Would you insure your teen on a BMW 1 series?

[kitkatkaytie]

Just that really. My DH wants to get one and is talking about getting DS insured on it in a few months' time, if and when he passes. I don't drive. Is it too powerful for a teen? Does anyone have one?

Ah! Thank you. I'm a non-driver - can you tell? 😉

@custardbear - those kind of posts always tell you more about the poster than give any informative views for the thread, I tend to think 😉

@CorsicaDreaming I had the 118i and adored it. I would be comfortable my children driving it (as comfortable as I could be) but not a Saab turbo 😂

@LetHimHaveIt not at all 😂 I am experienced and drove a Mini Cooper S for a week. It's literally a launch missile. It was great until I nearly stacked it on a straight road somehow. Not even a fast straight road, I just accelerated too heavily from standing and had to steer to correct.

Yes my Dad and I had some rather hairy moments when I was learning to drive - many many moons ago! He was a very brave man

Heaven knows how he got insurance for me on it, but it was decades ago - and I only ever drove it with him in the car too.
Must have been different 'in those days'.

No. We wouldn't. We got new cars recently and prior to that we had 2 10 year old cars we taught two kids to drive in one of them. Now we have new cars they're insured for us only. Won't be teaching any further kids for some time.

Plenty of kids share the family car, which is often something capable of a decent speed. A BMW is no more an issue than a Toyota or a Skoda, our Volvo is far quicker than a relatives BMW. Mumsnet is bizarre about cars and fixated on stereotypes. Most of us don't have funds for a old banger for our kids and these cheap, old, small cars are often safety deathtraps in an accident. The only possible problem is insurance, but when you add up all the costs of running another car it soon equals out.

@CorsicaDreaming
Having said that, I learnt on my Dad's Saab Turbo.

That's exactly what teen DD is learning in 🤣. And yes, I'm passionate about cars, but wouldn't call myself a petrol head.

My apologies if you was upset by it, but I was just being truthful. They are lovely cars if you get the right spec.

My DS17 is currently learning to drive. He can’t believe how badly most BMWs are driven, he’s ultra observant at the moment. It has become a standing joke.
I have bought an almost new VW polo that he will share with me. Our other car is a 3L monster luxury SUV, the insurance company laughed when I asked if he could be put on the insurance in case of emergencies (my DH had a stroke recently and it would have been useful if he could drive it if we needed him to, obviously fully supervised).
Interestingly, the insurance on the Polo will be under £1k which surprised me. Apparently it is because it has certain safety features sure as stop assist and parking sensors that make it safer. He is also learning in an automatic. Automatic cars are not as popular and may have l as accidents so the premiums are lower.
He is not a petrol head and just wants to get mobile, automatics are easier to drive and he’s unlikely to drive a manual in the near future.
He is happy to take a manual test in the future if required.
Road awareness is far more important than changing gears in my opinion.

I as - less

Which is the same as driving into a solid immovable object at 70mph but not really relevant. Although, I’d much rather my DC crashed a BMW at 70mph than an Aygo.

@Angrymum22 will be be ok only being able to drive an auto if he takes his test in one?

Parent of a 19yr old who owns, insures and drives his BMW 118i Sport.

For info, he purchased his 1st car (Vauxhall Corsa Ecoflex) when he got his provisional licence with his own money earnt through refereeing. We paid insurance for first 12months. It was about £65 per month fully comp with no black box. Its actually quite reasonable to insure a car whilst learning as a) Its always accompanied b) They are trying to drive as well as possible.

He then passed his test after 12months (Covid got in the way) and even though he had NCB his insurance went up as he was a bigger risk. We moved the insurance and he paid it himself which i believe was about £700 fully comp, again with no black box.

He then wanted a better car, saved his wages and bought his BMW. The only thing i asked him was did he know how much to insure and did he have enough to buy the car. He answered yes to both. We drove and collected it, made the phone call to the insurance on the 2hour drive to collect and found the insurance was in fact cheaper than expected and cost about £700 fully comp (With a pretty big excess).

He drives the car very well. His friends like to be driven in his car and i trust him to be sensible. His old corsa was every bit as capable of having a horrible crash. In fact he has told me he felt more confident in the Corsa than he does in the BMW so he doesnt bother.