I would appreciate the thoughts of the collective -

My twin girls are 17 soon and I have agreed to fund driving lessons and the first test fees for them.

Now assuming they both pass I would like to get them a cheap ( sub £1000 ) car.

They will need the car to get to college etc as buses are non existent.

We live in a good rural postcode area and I think they will be OK with a limited mileage policy.

What would be a good choice of car, and does anyone have any suggestions of suitable insurance companies.

Many thanks,

Adrian

stay away from the norm ie corsa's fiesta's etc as the boy racers have made the premiums for these notorious cars unaffordable

I'd go for something genuinely boring like a little Kia and keep it totally bog standard, keep in mind to that teens (male and female) tend to drive like total nut jobs so small wheezy engines keep them safer and puts off ideas of stupid overtaking.

Kit cars especially the older ones can be good too as the insurance is always cheaper for young drivers, an old Quantum for example would be spot on, even a Jago Jeep may do the trick

I'd also take out the radio! try and make them look out the windows rather than fiddling with a CD

[Edited on 17/11/12 by Mr Whippy]

I got mine a 106 pug a couple of years ago, easy to drive, no rust and £400

It's a pity that 2 hours after passing her test she rammed it into a focus...... That aside cheap insurance and very easy to drive with clear view to reverse.

Unfortunately you have to expect it to be destroyed within the first year, stats do not lie inexperience so better to have a disposable car.

Since then she has had a fiesta 1.25 that used a lot of fuel and is now 20 driving a mini 1 which has been with her for 18 months now with no damage.

Missed the last bit, insurance companies.

You need to argue the price down, haggle haggle and then ask for a bit more !

I gave her a budget of £1000 for the first car including insurance which she managed to achieve, insurance started out extremely high say £1,500 by adding myself as a second driver pulled it down, the first 4 months pre test, then it rocketed once she had passed so you have to work out which is cheaper in the long run. The low starts for learners have a huge hike so are not economical over 12 months.

Setting the budget and leaving her with the phone for 2 hours was worth a very big saving in the end, she does know how to argue.

Her tips are.

Do not accept the price offered, tell them what you are willing to pay.
Do not talk to the call centre, ask to speak to the manager or the underwriter
Do not fill in any on line forms such as money supermarket as this is then shared between organisations and they will try and stick to the on screen price, get the phone numbers and call.
Ask if there is any way of reducing such as secure parking, second and third drivers etc.

She works for an insurance underwriter now.

Note first year on Peugeot was £600
With crash on fiesta £750
Mini with 1 years NCB and crash back to £650

Most people under 21 pay £1'500 minimum, she can argue and argue and argue.... I know

Make sure you go for a non GTI 106! Now that I look back I'm glad I didn't get a 106, got the classier 206 instead!

I actually couldn't believe how cheap it was to insure a 106, everyone I knew who had fiestas and stuff were paying twice what I was getting quoted for a 106, and as a 20 yo the 206 1.4 was the same price to insure as a 1.1 106 so it was a no brainer!

Although to be truthful, this car was just to give me no claims and to let me go collect kit car parts

I hope after all that I don't end up wrapping it around a tree, just ripped my hands raw putting a new clutch cable in!

Our daughter has just passed and is loving our Mini (proper 998)
We bought the car with her in mind, but the missus uses it for work (as do I when I get the keys) and so daughter is a named driver. Uses it mainly to go to work 3 eves a week, and the occasional run around to wherever.
Inurance was £280 pre test, £680 when passed. Would have been about 50% more in her own name.

Don't think the car would suit your 2? rural roads are notorious. Small, diesel, pug I reckon........

Just been through this with my daughter in August. Try Collingwood Insurance, they offer a learner only policy with just me as the named driver for £499. This is on a 53 Ford KA which she bought herself for £550 with less than 60k on the clock . Cracking little car, spares are cheap, beware of blown Cat Convertors on anything, can be expensive! Luckily only the link pipe on hers which I managed to sort with a bit of help from here. Goes up a lot once they pass, but by putting both mum n dad on policy it drops it quite a bit. She in bed still and I can't remember who offered best for this....

Can't add anything to the suggestions above, but sympathise on the double cost front of twins. Ours are only 4 and the double hit on everything is already wearing the wallet ragged

I would just stick some random cars into gocompare or something, insurance never makes sense at the best of times. I went from a 1.6 Astra to a 2.5 Vectra, and with everything else staying the same the Vectra was cheaper to insure!

If they were boys, I'd have suggested a dull repmobile, perhaps a low engined Mondeo for instance. But with girls I guess you do still have to give them something that looks like its 'theirs' rather than their dads. I think Pugs fit the bill quite nicely.

Diamond Insurance offered the best deal after passing (she hasn't yet). Paul Fisher on here used and recommended them if it helps. Good luck !

We got my Son a 52 plate 1.2 Polo when he was learning, to help supplement his lessons. He now uses it daily, it is the 55bhp version, so I think the lowest insurance group.

Done over 10oK miles, but still drives lovely. We replaced the front suspension bushes and other bits last year, which has tightened it up again.

I also like that it seemed very well put together compared to other makes we looked at. Airbags etc.

EDIT: Quinn Direct for us was the best insurance.

[Edited on 17/11/12 by karlak]

Rover 25 cheap as chips and has has a very low an insurance group as you are likely to find, look for the low insurance group 81ps version, you can spot these by the throttle body which is restricted by having a throttle butterfly that only opens about 45 degrees. They are easy to work on and parts are cheap.

Because of the low insurance group some fall into the hands of boy racers, just look for one that has a sheltered life.

I'd strongly recommend an Aygo/C1/107 as they are a doddle to drive with great visibility all round and are group 1e insurance which is about as cheap as you can get. They are also a sturdy car in a crash as my 17 year old discovered when she made a mistake at traffic lights and turned across a Citroen Xara. The Xara was written off but the Aygo was repaired and is good as new. I commute 120 miles a day in it and average 54 MPG at motorway speeds and have seen 65MPG at lower speeds.

Great little cars.

Good luck!

T-reg pug 106 1.1 is what i had £650 i payed for it had it for my first year not a single problem passed its mot and sold it for £675

Had the 106 gti after that again no issues however last owner had replace rear beam ...

As others have said, get them something unusual, that most learners dont have. Its all about the stats.... Saxo's etc get written off regularly and therefore are expensive to insure, i had a 1.7 puma as first car, insurance was cheaper than any of the small normal cars.

I know of a 1.4 Fiesta for sale shortly.

1999, 6m tax & Mot, good tyres, new exhaust inc cat. £500

Looks tidy.

Paul G

Thanks everybody for all the replies..

All excellent advice.

I had been thinking of a VW Polo and from the posts that seems to be the way to go.

907 thanks for the heads up but I would want to buy a bit more local.

Nick 205 you ain't seen nothing yet! Wait until they get to school!

Thanks again,

Adrian