though.

I'm sure you'll be letting him drive the minis and the Jeep anyway though?

Oh, wait, just give him the Speedwell car?

Al

[steve1071]

As some of you may know I run an insurance brokers. I have three lads, the oldest just 15 and everyone says to me 'your lads will be ok for insurance 'cos of where you work'. We don't really cater for private car insurance and have no competitive markets for young drivers. The best place we have found to recommend to clients is monkey.co.uk

As for what car to buy the young un's it doesn't really matter in insurance terms (as long as it's small engined), the high cost comes from the third party element of cover. Boy racer types are however loaded, Saxo and Corsa's etc.

Now back into the garage, I'm moving in a week and need to get my car rolling!

[GraemeC]

No street cred at all, but I would be looking at a Micra.

[mk1coopers]

Have a look at the 107/Aygo/C1, very much like a modern Mini, good 3 cylinder Toyota engine, great on fuel ect, I've got 16 + years to go until I'm in the same situation (if they don't change the driving age) so perhaps I ought to start saving now

[Andrew1967]

We are looking at maybe a 107 or C1 for when our daughter is 17 in Jan 2015. They seem to be one of the cheapest cars to insure for a 17 yr old.

I think that maybe they are more of a girls car than a blokes though !

[mab01uk]

Yes I am afraid once the novelty of actually owning and driving a first car wears off (or even before!).......street cred usually becomes an important factor (as indeed it was for me back in '74.....I would not have been seen dead in a Morris Minor, Austin A40 or A30/35!). After a couple of years saving and building up some no claims both my sons moved on from the £900 Fiesta (handed down to a cousin for £500), one to a Mk1 Ford Focus for practical size reasons, the other a 2001 MINI One (with various mods added as insurance allowed).

I have just checked with them and as expected the 107/Aygo/C1, Micra, Yaris and VW UP are all considered girls cars and/or have no street cred.......

[Lakeland997]

C1/Aygo/107 are NCAP rated at 3 stars (it's an old design) UP at 5 stars (and world car of the year 2012)
Insurance rating of C1 is group 7, UP is group 1

According to Citroen website C1 costs £99 per month. UP costs £85 for about the same deposit.

Which one will be worth more when you come to sell it?

[mab01uk]

I did think about a yellow Fiat Cinquecento with one red door, if you know what I mean



M

Inbetweeners Simon Sh*tty Fiat!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaFS8CuEIFw

The Inbetweeners car on ebay: Could this be the UK's most expensive Fiat Cinquecento?
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/younge ... nquecento/

[Gordon]

Ok I have a red face now. I decided that my lads would have a disposable car for their first one, being realistic that they would most likely make a mistake early on and bend it. Thankfully I was right and they didn't get hurt in the process....nor anyone else. Eldest lad had a 1.1 Citroen AX to cut his teeth on. After he bent it a few weeks later we had a visit to the local breakers for lights bumper, slam panel and bonnet and recommissioned it. He was then a lot more careful but still went on to bend two more cars since. The beauty was that there was no involvement with insurance company so kept premiums down. The car cost £200 and another £50 for parts to fix it after his mishap. Similar story with second son - £80 Pug 106 non runner. Put it on the road for £200 and he learned very quickly that they don't stop well when filled with mates and ran out of tarmac. He got off very lightly and it was all sorted with just an hour of work. The lesson learned though was invaluable and again didn't involve insurance claim. As long as no one else was involved the theory was we could weigh in a car too far gone to fix and get another banger. Eldest son now has company vehicle and a Rover Mini of his own. Younger one went on to buy several more old cars, give them tlc and use them for a while. He hasn't sold one yet for less than he bought it for.

So does an AX have more street cred than a Fiat?

Gordon