Easiest to get credit card to build credit record for 18 yr old?

CLAPTON

he needs to learn a valuable lesson.

save up for what you want, if you can't afford it don't buy.

living at home with a decent income he needs to learn to save... he should be building up savings, there'll never be a better time.

Today that car may be his dream but tomorrow he may want to move out of your home and get himself a home of his own...but he'll still be paying off that car loan.

get a fiesta for £1000 max and the cheapest insurance.

boys aren't penalised because of so may accidents...they do actually have have them. think fiesta and not street cred

UK007BullDog

My boy is actually very sensible. He is saving every penny but at the same time I dont want him driving some old banger either. We are looking at cars that are around 4 years old. With his pay he would have the car paid off within a year. Then he is 19 and not yet ready to live on his own as the rents are much too high and then he would have no money left for living and having fun.

He wants to have fun until 20 and then he will start saving, then he is also finished with his apprenticeship. He will continue working for a few more years to get the experience and then he has plans to start his own company. He also thinks that there will be a housing market crash soon so there would be no need for him to save a lot of money as he thinks he can pick up a house cheaply.

Car insurance is very high for an 18 year old boy. It does not matter how old the car is. It just goes by engine size. So my sons reasoning is if he has to pay such a high fee then he plans to do it in style. So its going to be a slightly used Seat or a Fiesta. His best mates dad bought a brand new VW Polo for his son. I have to listen to that every day why we cannot do the same for him. But if he is so desperate and does not want to wait, then let him pay for the interest etc. I think that will build character and will make him appreciate it more as he is working for it anyway.

Public transport at night is not what it used to be. He is a big strong boy and nearly got assaulted on the way home on a bus. The fact that he used to box saved him from being a victim. But he will no longer use public transport at night after that experience and I dont fancy driving round at night either after a days work and more housework, so he spends a fortune on taxis. So he may as well get his own car, this is good for him as well as either this or next year he will get his own van from work, so some more driving experience would be good for him.

YorkshireBoy

UK007BullDog,

I bought my son a 10 year-old £450 Fiesta* 1.1L when he turned 17 and started driving. My wife insured it with him as a named driver and, even though she'd never had insurance in her own name (and with a learner driver on the policy), the 3rd party F+T insurance was only £750.

A couple of years later, when he was working, my son bought himself an R reg Corsa 1.2L for £1,600. He then paid £1,200 for his first years fully comp insurance in his own name. At 22, he still has the same car and now only pays around £400 fully comp.

Have young drivers' aspirations and insurance costs gone up substantially in recent years or, and don't take this the wrong way, is he wanting to keep up with the Jones's?

£1,000 per month is an awful lot of money for an 18 year old, so why the desperate need for finance?

And one final thing...I was 32 before I had a car as new as the one your son proposes to buy. Coincidentally, I've never been in debt. Food for thought?


* 12 months, and 14,000 miles, later I sold it for £450 - the same as I'd paid for it.


PS: To answer your question in your first post...even if he got the Barclaycard, he'll have to wait several months for any kind of 'reasonable' history to be built up - especially since it could be 2-3 months (in my experience with LTSB) before the card is even reported to the CRA's. By that time, he'll have saved up enough for both the insurance and the car.

Bloke_with_a_simple_life

Hello there,

Not too sure about the finance here...
1. 4000 for a car
2. 4000 for insurance for year 1.

If a loan is needed to one of these, how will he pay the insurance for year 2 - another huge loan? You assume that he will obtain a no claims bonus - never count on that happening as things will go against you and luck will not be on your side.

I honestly think that it will be very difficult for your son to afford a car given what you are saying.

I think he would be best advised to keep on saving so he can afford the card and insurance in a couple of years or more.

For nights out get the bus there and a taxi back! He will be able to enjoy a couple of pints with his friends (assuming he drinks) and get back home safely - with out the fear of being attacked or getting picked up for drink driving.

Good luck!

highguyuk

Can I just say that this thread was started by the OP asking for the easiest way of building a credit record for an 18 year old - not the reason behind the loan.

If he wants a car - then that's up to him. I'm not miles off 18 myself, and as SOON as I hit my first full time job I went out and got a loan for my first years insurance and the car. I applied to my own bank, who has had 5/6 years of my records. They insisted on waiting until the first day I started my job until the money was transferred, but they did give it me.

I then spent the following year saving up for the next years insurance, and that is a point I wanted to make. He needs to make sure that he doesn't take out such a financial commitment, and a car with such high insurance, that he can't afford to run it. He needs to be able to save up for the insurance year after year after year. I also completely agree that you shouldn't drive around in a car that is a "banger" - you need to have the power to get out of a situation if you need it. That said, I think a car around 4 years old is a little bit excessive, and maybe he should be aiming for something 6-8 years old. (V-Y reg). Still perfectly safe, still modern, but ALOT cheaper and you wouldn't be quite so bothered if something happened.

My first insurance, on an R reg 306 1.6 was £990 TPFT, at the age of 19. But I wanted my own car, I wanted to drive! So, I have no problems in paying that. This year it was £570, albeit for a Y reg 306 1.4 which I moved onto, and I am looking to hit 21 paying around £370 with 2 years no claims.

Until drivers, especially young drivers, get out there and earn their no claims bonus insurance rates are going to be high. So why wait?! Get out there and earn it now! lol.

My advice would be contact his own bank/building society for any financial services to start with - as per your original question.

Let us know how he goes on ......

UK007BullDog

Yes, insurance has gone up for the young ones. It nearly doubled in the last year due to the high number of claims.

He has actually scaled down already as he wanted some Audi or BMW, 1.8 or 2 litre. So he has already calmed down. He works as a Plumbing apprentice and earns (in his pocket) £1100 per month. He could have saved more but he spends some money on his girlfriend and himself and his hobbies, and going out, and taxis and music and games and movies. He says he wants to have some fun now. But I understand what you are saying, the car insurance will halve once he is 19 and has 1 year no claims. He is a safe driver, but one never knows....

s1h

Ok 2 things, first regarding the credit card go to capital one. Yes it is a card for rebuilding credit but If he is going to pay it off each month as soon as receives statement, the interest rate etc is not an issue.

You need to shop around more for the insurance £4k is far too much even for an 18yr old male. Are the cars he is looking at got mods or something?

You need to shop around more for a 1.2 fiesta (dont go for a zetec as they are a higher insurance grouping (6)) you should get it for around 2-2.5k

Where have you tried? Try quinn direct in Northern Ireland, Tescos, Direct Line, Direct Choice, Adrian Flux search on google for insurance for young drivers.

jamalfatty

UK007BullDog wrote:

he wanted some Audi or BMW, 1.8 or 2 litre.

No wonder his quote was so high!!

I know you didnt come on here for advice on how much the insurance was, and its not for me to say what your son does and doesnt do, its totally his choice, but they seem a little extravagant for an 18yr old! Although you've said he does seem to be earning a decent wedge so if he can afford it, good for him!

s1h

Yeah i mean if hes earning a grand a month and living at home. Probably not paying a great deal rent then £400 a month for insurance is not a lot really.

UK007BullDog

The £4K quote is for a small car max 1.2 litre. The BMW 1.8 he dreamed of was £8K to £10K insurance.
The other thing is it does not matter if the car is 4 years old or 10 years. It does not work on age of car but on age of driver and engine size. So he might as well then go for a newer model as it will not make any difference on the premiums. Its pretty sad but the insurers probably had enough of the boy racers. Which means us oldies who had no accidents were subsidising the youngsters. Actually I wonder if my insurance will now go down as they hit the younger drivers with higher premiums.

He has been online and checked everywhere. I even called up some brokers specialising in car insurance and they quoted him more than what he found on the net. Also living in London adds costs on top, even though he has off road parking.

Yes, I do spoil him, he is not paying anything towards household costs only his mobile phone.

He is on the voters role. So I will tell him to check out Capital One but ask him to call Barclays once more to find out what is going on.

There was an article in yesterdays evening standard that insurance costs for young ones is probably going to go up again. Because 20% of all accidents are done by youngsters under the age of 25, young drivers were 12 times more likely to be at fault. So that is where the premiums come in and they make youngsters pay. Girls only pay half of what boys pay.