recommend a 2nd hand car <6k for provisional driver

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Our son ran a Mk2 Clio for 24 months followed by a 107 for a further 12 , he now has a Fiesta Zetec and he loves it.

At some point , when he is flying solo, insurance will need to be a consideration which may price out the likes of a Focus or a Golf depending on postcode , employment , usage.

He was desperate to get shot of the 107 as it was a not really a young guys car but it served his (skint) purpose for a year.

We never had any real mechanical issues with any of the cars , so much so i have been using the Clio for the runs to the dump and taking the dog to the park and as of tomorrow it will be off to the scrappy in the sky as the MOT is due to expire.

K
 
What about a Hyundai I 10. For that sort of price you could get a car with quite a bit of original manufacturers warranty left. They also get a substantial amount of kit as standard.
 
What about a Hyundai I 10. For that sort of price you could get a car with quite a bit of original manufacturers warranty left. They also get a substantial amount of kit as standard.
Mrs jdrrco learned to drive late in life. We got her a new (then) i10 for the day she passed her test and those 2014 models are now around the 6k mark and are great little cars. We just bought her second car - a Yaris hybrid - and again a fantastic little car. Both really solidly built with 5-star NCAPs. This time we tried a Jazz, Picanto, a CLC and some mkII SLKs and the Yaris stood head and shoulders above all of them. Didn't try any manuals though, as she wanted automatic this time.

Basically, all that verbosity is to say the i10 and Yaris are cracking little cars and would happily recommend either from personal experience.
 
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We grew up with Minis with basic heating and single speed wipers, drum brakes and dynamos. How on earth did we survive?

Because everyone else was pedalling around in equally slow and fragile vehicles, rather than a 2 ton high speed bank vault.
 
I don't know if current insurance would be expensive, the Midget did have seat belts (IIRC 1973 car, STD888M) but, like my 968 cab, no airbags. However, they often don't have the acceleration or top speed of modern cars!
I think insurance looks at other factors than the risk to the driver/occupants.

Eg how easy it would be to steal, how stuff like ESP and ABS would help prevent the driver from crashing into other people and I would guess maybe even stuff like pedestrian safety (modern cars have soft front ends/bumpers etc)

Even stuff we take for granted in modern cars - parking sensors probably prevent a fair few minor mishaps that would otherwise involve an insurance claim, maybe even tyre pressure monitoring or OE installed ICE/handsfree (usually with steering wheel controls) - anything that helps keep you in control safely.

Classic cars are fine for occasional use, but you’re gambling with your life really if you think about it - every journey is a risk and if you can improve your chances of survival by changing just one thing (the car itself) then it’s probably not a bad idea to choose a fairly safe one :)
 
Actually five times as many road deaths in 1966 as last year suggests that we didn't but the measures put in place over fifty years to make that happen are quite extreme. There is almost* no system of the car that has not been improved save for the driver who does not need the skillset he once did.

* Vehicle agility is a function of mass. A new Mini doesn't dodge like an old one did and it takes bigger brakes to stop it. Despite high strength steels, roof pillars today are so thick that they ruin visibility.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions peeps.

Went to a few dealers today just to have a look.

The UP looks good and seems to tick many boxes. Skoda citygo was the same car.

Sat in smart for four. Was not happy about very high boot. I think engine is in boot floor. Worried this set up makes independent servicing more tricky.

I’ll look at Aygo and Jazz soon. + Hyundai

Quotes so far seem ok. What happens to insurance when provisional driver gets lisence? Does it shoot up?
 
What happens to insurance when provisional driver gets lisence? Does it shoot up?

Yep , as he will be flying solo with no wingman safety net.

Scott was £1600 for his first years insurance with his Clio Campus , we had quotes of £6k +from some companies.

Kenny
 
What happens to insurance when provisional driver gets lisence? Does it shoot up?

It goes through the roof.

For good reason. He’s out there on his own,or, worse still, he’s out there with four other six foot blokes, at 1am in the morning, cold sober but not use to an extra 300 kgs in the car

Yes, provisional cover is cheap compared to newly qualified




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FFS don’t buy a classic. Your son will have a crash in all probability. You want the best safety cage around him when it happens. I had my first crash four weeks after passing my test aged 17. Statistically it will happen so plan the car around that. As has been said: Focus or similar mid sized car is best bet.
 
Agree on the avoid a classic bit, although back on the Saab forum, one chap bought an n/a Saab 900i for his learner.

Ins was cheap, he covered maintenance and safety was, well.... Proper Saab.

Only worth considering if you're capable of maintaining it, but there is always an exception to the rule
 
Saab 900 of the old type will take a knock that would rubble a Volvo. Eddy; it is by no means inevitable that the car will be crashed, nor yet at high speed. There is an awful lot of paranoid drivel being spouted here. Most cars last until they are scrapped and most teenagers end up with pensions. Getting killed is quite serious but the risk of it (even in a twenty year old car) is not great. Driving an old banger teaches more than a new car does. Learning to maintain a car and the anticipation that comes with "ordinary" brakes and handling are valuable skills. The test pass is a licence to learn. Extra driver training will protect the offspring better than a couple of grand spent on a marginally newer car
 
It seems to me that most novice drivers either have a very serious crash (from which they learn and become more cautious on the road) or a succession of smaller scrapes.

I have yet to come across a driver that falls outside this. In my case it was a series of minor scrapes (most on a motorcycle) and from showing off to the ladies. I learnt in powerful cars and lived to tell the tale but with hindsight was lucky!

My 23 year old daughter had a succession of small scrapes and is still a huge risk (really agressive on the road just like SWMBO) and is now threatening to buy a Motorcycle (God forbid), so much for her speed awareness course!

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My daughter has a Toyota Aygo and my son has a Toyota Yaris. The Aygo is a really good car, but the Yaris is much better and contains a lot more safety features. They're both 62 registration and come in the lowest insurance groups. You should easily be able to get one for under £4000 from an old dear who's given up driving.
Id recommend both but the Yaris is definitely the better car.

Brian.
 
Well it depends on if the young driver is male or femail,if the latter then the Skoda Citigo is a great choice,it is the same as the VW up but much cheaper and the insurance is decent,most young drivers need a black box suggest you steer clear of More Than strange set up,as for a young male driver then it may well have to be a Corsa or Fiesta,both can be had for your budget,as for a Black Box look at the Tesco insurance ones.
 
Unfortunately the solid build that shrugs off small knocks doesn't help in big ones. You want the kinetic energy to dissipate into the chassis, not the occupants.
 
It did when a friend shortened his by sixteen inches with the help of a tree. He had fourteen stitches but the Saab was bent through to the back bumper. One of the design's clever features was the forked engine mount that would fail on impact, driving the engine back onto the sloping armoured bulkhead and lifting the car up to protect the occupants. They were not tanks. They were light (26cwt for a well specced Turbo,) and very well designed. Every bit as well made as a contemporary Mercedes and by no means inferior.
 
So on the one hand they'll "take a knock that will rubble a Volvo", but on the other hand they're not tanks.

Next you'll be telling us that the old cars are just as safe as ones built to current standards...
 
Did nobody ever explain to you that a structure does not need to be excessively heavy to be strong. A Cri Cri weighs 375lb including its pilot but is still fully capable of 4G aerobatics and a 115 MPH cruise. The aeroplane in my avatar is also rated to 4.4G (but not cleared for aerobatics here). It weighs 152 KG fully equipped and withstood a landing some years ago that took the gear off without injury to anything but the owner's wallet.
 

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