First car for 17 year old. Polo?

[Pondy]

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!!

 

[Reamesy]

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

 

[baljemmett]

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.

 

[JamesClements]

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

 

[Mr Tidy]

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.

 

[axelleveau]

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

 

[MikeyH]

My brother-in-law took his family to Paris and back in his 500. No problems.

 

[Pondy]

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

 

[Mr Tidy]

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!

 

[Ole gits rule]

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

 

[Ole gits rule]

My sister just sold her white 500, one owner on a 16 late with 25k miles and FSH for £4500

 

[Ole gits rule]

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!!

Yep - its shocking but thats how it works, my lad was paying £2.5k on a 420d coupe at 19, I said he was mad but his choice.

He did have a Corsa 1.2Ltd edition brand new at 17 but was to small for the distance he was driving, great car though

 

[Z4paul]

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.

+1 for the mk 7 fiesta. Bought our eldest a 3 door zetec s and is a great, very economical, good looking little car. Her own insurance with telematics via her iPhone and me as named driver so she accrues ncd - £700

 

[Mr Tidy]

Her own insurance with telematics via her iPhone and me as named driver so she accrues ncd - £700

That's not absurd to be fair.

I think us oldies that get such good insurance prices now forget how expensive insurance was in our youth!

My first car in 1976 was a 1967 Cortina 1500 clapped-out rust-bucket rep special but I paid £116 for TPF&T cover - the car was only £230.

 

[MikeyH]

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!

And they have the audacity to put Union flags all over it. For gods sake somebody “Blow the bloody doors off it”.

 

[Z4paul]

Her own insurance with telematics via her iPhone and me as named driver so she accrues ncd - £700

That's not absurd to be fair.

I think us oldies that get such good insurance prices now forget how expensive insurance was in our youth!

My first car in 1976 was a 1967 Cortina 1500 clapped-out rust-bucket rep special but I paid £116 for TPF&T cover - the car was only £230.

That's what i thought Mr Tidy, very fair price and without any ncd at the moment. Having me on policy helped as did arranging insurance pllicy start date for 3 weeks in the future.

 

[Pondy]

A thought has occurred to me (I know better late than never).
Chances are my daughter will soon be driving EVs, which I presume can all be driven with an 'auto only' licence (?).
As she is not bothered about driving or cars, it may make sense for her to get an 'auto only' licence...it's easier to learn and having a manual licence may be a waste of time in the future.
I know nothing about EVs and TBH don't want to...

 

[MikeyH]

A thought has occurred to me (I know better late than never).
Chances are my daughter will soon be driving EVs, which I presume can all be driven with an 'auto only' licence (?).
As she is not bothered about driving or cars, it may make sense for her to get an 'auto only' licence...it's easier to learn and having a manual licence may be a waste of time in the future.
I know nothing about EVs and TBH don't want to...

Of course when we all go self drive cars, no one will need a driving license. Why bother learning at all. Neither of my children wanted to.

 

[beanie]

My nephew bought himself a fiat grande punto as it was a bit cheaper to insure compared to the typical corsas and fiestas. If you go for something which is less typically bought by kids you might find the insurance is more favorable as the stats will be in your favor.

 

[N4LLY]

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