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

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Local Volvo specialist was making a tidy business selling mk1 S/V40s to young drivers as the insurance premiums were attractive. Unfortunately they're in short supply now, I'm not sure the newer ones are quite as promising.
 
The problem with a Honda Jazz is you need to be 800 years old to drive one.

They are good cars though.
 
I beg to differ. You can go wrong with a VW. I did and would not advise it as being suitable for a new driver. An old Focus is a far better option.
 
I beg to differ. You can go wrong with a VW. I did and would not advise it as being suitable for a new driver. An old Focus is a far better option.
We are well into double figures with VW's in our families ; think you have been unlucky . The Fords we have had , more than a few , have been troublesome and deserve their acronym Fixed Or Repaired Daily .
 
Contrary to last post, I’d recommend a fiesta or focus. Had loads of fords and never had an issue with them. They drive well too!
 
Had several fords with never a problem. The view of them being unreliable is as outdated as that of Skodas.

They always drive and handle the best of mainstream hatches.
 
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 .

As much as we all like Mercedes cars on here (and I’m a fan of the W201) many modern cars will be far safer and cheaper to insure/run than a ~ 30 year old 190E.

They’re also a bit old now for everyday use - more like classic cars and the majority are rolling restorations etc. Nice cars for their time but times have moved on :)
 
Certainly the last two Fords I bought new were twice the car the Up was for half the price. Why would you get a new driver a car that simply does not hold the road and that it is hard to see out of at junctions?
 
Your budget will buy an excellent Focus or Golf, and you’ll be surprised how little they depreciate, if you can be bothered to maintain them, and not dent them.

There used to be a problem with clocking hiding heavily used cars. That’s not so mucj of a problem now - just check the MoT history for “reasonable use.”


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The "German" Up is built in Slovakia whereas the Focus is built in Germany.
The C class is built all over the world.


Go figure.
 
I've got an 18 year old and he has a VW Polo - he has the base model with the slightly more BHP so he doesn't get bored of it too quickly

If. you can fit one of those in your budget, I'd suggest it over the Up as they are clearly "range engineered" (like Mercedes) so that the Polo is a quieter etc than the Up ..

R
 
Dacia Sandeep 7k brand-new :D

Hehehehe autocorrect Sandero to Sandeep.
 
As an off the wall thought - a classic. When our son was 18 (22 years ago!) we bought him an MG Midget, insurance was cheap and maintenance easy. OK, it's not a 5 door, but it might start you on a train of thought!
 
Trouble with classic cars is they won’t have up to date safety features. And insurance premiums often reflect that too?
 
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!
 
Hi,
Do consider a Suzuki Swift, cracking little cars, and good value for money, economical with Japanese reliability.
If I was 17-18 again it would be the car for me.
 
We grew up with Minis with basic heating and single speed wipers, drum brakes and dynamos. How on earth did we survive?

"History is told by the survivors."

If you didn't survive, you wouldn't be here to tell about it.

Like the friend of mine who rolled his Mk2 Escort and ended up in a wheelchair for ten years, before dying. And the colleague of my age who used to enjoy a run on his Ducati of a Sunday morning "to clear his head and take a break from his three small kids." (It worked - more effectively than he planned)
 
In which case, don't drive anything for the next twenty years because by then cars will be so much safer.
 

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