Starter Car

400ixl

Hyundai own 50% of Kia and they do co-develop their car platforms. Kia is essentially their lower brand (in a similar way that Skoda is to VW) but is a decent brand in its own right.

Nebulous2

GunJack said:

IF you think your budget is £6k, then it's not really, it needs to be £7.5k 'coz the insurance is likely to cost in the region of £1500.

First car, as stated above, use insurance quotes to help inform choice of car.......

....oh, and I forgot, for a first car don't spend more than £1k, so car + insurance = £2.5k.

...just saved you £5k

That's partly why I'm out of my depth. Over the years we've generally had two vehicles, a new one with a full warranty to do the heavy lifting and a banger - often bought from auction - as a runaround. The in-between market has been a no go zone for me for a long time. It still seems as though they are asking a lot for 6 year old cars. 

She's doing well, financially independent, and is 25 rather than 17. She's setting the budget and will make the choice, but I'm trying to support her to make that an informed choice. 

Tucosalamanca

We've recently purchased a starter car for our eldest, budget was reasonably flexible.
We ended up with a 2017 Nissan Note for £6,495
It's compact but with a huge amount of internal space, perfect for runs to/from Uni.
What clinched the deal was its unassuming nature.
It's not a typical young person's car and doesn't attract attention from racers / aggressive drivers.
With an EU6 diesel engine, it's achieving 60mpg combined cycle and is zero tax.
2010 cars are fetching 3-4k, so to get eight years newer for 2.5k more seems like terrific value.
Our trusted mechanic says reliability will never be an issue.
It's not what we set out to buy but actually really impressed with it.

fatbelly

6k will get a VW Up/Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii

They were made from 2012 but you could be looking at the facelifted models. Early ones were a bit basic and I would avoid the S or 'Take Up' variants

Options worth having are the second boot floor, Portable Infotainment Device and a spare wheel

Options not worth bothering with are foglights and parking sensors, as you can see very clearly where the back is.

sk2402005

I just got a Hyundai I10 to run about in, its basic but is easy to park, economical and only £20 a year to tax.

I looked at Aygo etc, but they seem to suffer with rust on the sills (mk2 is probably better)

Its fine for round town etc, but if your doing the occasional longer journey, go for the I20 instead.

Richard53

GunJack said:

....oh, and I forgot, for a first car don't spend more than £1k, so car + insurance = £2.5k.

...just saved you £5k

Have to disagree with this. When I retired I reckoned I didn't need a bigger car any longer (wife has a decent car which can do the long journeys, towing duties etc) so I spent a couple of years going through a succession of ~£1k cars. Every single one had a mass of niggly faults (and some not so niggly) which made ownership a bit of a pain - and I understand cars, and am happy to DIY and do mechanical work. Obviously, I expected this, but I had forgotten what a miserable experience it could be. (Perhaps when I started driving in the 70s our expectations were lower). I ended up pushing the budget out to £8k or so and bought an Octavia, and I'm very happy with that.

For a new driver, I'd want the whole ownership experience to be a positive one, and I'd be worried that a £1k car would bring misery and (if the owner can't DIY and has to pay a garage to fix things) a lot of expense too. I'd say spend about £5k and get a car that is clean, tidy, reliable, nice to drive and a pleasure rather than a worry. Just my 2p.

iwb100

400ixl said:

Hyundai own 50% of Kia and they do co-develop their car platforms. Kia is essentially their lower brand (in a similar way that Skoda is to VW) but is a decent brand in its own right.

And like Skoda Kia are basically making nicer cars in many classes than their Hyundai parent. The Sportage for example is superior to the Tucson.