Young People and Cars

[screenman]

My local indie said you'd cry if you saw the good condition cars with five or more years left in them that were scrapped. Thankfully we are now back to the situation where there are plenty of older cars around again.

I remember a Micra with 11,000 miles and a Fiesta with 13,000 being scrapped, the feeling of frustration is one that stays with me.

 

[Crackle]

For young drivers the issue is not the car but the insurance which would exceed the value of an old Banger, which is why a lease scheme including insurance is so attractive when, for most of us, it wouldn't be but if your insurance is 1500 a year it's a different story if you can get a new car and insurance for the same price.

 

[Piemaster]

Buying new is a mug's game. The very cheapest form of motoring is to run a banger that doesn't break down. And this requires a car that was built well to start with and has been looked after ever since. If he's not intending to use it every day then he needent worry too much about fuel economy, and run something bigger and/or an auto.

Excluding fuel my 940 GLE wagon costs less than £1000 a year to run.

Oops, sorry, no, this:

View attachment 147185

On another forum there was a young poster who had found it was cheaper to insure one of those than the usual small car suspects - something to do with image and safety.
There seem to be an increasing number of autos, or rather clutchless cars around now. Ferrari have just announced they won't be making anymore manual cars - so thats them off my shopping list then. Serves 'em right.

 

[Con]

I think you can't go wrong with an old skoda 1.9 tdi. Cheap as chips to service and very rarely go wrong. My last one had 357k on the clock (I'd done over 300k in it myself) when I sold it and was still running fine.the only problems I'd had were the electric window switches that cost £15 off ebay

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I think you can't go wrong with an old skoda 1.9 tdi. Cheap as chips to service and very rarely go wrong. My last one had 357k on the clock (I'd done over 300k in it myself) when I sold it and was still running fine.the only problems I'd had were the electric window switches that cost £15 off ebay

No electronic engine management

A collegue of mine had a half-share in a (black & white) taxi, with his broither
It was an Astra estate, if memory serves correctly, a 'N' plate with the Izusu derived 1.7 turbo-diesel
Due to age restrictions, by local Council on B&W cabs, he sold it to a mini-cabber, at about 3 years old, with over 350,000 miles

He told me recently, it's stil running, allegedly on original engine, at 570,000!!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I think you can't go wrong with an old skoda 1.9 tdi. Cheap as chips to service and very rarely go wrong. My last one had 357k on the clock (I'd done over 300k in it myself) when I sold it and was still running fine.the only problems I'd had were the electric window switches that cost £15 off ebay

No electronic engine management

A collegue of mine had a half-share in a (black & white) taxi, with his broither
It was an Astra estate, if memory serves correctly, a 'N' plate with the Izusu derived 1.7 turbo-diesel
Due to age restrictions, by local Council on B&W cabs, he sold it to a mini-cabber, at about 3 years old, with over 350,000 miles

He told me recently, it's still running, allegedly on original engine, at 570,000!!

 

[Electric_Andy]

Some of the lease deals which include insurance are quite attractive for younger drivers as insurance can be so ruinously expensive that running an old banger is not so attractive. I'd look at them. Average insurance costs for under 25's are about 1300 a year or more

I'd second this. My mate (31) just passed his test but the cheapest quote, even for a small banger, was £780 for the year. Luckily he works for the NHS so is now paying £130/month for a new toyota Aygo which includes warranty, insurance and servicing.

Just bear in mind that in my friend's case, he is not accumulating no claims discount, so after 2 or 3 years (whenever the contract is up) he will have 0 no claims, but at least he will have been driving for 2 years which might bring the cost down.

 

[Con]

No electronic engine management

A collegue of mine had a half-share in a (black & white) taxi, with his broither
It was an Astra estate, if memory serves correctly, a 'N' plate with the Izusu derived 1.7 turbo-diesel
Due to age restrictions, by local Council on B&W cabs, he sold it to a mini-cabber, at about 3 years old, with over 350,000 miles

He told me recently, it's stil running, allegedly on original engine, at 570,000!!

That was why I sold mine as it was too old to be a taxi .old diesel cars were so much more reliable than all this modern stuff fitted with dpf'so and dmf'so swirl flaps and so on

 

[PhilDawson8270]

the insurance which would exceed the value of an old Banger,

The insurance isn't just to cover their car though. It is to cover the damage they do to others, via personal injury, or hitting something else. After all, the repair job on a bentley costs the same regardless of whether the car that hit it was £500 or £50 000

Same as hitting a cyclist, or pedestrian, etc.

 

[tyred]

Could be worth looking into classic car insurance too

 

[donnydave]

My 1 Step Ego-less and stress-free vehicle ownership program, which I followed to the letter between 2010 and 2012:

step 1: go on ebay and buy the first K12 nissan micra that you see for no more than £500.

You're welcome.

 

[Crackle]

The insurance isn't just to cover their car though. It is to cover the damage they do to others, via personal injury, or hitting something else. After all, the repair job on a bentley costs the same regardless of whether the car that hit it was £500 or £50 000

Same as hitting a cyclist, or pedestrian, etc.

No I get that. My point was really about the cost of the insurance skewing your perception of what makes a good deal, which will be quite different if you're under 25, rather than some older fogey where insurance is not the main cost.

 

[bigjim]

Reading about young drivers, competence and insurance I was reminded of a recent story about a 26 year old Commercial Airline [easyjet I think] pilot and her 19 year old first officer. Who insures this couple? As to safety and competence issues? Looking at a Pilots forum, even the professionals were questioning this pair being in the same cockpit.

 

[dim]

an update on my daughter's visit to Marshall's in Cambridge today:

she ended up buying a brand new Ford Fiesta 1.25 .... monthly installments are £282.99 per month plus insurance of £50 per month

she is happy as it's the same car that she done her driving lessons with. She collects it on Friday

 

[screenman]

an update on my daughter's visit to Marshall's in Cambridge today:

she ended up buying a brand new Ford Fiesta 1.25 .... monthly installments are £282.99 per month plus insurance of £50 per month

she is happy as it's the same car that she done her driving lessons with. She collects it on Friday

Ouch! That is a large monthly commitment, not for the faint hearted.