What's the best, cheap first car for an 18 year old driver?

What's the best first car for an 18 year old driver? I need something older and cheap. My budget is about £1500 - £2500. Also, how do I check if the car has any issues, i.e. outstanding finance, been involved...

What is the cheapest car for my 18 year old son to insure?

My son has just passed his driving test, could you recommend a few small cars to insure? He has a budget of around £1000 for the car and I'm expecting the car insurance to be high.

What cars are still reliable over the 100,000 mile mark?

I'm looking for a cheap to run car which will be reliable, but over the magic 100,000 mark, as I do plenty of miles and don't want to crucify value. Ideally for about £2500. I do enough miles (12,000 plus)...