Opinons on 1st car for 18yr old please...

db · Post by db » Sun Mar 06, 16 10:39 pm

Daisy's passed her test, YAAY!
Ridiculous insurance limits our choices to group 1 or 2 cars, of which there ain't many!
French cars are 5hite as we all know so they're out.
Budget is up to about £1500.
We've heard good things about the Kia Picanta. Tiddly little 3 cyl petrol lump, 5 door, 5 seat, lots of toys- elec windows etc. Low mileage 8 year old ones are in budget.

Anyone know anything about them? Any suggestions of other cars?

Cannonball · Post by **Cannonball** » Sun Mar 06, 16 10:50 pm

little corsa with that 3 cyl mtr, my daughter had one the mtrs are supposed to be suspect, she drove hers home from chester with the oil light on,,,,,,, i checked it the oil swtch was pi55in out no oil left in it fitted switch filled with oil was fine so if can survive that ????

db · Post by db » Sun Mar 06, 16 11:28 pm

Ha ha they should stick that in their advert

Super Sloth · Post by **Super Sloth** » Mon Mar 07, 16 12:23 am

Most cars on the road tend to be little hatchbacks. More examples of X on the road = bigger chance of a crash and therefore represents a higher risk to insurers. Before you get a quote for something have a look at the insurance grouping - the lower the better.
Quotes of 3 grand or more are quite common now so anything you can do to get the premium down will help. Think of something that a young person would find undesirable. Something like a mid-sized Volvo or ford saloon? Fewer youngsters driving = less reported accidents and therefore less perceived risk from the insurers point of view and lower premiums result.

Another thing worth considering is get some additional named drivers on there. You can't start a policy and have your daughter just as a named driver - that's fronting. It’s illegal and might come back to bite you. What you can do, however is get plenty of named drivers on her policy with plenty of experience - mum / dad / auntie / uncle etc. etc... So long as they aren't too old and have, had a licence a while and plenty of NCB of their own they will bring the premium down a bit.

You can also look at black box policies. They will reward / penalise the driver depending on the quality of driving the box records and other factors like time of day you go out.
Harsh acceleration, braking and speeding during rush hour or 3am will add a few pounds to the monthly premium whereas gentle acceleration and lower paced cornering on a Wednesday at 10 in the morning will gain you a few credits.
These tend to be the cheapest policies but you have to pay to have the box put in and there’s the big brother aspect which you’ll either feel comfortable about or you won’t.

You could look at a classic car policy. Not as easy to get as they used to be for first time drivers but they are out there. You could look at something cheap ‘n cheerful like a morris 1000, mini or a herald perhaps?
Other things to look at are something a bit more unusual – again not many youngsters in them so keeps costs down. Something like a StreetKA? Plenty out there with low miles and constructed quite differently to the hatches so no rust worries.
Think undesirable old peoples wheels / oddball / smaller engines and you’ll come up with something.

Bilko · Post by **Bilko** » Mon Mar 07, 16 7:00 am

Shame you've got a downer on French cars, I've had loads of them and they are the most reliable motors I've ever owned. We also run over 50 Peugeot vans at work and they are far more reliable than the Vauxhalls we used to have.

Having said that when my daughter passed her test we got her a Toyota Aygo. It was cheap to buy, insure and run and never let her down for the 2 years she owned it.

andyrob · Post by **andyrob** » Mon Mar 07, 16 7:51 am

arriva telematics box brought insurance quote down from £3000 to £1700 for my daughter busy learning to drive now
also google ' drive like a girl '
any of these types of insurance that fit a black box in the car to monitor there driving brings the price right down, also enable you to see where they are and how there driving.
Thank the lord they werent about when i was a kid

older bangor car = lots of insurance
& cars that have lots of accidents even thought they are low group insurance = lots of ££
Corsa was more than a Fiat 500 s convertible ????

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Mon Mar 07, 16 7:58 am

In my experience French cars are no worse than anything else. Fiat I would steer clear of though, had plenty of trouble with thier stuff.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Mar 07, 16 8:18 am

My daughter still has a "black box" installed in her car at 24 to keep the insurance costs down, I think it is essential today regardless of which car is chosen to manage insurance costs and also remind them to drive a little more responsibly.

Small Peugeots and Micras have been the order of the day in our house for the girls.

Prothed · Post by **Prothed** » Mon Mar 07, 16 9:29 am

We have had three Kias - including a Picanto - no trouble whatsoever with any of them.

latil · Post by **latil** » Mon Mar 07, 16 9:36 am

Adding a dashcam can help cut costs,most insurers are giving discounts if one is fitted. I've got a next base 402G professional with gps,very good picture quality.

Raminduction · Post by **Raminduction** » Mon Mar 07, 16 9:50 am

VW Fox - German quality with v dub credibility

Insurance group 1

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/insurance ... 2006/?ig=1

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLKSWAGEN-FO ... MRhV9J2Upw

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswagen-Fo ... SwWTRW0Y1N

Motorama · Post by **Motorama** » Mon Mar 07, 16 10:20 am

Back in 2008 i bought my son and daughter a 2000 Seat Arosa 1.0S, same as a VW Lupo without the price tag. Won it on Ebay for £621, they both learned to drive in it and have shared it ever since, my daughters moved away now but 8 years on we still have it, my son uses it daily, and bar regular wear and tear and minimal maintenance its never missed a beat. Cracking little car, goes like stink, power steering and windows, it sips petrol. Never paid more than £700 to insure it with one of them as the main driver and the Mrs named

lough3969 · Post by **lough3969** » Mon Mar 07, 16 11:07 am

VW or Seat are safe bets

Jon Connolly · Post by **Jon Connolly** » Mon Mar 07, 16 11:51 am

VW Fox

Got my lad one at age 17 ( 2 years ago ) .. he Bananarama! a few things ... I NEVER TELL INSURANCE CO ... just pay to repair the other car involved or give them some ££

£1500 first year
£1000 second year
£700 third year

Fully comp with LV

Motorama · Post by **Motorama** » Mon Mar 07, 16 12:56 pm

this is on Rods N Sods, dont see how you can go wrong for £600, the most money you can lose is £600

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/vehicl ... 600-420433