First Car

[AngloScot]

What are the cheapest cars to insure for a new driver 17yrs old?

[acw]

www.confused.com is very helpful, but they will send you a fair bit of junk mail and you may get calls from companies.  I think the general answer is going to be: smaller cars (i.e., 1.2 and under) and the less flashy the better.  Older cars may be cheaper to insure - but there's an optimal age but I'm just not sure what it is!

[lethologica]

Small - e.g.1.1

Something European would probably help as the parts are likely to be cheaper which helps you when it comes to maintenance and also lowers the insurance as if you were involved in an accident, the reparation costs would be cheaper.

Always check insurance groups when considering a car, Parkers give a good index to this (although it cannot be relied upon for 100% accuracy) - the lower the group, the cheaper the insurance.

Typically you should be looking at small cars e.g. ford fiesta (mazda 121 is the same car but more expensive to insure), citroen saxo/ax, renault clio, peugeot 106/206/306, vw polo/lupo, fiat seicento/cinquento/punto (hate them), toyota starlet, seat arosa (fairly recent addition to range so more expensive e.g. <�2500 

[chrisn]

Cars in Insurance Group 1 in this country are:

Citroen C2, Fiat Cinquecento, Seicento and Panda, Skoda Fabia, and Vauxhall Corsa.

[acw]

From that list - I vote for the Corsa!  (In case anyone cares) :-)

[Gundoggy]

the best thing to do is just look at inet quotes, toyota yaris is small, if u get insurance from norwich union u can do a rapid bonus quote or something, u basically pay for 9 months at a time, but each 9 months gives you one year no claims bonus so u can build it up quick

[Gundoggy]

one more thing, i would recommend a corsa 1.2 sxi, sporty cheap and only group 3

[lethologica]

I've just found the information I was looking to post when I first read this question:

"Lower Group Cars

Some examples of cars that will be cheap to insure:

The Seat Arosa ranges from groups 2 to 3.
The Renault Clio ranges from groups 3 to 7.
The Ford Focus ranges from groups 4 to 8.
The VW Polo ranges from groups 3 to 10.
The Vauxhall Astra ranges from groups 4 to 11.
The Renault Espace ranges from groups 11 to 14.
And here are examples of cars in other categories � maybe you�ll recognise your car or the car you are considering buying!

Middle Group Cars

The Ford Fiesta 1.6, 16v, Si is group 8.
Citroen Saxo 1.6i VTR is group 7.
Rover 214i 16-valve is group 6.
Peugeot 306 1.8 XS is group 7.

Higher Group Cars

The Audi A3 ranges from groups 9 to 18.
Jaguar S type ranges from groups 14 to 19.
E series ranges from groups 14 to 20.
BMW 3 series ranges 11 to 20.
BMW 5 series ranges from 14 to 19.

Highest Group Cars

BMW M series are group 20.
Aston Martins are group 20.
Audi TT ranges from 17 to 18.
Ferraris are group 20.
Porsche 911s are group 20. ...

[lethologica]

Nearly three quarters of all money paid out in motor insurance claims goes on repairing cars. The cost of spare parts and the times taken by repairers therefore play a major role in when insurers decide how much a premium should cost. Here are the factors used to calculate which group a car should belong to:

Damage and Parts Costs: The likely extent of damage to each car model and the cost of the parts involved in its repair. The lower these costs, the more likelihood there is of a lower group rating.

Repair Times: Longer repair times mean higher costs and the greater likelihood of a higher group rating. Different paint finishes on modern cars are an important factor. These, too, are taken into account.

New Car Values: The prices of new cars identify the higher specification models within a model range.

Body Shells: The availability of body shells (the basic frame of the car) is taken into account in group ratings because they are essential for certain accidental damage repairs.

Performance: Acceleration and top speed are important factors. Insurers know very well, from their claims statistics, that high performance cars often result in more frequent insurance claims.

Car Security: Security features fitted as standard equipment by motor manufacturers can help to reduce insurance claims costs. Such features include high security door locks, alarm/immobilisation systems, glass etching, coded audio equipment, locking devices for alloy wheels and visible VIN numbers.

[freshjive818]

my first car was fiesta si 1.6 16v and the insurance was �1,400 a bit high i no, but a fantastic fun drive well worth it in my view reliable aswell, stay away from japanese cars even a little civic 1.3 can be hard to insure, though i heard a renault clio mk1 1.4 rt is a nippy easy to insure car.