Middle age men and... sharing a car with a teenage daughter

[dtype38]

Thoughts of being the proud middle aged owner of a convertible or a hot hatch have sadly been overtaken... (excuse the pun). Number one offspring is rapidly approaching 17 and is very keen on having her own car. That isn't going to happen for many reasons, but I have suggested a compromise. I'm prepared to downsize my big automatic saloon to a smaller manual car for us to share, BUT, only if we can find something both she and I will be happy to drive about in....

Her suggestions are one of those new Beetles, complete with big flowers on it, or perhaps a new style Mini (preferably convertible) or maybe one of those cute Fiat 500's.

Good grief! I still have some dignity, so definitly none of the above. I was thinking something more like a nice 1.6 Focus or perhaps Astra, but after consultation it seems these are "Old Men's" cars!

So, suggestions please! Something with appeal to old and young, and preferably not tooo expensive to insure....

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by dtype38

Her suggestions are one of those new Beetles, complete with big flowers on it, or perhaps a new style Mini (preferably convertible) or maybe one of those cute Fiat 500's.

Given that choice - my first preference would be a '12 Beetle with decent alloys, seconded by a 500 abarth. Both should be 'manly' enough.

[dtype38]

I did say :

Originally Posted by dtype38

......and preferably not tooo expensive to insure....

I just ran those pics past her and she said "don't want anything with a Turbo thing, or racing stripes and stuff like that.... Too boy racer!"

Can't say I disagree

[Dave Brand]

How about a Citroen DS3? I'm much older than you & it certainly appeals to me, but I don't think anyone would consider it an "old man's" car - looking at the "how old are you" polls on DS3 fora the median age of owners appears to be around 25. Same (petrol) engines as Minis, without the ugliness, & much better quality (speaking as someone who's suffered three Alfas) than anything made in Italy.

My opinion of Citroens was always that they were cheap & cheerful. With the DS they have managed to build a car with a real "quality" feel to it; two & a half years & 21,000 miles experience suggests that the beauty is more than skin deep . . . absolutely nothing's gone wrong. I've never had a car that's attracted more compliments in over 40 years of car ownership.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Dave Brand

How about a Citroen DS3? I'm much older than you & it certainly appeals to me, but I don't think anyone would consider it an "old man's" car - looking at the "how old are you" polls on DS3 fora the median age of owners appears to be around 25. Same (petrol) engines as Minis, without the ugliness, & much better quality (speaking as someone who's suffered three Alfas) than anything made in Italy.

My opinion of Citroens was always that they were cheap & cheerful. With the DS they have managed to build a car with a real "quality" feel to it; two & a half years & 21,000 miles experience suggests that the beauty is more than skin deep . . . absolutely nothing's gone wrong. I've never had a car that's attracted more compliments in over 40 years of car ownership.

I like that idea.. for me.. except the dealer network here is patchy at best.. with a new importer as of earlier this year.

A yellow one was parked in front of me at the shopping centre last week... looked very nice..



A white one is pretty good too...



I guess you can pretend to be Sebastian Loeb

[garcon]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

I guess you can pretend to be Sebastian Loeb

I suppose there is that, but then I remembered that Sebastian Loeb is an anagram of O lesbian beast...

[Tim Falce]

Something like a standard punto, Clio or Corsa or expect to pay more on insurance than you will for the car.

[Adam43]

Fiat Panda? I actually want one of these. The thinking man's 500.

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Fiat Panda? I actually want one of these. The thinking man's 500.

Had one of those as a courtesy car when my car was in for service. It the previous model, so the new ones may be better, but I was very disappointed. Apart from the dangerous lack of performance (it was a base model), the big centre console rubbing against my legs & the cramped pedal layout, the main thing I remember is that at 70mph on a motorway you couldn't hear the engine . . . or the radio, or any attempt at conversation; I've never driven a car with such such horrendous tyre noise.

Having said that, the last time the car went in for a service we had a Citroen C3 as a courtesy car; that too was unimpressive. Apart from the again, lack of performance in a base model & the cheap-looking interior it was an unpleasant car to drive. The suspension was terrible - soft & underdamped, making it handle like a pig - not so much "turn in" as "flop in" when attempting to drive round a corner. You can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Dave Brand

Had one of those as a courtesy car when my car was in for service. It the previous model, so the new ones may be better, but I was very disappointed. Apart from the dangerous lack of performance (it was a base model), the big centre console rubbing against my legs & the cramped pedal layout, the main thing I remember is that at 70mph on a motorway you couldn't hear the engine . . . or the radio, or any attempt at conversation; I've never driven a car with such such horrendous tyre noise.

The new model is better, but I haven't driven it much. Mrs43 is potentially going to replace her car. I'd like her to get a Panda, but I think she'd prefer a replacement Focus. Not a bad car, but I fancy something even smaller for short journeys. Her choice...

[bella]

now come on, everyone knows a panda is a clown car that you own, but don't take seriously

on a serious note: had a new clio as a hire car the other week. sat nav wasn't bad, the pluggy inny ipod display on the screen was pretty cool and it looks pretty badass too! it was the diesel one, managed climbing up the alps far better than i was anticipating and practically ran on air. fairly big boot space, the seats were renault standard granite but like i say... really nice car.

[crmalcolm]

Kia Soul?

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by dtype38

So, suggestions please! Something with appeal to old and young, and preferably not tooo expensive to insure....

Suzuki Swift ? at least give one a look !

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Suzuki Swift ? at least give one a look !

Or a new shape Fiesta? I've only driven a diesel one of those and it lacked a bit of poke but other than that was fine.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by dtype38

Number one offspring is rapidly approaching 17 and is very keen on having her own car. That isn't going to happen for many reasons,

Just get her her own cheap runaround and you get your hot hatch or whatever it was you wanted. Tell her when she buys her own car she can choose.

[Pure Fiater]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Just get her her own cheap runaround and you get your hot hatch or whatever it was you wanted. Tell her when she buys her own car she can choose.

That's what I did, An Uno for my daughter and a Mk1 Punto for my son.
That was a few years ago now. How about a Mk2 Clio fairly cheap and 1000's out there..

[MagnetON]

Dacia Duster!

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by MagnetON

Dacia Duster!

Are they still making them out of Renault 12 parts ?

[grantp]

Beyond the first year this concept is not economically viable. It will also drive you insane.

Panda has just attained the world record time for CapeTown to London so has to be, er, cool,. Not sure for whom.

Eldest had a new Punto as first car. Ran it for 5 years, middle three at University when it doubled up as a shoe storage facility. Good move. At the end pof yher course, when she was on holiday, the house was burgled and they nicked the car keys. Car was still parked on the street when she returned. Unlocked, no keys but no shoes missing either. Result!

Nasty thing though. The headlights decided to go on (and off) a trip of their own at 5 years old. Fortunately she was just at the point of qualifying for a company car scheme ...

dtype ... sorry, you're barking. It can't be done. Moreover the benefit (siomewhat less than it used to be) of daughter obtaining her own NCB rather than potentially trashing yours has to be factored in.

Currently I have the oldest car of any family member. It is, hoewever, the fastest.

Might be a closer run thing now that elder D has returned from a soujourn abroad and invested in a used BMW 325d. But I think I still have the edge on performance and at least I don't drive a BMW!

[Pete Howarth]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Are they still making them out of Renault 12 parts ?

Made in India in the same factory as the Nissan Micra.

[bella]

adam, for dinky toy cars, i've had a couple of fiat 500s on hire and they're nice little things. emphasis on the little though - one suitcase took up the bootspace and whenever i went round a corner promptly, the case slid across the boot and kicked the back end out. wasn't too unstable on motorways though.

mind you, if you get a white one the interior feels a bit like a techno japanese toilet...

[dtype38]

Ok, some good food for thought there. Grantp has some interesting advice about her building up NDC and keeping it clear of my own, but I'm not sure these days what the rule are about who is insured and who owns the car. I know that if it's my car and insurance, she can't use it as if it were her own etc etc, but can she insure herself for a car she doesn't own? Or would I need to give her the money so the car was in her name. Interestingly a friend in the same situation said putting her daughter on her insurance or having her own made little difference to the cost. ie the loading for adding a teenage daughter was as much as getting her own. Will have to test that myself.
Anyway, back to the car. I hear what you say grantp, but I think there are some possibilities for a compatible car. I'm also thinking that it will only be for a couple of years until she's off to uni and then I'll give her the car and buy myself something else. So, fo example, I drove one of the new 1.2 Corsa's as a courtesy car two or three years ago and was impressed. I thought it would be gutless, but it was surprisingly spritely, probably because they don't weigh much.
After having the new one pointed out in the street, my daughter has also thawed a bit on the new shape Fiasta. I'm tempted by the newish Econetic (sp?). The 1.6 is tax exempt and does a gezillion to the gallon. Only trouble is they've only been out three or four years and are holding their value well. Perhaps a 1.3 petrol would be better fro a learner. As for a DS3, I would happily buy, just need to amputate 25 years first! Not keen on a Fiat, never driven a good one...

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by dtype38

Ok, some good food for thought there. Grantp has some interesting advice about her building up NDC and keeping it clear of my own, but I'm not sure these days what the rule are about who is insured and who owns the car. I know that if it's my car and insurance, she can't use it as if it were her own etc etc, but can she insure herself for a car she doesn't own? Or would I need to give her the money so the car was in her name. Interestingly a friend in the same situation said putting her daughter on her insurance or having her own made little difference to the cost. ie the loading for adding a teenage daughter was as much as getting her own. Will have to test that myself.

Rule of thumb for insurance companies is declare everything truthfully. It doesn't matter who owns the car and who is the main driver as long as you don't try and scam them. If she's using it more then put her as main driver and it may even pay to register it in her name. For the cheapest companies for young drivers insurance go to Admiral or Elephant, but not Bell, they're all the same people. If you make her named driver then add a couple of other older people (you and Mrs P) with good driving records and you'll be surprised how much the premium tumbles.

As for a car a newish car wont be any dearer to insure than an older one, it's often cheaper tbh. Most cars now are safe so you really need a compromise of reliability and style. The new Ka and Fiestas are good, Mk3 Clios seem to be OK compared with the MK2, my daughter's one has been good so far. For ultimate reliability go for a Japanese car and if you do then Toyota is the way to go. Citreons are only good for one thing and that's rapid depreciation compared with everything else. Fiat 500s and Minis hold their prices because all the hairdressers and estate agents want them plus the Mini is a BMW so that's good enough reason to stay clear of them.

Good luck and welcome to the world of sleepless nights when she's out gallivanting in her P&J at your expense

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by dtype38

As for a DS3, I would happily buy, just need to amputate 25 years first!

Don't worry, the car will take the years off for you!

(Speaking as a 69-year-old DS3 driver)

[peckstar]

If it was my teenage kid i would be getting them safest car i could.

Hospital beds and coffins are never cool, so why should their car be