To buy DD a crap car?

[AtYourCervix]

She's 18 in April. (My baby is 18!!!!!!!!)

Anyway. She can't drive Hs car (too big and crap). She can't drive my car (too new and precious). Her plan is to buy one herself for her Gap Yah. But she is an absolute darling. She is good, hard working, nice, helpful and puts up with so much extra shite (D2 issues) without barely a whinge.

So I thought I might surprise her and get her a little crap car she can play with and practice. If it's crap it doesn't matter if she prangs it.

So.... should I?

I was going to get her theatre tickets but that's a bit rubbish rwally.

I could wrap a car up and put a bow on it.

Worth considering 'naff' brands. They are unpopular with young drivers, so subsequently are MUCH cheaper on insurance than your fiestas and your corsas.

For example I would seriously consider looking at a brand new Dacia Sandero - the base spec is £4995. Depending on your budget, the small deposit maybe comparable to an old banger. If you get on a monthly contract, you may actually find it works out cheaper than a second hand car to actually run.

Although there will be the monthly repayments, the insurance on them is very low. Combine this with the fact they are new, they have 3 year warrantee, no nasty surprises in the form of repairs to worry, no MOT to pay for, low emissions tax (if any) and more efficient on fuel than an old banger they compare surprisingly well.

It does take a little bit of working out, but actually you might be really shocked by how the maths work out. As in REALLY surprised.

It is an alternative that most people wouldn't consider as it seems insane that a new car might be similar in cost to get on the road and run for a couple of years than a second hand banger.

Yes they are basic, but they go from a to b, and thats all that matters. The ONLY real downside (apart from the stigma of the brand) is the lack of radio. But thats easily enough fixed.

Bartman interesting re Micra having timing chain. I didnt know that. My little Brabus roadie has a chain rather than a belt and it is well known to last ages (think over 100k miles). They do come loose though.

As others have said, please please get a view of insurance costs before you buy a car as they vary hugely and really at her stage the insurance costs will dictate what car you get.

A new or couple of years old, small 4 seat, and no more powerful than a 1.1 would be your base line, such as a ford Ka.

Please please please don't get too crap a car.

I have a very strong memory of sixth form, and a friend driving us in her crap car. It was so crap that as we approached a roundabout and she changed lane, the steering wheel came off in her hand... She screamed, I yanked the handbrake and we were bloody lucky nobody went into us.

Which? Is pretty good for checking car reliability etc. Cheap, you'd be wonderful. Crap death pit, noooooooo.

RedToothbrush - interestingly I was looking at the Dacia earlier. could possibly be a maybe.

wyld Re read the posts! I was backing you up!

Do it, as others have said am sure she'll love it. Our DD did.

We signed over our old Ford Fiesta to DD on her 18th. It had been my DDad's before that (from almost new) and so passing it on had sentimental value too.

However, although she's passed her test, the car is on the drive atm, as she's at Uni and she's got no inclination to drive up and down the motorway just yet.

Go for a small engined car. The insurance is much, much cheaper.

Apologies Batman, I missed the other post and read yours as being overly picky. I've requested it's removed. I need to commit to either reading MN or writing an essay - doing both at the same time is making both bad! and for being prickly!

so...

small engine.

black box.

slightly crap yet safe, costing a few hundred £££s or maybe newer (something like the Dacia). If newer H can also use it come August when his will probably die and/or fail its MOT.

Sell a kidney or DD2 to pay for the insurance.

I love my KA - it was my first car, I passed my driving test in it, and it's been really cheap to run and insure - and great to drive too!

I'm trading it in for something a bit posher next week, I think there may be a tear in my eye as I leave it (it's a 2008 reg, you can get similar for around £2500).

Apologies starting price is £5995. Think lowest deposit is around £1000.

Other benefits are that even the base spec has ABS etc as standard which an older car may not, particularly if you are looking at the cheaper models.

Its insurance group 2 (looking at insurance group 1, they may be too expensive or difficult to get hold of, plus the age group of the driver will also be taken into account, so it may work out better anyway).

It MAY not work out as favourably for your daughter as the figures I've seen comparing against second hand cars. I don't know. Just worth looking...

So long that 'crap' is related to how it looks and not how it performs. It needs to be a safe car, obviously...

A lot of love for KAs here but be careful - they rust like buggery and that's what's sending most to the scrapyard. Make sure you get it checked properly underneath. Otherwise they're mechanically pretty simple - the basic engine design is about 50 years old so not very refined but pretty robust.

please don't. we nearly lost our precious dd in a crash. if she had been in a car she would have died.

please get her a safe car. look at the which guide to surviving a crash and then if you buy second hand get the car checked out by the AA.

please please think of the worst case scenario.

that isn't the cost of the car or insurance but your dds life.

The older KAs are not very sturdy, they crumple in collisions. My 2004 model was written off in an accident that it shouldn't have been written off in.

I had an old ka and it had a nice shiny mot on it when I bought it. First mot I had it and it failed for excessive corrosion under the anchor point for the passenger seatbelt. I wouldn't bother getting something smaller than a focus tbh as that's the sort of car she will probably be used to as most driving instructors have them. Depending on your budget what about getting a couple of years old kia of some kind - pretty cheap and have 7 year warranties.

Good point miaow. In my ka I got pushed around and bullied so much by other drivers it was ridiculous. It didn't help my confidence having just passed my test. Now drive an astra sized vehicle and feel so much better driving that. I think its as people don't assume it's a woman driving and try and push her around.