Mirror, signal, manoeuvre your mouse onto deals for second hand cars because you’ve passed your test and you’re after your first car.
Picking your first car can be a bit of a minefield, mostly because the UK has some of the cheapest used cars in the world.
Luckily, we’re here to help. Below we’ve selected five super-cheap, reasonable to insure, and easy to drive cars that make brilliant first vehicles for new drivers.
Renault Clio
For the £1,000 mark you’ll be looking at a post-2001 Clio, which is great because this year saw a marked improvement in material quality when compared with older cars.
Generally the Clio is fun to drive and has low running costs. But best of all they’re dirt cheap because they lost the majority of their value early on and have continued falling.
Diesel engines are very economical, but petrol engines are cheaper to insure. Watch out for warning lights on your test drive, and check the immobiliser is working properly.
Toyota Yaris
Toyota has a well-earned reputation for reliable cars, and the Yaris is a model which has helped Toyota gain this notoriety.
Generally they’re a bit more expensive than the other cars on this list. But you might make this money back because they’re more reliable – therefore you spend less money on repairs.
The Yaris to go for was made between 1999 and 2005. Cars made from 1999 might be a bit rusty by now, so look out for that along the sills and boot.
Fiat Panda
If you’ve been to Italy in the last decade you will have seen hundreds of these little Pandas buzzing around. The Italians love them because they’re economical and cheap to run. Pretty robust too – and they’re cheap to repair as well.
Insurance and tax prices are enviably low. The engine is pokey enough if you enjoy revving the little 60hp engine too.
The good news is that this generation of Panda was made between 2004 and 2011 and sold well. This means there are plenty on the used market to choose from.
Ford Focus
A bit of a bigger car here, especially useful if you’re a first time driver who has kids or who needs a large boot.
There’s a huge range of engines on offer, but we recommend going for the 1.6-litre petrol. It’s smooth, economical, and generally reliable. And dare we say it, the Focus is more fun to drive than it needs to be.
Generally Focuses are pretty cheap to repair. But look out for slipping clutches as they can be expensive to replace.
Skoda Fabia
The Skoda Fabia you’re after was made between 2000-2007. This generation of Fabia cemented Skoda’s reputation for making solid and dependable cars.
It trades on value for money and the fact that it’s surprisingly practical. It’s roomier than a Volkswagen Polo from the same era.
Skoda’s dependable 1.4-litre diesel engine is the one to choose here. It’s not fast, but it is super economical.
