Quote from nikopdr :

Better just buy it during the winter. that way you can learn more about the car how it handles in different conditions.

The only real difference between the UK summer and the UK winter is that when it occasionally stops, the rain takes slightly longer to dry out in winter

Quote from tbofram :

Ha, well I just looked at a faux hall corsa 1.0 as it seems cheap for insurance (£800) but I'm not really a boy racer so I will pass on that part.

Where the hell is an 18 year old getting £800 insurance in the UK? I'm 33 and married with kids, and mine is £900 with 2 years no-claims.

Quote from tbofram :

Ha, well I just looked at a faux hall corsa 1.0 as it seems cheap for insurance (£800) but I'm not really a boy racer so I will pass on that part.

Anyone watch that top-gear episode when they looked at cars for teens and Jeremy got that super sexy Volvo? I want that(I have always like it but don't know why)

Maybe try a Peugeot 106 1.1 or 1.5D (decent mpg, but you may struggle to comfortably drive it as they are quite small lol)

Otherwise try a car that no young person would drive as you will probably find it's a lot cheaper than the cars 'chavs' drive.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

Where the hell is an 18 year old getting £800 insurance in the UK? I'm 33 and married with kids, and mine is £900 with 2 years no-claims.

This years for me was £697 (aged 20 when I took it out). It's all about where you live (and in the nicest possible way - I think rural Suffolk is a "safer" bet than Manchester!)

Plus I found that a lot of insurers are very cheap... when your on a provisional. My insurance doubled (£1k -> £2k) when I passed my test!

Quote from lukelfs :

Otherwise try a car that no young person would drive

Story of my life.

Cars don't make a massive price difference anymore for insurance if you stick around the 1.2 petrol or 1.4 diesel mark, and providing it's a 3 door hatchback; add a turbo then you're asking for trouble, make it a saloon or anything bigger the same applies. You're paying for damages and injury you can cause to someone else, and that's why you're usually going to pay more than the cars worth for your first year.

The issue is you have a genuine need for a bigger than average first car, and you're just going to have to take the insurance hit, I'd suggest a Ford Focus, they're roomier than most hatchbacks.

My advice to you is don't bother with an estate, as confident as you are an easy to drive hatchback is the best plan for your first year at least. I've been driving 2 1/2 years now and I'm driving a 1.2 Clio (yr 2000). There are times when my inexperience on the road has been saved with this car being so nippy. I don't drive fast by any means but when you pass your test and you're on your own, your decisions can sometimes be the wrong ones, and it's usually caused by panicking and compensating for other peoples mistakes....and I say mistakes but it boils down to bad driving through bad habits.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

Where the hell is an 18 year old getting £800 insurance in the UK? I'm 33 and married with kids, and mine is £900 with 2 years no-claims.

Look at coop young drivers insurance, you get a black box though. Quote for 2002 vauxhall corsa 1.0 , I have my parents as named drivers (mum is 38 and dad is 42) and I live in the middle of nowhere.

Most cars I have looked at with parents as named drivers are ~£1000

Just you need to be willing to get a black box installed

Oh plus every 3 months they check your driving (data from the box) and if your good then they give you some of the money back (basically if you can prove your a good driver you get dead cheap insurance) oh and that quote is not on my provisional that's full license (I will take a screenshot later for proof)

Quote from Crashgate3 :

Where the hell is an 18 year old getting £800 insurance in the UK? I'm 33 and married with kids, and mine is £900 with 2 years no-claims.

For what car?

I'm currently paying £765 for my 2004 BMW 330 convertible with MoreThan. They even added my Fiancée (29) as a named driver for free



Cheers..

Ian

Get a 90's Toyota.
Reliable cars, cheap, cheap insurance, good fuel mileage (for most) and very resistant to beatings..

Happy hunting.

Quote from tbofram :

Oh plus every 3 months they check your driving (data from the box) and if your good then they give you some of the money back (basically if you can prove your a good driver you get dead cheap insurance) oh and that quote is not on my provisional that's full license (I will take a screenshot later for proof)

I've read that some people get almost 30-50% of their money back after the years over because the data is always good, even if you speed (obviously not all the time)

Quote from Omar1 :

Volkswagen lupo? Group 1 insurance so its cheap, and goes up to a 1.6 16v GTi, good fuel economy too

better look for a Seat Arosa, its basically the same car but with less stuff to go wrong, and cheaper. And as a novice driver the 50 - 70hp models are a good start.

Another idea (if those where offered in the UK), what about a Golf Mk3 SDI? 1.9 N/A diesel, only 65hp, indestructible and dead cheap to run. And I guess its a car that is neither stolen often nor run by boyracers. You need earplugs for longer journeys tho.


I'm wondering about Ford Fiestas, Corsas, and the like, since its the only car young man can afford to ensure, and a lot of them race/modifiy/crash them nontheless, don't the cars quotes go up a lot?

forget about insurance

just buy a rwd turbo car

and then do skids.

Daihatsu! Most teenage boys wouldn't be seen dead in a Daihatsu, so they are only driven by grannies, so they never get involved in expensive insurance jobs, so insurers offer lower premiums on them.

If I were you I would mostly be looking at less common cars like that, the ones that have never been popular with high-risk drivers. Daihatsu are a fairly safe bet because they are mostly the same parts as Toyotas.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Daihatsu! Most teenage boys wouldn't be seen dead in a Daihatsu, so they are only driven by grannies, so they never get involved in expensive insurance jobs, so insurers offer lower premiums on them.

If I were you I would mostly be looking at less common cars like that, the ones that have never been popular with high-risk drivers. Daihatsu are a fairly safe bet because they are mostly the same parts as Toyotas.

yeah i had a look and i will most likely go with something in the same category as what your describing, no point looking at anything nice as i can't afford it and tbh i live in places that the car will get very muddy so any car i drive will look like sh*t

Quote from lukelfs :

I've read that some people get almost 30-50% of their money back after the years over because the data is always good, even if you speed (obviously not all the time)

yeah that's why i want a black box , i'm not bothered about being monitored (i like the idea that if the computer sees you were in a crash and you don't drive off and you don't answer your mobile then they auto ring 999). i think it's good because the good young drivers actually get a chance to prove we are not all bad and we get super cheap insurance.

Quote from ACCAkut :

better look for a Seat Arosa, its basically the same car but with less stuff to go wrong, and cheaper. And as a novice driver the 50 - 70hp models are a good start.

Yup, Arosa's are pretty cheap on gumtree.

Quote from Omar1 :

Yup, Arosa's are pretty cheap on gumtree.

Thanks, I will look on that site. They are basically lupo's eh? I swear I seen one pulling a tent trailer because that's the only reason I looked at the car (looked far to small to pull one)

Quote from tbofram :

Thanks, I will look on that site. They are basically lupo's eh? I swear I seen one pulling a tent trailer because that's the only reason I looked at the car (looked far to small to pull one)

yup, just different badges pretty much, gumtree is awesome for bargins

On a sidenote, I can recommend the Lupo/Arosa to tall people. I'm ~2m, but fit in it nicely with a lot of headroom, there is less space for the driver in the last gen Audi A6.

I'm unable to drive a first gen Renault Twingo btw (pedals too close to each other)

Get an Escort Van, 1.8N/A, with no no claims to my name I got mine insured for a nudge over £500 full comp on commercial insurance. Insurers don't rip off commercial vehicles as much as they do private ones. Even if you insure said vehicle for domestic and pleasure use only. Make sense? Not a bit of it, but at the time I was looking at various estate cars and would have to add at least 1,200 on my bill.

The main reason vans are so cheap is lack of seats. Apparently the less seats you have the less risk of being in an accident. Sounded like BS to me as a 2 seater sports car would cost the earth. But heyho.

Plus pimped out vans are cool, everyone in college loved my van.

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

Get an Escort Van, 1.8N/A, with no no claims to my name I got mine insured for a nudge over £500 full comp on commercial insurance. Insurers don't rip off commercial vehicles as much as they do private ones. Even if you insure said vehicle for domestic and pleasure use only. Make sense? Not a bit of it, but at the time I was looking at various estate cars and would have to add at least 1,200 on my bill.

The main reason vans are so cheap is lack of seats. Apparently the less seats you have the less risk of being in an accident. Sounded like BS to me as a 2 seater sports car would cost the earth. But heyho.

Plus pimped out vans are cool, everyone in college loved my van.

Insuring a van at 18 will probably be impossible, my friend tried on a 1.3 escort van and it was over £2,000 lol

Quote from lukelfs :

Insuring a van at 18 will probably be impossible, my friend tried on a 1.3 escort van and it was over £2,000 lol

thats weird, at 18 if using for commerical puposes i could insure a focus van ( 2.0 tdci ) for 800 euro... pay 200ish commerical tax and laugh at my friends paying 3+ for a 1.3 starlet/colt etc


OP... polo estate... diesel prefferably... ugly, slow but generally owned by the 40+ year olds who treat cars somewhat decently & you can make it poser spec by putting on bbs alloys...

you win either way no ?

Quote from lukelfs :

Insuring a van at 18 will probably be impossible, my friend tried on a 1.3 escort van and it was over £2,000 lol

1.3 means going back into the 80s and a petrol, what do you expect? It needs to be relatively new. The newer the cheaper.

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

1.3 means going back into the 80s and a petrol, what do you expect? It needs to be relatively new. The newer the cheaper.

What you said, yeah found a 08 Clio for £1000 (it needed work) and insurance is really cheap. It's funny how newer better cars are cheaper then older ones

Quote from tbofram :

What you said, yeah found a 08 Clio for £1000 (it needed work) and insurance is really cheap. It's funny how newer better cars are cheaper then older ones

its the sub 15 year old rule and i suppose common sense as far as maintenance goes... parts are everywhere, if their common as muc theifs won't want em etc... or is that what they just klead us to believe as everyone buys up cheap french ecoboxs as a means to navigate this recession...

meh, its monopoly and we must all do our part, enjoy the new banger.

Quote from tbofram :

It's funny how newer better cars are cheaper then older ones

They're also waaaay safer in an accident = less payouts to pedestrians/passengers/other victims = lower premiums.