Cars which are cheap to insure new drivers in?

[Helpagirlout222]

I know NOTHING about cars and drive an old inherited banger. It's going to be lucky to pass it's next MOT, and at the same time i have DC about to learn to drive.
As much as it pains me I think I'm going to have to buy something which will be mainly my car, but they'll need to be insured on.
Reckon I could stretch to c£8k.
I need to narrow my search a bit; could anyone in very simplistic terms give me an idea of what is important to bear in mind? Is is engine size, or age of car that insurers will look at for example? Are there any makes in particular that are good to look at?

We’ve just bought my son a little red VW up - it was around £4k but we got it through a VW garage and at the time we got 2 years warranty 2 years servicing 2 years roadside assistance and 2 years mot guarantee.
It was low mileage and had been mot and serviced just before we bought it. Cost us £1350 to insure him and me through Hastings direct. Cheap road tax and efficient for petrol. He loves it.

At a very high level the factors that are considered when underwriting car insurance are engine size (1l and under being the cheapest), badge (e.g. prestige cars are more nickable) and age of vehicle and then things like your postcode, where it is kept over night etc. Not all cars are created equal so also check the safety rating on the car (I'm sure we'd all want them in reinforced tanks) and reliability rating - parkers can be handy for this sort of info. And be prepared for the premium to go up once they pass.

I'd go for something stoic and reliable ideally previously owned by a pensioner so it's in good upkeep and hasn't been thrashed to death.

Hyundai are usually in the top ten most reliable makes and a petrolhead friend of mine bought a five-year-old i10 for her son when he was learning to drive. Not the most refined or comfortable of cars, but they have a reputation for keeping going. Insurance group 1, so as cheap as you can get.

VW up

Op, I’d also recommend VW Up or Skoda Citigo - same car.

But bearing in mind this needs to serve your needs too, perhaps look at Skoda Fabia - smallest engine sizes. They are a bit bigger, 5 seats in back and not expensive for teens to insured on as not a cool teen car. It is same as Polo. You’d get one that’s maybe 6-7 years old for £7-8k. Main dealers offer full warranties etc.

Ds (23) drives a Hyundai i10 and insurance has come down from about £1800 when he'd just passed at 18 to about £600 now.

Dd2 is fussier and has a Toyota Yaris hybrid. More expensive car and insurance about £2000 (she's 21 but this is her first year driving). Her boyfriend has been driving for 7 years and putting him on the insurance actually reduced the premium by about £200!

Thank you! I have looked at Fabias actually, for the reasons you say.
Would really like some "tech" as my current car is absolutely devoid of it!

Thank you, I have been reading with interest as my 21yo will be taking his test this year and I have been wondering about adding him to my insurance for my Toyota Yaris hybrid.

All cars from about 2016 seem to have usb so phone can be linked to CarPlay or similar. Few don’t have air con now. Something a bit bigger like a Fabia will have rear reversing beepers on all but the very basic model. The tiny city cars might have it on top spec models.

Lots of teens drive older cars and have their phone in a cradle connected with a cable via the old cigarette lighter so they can have google maps etc.

Definitely look at insurance groups. We have a 10 year old Kia Picanto 1L which I think was in group 5. Still costs nearly 1.2k to insure DD18 (car only cost 4.5k!!) but that is not bad compared to some.

Re tech in older cars, we have a Bluetooth dongle which plugs into the cigarette lighter and you set it to a spare radio frequency so she can play music through the phone or have sat nav running through it with phone in a cradle on the dash. Also have a dashcam fitted. No reversing beeps though.

Bought Citroen C1 for daughter (Toyota engine and chassis, so basically an Aygo). She's 17 and it cost £685 to insure in her name with a blackbox once she'd passed.

Another recommendation for a VW Up. I think they are fabulous little cars and they are really reasonable to insure for new drivers.

Not always in the way that you'd think. With young drivers it's not the cost of the car that's the risk.

Worst case scenario for the insurance company is that they crash the car and seriously injure several of their mates. Then they're looking at the cost of long term care, support, loss of earnings and pain and suffering. This can run into millions.

So they want to present an image to the insurance company that they're not the kind of driver who's going to do this. As well as low powered, the car needs to be unattractive, especially to boy racers. So something like a Nissan Micra, or the aforementioned very small engined cars. Something slightly bigger, but still slow and unfashionable as a slightly bigger car might have better crash protection.

It's often hard to say which cars any particular insurance company will view as lower risk. Best thing to do is to take the number plates of a range of cars from listings you're looking at and run quotes as if you're thinking of buying them. This will give you a feel for what is the least expensive for your circumstances.

@Helpagirlout222 There's no point looking at some of the cars suggested as they are city cars, not family cars. The VW up for example. A Polo can have 4 doors so a much better bet. What do you want from a family car? 4 doors and how much space? Could you buy a basic VW Golf?

I would do as others suggest and look at insurance ratings but bigger cars will have bigger engines and more power and higher insurance. Cost of parts, where you live and garaging makes a difference plus drivers. Does your new driver want to learn in a family sized car? Most don’t.

Essentially I would look at the NCAP rating for safety and quality. Is it built to last? Some cars are cheap and flimsy so read everything about them via something like What Car. Don’t buy a pup. It’s not difficult to find what cars don’t depreciate as much and they don’t because they are better made. There will be loads of Ford Focus around. Loads of 4 door hatch cars - just look for smaller engine versions and sound owner history.

@TizerorFizz thank you, this is my problem, I think if it was just a car for DC I'd be quite clear on what my options were. But this has to be for me as well, we have a dog, it's my car that drives to uk holidays , skip runs etc!

@Helpagirlout222 So a hatchback. I’d definitely look at a Ford Focus, a basic Golf or Polo. A Toyota Corolla, Kia Ceed, and cars like an Astra or Citroen C3. I haven’t checked insurance but German cars might be more to insure. They could be better build quality though. Don’t choose anything remotely sporty! Your dc will have to accept this car is bigger than a city car and you won’t by buying a huge SUV!