To my mind it is absolute proof that you don't need to waste money buying a new car every year. Before the inevitable replies slagging me off read on.
My everyday car,a Yaris 1.4 TD Terra, is 6 years old. Starts every time, is very economical and can go fast if I want to. I also have 5 classics including a Rover P6, Triumph Toledo, 1935 Austin 12. all maintained and regularly used. So I'm not exactly anti-car am I? Read more

In my corner of suburban nirvana I’m surrounded with families with three and four cars. One for mum, one for dad and one for each driving age offspring. It’s a modern estate so the streets are somewhat narrow and choked with too many cars.


Almost all of them have new or nearly new cars on PCP or contract lease which is to me utter madness when it comes to a first motor. These cars have to be returned in a sellable condition or large fees will apply and you can guarantee that a new driver will add a few too many dings and scratches. Often it’s with a little parents help but usually the cost is met by newly employed teen, taking a big percentage of their early careers earnings and more importantly increasing the time they’ll be living under your feet.

People seem terrified of older cars, believing them to be unreliable and unsafe but I argue that they’re not and to land young drivers with a crippling monthly bill is unwise and only delays the day they can stand on their own two feet with head held high. They’ll be with you in their 40’s if they get into the PCP/Lease trap of a costly new car every few years.

My neighbour has a nearly new VW Polo GTi at age 19, which is taking most of what he earns between HP and insurance. It’s c******d him and he now can’t stand the loss of face that would come from downgrading in his mind as all his friends are doing the very same. It’s a lovely wee car but it’s taken a few knocks already and will no doubt end up going through a hedge at some point.

I argue that a cheap older car is the right way to begin your motoring life. Something that is cheap and cheerful. A car you had to lovingly search Gumtree or Autotrader for with a strict budget in mind. It’ll teach you more, it’ll be more fun and there’ll be no finance, no PCP with limited mileage, no contract lease with strict damage clauses. You buy it and run about in it care free, if done right.

What then constitutes the best first car in your opinion? I say cast the net wide and look based more on condition and providence. But a shortlist can still be made from cars that have a good reputation for longevity and ease of maintenance.

I suggest that the ideal price range be between £1,500 and £3,000 for such purchases. Any more and it’s going to be too valuable to stand all those learning curve dings and bashes but any cheaper and you’re delving into true bangernomics where only those with knowledge of the dark art should lurk with their kids first cars.


Citroen C1 1.0/Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo 1.0 - Tiny 3cyl Daihatsu engine and costs buttons to run. Resists rot well and is as cheap as it gets for insurance. Simple and reliable yet fun to drive. A good example is easy to find at this money.

Mazda 2 1.3 - A hoot to drive with the same basic suspension and floorpan as the Fiesta but uses a bombproof chain driven Mazda engine. Again £3k is plenty to get a really nice one.

Ford Fiesta 1.25 Mk V post facelift - Cheap as chips yet fun to drive and reliable. £1,500 will buy a really decent one.

Ford Fiesta 1.25 Mk VI - Nicer looking and better made than above but prices are much higher. Watch for mocking electric steering racks.

Kia Picanto 1.1 - Cheap as chips because it’s utterly unfashionable. Reliable, simple and very cheap to run.

Suzuki Swift 1.3 petrol - A joy to drive yet utterly reliable and quite cute too. Hard to fault as a first car.

Toyota Yaris 1.0/1.3 - Probably the best all-rounder. A good bit more space than the Aygo and a bit safer, more comfortable and better built yet not much dearer to run. Not particularly exciting to drive but look after it and it’ll run and run. A great cheap runabout.

Nissan Micra 1.2 K12 - One of the last reliable Nissan’s. Simple and robust yet cute and good to drive these are also cheap as chips now. The 1.0 is ok but the 1.2 is better. Unappealing to the boy racer brigade so few are abused. Watch for electrical issues on more complex versions. Stick with basic models.

There are of course other reliable options at this money such as the Honda Jazz but few teens, male or female would thank you for one. The Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 can be ok if looked after but they’re cheaply made, drab inside and usually abused by younger drivers. The 1.0 tends to eat timing chains too. I’d favour the Japanese engined cars above particularly the Swift, Mazda 2 and Yaris. I only wish I was 17 again I’d listen to the wisdom of others and I’d avoid the money pit MG Metro I had for my first car.
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Just been trawling through thousands of photos I’ve taken over the years, and think I have found my favourite motor . It’s the MB 500e (W124 chassis) from the 90s . 5 litre V8 lifted from the SL , and a few tweaks from Porsche. Not massively powerful, but a fast comfy saloon . Discreetly flaired wheel arches , it could be a 200e , to the uninitiated. Left drive only , but who cares . Read more

I have some neighbours who are a mixture of The Simpsons and The Science of Stupid types. Not suprisingly, we dont get on with them. Even the woman's 'boy friend' is stupid.

A few years ago, while driving out of our cul de sac and more interested in waving goodbye to his concubine, he drove his Nissan GT-R over our rockery stones and wanted me to pay for the damage to his carbon fibre splitter. Solicitor's advice told him to foxtrot oscar so he came back one wet night to drive over the lawn and leave lovely tyre tracks.... Read more

Hello, I've been reading these forums and it seems like a good place to get advice without being trolled. I parked in a supermarket a couple of days ago and when I got out of my car, the car next to me had a huge white scuff mark (both cars black). My issue is, I didn't see or hear my car door touch theirs and there isn't a single mark on my door. The mark on theirs was about 12 inches tall and 3 inches wide, so I thought that can't possibly have been me, to get that sort of mark, surely you'd have to slam your door into theirs. I know nothing about car paintwork, it didn't appear to be a scratch, but was a large white mark.

I didn't think much more about it until I got home. I checked my door again and there isn't a mark on it, but there more I thought about it, the more I can't help thinking that maybe I could have done it. The mark was V shared and my door is that angle (I have no clue if that's common of a lot of cars). Every car I've owned has been scratched/dinged in car parks, so if the wind had caught my door and it had slammed into the car next to me, I would have stayed till they returned (I know how frustrating it is).... Read more