What Car? Q&A - Which car can I get for £800?

Q: I'm looking to buy a first car for my 17-year-old son and wonder if you could make some recommendations? Our budget is about £800 and, most importantly, the insurance costs must be low.
Jeanetta, via email.

A: Unfortunately, because of your son's age and inexperience, the insurance costs will probably outweigh the cost of the car you buy him. However, some cars will be cheaper than others.

Cheap, older cars with small engines will cost less to insure, but they will fare rather less well in an accident than a modern-day car. We would suggest stretching the budget as far as possible in order to afford something newer with a few safety features.

A mid-1990s 1.0-litre Nissan Micra should fall within budget and be relatively cheap to insure. Alternatively, a 1995 Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 Sting would only set you back around £750. If you can stretch closer to £1000 you could probably afford an early Ford Ka.

Insurance costs are high for young drivers because statistically they have more accidents than older drivers. Therefore, it's even more important that they drive a car that will protect them in the event of an accident.

To keep your son's insurance costs down, you could consider using Norwich Union's (tel 0800 092 9564) pay-as-you-drive scheme (click here for more information), which tracks your son's movements using GPS technology. If he drives often, or at times or in places when he is statistically at risk of an accident, he is charged more. If he doesn't, he can cut his costs by quite a bit.

You could also try other specialist insurers for young people, such as www.youngmarmalade.co.uk (tel 0845 223 9080).