Posted 5th Jul 2023
my daughter will be learning to drive soon
We are looking to buy a "cheap" and safe second hand car
What would you recommend?
We are looking to buy a "cheap" and safe second hand car
What would you recommend?
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sorted byDriving a bigger car might seem a bit daunting to new drivers, but apart from parking the size doesn't really affect things.
It is based on risk and an 18yr old risk on say a VW Polo will be a lot higher than say a Passat as the stats for claims on a Polo will be infinitely more than on a Passat for that age group.
Insurance is the key factor mostly, lowest Group possible.
Popular choices of car are Toyota Aygo/Pug 107/Cit C1 - Ford Ka - Fiat Panda - Hyundai i10 - Kia Piccanto - VW Up/Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii.
Check individual model/spec for its insurance group to avoid nasty surprises.
If you're going cheap, good luck and be very careful as the market is full of poor quality cars due to the shortage of stock. As an example I sold a 10yr old Focus to a dealer today for pretty much waht I paid for it 4 yrs ago! Mad
My daughter is learning and has just bought a 13 year old KA. It's £35 a year tax. Only cost £480 for years insurance and she will hopefully be gaining no claims bonus for when she passes. That will hopefully help keep her insurance low as when they pass and she increases her mileage her insurance will likely substantially rise etc.
Insurance for a learner can be ok, but it goes through the roof when they pass (because they are then able to drive without supervision and with passengers)
We found cars with things like autobraking were much cheaper to insure.
My daughter passed her test 2 weeks after her 18th birthday this year. Insured her as the main driver on a 2008 VW Polo 1.2 with me as a named driver. We have multi car insurance with Admiral (so no black box either) and cost for 6 months, when yearly policy renews in September, was £432. So should be about £1k for full year.
Also Old cars are often more expensive to insure than nearly new.
If you want to go really left field, classic (40y+) are cheap to insure!
Be wary of smaller engine cars (1l) as a lack of torque makes them a bit more likely to punish mistakes with gears and the clutch. Also avoid cars with turbos because the lack of power if they don't kick in when pulling out at a roundabout/junction can make a learner panic.