Young Driver Car Choice

Hoof_Hearted

I would put a word in for the Mk2 Micra. Not much street cred but incredibly reliable, plentiful and cheap to insure. Should get a 2002 low mileage for your budget.

newfoundglory

I'm still on my first car, which is a Ka.

They are perhaps the cheapest to insure, if you are a guy anyway, because not many blokes would want to drive one! Its also the car which is least likely to be stolen in the UK. This is probably because they are a bit pants. Build quality is pants, as is the unrefined engine. But actually, mine isn't so bad. And the Ka is really quite fun to drive.

You might also like to try quotes for the Peugeot 1007, which I seem to remember also being cheap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpIHKjyeRt0

split_second

micra is a good idea, not an obvious choice so will do well on insurance, the ka i didnt like (fiance had one when i met her, i drove one for driving lessons about 10 years ago and it was the most odd car to reverse manouvere ever because the wheels are so close to the back)

in a 1992 on- micra it'll be a cg series engine, which are very well regarded

thought about a toyota starlet? get quotes first incase the imported glanza models are pushing premiums up

bluenoseam

Rule of thumb, if your mates wouldn't be seen dead driving it, it's gonna be your friend!

z3phyr04

I had 2 MK2 Micras as they worked out cheapest for me insurance wise, one was a 98 Ally 1.3 which I sold to a family member as a runabout and is still happily going and the second a 00 SE+ 1.4 which never missed a beat until it was involved in an accident and ruined as a result. Don't know about the 1.0 ones as I never drove one but I would have another one in a heartbeat if I didn't need something bigger now. Safety wise they only achieved a 2 star NCAP and none of my doors worked after the accident however I only had some bruises, a sore shoulder but no whiplash which may have been very lucky I'm not sure.

I took them on a couple of long journeys up and down the country and wasn't tired or uncomfortable when I arrived.

s_b

these bubble micras are like old minis underneath ie no rust preventative coating from the factory,weird as they were built up near peterlee,
anyway they come in two styles rotten or mint but you need to get down and get under to confirm so at these years they are no better than a ka
corsa might be a better bet they dont rust but only consider reasonable mileage and not the evil 3 pot one litre

z3phyr04

s_b wrote: »

these bubble micras are like old minis underneath ie no rust preventative coating from the factory,weird as they were built up near peterlee,
anyway they come in two styles rotten or mint but you need to get down and get under to confirm so at these years they are no better than a ka
corsa might be a better bet they dont rust but only consider reasonable mileage and not the evil 3 pot one litre

Yeah, the sills did rust in the early MK2 ones but they changed the sill design from 2000 to 2002 so they are not as bad. The crossmember is the other area to look if you're buying one. And always, always check there is no chain rattle.

Taiko

Have driven a micra for the last 5 years, now a 24 year old male.

People are right when they say there's no cred in there. However, my 97 1l has never let me down. Costing about £40-£50 to fill a tank, and often am doing drives between Portsmouth and Lancashire with no problems at all.

Insurance this year with 5 years NBC was £380. Has gone up, but guess that's just the market.