Why buy a Citigo for a 17 year old?

[gt40]

Hello all you Citigo folks!!

 

Here's my conundrum: I am considering buying a car for my 17 year old daughter for when she passes her test (hopefully by the end of the month) and I really want to buy her a Citigo, however.....

 

.... I have found a VW up! Take up! on a 14 plate, pre registered, with 10 miles on the clock, 3 doors, white for £7,500.

 

I bought her elder sister a Fiat Panda, and it's turned out to be one of our favourite cars on the drive, but the Citigo/up!/Mii are a bit ahead of the Panda, I think, and I dislike our local Fiat dealer, whilst the local Skoda dealer seems like a good'un (I have a Mk3 Ocatvia).

 

Main requirements are Group 1 insurance and er.... that's it really.

 

My question to all you Citigo folks is: why should I not buy the up!?

 

I would like a Citigo but I can't find one of similar value (pre-reg) and there's an enormous wait for a new one.

 

Any opinions? 

[mannyo]

I really would not buy a brand new car as the first one, go secondhand and much older, at least if she then damages it in some way you'll not feel so bad.. My first car was a 10 year old mini, my brothers a 14 year old Fiesta, and my sister a 10 year old Panda. Buy something for 1K, keep it for 12 months and then look for something new/newer.

[Neily03]

I really would not buy a brand new car as the first one, go secondhand and much older, at least if she then damages it in some way you'll not feel so bad.. My first car was a 10 year old mini, my brothers a 14 year old Fiesta, and my sister a 10 year old Panda. Buy something for 1K, keep it for 12 months and then look for something new/newer.

 

This.

[Feebet]

Put our daughter on Citigo insurance as a learner and then when she had passed her test. She now drives the car more than us.

 

Result = 2 kerbed alloys, 1 bashed wing mirror, numerous car park dings and the car is a **** tip inside every time she returns it. Not to mention running on fumes lol.

 

Buy something cheap as the others have said

[ColinD]

As great as these new little cars are... I'd go with something a bit more battered.

 

Then in 12 months... it will mean far more.

 

But you know all this, you were a first timer once and who knows what promises/relationship you have..

 

So to answer the question, up v citigo.. there is nothing between them. If you are buying on price, maybe. Availability then the prereg new appears to have the skoda beat. There must be some citigo's burning a hole on the forecourt managers printer budget. 

 

I was going to order a new sport, didn't want the wait, so we walked the forecourt and I got 80% of what I wanted in a 4 month old one. Which takes us right back... it does not need to be new and there are loads of second hand 60ps ones in the UK at less than 7k One bum or two or three previously in the drivers seat, it's a moot point. It's a new car to your daughter to be safe in while she finds her way.

 

HTH.

[bucksoctavia]

The new Hyundai i10 is a worthy contender.. Far more kit as standard & discounts available...

[Th3Grinch]

Dont by anything that needs an exclamation mark to draw attention! think it comes down to the cash aspect really. Although I do kind of agree with the guys who say an older car to get used to driving would be better.

[bilun777]

Buy the UP for your eldest daughter,and let your 17 year old inherit the Panda for starters?

[gt40]

Thanks for the responses folks.

 

The new versus old issue is a complex one due to insurance costs - when I bought the Panda the cost to insure was c£500 p.a. for a new one and between £1500 & £2500 for three year old car. The insurers are terrified of the third party risk and the risks are lower with new cars.

 

Therefore £7k for a car plus three years at £500 and 50% depreciation = three year cost of £5k

Buy a car for £3.5k and insure it for three years at £1500 (low end) with depreciation, say, of £1.5k = three year cost of £6k

 

So it's not so simple.

 

Yes - the i10 is a consideration - a good value car.

 

@billun777 - ever heard of the term sibling rivalry?  :think:

 

 

ps - just done a quick comparethemarket quote for the up! and the range was c£650 to......

 

...wait for it.....

 

£18,272!!!

[philhoward]

Group 1 cars are thin on the ground - I think it was the Panda or the Up/Mi/Go at one point?  Crazy thought that a new car is cheaper than a 3 year old one when factoring in insurance, but economics rule.  Son of a friend insures a Renault Scenic turbo diesel which is cheaper than a Fiat Punto of a similar age - but he does have a couple of years driving under his belt.

 

As to the original question - sometimes you can drop on a pre-reg deal which is worth snapping their hand off for.  Nothing in the cars apart from dealer and appearance (the Up! being the ugly duckling of the trio in my opinion).  Have you tried the Skoda dealer incase there's something in stock at a similar deal - if you prefer having a Skoda over the VW?

[silver1011]

Suzuki are offering the Alto with 0% VAT for £5995 on the road.

[gt40]

Suzuki are offering the Alto with 0% VAT for £5995 on the road.

Alas, it's group 4 insurance.

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[MickA]

I priced up insurance for my daughter last December, new driver, she passed her test only 2 weeks before I started with some quotes for her. Best I could get was on an 08 plate Picanto which she now has and pays around £570 ish if I remember correctly. As a comparison I did a quote inputting my Citigo details and it came back considerably more but not too bad at around £1100 for a new driver.

So unless there's some other factor involved in your daughters quote then I experienced the opposite with newish car v older car. Just to add my daughter is considerably older at 28. And I would go with most others on here, don't get a brand spanking new car, we've all been there when a new driver, a few dinks and scrapes here and there. When my daughter visited last month I had to try and smarten up her car in at least three areas where she had had mishaps whilst parking and filling up at the petrol station. She's more confident now and hasn't conatcted me recently saying dad I've @@@'?? my car again.

Edited 13 May, 2014 by MickA

[gt40]

I priced up insurance for my daughter last December, new driver, she passed her test only 2 weeks before I started with some quotes for her. Best I could get was on an 08 plate Picanto which she now has and pays around £570 ish if I remember correctly. As a comparison I did a quote inputting my Citigo details and it came back considerably more but not too bad at around £1100 for a new driver.

So unless there's some other factor involved in your daughters quote then I experienced the opposite with newish car v older car. Just to add my daughter is considerably older at 28. And I would go with most others on here, don't get a brand spanking new car, we've all been there when a new driver, a few dinks and scrapes here and there. When my daughter visited last month I had to try and smarten up her car in at least three areas where she had had mishaps whilst parking and filling up at the petrol station. She's more confident now and hasn't conatcted me recently saying dad I've @@@'?? my car again.

 

The differentiating factor is age. There are three thresholds for a young driver (19, 21, 25) where achieving decent insurance quotes becomes more likely. Your daughter has passed all three. The other one insurance companies like/dislike is having three years experience.

 

For 17 year olds, in my experience, it's easier and cheaper to get insurance on a new Group 1 car.

 

For what it's worth, #1 daughter has been driving for three years now and there's not a dent/scratch/mark on the car/wheels. She did have to do a speed awareness course after about a year though, and it's a bit of a tip inside most of the time.

[MickA]

My daughter doesn't go fast enough, I keep on at her to speed up and keep up with the traffic, but hey ho it could be the opposite way.

[learnwithmike]

The Citigo is a great little car to choose.

I am running an SE Greentech for my driving school, fabulous economy and easy to get on with. My customers love it.

[Guest]

The Citigo Sport I currently drive is my second car, my first being a 1999 Nissan Micra, 1L. I've got to be honest with you, I would firmly recommend going for an older car for a year or so. Not necessarily for the insurance costs etc, but when I was getting used to driving on my own, the Micra took a bit of a battering - little more than grinding gears, kerbings etc, but dings that both you and your daughter would probably rather avoid having on a shiny new car! I found that having an older small car was a very good way to break into driving, and I certainly learned some things from driving it that I find useful - not having a rev counter or trip computer etc forces you to pay more attention to the feel and sound of the car, and older cars tend to pop up more self-fixable issues, just little bits and bobs that give you a basic introduction to how cars work, without worrying about messing around with warranties etc.

 

All in all, for the experience I would say go for an older car. If you decide against this, I can think of no reason why you should go with a Citigo instead of an Up!

[bluecar1]

Why buy a citigo over an up ,

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/313470-auto-express-driver-power-survey-citigo-straight-in-at-number-2/

 

and where did the UP! come ?

 

I think the biggest thing is not having to deal with VW dealer who are so UP! themselves

[Jrjg]

I really would not buy a brand new car as the first one, go secondhand and much older, at least if she then damages it in some way you'll not feel so bad.. My first car was a 10 year old mini, my brothers a 14 year old Fiesta, and my sister a 10 year old Panda. Buy something for 1K, keep it for 12 months and then look for something new/newer.

Once your daughter has gained a year or two no claims - then it's time to start looking at something new/newer.

JRJG

[Toxicvrs]

I started off in a 1.2 Fabia (2004) absolutely loved the car and still at 17 am hoping to buy another one soon as I found it perfect for me as a young driver! Dash cams also helped reduce my premiums further!

[bucksoctavia]

I'm sure you'll know this, but put yourself as a named driver on her policy. All legal and above board, she is main driver etc., you are just the named driver as you will need to move it, take to the petrol station! etc.

That reduces the insurance price considerably.

 

[silver1011]

Alas, it's group 4 insurance.

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Wow, that does surprise me.

[gt40]

I'm sure you'll know this, but put yourself as a named driver on her policy. All legal and above board, she is main driver etc., you are just the named driver as you will need to move it, take to the petrol station! etc.

That reduces the insurance price considerably.

I have a multicar policy and it's generally easier to add a car to that and play around with the main/additional drivers (in an honest manner). Separate policies can be a nightmare.

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[horkin]

Hi gt40,

I tend to differ in my opinion from those above.

I have always believed you teach kids with the best quality car or anything else they may be learning. It is unfair to put them in anything less than you can reasonably afford and her driving will be so much better as a result.

Poor equipment is something any professional would struggle with so why expect children to use it?.

I think your choice of Citigo or Up! would be perfect as a starter car. An old car can have heavy clutch, poor brakes etc., and lack the reliability which is important, especially when the driver is a 17 year old girl.

It's just my thought of course but I would go Citigo as I love Skoda and it would be a cool car for the young lady to start her driving career.

Go on spoil her, you know you want to

[Damo]

+1

 

Go on spoil her, you know you want to

 

Agree with horkin

 

My daughter is 17 in January and will be starting driving lessons (luckily my wifes an instructor)

 

If I could afford a Citigo for her, I would.