Simon J Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 My 17 year old is boring me to death about buying his first car. We've Been stalked by sales men round all the main dealers today (Fiat, Vauxhall, Ford etc....) and still have no idea. Not bought a basic car since my youth... and was shocked with the quotation of 8k for a bl**dy plastic corsa!! I mean.... thats megablade money My personal feelings are to buy a car which is safe, cheap on insurance and quite nippy to give him a taster of driving i.e no 1L shed with rudder steering. Anyone got any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Frankland (T3OMF) Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Make him buy his own b****y car........ kids these days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon J Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 ''Be kind to your kids, they pick your nursing home'' I've got to gain as much kudos as I can......not too far away from the home now Swings and roundabout really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbaldbloke Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Ka, Corsa, Punto, Saxo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpetstu Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 A Westfield. The insurance is cheaper lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Navin Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Get him a micra and let him spend the rest of the budget investing in your westy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven (WE51STE) Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 +1 Micra Or alternatively you could go the Morris Minor / WV Beetle route. Easy to work on and repair (good to get him into fixing his own cars ) + rear wheel drive + Classic Car Insurance may be cheaper. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffythefirst Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Get him something old. I had a 1l C reg polo and it was slow enough for me not to get into too much trouble, reliable, comfortable enough, cheap as chips. He will smash it up. Modern superminis etc are horrid to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoz Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 17yo ....... main dealer..... 8k......... I'm 19, brought my own car, pay my own insurance, pay for running costs etc.... Now i've moaned (read been jelous) P reg Peugeot 306 D Turbro s 1.9 diesel. Insurance with both Parents on insurance is £1800 or £150 a month. Cost me 500 quid, has just hit 200000 miles on the clock, and is running fine, (I'm lucky that my old man knows cars ) Nippy enough to have a laugh in Yet if driven efficiently, well I drove to Luton and back on 30 quids worth of fuel (300 mile round trip) its good on fuel too And if I ding it I'm like pfft it cost me 500 quid. <<< ME!!!! Just incase you thought 8k may be much better spent on something useful. Oh and FWIW when i was qouting for insurance (all cars viable to me lol) the difference in the Pug and say a 1.2 petrol Corsa was about 400 quid. Hope that helps in some way or another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 An new car for a first car? Nah... Whilst you r offspring may indeed choose your nursing home, they should also appreciate that a second class drive is still better than a first class walk! I agree with the others - make sense to get a 'banger' (relatively speaking) for a first car. Perhaps consider the bonus of a new one if he/she can pilot the thing for a couple of years without denting it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid life crisis Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Going down the same road as you at the moment Simon, all I can say is start from an insurance perspective, including curfew policies. Surprisingly some small 1.6l two seaters are similar on insurance to entry level 1lt kiddie cars. When you find the magic bullet please let me know, fed up with tyre kicking and pushy salesmen !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRuss Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Top Gear recommended a brown volvo estate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 goodness me a new car for a first car NO ! kids will not appreciate anything if you do that buy him an old x reg polo or summat make him appreciate what he has, chances are he will prang it in the first month anyway ! i deal with this every week at work (i have a bodyshop) kids are growing up in a throw away world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilts Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Simon I wouldn't buy new or even worry too much about it being nippy. He will have more fun and fewer accidents if it handles well. Joking aside and I will expect to be shot down but the ford ka is plenty quick enough and handles well despite the low roll resistant tyres and should be reasonable to insure (I say reasonable, but you know what I mean). Failing that Polo is another great choice along with pug 206. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Get him a micra As others have said, get something cheap. We bought my son an X reg Micra. It's a great first car, comfortable, relaible and very tough. It WAS in excellent condition, but after 2 years is carrying a few battle scars, but the car is n't worth that much so we don't see the point in fixing it - could you say the same on an £8K car? And don't get me started on insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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