14 hours ago
Should we buy an old diesel for our son's first car?
Dear Alex,
We want to buy our 19-year-old son his first car for about £4,000. He was looking at VW Golf diesels from 2009-2013, but struggled to find reasonable examples. He's now looking at a 2015 Volvo V40 D2 1.6 with 140,000 miles that's had a new cambelt and water pump. The plan would be to regularly service any car we buy and aim for 200,000-plus miles. Are there any known problems with that model Volvo that would preclude this? What might the alternatives be?
– DS
Dear DS,
Be careful: the V40 is normally a fairly dependable option, but the 1.6-litre diesel fitted to the D2 can suffer turbocharger failure – a costly fault that will likely crop up before 200,000 miles (unless it has already).
A slightly later D2, introduced in 2015, has a 2.0-litre engine which should be more dependable. Alternatively, if insurance costs allow, upgrade to a D3 – this had a robust five-cylinder engine or, from 2015 onwards, a slightly more potent version of the 2.0-litre unit. Both of these have a better reputation for reliability.
However, I'm inclined to think insurance costs for a 19-year-old won't allow – so consider a 1.6-litre diesel that's more dependable. For £4,000, I'd suggest the Honda Civic.
The ninth-generation Civic (2011-2015) is just as eye-catching as when it was new. What's more, its 1.6-litre diesel has a fairly solid reputation for reliability – and, if it's like most Hondas, the rest of the car should last until 200,000 miles and beyond, if it's well looked-after. I found a 2013 1.6 i-DTEC SE with 88,000 miles and a good amount of history for £3,995.
All that said, a diesel-engined mid-sized hatchback is not an ideal first car. Insurance costs will be fairly high on any of the above, so it makes more sense to buy something smaller and cheaper to insure for a year or two, so that your son can build up a no-claims bonus, then upgrade to something bigger and better.
My suggestion would be a Toyota iQ, which has a petrol engine. This city car came fifth in a recent study of the cheapest cars to insure, in which ranked cars according to the average premiums being quoted for them.
Admittedly, the iQ is much smaller and less spacious than the other cars you're looking at. But size matters – not only will your son find it much easier to park and manoeuvre, he will also find insurance costs are commensurate with the iQ's dinky dimensions.
Of course, being a Toyota, it should prove immensely dependable. And if you're worried about such a small car being somewhat town-bound, think again: the iQ's impressive stability and comfortable ride mean it feels at home on motorways and fast A-roads, too.
For £4,000, you can pick up a 2010 1.0 VVT-i 2 with only 43,000 miles – a sweet first car any 19-year-old would be lucky to have.
