First car for son

[Remmy123]

We are looking at second hand cars for my son (also a second car for me the rare occasions I need it)

Willing to spend 2-2.5k as it's his first car

we are looking at a Polo today for £2.200

what cars did you all get.as first cars for your kids?

any advice or recommendations welcome - thanks

Golf or Polo are both good first cars. What kind of mileage is on the car that you are considering?

I have never heard of anyone buying a car for their kid! My DD bought herself a second-hand car when she was 23. It was a Nissan Micra. She’s had it a few years now and the MOT garage always comments on what a fab car it is.

Look at low insurance group cars and start from there, once passed his insurance will be at least that amount. The learner driver insurance isn’t too bad.

Focus on whats cheap to insurance. So lets say your entire budget is £3,000, you want as little of that to be insurance as possible.

Things like a honda jazz have great visibility, will last forever and they’re usually cheap for young drivers to insure.

I bought a cheap car years ago and the insurance was hellish, we then sold it and bought a Quashqai and the premiums halved. My sister insured her sons on a Volvo and reckons because most people don’t they don’t have many claims so the premiums are ok. Go beyond the obvious is my suggestion and work backwards from insurance.

We just got DD a Toyota Aygo with low mileage for age and full service history.

I agree check out insurance groups, he'll probably pay more than the car is worth.

You’ll get a pretty much identical but cheaper (and thus cheaper to insure) car if you go for the other marques in the VW group - so instead of a VW Polo, a Seat Ibiza or Skoda Fabia. I’ve had all three and the Fabia has been the best of all for me - totally reliable, never needed a stroke of work done to it apart from replacing things which wear, like brake pads and discs, and flies through its MOT each time. They all drive and handle the same way as their engines are identical, and the build quality is excellent.

I’d personally avoid a cheap VW - from bitter experience of trying to keep an older golf going, parts are ruinously expensive, and they are not as reliable as they used to be.

Citroen C1 are the same engine as the Toyota Aygo so will be very reliable and not an expensive “badge”

Definitely a polo is great. You can beat Volkswagen had them all my life very reliable.

Look at the insurance groups. We have a Vauxhall adam for my youngest and a Toyota aygo for my eldest both cost less than a £1000 a year to insure and that’s with policies in their name. A fiesta, polo was nearer £1500. Both the aygo and Adam are in the lowest group, for some reason the adam
is the cheapest to insure at £800 per year,
it’s a really lovely little car as well,’drives beautifully and feels like it’s packed full of extras for a little car

We got DS a little Skoda Citigo. Lovely little car, low insurance (particularly with a black box). He went out driving hundreds of miles in it with DH while he was learning, and took his test in it as well.

I would definitely check insurance first. Some cars you think are going to be pretty cheap end up very expensive for insurance. My son’s first car was a corsa, he had a black box but insurance was still £££. He currently has a polo which he loves and has proved very reliable (touch wood) although pretty old. I don’t know what the insurance is for it tbh.

My dd got a Citroen c1 which has been an excellent deal first car, cheap to run and reliable.

She bought and paid for it with savings though, I think it cost around £3500.

My ds also has a Citroën C1. Has been very reliable and easy to park as its small

VW Up. No frills (64 plate, no central locking, wind up windows). He still has it 6 years later. It is so reliable!

hes very lucky to be getting given a car (i got gifted one driving lesson, i paid for provisional, lessons and car myself, took years to save).

if you get an older one/higher mileage one make sure the timing belt has been changed at around 70k miles or whatever is recommended. it’s dear to do and you need it done or it could snap. if really high mileage it will need done multiple times. so twice by 140k presumably etc etc. Or get a car with a timing chain instead.

They are more expensive than you think we found! We got ours a 2015 Skoda fabia for 6k in may

DS is getting a Ford focus, it’s an old family car we put too much money into and can’t bear to part with despite having a newer cars for ourselves! Felt like it was a good size in this day and age of driving, not too big or small. Not actually sure on insurance group etc.

From bitter experience don't buy a car with a timing chain, most mechanics don't want to change them or don't have the equipment to do so, it's very difficult to get the timing right after and ruinously expensive especially in the context of an older car (Citroen C4)

Definitely check insurance on a few models first. We thought a corsa would be cheap but was really expensive. Mine got a ford focus but insurance prices vary for different cars so much

thanks all - the polo has 56 miles so that's why we are looking

Toyota Aygo's we have been looking for for ages but never seem to be many for sale

He is lucky to have a car but we only have 1 car as a family of 5 so I'll also be using it as a second car.

Hyundai i10’s are great and reliable little cars in my experience - both my kids have them. One an 09 plate and one a 17 plate.

Polo for DS…I prefer driving it to my own car 🤣

Look at the insurance, DS had a Toyota Yaris and Toyotas are also consistently some of the most reliable cars as well.

DS had a Ford Ka, and it has just shocked me that it was in 2012, for his 18th. It then sat on the drive during his gap year, and he couldn't take it to uni so its main purpose was to build up an NCB!

DD wanted a car for work, but she was 23/4 and we bought her a Hyundai i10, which is a fab little car.