Best first car for an 18-year-old new driver?
My 18-year-old daughter has just passed her driving test. We would like to find her something to drive and would appreciate your advice. We are looking for a used small car. We are keen on Volkswagens, a Polo would be ideal but we are surprised how expensive second hand Polos are when we have looked around.
Key concerns are safety, ease of driving, and something we won’t have to spend a fortune on servicing going forward, which we fear may be a risk with an older but more affordable car. Also insurance costs have to be factored in.
Is it the case that the market is particularly difficult at the moment or do you think we could meet our brief? Would it be sensible to buy an older Polo or would this be false economy in the long run?
Key concerns are safety, ease of driving, and something we won’t have to spend a fortune on servicing going forward, which we fear may be a risk with an older but more affordable car. Also insurance costs have to be factored in.
Is it the case that the market is particularly difficult at the moment or do you think we could meet our brief? Would it be sensible to buy an older Polo or would this be false economy in the long run?
Asked on 20 October 2022 by Clare fawke
Answered by
Lawrence Allan
We really need to know your budget to give you specific advice on which cars to look for, it's very difficult to without. With safety a key concern we would not advise looking at pre-2000 models when crash safety requirements were pretty lax. The usual suspects include the Ford Fiesta (fun to drive and cheap to run with the 1.25-litre engine), Vauxhall Corsa (also cheap to run and loads about) and Toyota Yaris (strong reliability reputation). As VW Polos command a premium you might be better off looking at the SEAT Ibiza or Skoda Fabia, these use the same engines mechanicals as the Polo underneath. Older generation cars can actually be more affordable to own due to their simplicity, while a well looked after model with plenty of history should mean all the key failure points of the car will have been taken care of. An older model that's been taken care of with lots of receipts is a better bet than a newer model that has high mileage and hasn't been looked after.
Tags:
buying a used car
first cars
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