my younger brother is just turning 17 and needs something to learn to drive in.

Been scouting Autotrader and found this.

Auto Trader UK - SEAT Arosa 1.7 SDi S

Seems like a good throw away car. Anyone know if they are any good? Cheers

He'll be stung for insurance, as it's a diesel, and it's foreign...

We've just bought Katie a Ford teapot, cheap ( well, relatively ) insurance, cheap to fix when she bends it, and suprisingly quick and nimble for me to hoon about in...

agreed, just go for something thats quite common and petrol

1.7, when did vag make that engine?

I'd say get a fiesta or corsa with a 1.0 or 1.2 for the first year as they are cheap to repair. Get an older one that is cheap, such that if he scratches it he won't care about repairing it on the insurance and that could be a good way to build up no claims.

I originally had a corsa 1.5td as my first car however never got round to insuring it in my name as they was quoting silly money. Ended up getting rid and buying a saxo furio. Although saxo insurance is quite high for young drivers now really!

1.0l Citroen AX

It'll be a 1.9SDI

But stone me thats cheap!!!!

will see if this fits my sisters bill.....provided it isn't sold.

Any 17 year old will get stung for insurance no matter the car.

TBH you'll be better off getting driving lessons with a proper instructor and things and saving any additional cash for a car+insurance.

Will companies insure people with a provisional licence?

No.... they did a 1.7SDI although i think its the old school diesel engine that seat used in the Malaga and MK1 Ibiza in the late 80s not sure could be way wrong........

The cheapest cars to insure are the Ka and the 1.0 12v Corsa. You'll pay a bit more on the 1.7 Arosa simply down to the size of the engine.

Looks like it was a 1.7 although could only find the details for VW but think its exactly the same unit.

60 hp 1.7 SDI

engine code

AKU

configuration

1715 cm³ inline 4, bore 79,5 × stroke 86,4 mm

head

SOHC 2-valve per cylinder, 19.5:1 compression

block

cast iron, five bearings

output

44 kW (60 hp) at 4200 rpm, 115 N•m (85 ft·lbf) at 2200 rpm

fuel

distributor injection pump, direct injection

aspiration

cast aluminum intake manifold, cast iron exhaust manifold

application

VW Lupo, VW Polo

Would definately recommend something old, small, cheap and petrol though.

I started with a MKIIF Polo Coupe 1.0l and loved it!

Very nippy (although mine was only 4spd) and pretty good on fuel and handled like a go kart!

Cheap to buy too... Mine was immaculate really and cost £400.

For my first car I went for a Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort.

Will companies insure people with a provisional licence?

Yes.I passed my test in June and was insurued beforehand with a provisional license. When I passed the price stayed the same (DirectLine) but you need to watch out as lot of people seem to charge more once you pass.

Yup I did the same when I passed. Had my polo insured and went out practicing etc with my dad in the car. That was some years ago and I think I was with Norwich union and the price didn't change once I passed either.

There are also some companies that do deals in your first year of driving. 6 months cover. You pay slightly more a month than you would for a 12month policy but you get a years no claims at the end of the 6month period.

Phil

Thanks for all the tips people. Funnily enough I have been looking at 1.0 12v corsas. They seem to be the best bet. Cheap as chips and group 1 insurance.

That Arosa could be a good buy for someone as an ultra cheap runabout though. They must do 60+mpg no problem.

I had a 1.0 AX (briefly before it blew up) and you could almost touch the road with the door handles as you went around a corner. I also had a couple of the old polos. (F reg with about 1,0000000000 miles on the clock which I couldn't kill but ended up rolling on a country lane and a G reg which I couldn't kill either and ended up selling for £100 more than I paid for it + 20,000 miles!)

I'll keep scouting autotrader.

Cheers all

Edited 17 March, 200917 yr by KLM

As a thought...insurance is probably going to be £1k+...is it worth paying that much to insure a £500 car (esp. as you're likely only going to be going TPFT on that)? Personally I'd rather the car I was driving was worth more than the cost to insure - even if that meant saving for longer/financing. The advantage of that is also you end up with a newer car, which is likely to be safer (a priority for an inexperienced driver?) and more reliable (might not be a priority).

For about £3-4k you could pick a couple of year old Aygo/C1/107 - cost very little to run, fun to drive, decent crash stats, and they're that basic that if any of the few things on it fail out of warranty it won't be expensive to repair. Insure it fully comp, build up some NCB and then it should still be worth something when it comes to trading it in for something better.

Of course, it's something of a...feminine...car, but that'll be character building.

Rob.

As I said, we've just bought the daughter a Teapot, 16k miles, 04 plate, 1 owner and absolutely mint, for 2.5k.

Terrific little thing, cheap as chips to run, and relatively cheap on insurance.

FWIW it's also often cheaper to insure fully comp, with an excess the same as the value of your car (£500 car, £500 excess), than to take TPFT.

That is definately worth knowing. Cheers for that.

I have been looking at the Aygo and also the Panda (both of which I rather like myself especially the Panda 100hp). He seems to like the Aygo but not the Panda for some reason.

Building up NCB assumes he is not going to wreck it

Do insurance companies still do those fast track 10month policies? that equate to 1 years no claims