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Realistically I\'d make the, less than common, suggestion of the Toyota Starlet - the model which preceded the Yaris. Sensible is the word to describe it........cheap but competent and not entirely unattractive and being a Toyota, it\'ll not give too much trouble. Try the usual publications or ring round Toyota dealers for one (especially South coast dealers i.e. Bournemouth and Eastbourne - it\'s a car that may well have been a \"one elderly lady\" proposition.
KB.
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More realistically I\'d make the, less than common, suggestion of the Toyota Starlet - the model which preceded the Yaris.
While it\'s a good car, you rarely seem to see them all that cheap. I\'d say you are more likely to get a Corolla of a decent age in that budget range. FOW have an 01 1.4 GS for £6k, and I\'ve seen some in the T or V reg range for around £4k. Not sure how the insurance will pan out, but the Corolla is more common so may not be that much more.
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Hi
>>>>>>>Fiesta 950 or 1.1
Whats a Fiesta 950 they stopped making those in the first part of 89 the engines are as follows
1.0 HCS 1.1HCS 1.1CFI 1.3HCS 1.3CFI 1.4cvh 1.6cvh
Regards
J Stephenson
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leatherpatches - very good. I see you are developing a sense of humour.
Serious suggestion - Skoda Felicia.
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Blimey - quite taken aback by all the replies so soon. Thanks v much all.
Not sure about building ourselves - we had too much trouble with a B&Q hammock the other week. Like I say this family knows *NOTHING* about cars, and no helpful friends locally either :(
She likes the idea of careful old lady owners! (and we live in Sussex) infact was tempted the other day by an unlocked Golf GTI (silver) left in our local village by a woman she swears looked about 90!!!! (what a waste she said - shall we follow her home?)
Seriously some good ideas to chew over. Have looked on a good site for sample insurance quotes (young lady driver) which nearly all come out about the £1,500 mark, but will do 6 months cover for exactly half, and allow you then to claim some NCD on renewal.
Like I say - her father wont accept the most obviously sensible solution for an older car...so... a friend has the offer of a Corsa 1.7 Diesel Comfort (Elegance?) in September for about £5,700 - a year's insurance is quoted (first quote) at £1,447 with daughter and two parents to drive fully comp (£100 xs)
Car will be one year old.
What do we think of that? (put yourself in her place - no comments about hairdressers and girlies pl cos frankly, she's no hairdresser, but is def a girlie)
(btw tallest in family is 5'7")
(please remember how clueless we are about cars/mechanical things - we always have to go to a garage for the least little thing! and buying from someone we trust would be worth a bit to us)
Thanks again
ps currently own two Hondas (have also had two different models previously)and never had a single problem with any of them, that's the kind of motoring I like :)
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If you're set on a newish car, look for ones that include free insurance. Your example of the Corsa will cost over £7k in the first year. I don't know if the offer will cover someone that young (a lot are over 21 only) but you can get a new Yaris T2 for about £7k with a year's free insurance. Ford, Nissan and Vauxhall often seem to do free insurance offers so look around.
Personally, I still think a much older car would be more sensible - less loss if she scrapes or dents it due to inexperience and will give you much more spare cash to play with.
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I would buy a toyota yaris in your situation. They are cheap to insure, economical to run, and they have a VVC engine. Also, the rear seat bench slides so you can either have leg room in the back with no boot or vice versa - cool feature i think.
The fact that she is 19 though means you may be able to find a free insurance deal somewhere? I.e. if you spend slightly more on something like a New Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 sxi or a VW lupo, etc.
Good luck though on whatever you decide to buy
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With insurance for young drivers, you really have to be careful about mandatory excesses. I've been looking for insurance as a 22 year old and found that most insurers seem to demand an extra few hundred quids worth of excess for anyone under 25. It's important to check this, for example Direct Line insist on an extra £400 excess for drivers under 21, and £250 for drivers 21 - 24. Then, on top of this add the Voluntary Excess. Can reach up to £600 with Direct Line! The best quotes I've found have come from Direct Line, Tesco, Admiral, and Elephant, although I doubt you'll be able to get much better than around £1400. It's also might be worth finding a new car that offers free insurance, as it could potentially save money longterm.
Someone previously mentioned Toyota Corollas as a possibility, though IIRC they have high insurance rates, around group 7 or more. A Yaris is probably a better choice. I was looking at small, newish cars with low insurance about two years ago, and eventually decided on a 2001 Nissan Micra 1.0 S. Well built, reliable, and an extremely easy to drive car. Not particularly interesting, but cheap to buy and run. You could easily pick up a 1 or 2 year old Micra with about 10,000 miles for £4500.
Personally, I would avoid the Peugeot 106 and Citroen Saxo. They are tinny and just don't seem well built. Also, not all models come with Power Steering. Every friend who owns one has broken down at least once. I'd stick to something Japanese. Anyway, good luck!
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Some rather bizaare advice coming through here.
I couldn't possibly recommend that you buy your car at an auction. Auctions are for the canny buyer who knows his cars, knows what faults to watch for, and doesn't mind tidying up small faults on the car that usually come as part of the package with auction cars.
At your price range you should be looking to buy something less than five years old. You also, from an insurance point of view, will want nothing over 1.2 litres. I would recommend you look at: Punto, since you've already mentioned that, Renault Clio 1.2, Peugeot 206 1.1, VW Polo 1.0, Fiesta 1.25 (try one of the later ones, Ford improved them several times), Toyota Yaris.
Buy from a reputable dealer, that way if anything goes wrong you can take it back and get it fixed, not so with auctions or buying privately.
Have you thought about selling your own car, since you say you don't use it much, and sharing a car with your daughter?
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Those of you impressed with your remarkable sarcastic/ironic/whatever wit failed to impress me. This is a sensible thread, with a sensible question. Therefore I deleted the reply and a couple of other things which referred to it.
Keep your style of wit where it is appreciated, might I suggest the nearest secondary school, but not here.
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Someone previously mentioned Toyota Corollas as a possibility, though IIRC they have high insurance rates, around group 7 or more.
This is true, but for a driver of that age the grouping seems to have very little difference, so if you can get a newer car for the same money, it's worth considering. I think I was quoted with £50 for all cars from a group 2 Micra to the group 8 Tipo I eventually bought.
The old-style Micra was running out at about £6k a while back so I agree that you should be able to easily get a fairly recent one within the budget. Only slight concern is that as HJ points out, they aren't quite a crash-worthy as newer designs.
Agree about avoiding Citroen / Peugeot - heard nothing but bad about the smaller models.
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when i started learning to drive my dad was the same, didnt want my driving about in an old wreck, we looked and looked and looked some more and finally i got a brand new nissan micra, dad persuaded them to give my three years FREE insurance, at the time to be insured on a 1.0 micra was over 1000 a year, i think we paid roughly 8k for it so basically i could have had a 5k car and paid an extra 1k per year for insurance or pay all 8k up front hich is what we did.
That micra was the best car i had from all of them, it never never ever let me down once always started first time and the dealers were helpful and nice and understanding that i was a new driver. I had two accidents in it im afraid to say and it looked after me both times.
I would strongly recommend the old shape micra to anyone, it may
not be the coolest car on the road but it was cheap and reliable.
Also by chance my driving instructor had exactly the same car so i didnt have to get used to driving differnt ones!!!!
My sister had a new yaris when she learnt to drive and still has it, its brilliant and the same as the micra never any trouble. the only thing i would say is that even if she had wanted to she couldnt take her test in the yaris due to the dials being digital and angled towards the driver. The examiner needs to be able to see the speed you're doing so if your daughter is taking her test in her own car, thats something to consider.
A normal dialled car means you can keep an eye on her speed if you go out with her as well!
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Why spend so much ? Is it because you hope that will buy reliability ? I bought one of my daughters (also 5feet 2 ins) a Fiesta for £400. It never broke down in four years and in that time the only items apart from regular service were new tyres. I bought my other daughter a Fiesta costing £1500 and thats needed nothing in three years except tyres and a battery. I bought my wife an eight month old Fiesta in 1992 and thats still used every day and has never broken down and the only major service item has been a new clutch at six years. Regular service items are simple and cheap and so is insurance.To my mind there is little point in spending a lot on money on a car which will be a first car used mainly for short journeys. But change the oil at much shorter intervals, preferably every six months no matter what the mileage is.
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Sprinter - if you look in here again, I wonder if you are looking for a 22 year old girl's insurance? as I found the site I have been using excellent. Not sure if I'm allowed to promote it on here but basically it's young lady driver dot etc. (uk) - asks very few questions so is quick to use and you can play around with makes/models easily. Top excess is £150 if that helps, and like I said you can do 6 months for exactly half the full cost and then re-insure which seemed a good idea to me. This seemed to be the site to beat. I think there is a companion site for 'young men' ? but I have connection with them, just a find from google.
My daughter's not worried about having a fun or interesting car to drive - just a car! We just want her to be safe and sound, so build quality is important.
I'll be printing off all the replies and making a short list to confront my other half with!
Thanks again.
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Just before you print off the replies, may I just add one?
A friend of mine was looking at a deal with the base model Saxo (Citroen) with a years free insurance. You'll need to check this out but he says £6000. He is looking at this for his son when he passes his test.
Some of these free insurance deals exclude under 21s but he doesn't think this one does.
H
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I'm not alone in saying that the Saxo (and the very similar Peugeot 106) are not good cars to have an accident in. Not a lot better than a Metro, which is definitely a most unwise choice regarding passenger safety.
Given the requirements here I would still say buy something smallish from a Japanese maker. The price will determine whether it's a Yaris or not - but if funds do permit then it would be the most sensible choice by a decent margin, given the availability of them plus the running costs plus the reliability plus the safety plus the.........well almost everything except boot space.
I still say the Starlet would be a good second choice, but agree there are few about - but then you're not buying a dozen, you just need one decent one. I'm on my sixth Yaris so I suppose I would say that wouldn't I?
Check the insurance on the Corolla, otherwise another excellent one to go for - try to get a decent private one or use a dealer and do all the checks and take someone canny and clever with you to sort through any waffle the dealer may offer.
Stick to the smaller engined versions.
Take an Advanced driving course and test (or Pass Plus) to reduce premiums. Always remember the seat belt - a friends teenage daughter was recently in the back of a car that was rolled over by a young thug who drove in to the side of the car and who drove off (but arrested later).....and she received only minor injuries having been strapped in place and not thrown all over the place.
Good luck and safe motoring.
KB.
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If you can stretch to £6k, what about the brand new Daihatsu Charade? Japanese reliability, good warranty, exceptional spec and safety for the money (including ABS, EBD and twin-airbags) and near 60mpg economy. Dunno about insurance, but bound to be very low. Apparently, it even drives well.
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Daren't print yet as the replies are still coming (thanks again)
To answer a couple of questions ? only reason we?re thinking of spending more as we are hoping for trouble free motoring, like I say we are both useless and don't do anything to our own cars - always go to the garage. My other half is especially cautious, and tbh possibly a bit of a ?car snob? regarding manufacturers etc. We have totally trouble free
experience of Honda and Toyota, but that?s about the extent of our knowledge - except having prob's with an XR2i.
I suppose though, it's not going to be the end of the world if we got a car and need to get rid again pretty swiftly . We've just never been in to this kind of thing, hence all the questions. Couldn't possibly tackle an Auction!!!
Don't want to sell mine and share a smaller car on three counts really
1. Mine is 6 years old this August and I have taken the big hit on the price. It's worth more to me than to anyone else I think (it's a Honda CRV ES Auto, and I love it to bits)
2. Other half will either begin using his company car again this Autumn (in which case I wont have use of it any more) or the company will discontinue the car policy, and he'll lose it - in which case my car is still ok for our family car, he and I would share, and the company would have to hire one for him if necessary for his work.
3. I didn't want to put her on my policy, which has a 9 year No Claims Bonus on it at present.
Our local paper has a Starlet for sale as follows:
1995 N 1.3CD 5 doorPAS, elec win's, sunroof etc. That's £3,595.
Same garage has a W (00) Yaris 1.0S 3 door 16,000 at £4,995
There?s a private sale of a Saxo LX 1.1 1999 V reg 26k miles FSH MOT/Tax in vgc with fsh ? they want £2,950
Based on all of those prices, I think Dad would rather stump up some extra for new.
There?s a Daihatsu Charade new EL 3 door from £5995 with ps,abs,dual airbags, central locking, elec front windows, cd tuner and height adjustable steering wheel. (0-60 = 12.2 gives
58.9mpg combined) ? metallic is extra.. Inc 3 yrs warranty and roadside assistance.
At that price would it be a good buy to look after and keep for the younger daughter to inherit ? (she?s 15)
I can also see a limited edition (think that means awful colour) Punto Active 3 door with cd, free insurance (can?t see restrictions) and 3 year warranty at £6,595 ? ad doesn?t give any technical details though.
OR, of course, there is the Corsa that I mentioned first off ? about £5,700/£5,8000
1.7Diesel with extras, metallic, balance of warranty ? only about 8k miles, and just about a year old, but has been used as a courtesy car. Would be coming through someone we
trust though.
I know I sound unsure (that?s cos I am) but given that spending £3k or less, or up to £6/7k isn?t really much of an issue, so much as getting the right car, at the best deal,
I want to have done plenty of homework before working on the other half ;) (sssh you are sworn to secrecy right!)
There's nothing like being clued up before you start a 'serious' discussion, right?
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It's obvious you're giving this issue your best shot and that's excellent. It sounds to me that you're not going to be happy with 'second best' if 'best' can be had at on reasonable terms. It also seems that as you're happy with Toyota that could be half the battle. The new Daihatsu has to be worth looking at and driving before purchase. Is there a Daihatsu dealer near you? There aren't as many of them as some other makes.
If you can get free insurance on a Yaris (and they are offering it at present, but check the dealer to ensure age limits)then I think you would be best off with one of those. Check the brokers who deal in UK supplied vehicles (not imports).... there are several. See mention of them on this site or if you can't find them ask here and you'll get the details. Check Carfile for a quote (Type CARFILE in to Google).
Armed with all that then try your local dealer to see if you're happy there, if not get the best price from a broker and go with them.
From what I gather from your posts here I reckon you'll be pleased as punch and will have made the right move.
KB.
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KB - cheers, you're right, I would go for more cheap and cheerful if needs be, but my other half isn't a 'settle for' kind of a chap really - even though this is all about our daughter, rather than us (meaning a 'main' family car)
Strangely enough, although we live in the sticks, there is a main Daihatsu dealer about 6 miles away, they advertise the Charade, and also say 'offer the largest selection of pre-owned Daihatsus in the south east'
Going there would have the advantage of establishing a relationship with the garage who would look after the car - which is what we have always done before.
SO, she and I will toddle off there and torment them tomorrow, and meanwhile I will follow the other advice and research the Yaris, both over the net and locally.
Much obliged.
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"leatherpatches - very good. I see you are developing a sense of humour."
I'm not sure everyone is, though.
My serious suggestion is you take a look at the cars that driving instructors use. They are sure to have thought long and hard about their choice of vehicle, although they may be too new to fit within your price range. They often have small diesels, that are hard to stall etc. Don't buy an ex instruction car, though...
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