Cheap 17 year old lad car (for me)

theaterix

theaterix

theaterix

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Looking for as many first car ideas as possible really, currently looking at the 1.4 seat arosa and putting it on coilovers and getting a new set of wheels to take the edge off it a bit, as it looks box stock, but have seen people get them looking good with a few mods.

I am an apprentice Engineer and for the love of me I cant save (advice is appreciated), and im probably not too far off taking my test, but want to get some money saved up for the car first.

I also want cheap insurance, and a reasonably nice car, im a 17 year old lad, and I am not TOO bothered about it being amazing, but want it to look nice at the same time
 
I'll be honest, and please dont hate me for saying this, but just get the ecobox, leave it alone, and save all that coilover/wheel money to spend on something decent once you've finished the "young driver getting shafted by the insurance companies" phase of your life.
 
Haha you remind me of me... I wanted a Lupo 1.4 Sport and I wanted to put it on coilovers, I ended up with a 2002 1.2 Polo with AP Coilovers and 15" BBS RX2 split rims, but I never fitted either the wheels or the suspension and sold them and the car to fund the next car... :p

At your age insurance will be the biggest factor. Get quotes on a few things. Ibiza, Fabia, Polo, Fiesta, Focus, etc.

I also found apprentice to be a fairly expensive job title for insurance. So try alternatives which are still relevant and not misleading. Such as engineer, or factory worker (if its in a factory) for example.

Try getting a quote for a Polo 9N 1.4 Sport 100HP. They came back at the same price as a Lupo or a 1.2 55HP Polo for me, and they have a reasonable amount of grunt.

I'd also try a few wildcards like Mondeo's and other bigger cars, they can sometimes be cheaper.

Also phone up insurance brokers who mention a speciality in young driver insurance on their websites. Do a bit of digging. They can usually get a better deal for you...

Final bit of advice - Wait until you are 18... The difference in insurance costs between 17 and 18 are insane.

You need to fully expect your insurance to come in at around £2000, and anything less should be considered a bonus.
 
You're getting shafted enough as it is on insurance before you even start having to declare suspension mods to you insurer (which you would have to do). Suck it up and gain some driving experience for a few years with a stock motor. Cars will suck up all of your cash if you let them. Don't work your arse off for 8-10 hours a day just to run a car.
 
Suspension (lowered up to 50MM) and aftermarket wheels don't make as much of a difference as you might think, but the above is also a very valid point. Not doing the modifications could save you a few hundred quid on insurance. Plus decent wheels and coilovers even for a Lupo will cost £600+ and you need to budget for having the suspension fitted too...

You could get away with subtle things... If you have a bog standard Lupo for example, you could probably fit Lupo Sport wheels, BLACK 20MM lowering springs, and a panel filter, without declaring... But do so at your own risk.

e; Lupo = Arosa
 
Might be easier to answer if the op gave us some kind of budget...

Am guessing something cheap as possible with him saying about not being able to save and being only 17 on apprentice wage..
 
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Acme said:
You need to fully expect your insurance to come in at around £2000, and anything less should be considered a bonus.
Click to expand...

This it is completely wrong. Insurance depends on luck, the car and the area. I paid £1080 for my first year insurance when I was 17.

Then best thing I can recommend from my experience is buy a cheap 500-1000 banger, fiestas, clios and the likes. Leave it stock get s black box (at the size engine and age you'll be looking at its almost impossible to be poor ratings on a black box. I used to hoon my old 1.3 fiesta everywhere and my black black box rating was stil green the entire time.) if you keep this banger for a year or two you'll likely come to realise you'll have enough money to buy a an actually more sporty car rather than a big standard slug and make it look sporty as well as insurance won't be eye watering.

I spent 2 years driving my fiesta now I'm 20 I decided to upgrade and have an ST my insurance is just shy of 1k but insurance also did spike a lot this renewal.
 
As above really. Get something mundane, spend as close to nothing on it until you've built up some NCB (and hopefully some savings) so you can get something better as your second car.
 
Agreed as above. Your first car should be a premium reducing A to B'er.
I did the 1.2 nova stickers/alloys etc and to be honest I wish my dad had gave me a shake and told me to wise up.
A low powered hatch is never anything more than that no matter what exhaust, harsh tint or modifications you make so my advice is to pick as clean an example as you can and keep it shiny. Id be more impressed by a well looked after car than a modified for the sake of it one.
BTW for me the 1.4's, 2.0's and Subarus came a few years later but insurance was never a problem as I built it each step.
 
OP just to put in perspective, I passed my test 7-8 years ago at 17 y/o. My first year insurance was £1800 odd for a 2000 Megane 1.4 (albeit RT sportyish model)... my sister passed 3 years ago and got lucky paying £900 odd for 1.2 Corsa. But that was back when insurers were allowed to discriminate gender.

I'd hate to see what the prices are these days for new/young drivers! Luckily my insurance has gone down hugely each year. Think last year I paid £640 total for both Mine and the missus car.
 
Our apprentice passed his test two years ago.

He has to have a black box, prices without were stupid. His insurance specified no mods at all.

He spent a long time on insurance sites and auto trader.
He looked for cars in budget.
Then got an insurance quote.
Did that for loads of cars and eventually ended up with a micra with a tiny engine.
Its worth checking insurance cost on a wide variety of cars.

He isn't earning much so he just wanted the cheapest way.
I think he was very smart as he has now saved enough to get a black corsa that's much nicer.
 
17 year old male and cheap insurance doesn't go together now especially if your thinking of putting mods on it (these need to be declared if you don't you'll get shafted if a claim goes in) and most insurance will not cover mods in the slightest on a first car under 21.

If you are hunting for something cheaper to insure get something that isn't a 'normal' just past my test car. Honestly it's your first car you'll end up potentially getting scrape and bumps on it just make sure it runs well and build up your experience and NCB.
 
I had an S reg fiesta when I was 17, 1.25 litres of purple glory. Was somewhere around 900-1000 for insurance. Just get something to do the job and forget looking 'cool'..spending such money on mods for a crappy little car seems mad anyway :D

Bide your time and keep your money for better cars. Now I've breached the arbitrary milestone of 25 my 350z insurance is about £400 :p
 
Fiesta or Ka suspension is sorted already doesn't need money wasted on it.. cheap to repair will help insurance costs...
 
Cheap to buy/run car is going to get my usual Grande Punto recommendation. VFM wise I still find them hard to beat, they feel like a proper car unlike some of the little city boxes, cheap insurance (especially so if you get a 1.2) and IMO they look alright too.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I think whoever posted they managed to get insurance for £1k @ 17 should try doing a search now. Young driver quotes these days run around an average of £2K unless your running something like a 0.6L. Prices have been going up for years.

The average cost for a 17-22 year-old is already over £1,400/yr

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/young-drivers
Click to expand...

Haha when i was 17 it was £4500 for a 1l micra. AA wanted £16000. Yes sixteen thousand.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I think whoever posted they managed to get insurance for £1k @ 17 should try doing a search now. Young driver quotes these days run around an average of £2K unless your running something like a 0.6L. Prices have been going up for years.

The average cost for a 17-22 year-old is already over £1,400/yr

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/young-drivers
Click to expand...

You do understand how averages work... right?

In my experience, postcode has been the biggest single factor in my insurance prices every year since I started driving, followed by age and NCB.
 
Can't save? Lay off the booze and broads :D

That's if you haven't already :)

Checkout the fiesta mk6 1.4, enough power, looks, space etc
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I think whoever posted they managed to get insurance for £1k @ 17 should try doing a search now. Young driver quotes these days run around an average of £2K unless your running something like a 0.6L. Prices have been going up for years.

The average cost for a 17-22 year-old is already over £1,400/yr

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/young-drivers
Click to expand...

The reason it's so high is because people my age are impatient and don't look around properly for insurance. I paid £1080 at 17 3 years ago I'm only 20 now. Spend a few days looking around and you'll find it will be much cheaper than expected. But again it all depends on area, vehicle and luck.
 
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