7 Cars on sale NOW, that the average 17 year old can actually afford!
A Poverty Petrolhead's First Car Guide.
We've been seeing lots of articles about 1st cars suitable for 17 year old, new drivers on DriveTribe. They're usually extolling the virtues of purchasing some £12,000+ Brand new hatchback on a £150 a month PCP.
I don't know about you, but when I was 17, I didn't have a job, I didn't actually have £150 - let ALONE £150 a month to spend! This is why I ended up going to the bank of dad and driving this:-
I hope you have some sympathy for me! The only thing I can say about owning the car, that could be construed as 'positive' is that it was a 'character building' experience.
The fact is, I AM a realist. That's why Poverty Petrolheads exists! Not everyone has a 'Bank of Dad' available for instant, interest-free loans that don't necessarily have to be paid back in full. So what can these guys get for their first car? I've done a bit of digging and here are my REALISTIC choices for first cars to suit impoverished 17 year olds.
1: Renault Scenic 1.6i Expression | £150
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
Okay, so this beast has been around the block a few times. It's done 136,000 miles so it's definitely already run in. It's also 17 years old, so it's probably had about four generations of toddler sick, wee and poo on the seats and possibly a trickle of incontinent granddad piss to boot. It probably smells like a squash player's armpit and drives like a dead cat with an industrial castor nailed to it's skull.
It's not going to set your pulse racing. It's probably not the perfect choice for your first trackday, but it works and it will seat four beer-swilling chavs along with the driver so despite being really crap, it might make you popular. No, you won't pull driving this. But you never know, she might accept a lift home in it, if she lives over 30 miles away, it's in the middle of a thunderstorm and you promise never to speak to her again afterwards.
Besides, beggars can't be choosers and if you're seriously considering spending £150 on a car, then you are probably actually worse off financially than at least SOME of the beggars in Stoke-on-Trent. Insuring it and keeping it going will be the only concerns, but at £150 you can afford to just throw it away or break it for spares if it stops working.
It's Crap, but at least it's cheap.
2: Red Rover 25 1.4 16v iL 5dr | £150
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
Do you like Werther's Originals? Do you wear corduroy trousers, braces and straw hats? it could be I've found the perfect car for you. If you're 17, but think you're 71 and like keeping a cushion on your parcel shelf, then why not take a serious look at this rolling old people's home. Sadly it doesn't come with a 19 year old beauty to wash under your foreskin for you, but on the bright side it won't pump you full of drugs then plonk you in front of daytime television to vegetate for the day.
It's VERY low mileage and a possible future collectors item. The last bastion of British Automotive Mass Production engineering, at least before it was flogged off to the Chinese for a pittance!
Two small warnings: One - the powersteering has called it a day. To be fair it probably retired 15 years after it's owner did, but you might want to get that seen to. Two - your mates WILL take the piss out of you. BIG style. Expect to be called J.R. Hartley and to be asked where they can get a copy of your book on fly-fishing. Expect to find crayon and post-it note, 'blue badge' mock ups stuck on your windscreen from time to time. Yes, you might pull, but sadly the only females impressed with this will probably be older than 78, half blind and have a minor heart problem.
A good choice if you aspire to be a coffin dodger.
3: Peugeot 206 2.0 HDi D-Turbo 3dr (electric sunroof) | £190
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
Peugeot have made some great little cars. The 106 Ralleye, the 205 GTi, The 205 T16! They've also made dozens of absolute dogs that you wouldn't drive, if you were given one FREE! This 206 falls somewhere in between. Somewhere between awful and 'alright, but dull-as-wallpapering'.
From a practical point of view it's an economical diesel with only 99,000 miles on the clock and if your'e a 17 year old looking for your first ride, well... It's only 1 year older than you. When you were born this was probably quite desirable for women in their mid-thirties looking for a shopping trolley or school-run taxi.
Yes, the interior looks a bit shabby, and you'd have to push the boat out a bit as it costs £190, £40 more than the other offerings, but it looks like it works and should give you at least 6 months worth of motoring before it dies.
I actually quite like the black alloys too! It's almost worth paying for £190 for this just for the wheels! Especially if there's a good 2mm of tread on the tyres!
Not particularly desirable, but better than walking.
4: Vauxhall Astra 1.6 i LS 5dr (a/c) | £199
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
If you can stretch to nearly £200 and get to Bedfordshire, this little beauty could be yours. Okay, okay... That should probably be 'this pile of crap' can be yours. But let's look at it seriously. It seats 5 it should be fairly economical and it should be cheap to repair. Scrapyards are generally full to the brim of old Vauxhalls and most of them will be Astras. Back in the late nineties, EVERYONE had owned an Astra at some point. Owning an Astra was almost a right of passage. You can recreate that magic with this and still have change from £200!
On the downsides, this looks like it has a few dings. It's basically sold for spares or repairs due to the age so that could be dealer-speak for 'something important doesn't work, but I don't want to admit it because you probably won't notice until you've driven it off the forecourt.' It also looks like it's been used to transport hay bales in the passenger compartment. It does have that classic face-off stereo that everyone had when it was still worth nicking stereos... So that's pretty retro. It's also only done 124,000 miles, so to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 'It's not quite dead!'
If it was me, I'd probably have this of the cars on offer so far. But only because I utterly detest Peugeots.
Awful, but at least it's not a peugeot
5: Mercedes-Benz A Class 1.9 A190 Avantgarde 5dr | £199
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
Okay so you don't fancy a knackered old Vauxhall, you hate French cars and you couldn't stomach driving around in the automotive equivalent of a Werther's Original. How about some German engineering? I admit, this isn't exactly a CLK GTR 500, or an AMG Black Line... But technically it's still a Merc! They actually made a handful of these with TWO engines in! I'm not sure if any went on sale. Sadly this ancient school-run taxi for people with slightly more brass than the the dole-dossers in the crumby council flats, isn't one of those.
It's cheap though, it's roomy. It should be reasonably economical and the build quality shouldn't be bad. Yes, buying it and driving it would probably amount to some sort of self-inflicted public humiliation... But it'd get you from A to B, at least until something broke and you were hit with a repair bill for several times the cost of the car. Might not be the cheapest to insure.
Still awful, but at least it's german.
6: Ford Focus 2.0 i 16v Ghia 5dr | £200
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
Now if any of you 17 year olds are like me when I was 17, you're in a band. Let's face facts, karting around four band members, plus a full drum kit, three guitars, three amps and a PA system is NOT going to work in a poxy little hatchback. It WILL however be doable in this Focus Estate! To make matters even BETTER , it's the Ghia! So you get a bit more chrome and slightly nicer fabric on the interior. Yes the paintwork is pretty shoddy now, but does that matter if you're going to get it vinyl wrapped with the band's logo? Okay the interior has seen better days, but it's not worth splitting hairs over! If it's going to become your band's tour bus, the interior will permanently stink of cannabis within 3 months anyway so...
The downside to this example is the mileage is a bit high. At 146,000 it's been around the globe a few times. It's also perhaps not the cheapest to insure, but it IS a useful car for £200!
Useful car, might be pricey to insure.
7: Nissan Micra 1.0 16v S 3dr | £300
Image Source: Autotrader
Image Source: Autotrader
Insurance is a BIG issue for young drivers. I know I'm asking a lot, asking you to extend the budget to £300, but doing so could save £500+, PER YEAR, over some of these other cars. #7 in our list was specifically chosen because it's small, easy to drive, cheap to insure and cheap to repair. I appreciate it's not a GTR or a Skyline, but Micra's really are a doddle to drive. Yes, there are a few dings here there, but there'll probably be a few more by the time your youngster has owned it for 12 months so what the hell! It'll get em' about cheaply and safely. That's the most important consideration. And all for less than the PCP payment on many modern so called 'ideal learner cars'.
Not exactly thrilling, but a sensible choice.
So there we have it! A selection of realist, Poverty Petrolhead's first car options. Which one would you buy for your kid? And if you were after a cheap runabout for yourself, which would YOU go for?
Martyn Stanley
#Learners #Story #Humour #PovertyPetrolheads
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Comments (36)
I had a very similar micra when I was 17, a purple 3dr Tempest with the same 16v 1.0 - not the most exciting car but it had a sunroof!
They are easy to drive too aren't they? I think they're perfect for beginners and you cna probably get a really decent one for £1k
I can't believe am falling in love with some of these Peugeots
Are you tempted? What do you think if the black alloys? 🙂
They're very tempting and I hate that they have made me reach this point in my life where I have to consider buying one. It's absurd but it's now stuck in my mind😱😱😱😱
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I wish i could get a ford fiesta mk2 or a mk1 for a first car, i know this things are rare and rusty little cars but I assume all the issues that car could have. And im prepared to be mocked by all my friends with their kias and renault clios (not to prepared for being honnest) , but that car is fun to drive, simple to fix and unperfect, like us. And honestly, i never wanted a car so much in my life, im serious
I had a 1.0 Fiesta for my 2nd car! It was great but needed more hp
I would probably go for the Focus
I think it's the most useful car. Insurance might be pricey though. Even 3rd party only! :(
Thanks for the advice 👍