First car for 17 year old son

[Budlet]

My son is about to buy his first car. Does anyone have any suggestions for a car which is not going to cost the earth to insure and has a small engine so he can't go too fast (I would love a sewing maching on wheels for him!!!). Price up to �5000. Thanks.

[Bewlay Bros]

I would go for a 2.0 DIESEL Golf.

Biggish engine, but the diesel will bring the insurance right down.

Further it will hold value well, cheap to run, has street cred for a 17 year old and for 5 k should get a nice one.

[milly143]

My first car 4 years ago was a 1l VW Polo. A p reg set me back 1500 then so for 5k you could get a newer model and VW's are in general reliable cars. A Polo wouldn't have quite as much umph as a golf and was cheap to run insurance wise as well as all the other costs.

[geff_p]

5 k is quite a lot for a first car i would suggest... would you not consider getting him a cheap punto for his first yr whilst he really learns the roads then trade up for something worth a bit more. his premium would come down too after a years no claims. just a thought...

[shivvy]

Hi Budlet. Consider having a look at this site http://www.euroncap.com/home.aspx which gives the ncap ratings for cars. Once you have a shortlist of cars, this site will give you info on which car is safest.
Failing the sewing machine, this might give you a little bit of peace of mind!

[weggiewabbit]

I�d say a Ford Fiesta is a safe bet. You could get a really good one for �5000! They�re very tough and reliable (I�ve had 4 of them), cheap to insure and cheap on parts. Most of them have small engine sizes, which are the cheapest to run.

[Budlet]

Thanks very much for all your suggestions.
geff_p I think you have hit the nail on the head - a small relatively inexpensive car is probably best to start with and get his no claims built up.
The joys of teenage boys!!

[sleepyj]

a clio nice cars