Car for 17 year old sub £1k

markelock

Folks

I'm looking for practical advice for a sub £1k car for a 17 year old girl. Something reliable, nothing that's going to blow the insurance budget.

I honestly don't know where to start. I suppose fiesta's, KA's would be something? I know she's looking at mot costs, servicing, repairs, etc, so approaching it in a methodical way, but from experience, having a useless unreliable car is incredibly depressing.

Any small japanese cars recommended?
Also, what forum should she look to buy from, obviously the low cost would rule out dealers, unless they have some PX's, but is it still worth getting the car checked over by a mechanic, I feel as though it should be done?

Also, I live a couple of hundred miles from her, so would be unlikely to physically be able to look the car, documentation over.

Thanks



Mark

anewman

Toyota Starlet 1.3 - for small Japanese car - The last models should now be coming in under the £1k barrier. Just make sure the cam belt has been changed.

Fiesta's and Ka's seem to be popular but most of the one's I've seen have quite a bit of rot.

BillScarab

A 1.3 engine may be expensive for a 17 year old to insure though. Older Micras have a decent reputation and I'm pretty sure they did a 1 litre version.

To be honest though I would be looking at any car and just find the one that is in the best condition and is cheap to run. For that sort of price it doesn't really matter what car it is the condition of it is the critical thing.

billieboy_2

We bought a K reg Polo from an ad in a local supermarket for £475 in Nov 2004. Was a great little car but unfortunately my daughter got spun round on a motorway in it a couple of months ago which is another story but amazingly she only suffered a bit of whiplash and the rear offside was bashed in. Very well made cars VWs. We went out and got another one one year younger for about £350. Insurance is very cheap (she's on my OH's in fact all four of us are), but she's 21 now so don't know what a 17 year old's insurance would be. Having said that friends of ours have just bought an 02 reg VW Polo for their just 17 year old and I believe the insurance was reasonable on that. If you can get hold of a Parker's or Glass's Guide that will tell you insurance groups.

balsingh

Try a 106. They handle great and you can get one of the later ones for £1000. People say they arent reliable but my other half ran one for 5 years without any problems.

Also, being 17 years old, I'm sure street cred is somethign to consider and thats one thing that Micras/Starlets etc. just dont have.

BillScarab

balsingh wrote: »

Try a 106. They handle great and you can get one of the later ones for £1000. People say they arent reliable but my other half ran one for 5 years without any problems.

Also, being 17 years old, I'm sure street cred is somethign to consider and thats one thing that Micras/Starlets etc. just dont have.

Which is a good reason to get a Micra or Starlet. All the boy racers want 106s and Saxos so you'll stand a better chance of getting something unfashionable that's cheap and in good nick. It may cost a shade less to insure than the models that are more popular with youngsters as well.

djheath

The MK 2 K11 micra are great cars. My girlfriend drives one and its never let her down. They are funky and have loads of street cred with people who are in the know!!

Just to warn you, insurance for a 17 year old is likely to cost more than the actually car though, so get insurance quotes before you buy the car.

ArsenalFC

Micra and other japanese cars are known for their reliability. I agreed with getting a car in the best condition that one can get and get japanese if possible.

I just purchase a 1997 ford fiesta (chicane trim) in very good condition for £600 last week with tax and mot and recent all new tyre change. This model has c/l, pas and e/w. I must say it drives better and feels safer than the micra (yr 2000) I had a few years back. One of the things other than reliabilty in a car I look for is tyre size in a small car. The fiesta has 185/55/14 which may go some way to explain it felt safer than my previous micra 155/60/13.

I always say get a small japanese car for a 1st car.....but consider the mk4 fiesta as it has a very good drive.

raskazz

Insurance will probably be then main cost in the first couple of years, so get the lowest group car you can. Here's a database of all cars availble in the UK, you can search by vehicle group using the form on the right hand side if the page:

http://www.thatcham.org/abigrouprating/

markelock

thanks for the above. she likes the idea of a micra, although not a polo, which is a little odd. so far insurance is more than the value of the car, which is almost asking her to crash to get her monies worth.

I'll also look at some of the ford models, bodywork points duly noted, and see if that makes any difference to the question

Cheers


Mark

billieboy_2

markelock wrote: »

thanks for the above. she likes the idea of a micra, although not a polo, which is a little odd. so far insurance is more than the value of the car, which is almost asking her to crash to get her monies worth.

I'll also look at some of the ford models, bodywork points duly noted, and see if that makes any difference to the question

Cheers


Mark

Maybe she's seen the colour of our one:eek: .