Car Choice: The first-car conundrum: Budget too low, insurance too high

Andrew Bowler hopes that his daughter will pass her test soon and will be looking for a small, economic and reliable car. Andrew reckons that it will be used mainly for short trips, with occasional motorway use, and the estimated annual mileage should be around 10,000. With a budget of £1,000 and a high insurance premium, Andrew thinks that only 1-litre cars are going to be affordable, although the problem in his eyes is that the mileage on the clock will be too high.

A car for the head

Andrew wonders whether his budget is too small, whether the car he can find for his daughter will be worn out, and whether he is being wholly unrealistic. Well he is, because cheap first cars that cost little to insure are what everyone wants, but first-time drivers are an insurance liability, hence the high premium cost. For a small car, £1,000 is now a small budget, but an economical and reliable little hatch is what everyone wants. So often a £1K car may not have a lot of life left in it. There may well have to be compromises here. Insurance is unlikely to be less than £1,000 as a starting point. Also the expectations about the condition of the car have to be lowered to stay within that budget. There is an argument then, for saving hard and postponing driving for a year or two if that is practical. Certainly there are combined car-purchase/ comprehensive insurance packages designed to get youngsters into modern cars – youngmarmalade.co.uk is worth a look, but it will cost more than £1,000. I do think that 10,000 miles sounds like quite a big mileage for someone who is just pottering about. The quick fix would be a 1996 Ford Ka for £500, and to use that as a learning experience for a year and then move on.

A car for the heart

A Ford Ka may well fit the bill until something better comes along or some serious savings have been made in the piggy bank. Otherwise I would recommend finding a small Japanese car to ensure reliability, or a small European car which would usually be cheaper to insure and cost less to fix if it broke down.

Andrew's £1,000 is certainly not enough to buy a Toyota Yaris at the moment, which would otherwise be a good buy. The alternatives would be a Vauxhall Corsa 1.0, or possibly a Nissan Micra 1.0. Both would be cheap to buy, with the Corsa being in a slightly lower insurance group and the Micra being a tad more reliable. Certainly the mileage is likely to be in the 70K plus bracket, which I know makes Andrew concerned. He is right, as small-engined cars rarely crack the 100,000-mile barrier without needing a lot of work. However, it does matter how a car has been maintained, and just a few owners with a full service history would be good news, rather than patchy records and 10 owners. I found a Corsa for £549 with 84,000 miles and a full MOT. Worth a chance, I would say, until more money comes along.

Looking to buy?

Please write to Car Choice, Features, Independent on Sunday, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF or email James Ruppert at carchoice@independent.co.uk, giving your age, address and phone number, details of the type of vehicle in which you are interested, and your budget.