First car for 17 year old. Polo?

[Pondrew]

My daughter is coming up to seventeen and it is being discussed about her learning to drive (God help us)!

There is only one car in our household that she will even have a hope of getting insurance on, so I think it sensible for her to have her own car to learn in and then have as a car.
I want a small, reliable, low power. petrol, manual car for no more than £4,000 (less if possible). It obviously needs to be a low insurance bracket too. A Polo springs to mind.
Has anyone had/ got one in the family? Any good? If not, any other suggestions? Corsas seem to be the favourite 'weapon of choice' for the youngsters, but I'm not keen on an old Vauxhall. I also have reservations about an old French car.

Opinions and suggestions would be appreciated.

[Scubaregs]

I'd be checking insurance before making any decisions on an actual car as it will vary greatly depending on the car.

[sars]

I bought my then 17 year old a Fiat 500 convertible, cost a small fortune to insure, so a Polo/Ibiza/Fabia might well be better. Choices seem to be Suzuki Swift, Toyota Aygo or Yaris and a VW UP which is cute.

[Pondrew]

I'd be checking insurance before making any decisions on an actual car as it will vary greatly depending on the car.

I've just done that mate. I did a quote on our Mazda3 adding her as a named driver. Average of £350 a year extra.
I then picked a random 2010 Fiesta 1.4 zetec and did a quote in her name with her mum and me as named drivers. £276 a year.
That is WAY less than I was thinking.

[Special Kay]

I'd definitely be looking at Polo's over any french, or vauxhall's. My nephew is in the same bracket at the moment, I let it slip of the advantages of the Honda CR-Z. Safe to say, we'll be looking at Polo's and CRZ's for the foreseeable future until he makes up his mind. For him, the insurance on the crz was surprisingly reasonable in comparison to other starter cars. Good luck in your hunt

[Lynchy]

I promised my son that when he passed his test I’d buy him a car. He passed his test at 17 and as I worked at a main Vauxhall dealer as a SMART Repairer my choice for him was a Corsa so I kept an eye on all the trade ins that came in. A month or so later a lovely little Corsa came in. I gave it the once over etc and bought it for him. He is 24 now and still has it and it has been very reliable.

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[Scubaregs]

Decent quotes indeed. Gumtree would be worth a look for something locally that is easy to view.

[Zedebee]

Hyundai i10 for my children. I didn’t even bother with the second hand market and went for a 99/month finance deal. Reliable, cheap to run car that they’re not going to show off in, backed with a 5 year warranty.

[Pondrew]

Thanks guys.
I must admit I am amazed at how cheap the insurance is for her. I have heard stories of kids being charged £thousands at 17 on a shite box.

I showed her a few options; looks like a Fiat 500 is favourite. "Oh that just looks so cute. Do they come in pink?" was the response.

[buzyg]

Thanks guys.

I showed her a few options; looks like a Fiat 500 is favourite. "Oh that just looks so cute. Do they come in pink?" was the response.

[MikeyH]

I read somewhere that putting an older person down as a named driver helps to reduce the cost. I suppose the cost is also related to which cars boy racers buy and crash more often.

[MikeyH]

Hyundai i10 for my children. I didn’t even bother with the second hand market and went for a 99/month finance deal. Reliable, cheap to run car that they’re not going to show off in, backed with a 5 year warranty.

And when she arrives at her destination no worries about parking as it’ll fit in her hand bag.

[Ole gits rule]

The thing everyone is forgetting is that when leaning the insurance is fairly sensible as they assume mam or dad is in the car - it normally rockets after they pass and can drive without supervision

Swift is a great choice although a Corsa is cheap to run

[Hwec2]

My partner has had a VW up since 2013, needed nothing apart from normal service items + for peace of mind we chose to get the timing belt done, due to age rather than miles

Bigger than you think too, I’ve had 4 grown men with tennis bags in it for 1hr+ and it still gets up to motorway speeds… eventually

[Big Bad Boris]

Spot on - the real insurance hit kicks in AFTER they pass their test and set off unaccompanied.

Both of my daughters have used the same Fiat 500 1.2. One of the lower insurance groups and only £30 road tax. Young ladies do seem to love them (although secretly I quite enjoy driving it myself) …and they do come in many colours, including more than one shade of pink.