Son about to be 17!

[Hilux]

What about a Mark 1 Golf

Classic car insurance available on them and old style Mini`s(not available on Mk 2`s) and is about half the cost of a more modern car to insure. Simple engineering to so he`ll learn about cars and parts are so cheap and available its a no brainer. Get a good rust free 1.3L for £1500 ish and you cant go wrong

 

[ocallen]

Idea I've had is a really early 900 Saab. Followed one today and it looked brilliant. Lots of car around him and non turbo.

 

[sawood12]

I love the old Saabs. I'm sure Neil will be along soon to offer his seal of approval too. I think he might get away with reasonable insurance with one of those on the basis it is an old car, so not worth much. However what capacity engine has it got? That might be the killer

 

[Fat Albert]

Having had 6 SAABs (5 turbos) I would advocate them as a fantastic mile eaters and performance cars, but from an insurance point of view, at 40 years old, my 944 turbo is half the insurance of my old 2001 9 3 turbo....

 

[Alpine]

get a Volvo 740 according to Top Gear tonight !

 

[ocallen]

I watched it with the son in question, he was not impressed with the Volvo.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I watched it with the son in question, he was not impressed with the Volvo.

Ahh, the foolishness of youth! [8|]

For a start my 940 Turbo (high pressure) was one of the best cars I've ever had. It was surprisingly quick and a real q-car, and you could fit an entire band and their gear in - useful for a teenager.

More importantly, I had an Allegro when I passed my test. It was the laughing stock of my peers, but it made me look sensible to potential girlfriend's parents. This had some advantages that outweighed the embarassment of driving it. []

 

[tref]

Hmmm... I seem to recall they had reclining seats that went all the way back too...

 

[si30boxsters]

There are NO advantages to an allegro.......you are clearly delusional or sick!

My chevette was ace by the way Tref.......an L, matt green, low miles only ever had one problem when it spewed its 4 star all over the hot engine! Oh and the focus is the best car I have ever owned.......(not including the porsche of course!). Having swapped from a BMW 3 series coupe to a focus I am a total ford convert and would never go back to a so called "premium" manufacturer. Might even get a mondeo next!!

 

[tref]

Yep, the 1098/1159/1256 engines had a habit of doing that - fuel line connection to carb over the exhaust... My HA Van set fire to itself in that way. I still maintain that the Chevette was crap though... even in it's day it was basic compared to the competion - no sensible engine upgrades, trendy rectangular lights that, er, didn't light, and no reclining seats.
Go on, get back in one for a daily commute and tell me it's good!!!

I have a personal opinion that car design hit an all-time high around the mid to late eighties - they seem to rust less than cars before or after, go on for two-three thousand miles easily, feel solid, well appointed without silly electronics (window switch not working? Sorry sir, that comes as a sealed unit as part of the door)...or maybe that is just the VAG group.

Back on topic... does it still apply that estates tend to be in a lower insurance group than saloons, or did Audi kill that with their (rather good) turbo quattro concoctions?

 

[satancom]

Get him one of these... Convertible, bags of power, can sleep in the back, awsome for camping, drive through anything and selectable 2wd for the road

I think its faster than my 944 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jyQfY9Kky0

 

[ChasR]

Whilst I agree it's best to build your NCB up early, insurance from what I can tell is becoming more prohibitive every year! I remember a mate of mine paying £2000 TPFT on a 1.4 Focus with a £1000 excess!! Yes, he may have saved a bit more money than I did on insurance, but not an awful lot and tbh I wonder if it's even Stevens now! (FWIW I've been on my own policy now for the last 6 years).

Allegro he'll definately get cheap on classic car insurance. A mate of mine had a mint Allegro L on a W plate with 22,000 miles. Super reliable and practical. He was paying £150 a year but then as said, there are reasons for why this is so!

Minis I think aren't as cheap on insurance for youngsters as they used to be. Dolomite 1850HLE could be another contender.

 

[pwebb]

Lot of sensible advice above - so a bit of personal experience to follow. My eldest son had a couple of Clio/206 when 17 and then, as others have said, father's passion had rubbed off and he got the opportunity to buy his grandfather's 944 with an auto box. Pretty much worthless car (rusty round the edges) and a lot of money on insurance, (insureyourmotor.com) but taught him to drive a lot better than before. Also the experience of being stopped on a regular basis by the local constabulary (just a routine check, sir) meant he was much more aware of good road manners and speed limits in and around town.

Now he's built up a few years of no claims, and another 944 has been and gone, he's now on his first Cayman with the prospect of the insurance market opening up as he's just turned 25.

By the way, the best deal out there is to have your son as a named driver on a car with Direct Line, and each year of no claim on that policy that he builds up counts towards his own policy in the future. My daughter has been a named driver on our 206 for five years and when she comes to buy her own car will have maximum no claims bonus immediately. Makes a huge difference.

 

[sawood12]

I seem to remember that Tiff Needel once advised that the ideal first car for the driving enthusiast is a Morris Minor. Rear wheel drive and low grip means it can be used to teach the finer points of car control without having to go very fast - and insurance is very cheap. I guess it depends if your son wants any street cred though.

 

[si30boxsters]

i'd love a morris minor!!

 

[Landroverstormer]

I had a Renault 5 GT Turbo as my first car back in 1991. I saved forever, and when I collected it from the garage with my Dad the salesman said "You must be mad letting your son drive something like this."

As it was my pride and joy and cost me a lot of money I made sure that I looked after it and drove within my limits as I didn't want to smash it up. I'm not sure if a £500 banger would command such respect?

At the same time my Mum had an MX5 which I was insured on but only drove occasionally. I have to say that in the wet and with little driving experience it was lethal, and it was only the 1.6 version.

I suppose it all depends on the character of the 17 year old who will be driving the car..... if he's sensible then why not!

 

[ocallen]

Dolomite 1500 is a new consideration but the insurance thro' Autotrader's lists comes up with him alone anything £2.7k-4k+, on my insurance £1k+. This is on a car bought for approx £500.

 

[ChasR]

Try Lancaster or Peter Best for insurance. For the MGB I pay £100 a year on insurance Fully Comp. On the comparison sites I did not get a quote cheaper than £250. Go figure.

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

I had my 944 S2 when I was 18 and the insurance in my name was about £5,600 in my mother's name with me as a named driver it was £2,990 but I can't remember what a 924 would have been though I did check back then.