Cars for young drivers

Bluepony

I was going to ask if anyone could suggest the best car for a 17 to insure whilst learning and then on to when they have passed but thought perhaps the better question would be which cars not to buy for a 17yr old girl. Can anyone help?

WentworthFox

Are you looking to go new or second hand?
Leasing or purchasing outright?

There are some good deals for leasing small cars for new drivers, some brands like Peugeot even do a new driver scheme where you just add fuel. I've seen the advert somewhere.

Ebe_Scrooge

A brand new car is probably not a wise choice for a new driver - with the best will in the world, there's a reasonable probability of plenty of minor dings and scrapes.


The easiest way is to get some dummy quotes from one of the comparison sites. In very general terms, the things which will have an impact are engine size, and the cost of repairing damage. So something with a small engine, and a common car ( like a Ford or a Peugeot ) will be a good starting point.


However, be aware that it's not an exact science. One often-cited example is the Vauxhall Corsa - small engine, cheap to buy and repair .... but a favourite of young boy-racers ( sorry to stereotype ! ). So it can actually be fairly expensive to insure.


Conversely, don't dismiss something like a boring old Volvo or similar - they can be surprisingly reasonable.


You must declare the young driver as the main driver ( otherwise it's "fronting", which is not a good idea ). But adding Mum & Dad as named drivers can bring the premiums down.


Finally, be aware that the premiums won't be too bad whilst she's learning, as by definition she'll be supervised at all times. But once she passes her test, be prepared for the costs to rocket

Mercdriver

Are you intending to teach your daughter yourself or using a local driving school? How often would she drive a car as a learner that you would buy for her. Could she not learn in your car using learner insurance separate to yours?

Perhaps a car could be a carrot to encourage her to pass.

Ant555

it might be worth going on the AutoTrader web site and searching for a few of the obvious choices - Ford KA, Toyota Yaris, Fiesta, Kia Picanto.

Write down their registration numbers and type those numbers into one of the insurance comparison web sites with your daughter as the main driver (maybe do additional quotes saying she has passed so you get a good feel for the cost) and you as a named driver - just edit the quote and put in the next registration number.

I realise that not all insurance companies are on the likes of confused.com but it gave me a general idea when I was looking in similar circumstances. We opted for a Kia Picanto in the end - our existing small engine Corsa was around £800 more expensive than the Kia to insure which echoes the point already made above that you just can;t really tell until you get the quotes with your details/your postcode etc.

hope this helps

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

A few things to consider:

- mid-size cars are actually a bit easier to drive than small cars.
- insurance is surprisingly often cheaper for mid-size cars than small cars.
- insurance can be massively reduced by having named drivers on the policy, even if there is no intention to drive the car often. Do not insure as someone else with main driver though, that is fronting and can leave the driver uninsured.

So take a look at older cars. But budget assuming there will be knocks and scrapes. Walls and bollards are designed to leap out unexpectedly at novice drivers.

BeenThroughItAll

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

A brand new car is probably not a wise choice for a new driver - with the best will in the world, there's a reasonable probability of plenty of minor dings and scrapes.

Yep, absolutely this. There's a Kia Picanto and a tiny Peugeot (1007?) that park outside our house. They belong to the two kids of the family over the road - one a year older than the other.


Both brand new at purchase.


Kia got scraped on the nearside front about three months after purchase. Was repaired (reasonably well, apart from the bumper colour match). About a month later, I noticed the offside had a similar scrape, but this time including a dent at the front edge of the wing. Hasn't been repaired yet, but has been joined by a dent in the rear nearside corner where the bumper's been pushed in by something.


Peugeot lasted less than a month before the rear quarter was scraped all along the wheelarch. Repaired quickly, but then rapidly followed by a scraped front bumper.


Both of them have a collection of scuffs around the wheels.


I suspect the end of lease charges will be 'significant'.