which car for a 17 yr old learner?

RichardD

My eldest turns 17 later this year and neither parent has a learner suitable car. Luckily her Grandfather is offering to buy each of his Grandchildren their first car and has given us a budget of £2,000. The lucky parents have to pay for the insurance though!

Now, she wants a 90 but I don;t see her getting insurance for one of them so what does the Difflock Collective suggest I go shopping for?

** GED ** · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:59 pm Post subject:

1.9 xud powered 106 zest with bosch pump.

cheap to buy, and run and doesnt matter about the dings.

£500

and put the rest towards her first real car when she passes.

RichardD · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 3:08 pm Post subject:

I'd rather buy one ding friendly car for her to learn on and then beat to hell in her first year, then get something a little better when she's running up and down to Uni.

The insurance whilst she's learning is not a problem its once she's passed Shocked

Mr Tyre · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:50 pm Post subject:

Nissan Micra.

jojo · Mud Obsessed Joined: 11 Aug 2007 Odometer: 5422

sheepy · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 9:22 pm Post subject:

low insurance group doesn't always apply fr young drivers

cynic-al · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 10:59 pm Post subject:

.matiz, 800cc 3cyl engine can't get any more awful ... I mean insurable than that!

Doesn't matter what you get insurance is a killer. My first car was a Fiat uno and it was amazing Smile

Wilbert Robinson · Articulating Joined: 11 Jul 2008 Odometer: 685

Old shape Ford Ka or Ka2, cheap to run and girls like them Exclamation

Mr Tyre · Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:38 am Post subject:

LiftedDisco · Gate Opener Joined: 23 May 2009 Odometer: 13

We got our daughter a Yaris - 1.0L engine, chain driven timing... Got one with full service history (literally, every single stamp) but with high miles at £1350.

Diesel Corsa is as cheap as chips to insure but wasn't deemed cool enough.

Other popular starter car is a Clio - if so, avoid red (they fade in patches...) and sunroofs - virtually every one will leak and they are £200 or so to solve the problem...

cynic-al · Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:14 pm Post subject:

We had a 52 plate 1.5 turbo diesel yaris at work, bog standard spec don't think it even have power windows. Must have had it 10 years, it got passed from person to person, used as a pool car, a tip car, a 'mines in the garage so i'll use that' car, a 'employee needs to go on a course or pick something up so we'll send them in that' car, a 'i dont want to park my car there so i'll take the yaris' car, basically generally abused and unloved. In all that time I can't recall an occasion where it gave a single stutter. I think it had a clutch changed as it was getting noisy. It really was like one of the top gear cars that follows them around. £35 a year road tax and you were hard pressed to get it under 50 mpg Smile

insurance companies can be a bit funny when you say turbo bit there was a 1000cc petrol too.

They finally decided to get rid last year, I stuck it on ebay 99p start no reserve thinking it'd maybe get to £500. I forget the exact price but it pulled the best part of 2k and the buyer was over the moon!

N.R.G97 · Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 3:07 pm Post subject:

Vw lupo/seat arosa.

I just picked up an arosa needing some small work for £250 with a new MOT on it, though you can get nicer ones not needing anything for well under £1000

I'm 17, had my licence for 10 months and it's £750 to insure, which is pretty damn cheap compared to alot of my mates paying £2000. Though it might also be because I've had my license longer though I've not been driving (other than racing Razz

) since I passed.

Kinda fun little things as well though not a landy.

Mines just a stop gap until I get some time to finish off my 109 (the racer seems to eat time and money Twisted Evil

) but I might well keep it as a cheap runaround

( Gray ) · Articulating Joined: 15 Apr 2012 Odometer: 597

RichardD · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 9:09 am Post subject:

I've played the insurance game and anything Yaris, Punto or Micra shaped with under 1200cc will cost either £800 for her first year as an [for example] 18 year old no NCD etc with a black box fitted or £1500 without with me as a named driver (she'd be the main driver).

I've passed the choices to Kezia for comment and she looked crestfallen that I can't find a 90 that she can be insured for!

Thanks for the hints and tips - I hate the Ford Ka. IMO it is driven by people who should never have been allowed a driving licence in the first place!

. · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:09 pm Post subject:

I bought Jaqi a Micra 2 or 3 years ago and it has been faultless

RichardD · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:13 pm Post subject:

My Jacquie bought one for £300 and it turned out to be a rust bucket. Still, managed to sell it for £400 to someone who was going to fit some crazy jap engine to it!

Mr Tyre · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 4:35 pm Post subject:

Early and later shape micra's are very popular in autograss racing.They use a pair of Hayabusa motors and fit them somewhere in the back.Going by the video's they go like s**t of a shovel and more, some of the better ones are known to lift the front wheels of the ground for the length of the straight.

Off Topic sorry.

mike328 · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:36 pm Post subject:

** GED ** · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:06 pm Post subject:

sorry, TWO busa`s?

wait for me Mike!

mike328 · Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:49 pm Post subject:

sorry Ged couldn't wait...id already gone...but it was worth it! Cool

waveydave · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:40 am Post subject:

What's wrong with a naturally aspirated 90 or 110.

Teach them to handle a non power steered car. Can absorb knocks and teach them to weld at the same time Wink

** GED ** · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 2:16 pm Post subject:

i think richard has seen the light wavey...

waveydave · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 2:21 pm Post subject:

And bought another Land Rover?

** GED ** · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 9:39 pm Post subject:

seen the light wavey...

not been blinded by it...

waveydave · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:56 pm Post subject:

The light that shines from a landy is so bright it eclipses all other things.

Ohh the power of a Lucas sealed beam head lamp Cool

** GED ** · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:55 pm Post subject:

WOW!

you mean you got one BEFORE the wiring catches fire? Shocked

RichardD · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:01 pm Post subject:

You forget, I still have a 90 and that is what she'll be starting on in the field.

And for the record, I wish the L200 had headlights the quality of the 110.

** GED ** · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:13 pm Post subject:

http://www.piaa.co.uk/

RichMayo · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:31 pm Post subject:

How about a mk1 octaves vrs??? I know where one is going for good value with hopefully a year's mot as of tomorrow... Ideal new driver car! Good stopping power, just what you want for a learner.

oilypirate · Gate Opener Joined: 10 Dec 2014 Odometer: 12