Eldest son buying first car- what one???

joedredd

joedredd

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Hi all

My eldest son (19yr) is looking for his first car. He is considering going for a 3yr old golf or A3, but unsure of engine size and will more than likely go with a petrol engine as he more than likely be doing shortish journeys with the odd long one thrown in.

Does anyone else have any advice or recommendations for a first car??

Thanks
George
 
Depends what size of car he needs and how many mates will go in it. The VW Fox is a cheap to run car as is the Polo but the Golf is a good sized car for a first. But both the A3 and Golf are good 'moddin' cars which i'm sure he will want to do at some point lol. The Fiestas an easy service car but i'm not too keen on Fords resale values.

Good luck choosing, hope he gets fixed up!
 
Something small, slow and cheap to insure (i would hate to see his quote on an A3 or Golf).

The bigger the car, the more lifts he will find he does for mates.

Micra, Ka, clio.
 
Its gotta be a 5 door model, like you said plenty of friends. I agree dont really like fords or vauxhalls hence choosing a VW or Audi but always have to be open for a genuine reason on why to get one.
 
Jeez just done 2 insurance quotes for him and got £3800 for VW golf 1.4 and £4500 for an A3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
welcome to the forum mate.. im to in bexley:) Mondeos are quite cheap to insure if im honest. 5 door mid sized car. As for small cars, Maybe a little pug, or a corsa saxo sorta thing. Seem to be the car for the youngens so they must be insurable. My bro is 20 and even with a years no claims 3 year licence his insrance is still miles over 1200 on a 1.4
 
joedredd said:
Jeez just done 2 insurance quotes for him and got £3800 for VW golf 1.4 and £4500 for an A3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

yer mate you were dreaming when thinking of anything thats remotely new, or sporty

think smaller, older and cheaper, my first car was a renault clio mk1 3dr 1.4rt that cost me £1200 tpft and insurance premiums are only on the up

at the end of the day (no offence) but i would put a months salary on your son smashing it up or denting it etc etc its always going to happen weather its his fault or not and you wouldnt be happy if it was a 3yr old car would you

also for insurance purposes you may want to have yourself as the main driver and your son as a named driver, he wont get any no claims bonus whilst doing this but the insurance should be way way cheaper ;)
 
I disagree with all this making them named drivers, much better to start the no claims as early as possible imho

You really want the most boring slow old man's car you can find, something he wouldn't want to chav up, as that will only increase the insurance.

How about a Matiz, proper mini or a fabia 1.0. All group 1 insurance, so will be the cheapest you will find.

There is also classic car's / insurance, but he won't earn no claims
 
OldRedEyes said:
I disagree with all this making them named drivers, much better to start the no claims as early as possible imho
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Agee, It's also technically illegal and called "insurance fronting" making both parties guilty of insurance fraud.

The first year is going to be costly, I remember my brother paying £1400 to insure a 1200cc Nova at 17 with Pass plus, he's now 27
 
How about an A2 Sport - sits on 17" as standard, climate control, nice to drive, cheap to run, £30 a year to tax - Cheap to insure.

We had one and loved it, sold it to buy the A3.
 
OldRedEyes said:
I disagree with all this making them named drivers, much better to start the no claims as early as possible imho

You really want the most boring slow old man's car you can find, something he wouldn't want to chav up, as that will only increase the insurance.

How about a Matiz, proper mini or a fabia 1.0. All group 1 insurance, so will be the cheapest you will find.

There is also classic car's / insurance, but he won't earn no claims
Click to expand...

Oranoco said:
Agee, It's also technically illegal and called "insurance fronting" making both parties guilty of insurance fraud.

The first year is going to be costly, I remember my brother paying £1400 to insure a 1200cc Nova at 17 with Pass plus, he's now 27
Click to expand...

well swings and roundabouts really, save money in the short term, pay extra a few years down the line, or, spend extra now and save a few years down the line, assuming he does get ncb by not claiming
 
Also, the older the car the less gutted he'll be if it gets knocked...

I paid £1400 TPFT on a '91 polo cl when I first passed...
 
I paid £1500 on 09 A3 2.0 TDI with mods declared aged 19 at the time, 2 yrs ncb with my father as the named driver... if you shop around it definitely pays.
 
Named driver has got to be worth a look
My mrs was quoted £850 fully comp for a 1.9tdi pug at 22 with no no claims
Guess it depends how much it's going to cost to put him as a named driver for a couple of years
 
Just get a cheap little run around, small engine ford fiesta would be ideal as they are cheap to run, tax, insure and service.

You dont want anything fancy because within the first year or 2 he will probably hit things or have minor scraps.

Resale values on a small cheap first car are not important, i would not consider fronting on the insurance as unlike 10 years ago the insurance companies are wise to it.

Just add yourself and the lads dad as named drivers and you will save a fortune.

As for pass plus..its a waste of time and money, by the time you have forked out £100-150, any saving you would have made, you have just wasted on paying for it.
 
Last edited:
I disagree, I reckon Pass Plus is worth the experience that you don't get on the regular test - but agree it's not worth it for just an insurance discount as it won't make that much of a difference.

I'm teaching my girl to drive and we got her a very tidy little V reg Polo 1.4CL OpenAir. Cheap to run, less than a grand insurance and strong as old boots! Must admit its not bad to throw around corners as well!
 
Surprise the costs for insurance, you don't necessarily need to think old to get a low insurance cost.

I insured my car in my own name for £1250 with M+D on the policy at 17. The car was a fairly new 1.2 Clio.

So smaller, yes. Small engine, yes. Old? Nope!
 
well im gona say that for first car, vauxhalls are great. Can pick up a mk4 astra sxi for dead cheap. They look kind of cool and insurance isnt too bad. Maybe smaller engine mk4 golf, mk2 clios or group 3! fiat 500. This is all good if he wants a newer car.

Could posibly go for something retro, a 1.6 capri (group 11), polo gt (group 8) or a classic mini.

As for insurance id bite the bullet and start build NCB asap, my first years driving in a 1.6 mk3 astra cost me £1400 on insurance, more than the car was worth. But after the first year it over halfed. Also pass plus did save me quite a bit too.
 
Try churchill, im still 19 with 2 years of both, when i was 17 i payed 1900 for a 1.6 pug, then got my audi and payed 1800 with one year of both, when i had 2 years of both i was paying 1100 now i got my mk2 gti im paying 1500 :(

Churchill are the same as admiral, but with admiral youve got to put a parent, preferbly the mother, Im with admiral now and without my mum as a named driver id be paying 2300 instead of 1500!. But dont expect to find quotes of under 1500 though unless its a 0.8 getz or something gay like that.
 
Thanks for all the advice, really appreciated. A couple of things for definite in doing and that he will be the main driver on insurance (so he can start building that NCB), possible myself and/or mum as named drivers, its just a shame that you cannot earn NCB for being a named driver once the main driver has reached maximum NCB. He is now looking at getting a Polo, but keeping options open on other models but def not a Matiz !! I will keep you posted on how things go, he has got his Theory test in 2 weeks (fingers crossed).
 
Mk4 Fiesta 1.25. 70bhp, revy Yamaha derived Zetec engine. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap to fix. Corsa B for the same reasons.

In the first year he's bound to have an incident, it's almost part and parcel of being a young lad.
 
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