which car

[cheekything]

Which car should my 17 year old get

[andy hughes]

In terms of being inexpensive to run, and easy to maintain - a Mini is always a good bet. They are easy to drive and park, but not very robust, so bumps should be avoided at all costs.

Overall, the good points outweigh the bad with Minis - that's what I'd go for.

[BigB]

I think the Insurance group would partly govern this decision. Anything small with a small engine would be best. The best selling cars are normally cheaper to repair therefore cheaper to insure so i would go for Fiesta/Corsa type cars. French cars are normally a little more expensive.

[Paul87]

I agree with Big B Fiestas and Corsa are really easy to drive, are dirt cheap to repair and they overall a nice first car.

[Johnny blaze]

Vauxhall corsa 1.2 or a ford fiesta 1.25 ghia. Both from 1996 (P reg) onwards and make sure they are 4 or 5 doors for their mates.

[headrush]

It ought to be safe (see http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/introduct ion.php)
and cheap because (s)he's going to hit a lot of kerbs/bollards/other cars. But make sure it's appropriate - don't get a laydee's car for a son, for instance, or he'll never live it down, even if his mates still accept a lift in it.
Oh, and get him/her to work to pay for the insurance to instill some vested interest in driving carefully.

[madein1978]

I started off with a Vauxhall Astra when I was 17 and found it quite good, A car the size of an Astra or similar also behaves better if you are involved in something, I think superminis are unsafe, you haven't a lot of steel to protect you!