Cheap reliable car, suitable for long journeys?

Kilty_2

Yep, I was running one at 18 for buttons. Not cool by any means and actually not that brilliantly put together (although the engines are bomb proof and they're actually not terrible to drive)

nickj_2

check this website out - you can get a list of cars by insurance group - i would imagine your son probably wants a group 1 or 2 car http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/index.jsp?guide=guides&page=car_insurance&id=18&group=1&x=27&y=4
for a couple of years to get his premiums down

mikey72

I'd be interested to see what quotes the op gets. The Almera is group 14, so should be expensive.
The fabia is group 2 to 5, some of the small hatches are inbetween.
Choosing the model carefully gives the best group, but if insurers then modify grouping depending on age and gender, and the style of car, it's impossible to predict.

mikey72

DUTR wrote: »

You have touched on a very good point, the small hatches will crucify a new young driver regarding insurance, a 'boring' car like the Almera will pay dividends in economy,luggage capacity, relaxed cruising, purchase and general running costs.
A colleague had found to his surprise that a 1 series BMW was much less to insure for his son, than his previous Punto.

Some of the punto models are actually in a lower group than the BMWs' so that could make sense.

jase1

I think the problem here is the £500 bit.

Small cars don't go down that far until they are complete nails, whereas a larger car is likely to be newer at the same price. Small car prices are kept high by demand.

That said, insurance is likely to be a problem with a larger car so you may have no choice.

TrickyWicky

jase1 wrote: »

I think the problem here is the £500 bit.

Small cars don't go down that far until they are complete nails

Same can be said for the £700 range too.

Fiestas are ok, reliable, pretty solid, boring but they do the job and keep going. Also in high demand as they have a pretty good reputation.

mikey72

We picked up a diesel 106 for less than that over 4 years ago, still going ok.
Saw a nice little renault 5, admittedly it's over 20 years old, and a clio for less than £500 as well.
There's a few cheap ones going on ebay, some seem quite decent, but it's worth getting the insurance quote first, some models vary enormously across the range, and can near enough double the group on what's basically the same car.

jodiej1987

When I just passed my test I was 20, I had a peugeot 206, 1.4 engine, it was brilliant. Really cheap to insure, I used to do regular trips from south wales to sheffield and then back again, so 10-12 hours driving and would do it just fine. Ive got a rover 25 now and that a 1.1, im pretty sure that it would be able to do an 8 hour journey. Like others have said I think the garage is talking rubbish. Mind you saying that I had a volkswagon golf, it was 1.6 and was cheaper to insure than my current car, don't no how that works because it was a hell of a lot more faster.

jase1

I have always considered the Hyundai Accent to be a good all-rounder as a starter car (post-2000). Cheap to buy, not that old under £1000, low insurance, fairly nippy (1.3 engine delivers 83bhp), reliable and roomy. As far as safety goes they were never tested by Euro-NCAP but the Aussie version (who tests to the same specification) rated the car as a 3*, which is competitive with just about anything else at the price.

Only problem is they're !!!!!! and have a bit of an old boy image.

colino

A nice Fiesta or Punto will fit the bill, Ka is too small, rusty and girly to be car of choice.