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

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tylerdurden

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Want to get a small 5dr car which is cheap to buy and insure me + a provisional driver (20y old son).

Any thoughts?

Current list includes a VW Up, Vaux Corsa, Smart for four, possible Toyota Aygo.
 
The UP is dire with no roadholding and poor visibility out. Corners are invisible and it is noisy. Avoid.
 
Aygo /C1 is the default choice unless he's a big or tall lad round our way.
 
Limited Edition 1.2 Corsa , not flimsy like the Aygo/107/C1 , sporty looking and gets suspension from the SRI .
 
Fiat Punto Evo, my daughter has had one for a good while now.
It has been brilliant, build quality is good - way better than the Fiat's of old, and completely reliable, which is amazing considering it only get cleaned or fluids checked etc. when she visits us at home.
They are very good value, and nice to drive too.
 
The Up! is a great first car. It is well built, economical, cheap insurance group and reliable. It also is liked by the young drivers. The front screen pillars are quite wide and do obscure view a little until you get used to it. My daughter has had two and no issues with either mechanically.
 
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Something like 300 people die a year as a result of collisions involving teenage drivers. (i.e. kids aged between 17-19) Even though teenagers barely drive anywhere. That's a quarter of all UK deaths on the road.

Google teenage driver deaths and you'll see they're usually in small hatchbacks: Corsa, Fiesta, Clio.

A boy from my son's school drove off in a huff one Sunday evening after a row with his family. He drove his Corsa into a tree less than half a mile from home. It killed him. I suspect a stronger car would have harmed him, but left him alive.

So I'd strongly advise the Focus or Golf. They are VERY solid cars, which also have a track record for reliability and easy resale. Buy one that's been used by a young family, rather than by another young driver. (The Honda Jazz is a great car, but it's a rare British 20 year old that'll want to drive one)

You'll need to shop around for the right "black box" insurance company to cover those cars, but it's worth it.

Insurance is expensive because one in five teenage drivers collides with something in the first six months of driving. A black box does its bit to reducing that risk, by recording the driving pattern and issuing the child with a report on the quality of his driving.

Here's a couple of articles / sets of stats about it:

Young drivers - Brake the road safety charity

RAC highlights teenage driver death toll



7278342
 
Car vs tree rarely ends well and often results in a bunch of cut flowers at the scene.

We picked up a used Polo for our daughter when she first needed a car. It was a decent little car and we sold it on no problem when the time came.
 
Are there any insurance bargains to be had? You could some ‘scenario testing’ on Comparethemarket to try to find some less popular cars for new drivers that are lower cost to insure. My assumption is that trying to insure a Corsa, Fiesta or Polo for a teenager might be really expensive due to the typical claims level, but something obscure not normally driven by teenagers might be lower-cost to insure. I’ve done this before, ahead of buying a car, with sometimes useful results, e.g. that where I live high-powered petrol Merc estates are much cheaper to insure than other German makes...
 
Kia Picanto cost my then 17 year old daughter £280 to insure.

It is now my wife's run around costing £100 on my insurance, 2009 1.1 engine going up for sale at £1500.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 
Car vs tree rarely ends well and often results in a bunch of cut flowers at the scene.
.

The presence of which once prompted a friend's wife to comment ''They wont sell much flowers there - not next to a dangerous bend''. Gallows humour I think we call it.
 
I recall reading that a Volvo C30 was considered a fairly smart choice for younger drivers (insurance wise and relatively safe) but unfortunately not available as a 5-door?
 
Want to get a small 5dr car which is cheap to buy and insure me + a provisional driver (20y old son).

Any thoughts?

Current list includes a VW Up, Vaux Corsa, Smart for four, possible Toyota Aygo.
I got my daughter a Polo 9N a couple of years back for a grand ; it has passed two MOT's without advisories and hasn't given a moments trouble .

She wanted a new type Mini for £3-6 K but I told her the chances of a bump in first couple of years driving are higher , so get a cheaper car that you won't be so bothered about - she's so happy with this car ( MOT mechanic told her it was 'a little gem' ) that she's happy to keep it indefinitely .
 
Something like 300 people die a year as a result of collisions involving teenage drivers. (i.e. kids aged between 17-19) Even though teenagers barely drive anywhere. That's a quarter of all UK deaths on the road.

Google teenage driver deaths and you'll see they're usually in small hatchbacks: Corsa, Fiesta, Clio.

A boy from my son's school drove off in a huff one Sunday evening after a row with his family. He drove his Corsa into a tree less than half a mile from home. It killed him. I suspect a stronger car would have harmed him, but left him alive.

So I'd strongly advise the Focus or Golf. They are VERY solid cars, which also have a track record for reliability and easy resale. Buy one that's been used by a young family, rather than by another young driver. (The Honda Jazz is a great car, but it's a rare British 20 year old that'll want to drive one)

You'll need to shop around for the right "black box" insurance company to cover those cars, but it's worth it.

Insurance is expensive because one in five teenage drivers collides with something in the first six months of driving. A black box does its bit to reducing that risk, by recording the driving pattern and issuing the child with a report on the quality of his driving.

Here's a couple of articles / sets of stats about it:

Young drivers - Brake the road safety charity

RAC highlights teenage driver death toll



7278342

I will always go German rather than pacific rim or British . Can't go wrong with VW .

Another off the wall choice , perhaps slightly dearer for a young driver to insure , but what price can you put on safety : Mercedes 190E , a classic car with same safety as a W126 built in , and the 1.8 shouldn't be too astronomical to insure .

Get him into the fold from the start .

My first car was a W115 220/8 and I walked away from the head on crash I had in it ( other car came round a bend on my side of the road ) .

You can't put a price on the life of your child .
 

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