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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Discussion of other cars non-Z4
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enuff_zed
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by enuff_zed » Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:11 pm

When my lad passed his test he was looking at Fiestas and Corsas, but focusing on those under 1300cc as he thought that would be lower insurance. Trouble is, that's what everyone else does too, so the crash rates for those cars is high and therefore up goes the premium.
We found him a 1400cc Fiesta and it was cheaper than the smaller ones.
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Raj_UK » Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:34 pm

A lot of my top contenders have been named. I had a 2011 Corsa 1.2 limited edition from new. Looked great, and really slow lol. Had it for 7 years and needed minimal maintenance. Front tyres lasted good 30k and pads and discs on about 40k. Changed my rear tyres because they started cracking with age. I reckon they would have gone 80k!! Lol. Got my mum a Used VW Fox as her first car. Cost about 3k. Ran it for 4m3 years trouble free before she wrote it off. Insurance payed out more than we bought it for. After that she’s gone to Up and now on a new polo. All cars have done us well with no issues, and didn’t depreciate much during ownership.
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Silverstar » Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:52 pm

I'd be looking at a Toyota Yaris or the Ford Fiesta (except the small 1.0 turbo units) both are super reliable, the Polo if I remember correctly had some engines which were trouble although that could be the much older models, not sure. Mazda 2 is also a good bet.
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by mmm-five » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:20 pm

My quotes were cheaper for a £1000 Jaguar XJ6 or BMW 728 than they were for a 1.0L Metro - but my dad wouldn't let me get a 'big car' :x
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Ed Doe » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:38 pm

I'd be looking at a Citroen C1 / Toyota Aygo / Peugeot 107. If you get the older ones you can normally pick one up for sub-2k, they're £20 a year to tax, and in my experience very cheap to insure. Driving normally you'd struggle to get much under 50mpg too.

spare panels etc are pretty cheap and easy to come by (let's be honest it wont survive the early years of driving entirely unscathed)!

They're not quick, they do drive (in my opinion) rather well, there's so little to go wrong, tyres and consumables are cheap. Perfect buttons cheap motoring if you ask me! :)
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Pondrew » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:56 pm

Big Bad Boris wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:08 pm Spot on - the real insurance hit kicks in AFTER they pass their test and set off unaccompanied.
Thanks.
Just did another comparison quote presuming she is a year older and just passed her test.
£277.00 on a provisional licence. £633.00 with a full licence on the same car (a pink Fiat 500 Lounge!!).

Just for a giggle I changed the car to my F33 440i, with her at 18 and just passed test. £5,588.00 a year!!
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Reamesy » Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:22 pm

Lynchy wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 11:15 am 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. B169ADCC-FDE2-4319-A2A1-89C43FA9CE7A.jpeg
I will second that. We bought our daughter a 1.0 3 cylinder Corsa on 04 plate £600 five years ago. It’s past every MOT with no advisories and only ever needed tyres and exhaust with servicing. Great car and cheap to insure. Cost far less to run than a BMW😂🤣😂
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by baljemmett » Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:42 pm

I borrowed my mother's 2018(?) Polo for a day or so recently when the G29 was having a wheel refurbished; was a very different driving experience, as you'd expect, but seemed to go perfectly well. Hasn't given her any trouble, although admittedly it doesn't get much use...

I didn't learn to drive at 17, due to eyesight issues, but when I did pass my test at 21 I went out and bought a 1.2 litre Ibiza - at the time it beat everything else I looked at in terms of value for money, standard equipment etc., and I ended up running it for 9.5 years before replacing it with a 1-series.

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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by JamesClements » Tue Sep 06, 2022 5:38 pm

I had an 2011 Aygo which was bombproof, very good economy, cheap tax and insurance, parts were dirt cheap + I serviced it myself. It was actually quite fun to drive, revvy 1 litre engine but too slow to get into any trouble. Quiet enough at motorway speeds even took it to Normandy one year, 1000 mile round trip with 3 of us in. Major downside is the boot is tiny although I had the 5 door so not too much of a problem + the interior is very cheap with no tech
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Mr Tidy » Tue Sep 06, 2022 7:36 pm

Loads of good suggestions already.

My niece bought a 2012 Polo a couple of years ago and loves it. It hasn't given her any problems, but then it did have less than 10,000 miles on it - she had the cam-belt changed anyway. But will be needing new tyres as the originals have had advisories for cracking on the last 2 MOTs!

If a Polo is an option then a Skoda Fabia or Seat Ibiza would be just as good as they are fundamentally the same car.

Still it sounds like she wants a Fiat 500 now, although another retro looking option would be a Mini.
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by axelleveau » Tue Sep 06, 2022 8:20 pm

I started with a Ford Ka MK2, which is almost the same as the Fiat 500 excepted an improved suspension setup. Was pretty nice for city driving and eventually gets to mototrway speed :thumbsup:
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by MikeyH » Tue Sep 06, 2022 8:25 pm

My brother-in-law took his family to Paris and back in his 500. No problems.
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Pondrew » Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:01 pm

Mr Tidy wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 7:36 pm although another retro looking option would be a Mini.
Nope, nope and nope.
I am not having a fake German Mini in my household. I hate them. :x
All good things come to those who wait. I'm really impatient which explains a lot.

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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Mr Tidy » Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:29 pm

Pondrew wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:01 pm Nope, nope and nope.
I am not having a fake German Mini in my household. I hate them.
Well there's nothing like keeping an open mind is there! :lol:

They're great fun to thrash around!
Last edited by Mr Tidy on Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Coupes because stunning!
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First car for 17 year old. Polo?

Post by Ole gits rule » Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:30 pm

Mr Tidy wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 7:36 pm Loads of good suggestions already.

My niece bought a 2012 Polo a couple of years ago and loves it. It hasn't given her any problems, but then it did have less than 10,000 miles on it - she had the cam-belt changed anyway. But will be needing new tyres as the originals have had advisories for cracking on the last 2 MOTs!

If a Polo is an option then a Skoda Fabia or Seat Ibiza would be just as good as they are fundamentally the same car.

Still it sounds like she wants a Fiat 500 now, although another retro looking option would be a Mini.
Daughter had a Fabia Monte Carlo - dreadful thing stay well away IMHO
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