First car for young dd

[rocky1705]

Looking for an automatic small town economical car for my dd who only just passed her test. Reliable, cheap to insure, cheap to run, cheap to repair, safe obviously.

Not sure about electric cars just yet.

Advice please.

Toyota Yaris or Aygo.

DD has a VW Up! Having struggled to learn with instructor’s manual & our large automatic, she passed her test after 3 months driving the Up! It’s compact, comfortable & very solid on the road. She has become a confident driver over the last 18 months after a very nervous start.

New or secondhand?

First post nails it. The answer to this question is always Toyota Aygo (I’d say Yaris is more the second car - at least that’s what both DDs have done 😁)

A mini. But don't buy a mini one. They overheat.

Buy a MINI but don’t buy a MINI. Right, clear as mud.

DS has got a Peugeot 208 which does the job perfectly

Kia Picanto/Hyundai i10 (essentially the same car). I love my Picanto.

Skoda Citigo or Fabia - very reasonable second hand too.

DS has a Fabia and it's great.

Picanto, for sure. Bonus if you can get one that still has some of the 7 year warranty. I regularly (once a month or so) do a 500 mile round trip in mine and it's painless. Really reliable too and cheap to run (well as cheap as possible in this economy).

I wouldn’t want my DD driving a diddy little thing that will fold up if she is unlucky enough to crash. No reason she can’t have a mid size car as a minimum.

any stereotypical kid car will be expensive to insure due to statistics and being more in accidents. Just make sure it’s ncap 5 star.

We got a Toyota Aygo, my car but our son has use of it. Chosen due to Toyota reliability (we part exchanged our 22 year old Yaris), small engine, 4 seats (supposed to statistically reduce accidents if less passengers in the car), cheap to run. He has enjoyed driving it as do I, it’s really easy to park too.

Thinking a used car.

DD1 has an Aygo and loves it.
If you buy it from a franchised dealer it comes with a great warranty and servicing is all included along with breakdown cover ( she has never needed it as it runs like a dream and one tank of petrol takes her nearly 400 miles!)

Well I understood what the post meant but then I do like Minis.

I agree with this, at least polo size, maybe more golf size. I'm not sure what would be cheap nd reliable in that sort of size.

Fiat 500 very reliable and economical

You may have a rare model that is reliable but as a whole, the are extremely unreliable and fold in crashes. I wouldn’t let my dd in one and I’d only get in one if I couldn’t walk.

Care to share or is it some kind of club?

My daughter has a Peugeot, when you get insurance try Adrian Flux, they were the best option for her.

Some of the older ones haemorrhage oil.

Only when compared to a SUV style car.... a modern small car is no more likely to fold up than slightly bigger mid sized car.

Plus being less powerful, less likely to be involved in an accident.

The OP also didn't ask "what is the safest car for her DD?"

Mini One was a particular type of Mini.

Apart from a Mini One, I would also agree that a Mini would be a good choice, they are very safe and a good solid drive.

Mine was excellent, though that was over 10 years ago. I had an accident in it unfortunately, but it protected me well. I also never had any problems with it.