My lad mid thirties says most people they know go PCP or lease a car for the three years, hand it back rinse and repeat, quite a few people who i work with do this also.

Friends of my age tend to buy them, some buy new and replace at or before warranty expiry.

How very nice to hear from you again, Hugo.

It's really a matter of priorities. I've been lucky enough to be able to buy new, mostly on PCPs, and trade in after no more than 3 years. I've always done a highish mileage and still enjoy driving (even now in my late 60s).

My priorities have been reliability and the comfort of a warranty, as well as driving pleasure, and I've no regrets. But we stayed in the same house for 40 years (although we put on an extension) and others will prefer to do different things with their money. And of course others don't have the choice - I admit I've been lucky.

So discuss with your daughter (assuming she wants fatherly advice!) what's important: if she needs something reliable to commute to work in, there's a lot to be said for buying new on a PCP provided that she doesn't overstretch herself. 0% finance will be attractive, although the trade-in value of the Corsa will probably be less - you don't get owt for nowt (which they may well say differently in Cornwall....). It's the cost per month that's important, and she needs to draw up a short-list of cars and get quotes.

Recently I've found that getting a quote from a car broker, and then seeing if a local dealer can match it, works well - the point being that the dealer will be readier to take your PX.

In her position I'd be looking at a VW Up (the 74 bhp version) or its Skoda or SEAT siblings, a Hyundai i10 1.2 (my daughter is on her second - excellent), or a Toyota Aygo. But she may have set her heart on a Mini or Fiat 500!

Here's how I did it. I knew I wanted to pay cash.

• Check brokers, decide on a short list. Coast2coast is particularly usable.
• Check other brokers for prices. CHeck nearly new prices
• Get quotes for old car - we buy any car etc. Know the 'cost to change'
• Test drive the car I shortlisted. Be ready to do a deal if the salesperson can come up with one.
• If the local dealer can't help, either go to another one, or use the broker.
• The manufacturer was putting £1250 into the PCP, so I took it, but paid it off within the 14 days - no penalty, but a few days interest.