First car after passing

[Accbabymom1994]

What was your first car after passing your driving test and what was the insurance? I passed on Thursday and need advice on what to expect on costs?

It depends on what area you're in. You can drive older cars to keep your insurance low but if you're in London / ulez then it's a different story.

Im in Birmingham

Dd passed 6 months ago. She drives a 1.4 vauxhall adam. Obviously being 17, her insurance is through the roof, but it doubled everytime she tried to put a car over 15 years old in the system. Her insurance is just short of 3000 with a back box.It only tracks mileage and speed.

Anyone that can be added to your insurance as a named driver(s), which should bring the costs down?

I had a Vauxhall Meriva a neighbour was selling, 10 years old. You want an old banger so you aren't too upset by the inevitable bumps and scratches it'll get as you are a new driver.

Insurance wise I'd held a provisional for 10 years which for some reason made a difference and already had house insurance with Aviva so got a discount so it was around £550 - I was 30 when I passed with 1 dependent. If you are young I'd expect it to be closer to £1000.

Our youngest has a fairly old Volvo saloon. Insurance is around £1,600 with dad as an additional driver.

Best thing to do is go onto Autotrader and choose cars by lowest insurance group to see what comes up. Run those actual plates through an insurance comparison site. If you can name another adult on your policy as a named driver it should bring the cost down.

Avoid "boy racer" cars, ie Corsa, Golf, Clio as the insurance companies hold data on how many times those cars have been involved in accidents. I had to do all this research 2 years ago when Ds1 passed his driving test.

Ford KA

Cost me £1200 in 2014

Reduced to £700ish the second year

Hyundai i10. Had it for 8 years and I love led that car. In my second one now!

"...the inevitable bumps and scratches it'll get as you are a new driver."

I bloody well hope not! Or is the standard of the test and instruction so low that you now have to expect this from new drivers?

One daughter and a 4 year old Citroen C1. Her first years insurance was £1400 with a fitted black box but she was at university. My second daughter recently got a 3 year old Toyota Aygo and her insurance is £1300 using a phone app for telematics. My niece just got a six year old Vauxhall Viva and her insurance is £1100 with no black box or app. Best thing to do is run quotes on a comparison site - just pick up a reg off a sales site that is similar to what you want.

Agreed - if we're to expect bumps and scratches from new drivers, they aren't test-ready.

I passed last year and have a Seat Leon, 1.2 turbo petrol. It was just shy of £3k and for the first years insurance it was £140 a month with no extras and high excess. I was looking at VW, Seat and Skoda, advised by someone who has a high opinion of VwA group cars, he did suggest an Audi but ........ Insurance. When I pulled a face because there's a lot round here that drive those cars and they're seen as 'boy racer' cars his response is that's because they're built well and stand up better to accidents so if you do crash you're safer, chosen for a reason. I've no idea if that's actually true I might add, but that group are reliable from the research I did. But when they do go wrong, they can cost.

He warned me off traditional first cars like Corsa's and said a Fiesta at a 'push'. It was a toss up between this one and a Fiesta and I chose this one as the MOT record was better with less major issues and fewer advisories.

This year after a year's no claims I've switched and am at £100 a month and with breakdown, windscreen & key cover & a really low excess. So I've saved £40 a month and got the extras I wanted but couldn't afford in my first year.

I'm 45 and dread to think what younger drivers who've just passed pay on insurance. I could have got cheaper deals with a black box but I didn't want that so paid a bit more.

My Daughter passed start of October. She is 22
She's driving a 1 litre Toyota Aiygo. It's 2017. Automatic gear box. Cost about 8500. Her insurance with me as a named driver with over 30 yrs experience and no claims was 1900.

you can get quotes online without actually owning a car which will be more accurate than anything anyone quotes you on here! Find a couple of likely cars off autotrader and put the reg in with your details.

I passed in my mid 30s and got a 2 year old hyundai i10. It's never cost me more than £200 to insure.

I passed age 31 and bought a ford fiesta 1.6. My insurance was 1100 the first year and she's still going strong! Parts are readily available and cheaper than other makes.

I passed when I was 19, but didn't start driving properly again until I was 25 when I got my first job that required me to be able to drive.

It was a Kia Picanto. Perfect wee car for getting me started.

In ulez area. My insurance is £1300 for the year and I have a 3 year old VW polo. I only passed last December and I named DH as additional driver and I had black box for the first 3 months. My usage is bare minimum. Only for local grocery store/ nursery run/ gym/ meeting friends locally.

Old bangers are far more likely to end up with a dead or severely injured teenager in the case of an accident though.

Cars post 2015 have much stricter safety standards (things like, now it’s not ok for your legs to be crushed in a collision whereas before it was fine as long as you didn’t die) so I would pick a newer one and forgive a few bumps.

By old banger really I meant something in the last decade. Not a new or nearly new one but something that would still have good airbags etc. I wasn't really thinking a 2000s Ford Ka / FIAT Punto etc.

The age of the car doesn't really matter - it's always driving experience and the driver's age that counts. In fact, newer cars are often cheaper to insure as they are safer.

Mine was (still is) a Land Rover Freelander 2. I passed my test in it. Insurance was initially just over £1,000 I think. It was cheaper than a smaller car. Now it’s about £450 I think.

Skoda fabia. 5 years old, parked on the drive, small petrol engine, dh as a named driver as he uses it a lot too. I passed two years ago in my late 30s and insurance was £800 the first year. Also Birmingham. It will vary on the area you live in a lot.

I'm 30 years old with 2 children , 9 and 5 , one with special needs