We are looking for a suitable car for our 17 year old to learn in. He's 18 in April and we thought it would be a good idea to get him a basic CHEAP but safe motor for about 2 grand. Group 1 insurance, low tax all the rest of it. All our family had Fiats when we were growing up as my dad sold them and I have a soft spot for them, as far as we can make out he is not bothered as long as it's warm and dry. Probably not to bothered about the French ones but the kids do seem to like them and I feel that if he doesn't have somthing similar there will be less "competition"; in fact what is the least cool car we could get him, a Micra?
Thanks guys its been a long time since I was on the forum but I know you will come up with the goods
Daedalus
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Citroen Xsara? Not group 1 but I don't think it makes much difference at that age. You'll pay through the nose for insurance anyway. How come he wasn't allowed to learn at 17?
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brand new fiat panda active is available for 5000 quid from perrys or fiatsupersaver
id be tempted to get a brand new one as in depreciation terms its probably better than what youre going for
if you want to stick to your budget an old new model panda takes some beating
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This topic has been discussed so many times before. No doubt jbif will be along in a second with some links.
I suggest trying a forum search using the link to the right. We've all answered these questions over and over.
My brother on the other hand did buy his son a brand new Citroen C1 when he was 17 to learn in. Depends if you can afford or justify it. I disagree with what my brother did. Nearly new would have been better. And nephew goes to London to Uni in Sept (probably) so car not needed.
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Daedalus - I do hope your son isn't called Icarus.....
It's worth first of all thinking about spending £1k rather than £2k - you're still in banger territory (rightly, for a new driver) and finding a good one isn't twice as likely with twice the price.
Micras and Kas are good to drive and easy to find, Your son may think them girly and may prefer a Citroen Saxo / Peugeot 106 or as you suggest a Fiat - perhaps a Punto. Not sure how much you'd need for a new-shae Panda.
Or a Fiesta - lots of them around and probably better to drive than a Corsa.
Condition matters more than model at this end of the market.
Edited by Avant on 22/01/2009 at 20:28
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106 1.1 - insurance group 3, nippy, economical, reliable, plentiful, cheap to maintain/fix.
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Number one son drives a Panda Dynamic, now three years old. Group 2 - only the Active is group 1. It's been no bother - we've had it from new - but a similar example might be in your price range. Not the coolest car but he appreciates the four doors and the fact that it's different, and has actually looked after it - as in driving sensibly, not actually washing it!
Friends' son (18) whose Dad is in the motor trade has an oldish Corsa - probably more plentiful but all these low insurance cars with any cred are expensive, and if older can have been abused by an earlier youthful owner.
Perhaps by 'French ones' you mean Saxos, which are Group 3 up. Poor NCAP rating - Clios are better IIRC and there are some in group 2.
Micras start at group 2. Actually not much different in cost to group 1 but both will be expensive for an 18 year old.
If you haven't found it already the ABI insurance group database is now here:
www.thatcham.org/abigrouprating/
and might be useful, perhaps read in parallel with the CBC breakdown?
No doubt you will caution young Icarus not to be too adventurous when he gets his wings.
Edited by Manatee on 22/01/2009 at 20:53
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I had the same decision to make in the summer ? 18 year old having lessons but needing a car to practise in, and to use for commuting after the test. We decided that power steering was a requirement. Most of the driving school will have PAS and switching to a car without it for private practise, reversing etc could make things more difficult.
We had a smaller budget (£1000) and looked at Punto, Corsa, 106, Fiesta, Micra advertised locally and on Autotrader. Almost all were overpriced and in poor condition and many of the advertisers claiming to be private sellers were obviously home traders. Eventually we found a Ka2 (the ?2? has PAS, elec windows & c/locking) with 61000 miles and a full Ford s/history & 12 months MOT for £700, mechanically very good but with a good few scratches and a very grubby interior.
It?s been 100% reliable though and easy to drive.
My local Ford dealer recently had a 51 plate Ka with 30K ? supplied originally by him ? it was in really nice condition and was up at £1995 including their own warranty. Something like that would be ideal I think.
As an indicator the Ka is a Group 2 and the best TPF & T quote we could find was £1220 (we live in Gloucestershire) ? some companies quoted less (<£1000) for a provisional licence holder but then indicated that the premium would rise (well above £1220) once the full licence was obtained (unaccompanied driver = bigger risk).
So watch out for this, it depends on your timescales but when we bought the Ka my son already had a test booked.
J
Edited by jacks on 22/01/2009 at 22:12
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Our son bought a Skoda Felicia. No image so very cheap. His was bought from in the family so was a known quantity but even buying on the open market there are good ones around. We found the difference in insurance cost betweeen groups 1 &4 was about £!00 - less than 10%. As for new/nearly new I can see the attraction in terms of safety and reliability but one advantage of an old car is that you can ignore minor parking scrapes (luckily in his case only on a wall rather than another car) that new drivers are wont to incur. In a newer car these would affect its value and need professional attention rather than liberal use of the touch up paint!
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Go with older, cheaper car, keeping some cash back for any repairs. Any scratches or dents then not too concerned. Once they have wreaked the odd gear box, or worn the brakes sell for half price and buy another. Always make sure they are with some degree of service history.
2001 Punto, 1.2, 5 door FSH, 12m MOT and 5m Tax, 79k yours for £900.....
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Engine size matters a lot, I am 26, have 1 years no claims and have recently passed, yet the difference in insurance between smaller and larger cars are huge. The only larger car I can afford is the 306/Xsara but the 306s are expensive for what they are, the 1.4 Xsara is perfect really but maybe a bit big but at least they are fairly safe and a lot will come with ABS.
I've lost a lot of money on my first proper car, not had any bumps but did almost destroy the clutch and I am so glad it wasn't a new car!
Make sure you get insurance quotes before even thinking of buying a car, £3k-£4k is not unkown at 17!
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I have been through this with two sons.
Firdt start by assuming he WILL crash soemtime.. maybe not badly. But he will.
So unless you buy a new car, I suggest :
small
Insurance Group 2-3
Easily repaired, cheap to run.
Saxo/106, early Yaris, Fiesta or Ka are my suggestions.
(Corsas attract the peaked hat muppets brigade).
As for price? Max £2k, allow £500 for repairs.
Insurance will be £500 to £1000 depending on locality and you should get QUOTES BEFORE you buy anything. It will scare you.
Sons have had 3 x106, 1 x Fiesta Mark2. The 106s have been relaible and cheap to run. 1.1 basics are available in large number and are cheap so you can and should be picky.
Edited by madf on 23/01/2009 at 09:21
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Boys can manage without PAS, just like my two daughters do in their 97 1.2 Corsa! Gp2 insurance, which does matter!
Bear in mind that the insurance will go up when he passes his test.....
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I have a Panda Dynamic 56 Plate (bought last month) Cracking little car, got everything you need (I am 24 and wanted a cheap to run, insure etc in the current climate). It sips petrol, is a 'different' car which I enjoy. Has PAS, ABS, Cd Player, Tripometer, 5 doors, Central Locking etc etc. You will be hard pressed to find a better value car on the market.
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Agree benbfc
Fiats one of the most underrated and overlooked cars IMHO, though the dealers could be better
Commiserations about t'other night btw, you wuz robbed :-(
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£2k + safe + low insurance?
look at w w w. euroncap.com for crash results, HJ's insurance calculator and Autotrader.
I've done it for daughter and son:
Answer: Lupo or Arosa 1.0
Older Lupos do not have pas (didn't worry my daughter), but have twin airbags.
Get underbonnet soundproofing from 1.4 for <£25, fitted in a minute.
If you want to consider older, cheaper cars, remember the general rule is: the older the model, the higher the insurance group. Not many grp2 cars that won't fall apart if you sneeze...
If you want something safer, you'd have to go to look for an old Modus (but > £2k).
Bon chance! JohnM
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Well citroen c1 lease £99 month @ 24 months Group: 1 Safe, cool car....
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Leasing for a 17 year old is a big no no for many reasons.
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lease said best not bumped eh rattle ;-)
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When i had the same problem i was all for buying a cheap banger with a year,s MOT. SWMBO thought we should fork out for a car that did well in crash tests. We ended up getting him a Polo with PAS.
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Old Clio.
SWMBO two eldest daughters both have '97 1.2s bought for £200 & £500 respectively. No PAS but it does'nt bother the girls. Cheap parts, low maintenance, plenty rust, but the 'expensive' one has covered 40k trouble free miles in 4 years and looks good for a few more...or until it is written off!
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another old thread revived by a newbie backroomer.
Edited by jbif on 11/09/2009 at 22:26
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