Young Scots splash out on cars 13 | 04 | 2016
SCOTLAND'S YOUNG DRIVERS are splashing out on used cars, spending an average of £5449 on their first car. The figure is nearly twice as much as those living in the South East, who spend just £2928: the UK average figure is £3685.
The figures come from a poll, carried out by GoCompare.com, of 2000 British adults with children aged between 16 and 25 during January.
The survey highlighted that within 25 miles of Edinburgh you can buy a three-year-old Ford Ka 1.2 Zetec with just over 32,000 miles on the clock for £5,500. Or for the same money you can buy a 12-year-old BMW 3.0 330i with 89,000 on the clock.
“Everyone remembers their first car," Matt Oliver, from Gocompare.com insurance, said, "and whilst many of us probably started out in something of an old banger, today younger drivers are spending a bit more money and are able to get a half decent first car.
"A quick search on Auto Trader found a couple of good examples for the highest and lowest spending young drivers, as well as some which may not be so sensible when it comes to insurance."
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Not surprisingly, GoCompare did highlight the biggest barrier for many young drivers making their first car purchase remains the cost of car insurance.
The lowest annual insurance premium prices the comparison site could find for an 18-year-old example driver covering 9000 miles-per-year were: Ford Ka 1.2 Zetec, £819.96; BMW 330i, £4064.42; Vauxhall Agila 1.0 Ecoflex, £985.63; Mini Cooper, £1734.85.
"Insurance premiums will be lower for younger drivers if they choose a standard car with a smaller engine in a low insurance group," Oliver continued.
"So the BMW and the Mini Cooper, whilst affordable to buy, will cost a lot more to insure than the Ka and the Agila.
"Another way to get your premiums down is to consider a ‘telematics' policy. Some policies require your car to be fitted with a ‘black box' transmitter and others do a similar job with a smartphone app.
"In both cases the idea is that your driving is monitored by the insurer. As a result your premiums can come down faster than with a traditional policy if you prove to be a safe driver.
"However much you choose to spend on your first car, remember to compare insurance premiums before you take the plunge. There's no point having the hottest hatch or the coolest convertible if you can't afford to insure it."
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Jim McGill