One for the Road: A first car for a learner
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Alex Newham is a 17-year-old learner and looking for an interesting first car. He is currently learning in a Fiesta.
A car for the head
Perhaps the most important thing is insurance. Being 17 is great, but insurance companies hate youngsters like Alex. There is no such thing as an interesting car because it must be cheap and cheerful to insure. This is always brings us back to pretty much the same cars. The default first car has always been the Ford Ka, which is slow, has a driver's airbag and is very cheap to run. They can be rusty, but any garage can service and look after them. A 2007 Studio model which is group 2 insurance is £3,000.
A car for the heart
The Peugeot 107 (pictured above), which is group 1 insurance, is a great, modern little car that is funky outside and in. It has a good level of safety kit and good crash-test rating, as well as the driver and passenger airbags that come as standard and a simple stability control. A 2007 1.0 Urban with 39,000 miles will go for £3,000; most seem to be with private sellers.
Looking to buy?
Email James Ruppert at onefortheroad@independent.co.uk, giving your age, address and phone number, details of the type of vehicle in which you are interested, and your budget
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments