To ask what the cheapest possible way is to get a teenager on the road

[Getdsontheroad]

DS is 18 and passed his test last week. Due to where we live having crap public transport, his part time job being a pain to get to, me being sick of having to give lifts, family dynamics and him wanting to start an apprenticeship after college it’s very much in our interest to get him a car. DH and I are not wealthy and need to do this in the absolute cheapest way possible. Please could people with DC of a similar age please tell us what the absolute cheapest you can do this for including insurance, tax, other costs etc.

OKkkkk

Just checked and a car regged between 2001 and 2017 (so not mine haha) that has the lowest emissions has a tax bill of £0. There you go. 1L it is.

£180 for mine actually not £140! blimey

Marmalade for insurance. It’s for learner and new drivers. It’s a separate policy you take out for your car but if they claim on it it doesn’t affect the main policy.
DS then found his first car on Facebook. I was really sceptical but when we got there the guy was lovely, showed us everything including the faults and asked us to make an honest offer. DS has had the car 2 years now and it’s as great little run around. He has a part time job and pays for and funds it himself. I’m on the insurance to bring the cost down and he has a high voluntary excess. Currently with the RAC. No black box.

It’s based on emissions, not age.

It's based on emissions and age. A car registered after 2017 pays £180 a year unless it is electric.

We have a little Kia that ds inherited from his older dd. We've insured it with Admiral Multicar & it's worked out as £832. Also with me & dh as named drivers as ds has just passed his test.
It's about £400 more with Ds added.

£832 including ds .

NO SUCH THING

We are on child no 2 of learning and getting ready for a test.

It's far from cheap to buy or insure any sort of car

Everyone here obviously lives in a nice area.

My 21yo Daughter was quoted £3500 on Fiat 500, I was paying £800 on a 1.6 diesel cmax with 20yrs no claims....

I strongly believe they don’t get a car until they can buy their own. DD is 19 and oBly just bought one. We helped out but she had the money to buy it and insure and fuel it. We wanted her to appreciate how expensive it is and be responsible. She had a year driving my car when it was free.

These are the tips I would give having just been through this last week.

When you buy insurance make sure it doesn't start straight away. Buy it to start one or two weeks later. This brought our price down by £500.

Make sure you add a middle name. I know this sounds ridiculous but initially we didn't but when we added it in the price came down another £500.

Add a parent as an additional driver like a lot of posters have said.

Classic car insurance is cheap, see no reason why a 17 year old cannot have a classic, I wonder how much that would quote?

and it’s down as being on a drive

@UserM6 these days that doesn’t always give you the cheapest quote. Insurers were statistically paying out more claims for cars on drives due to things like slates falling off the roof onto the car, fire spreading from the building etc, so it can often be more expensive. My recent renewal would have increased if I’d insured the cars as parked on the drive.

OP - change all possible variables. Occupation (where possible and within reason), named driver combo, on drive or on street, where it’s parked in the day, start date etc. it’s just about trying to work out how the insurers rates are currently set.

Top Gear did an episode on classic cars for teens.

Given how little safety equipment there is on them, I wouldn’t.

these days that doesn’t always give you the cheapest quote. Insurers were statistically paying out more claims for cars on drives due to things like slates falling off the roof onto the car, fire spreading from the building etc, so it can often be more expensive. My recent renewal would have increased if I’d insured the cars as parked on the drive.

it’s obvious where the keys are if the car is parked on the drive. Lots of cars stolen that way which is the reason for the increased expense.

Keeping them in garages became more expensive because people kept damaging their cars driving into them.

⬆️ this.
My DS passed his test then went to uni and didn’t drive. He bought a car after uni (reg was 2013) and insurance was relatively cheap at £580 as he was over 20. It then went up to over £800 this year as he has a bump in his first year. Now I have another DS learning to drive, he is saving up for a car for when he passes. I will help but he needs to appreciate how much things cost and hopefully look after it.

DS has a cheap little 1 litre noddy car in one of the lowest insurance groups and the insurance is still eye watering. It's their age that pushes the premiums up unfortunately.

@OneMoreTime23 yes, another, but not the only reason.

the damage driving in also applies to drives as well as garages.

Either way, it’s best to alter the variables and see what that insurer is feeling like that day 🤣

@Theresit Marmalade quoted DS £7.5K 😳

They do watch that though and will refuse cover if they thing someone is attempting to reduce cost fraudulently.

@OneMoreTime23 mine are legit a mixture. We currently have 4 vehicles, 3 will fit on the drive, usually only 2 are on the drive. So which is best to insure as? It can’t always be parked in the exact same place. Insurer didn’t seem to care trying both out this year.

I'd be looking up some reports on the cheapest to insure cars like this. Then go onto Auto Trader and get some reg numbers and pop them in a car insurance comparison website to give you some accurate insurance costs for your son's circumstances. Also, go and check out some of the more common young driver cars Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 107, Ford Ka etc.

As others have said, add yourself to the policy as a named driver. Not only does it bring the cost down but it's also just convenient to be able to drive the extra car if you ever need to.

Keep playing around with different reg numbers for different cars on auto trader. Obviously taking into account what's actually available nearby to buy, how much the car itself costs, age etc.

I would also consider:

• A moped (additional costs are CBT, Helmet, Leathers) - But insurance and maintenance are generally much cheaper than a car so the additional costs could balance out quickly
• An electric bike - Depending on how far he needs to travel you can carry a fair amount of stuff in paniers

DD just saved £450 Pa by updating her job from waitress to working in finance and adding me to her policy.

Assume she actually changed job…….

(waitress is considered higher risk due to access to alcohol. ;))

I agree with Quill run cars from Autotrader through an insurance comparison website. Avoid the usual teen boy racer cars ie Corsa (shit car and prone to mechanical issues according to Reddit) 107s, try more Toyota, Kia etc.

I was on TikTok and a guy who works in the insurance industry was saying about how Land Rovers are becoming impossible to insure due to theft but also that insurers work on statistics so the possibility of an accident in a Corsa is higher because of those who choose to drive it, ie young and inexperienced.

Don't get a moped, you want him to be as safe as he can be. Do not lie about where the vehicle is stored, what job he has, who the main driver is etc. Insurance fraud is no joke.

The cheapest way is to get him a bike, an e-bike, or a moped / scooter.

If you're set on a car, that's the most expensive way.