Youngsters and Elises

The_Rossatron · Post by **The_Rossatron** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:20 pm

My wee bro (just turned 19) wants to get an S1 if he get's a job he's going for.

Don't want to burn him down straight away sense tells me it's not the best idea - anyone have one at that age? Was insurance a killer? Think one quote he got was about £2k

jj · Post by jj » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:25 pm

If he can get it insured for under£2k he will be doing well. Very well.

The_Rossatron · Post by **The_Rossatron** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:27 pm

Am I right in remembering you said you couldn't get insured til you were 21 JJ?

jj · Post by jj » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:31 pm

just sent you a pm.

Post by **simon** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:57 pm

If I had an Elise when I was 19, I'd be dead.
I did far too many stupid things in my car then that I would never have gotten away with in the Elise so I'd put him off until he's got a few more years experience. There's a reason the insurance is steep

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:39 pm

Get a sh*tter, get some NCB, get some experience, learn to fix it, save some money, get Elise, love it, survive....

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:24 am

I am probably in the minority that think its not that bad an idea. Provided he can get a reasonable(ish) insurance quote and he isnt a complete bampot then it would be a great car to learn in.

Most young guys only think of power and are out to buy the fastest car they can get there hands on thinking that speed automatically makes them fantastic drivers only to wrap it on a wet corner. The Elise will teach very quickly some important lessons.
Also worth thinking about a VX as its one insurance group lower, I think

Gareth · Post by **Gareth** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:38 am

I remember my first car.
Battered old Polo (square shape) and being passed by a local boy my age at the time in a Yellow GT3....that guy turned out to be Nathan Kinch who races for Ferrari at Le Mans. NOT JEALOUS AT ALL!

Lazydonkey · Post by **Lazydonkey** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:03 am

kenny wrote:Also worth thinking about a VX as its one insurance group lower, I think

The NA is group 16 - but you are probably looking at £11k for a good un.

EDIT : My first car was a Cinq sporting...........and i still nearly killed myself. Elise or VX and i wouldn't be here now

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:31 am

I would reckon most males have some sort of crash in their first say 5 years of driving(i said most). start off on something slow(my wee bro just got an old 1.4 golf). less chance of dying. I hit a tree at 50 mph when i was about 20. was lucky to be in a nissan patrol, so escaped injury free(ish).

IMHO getting an Elise as a first car, at the age of 19, is lunacy. Too much testosterone in the system makes you feel you're invincible, or at least act like you are. i know elise's are crash safe, relative to other stuff on the road etc etc blah blah, but i don't think anyone could argue that he's not increasing his risk by getting a fast rear wheel drive car.

my 2p.

(boring old man faction...

)

The_Rossatron · Post by **The_Rossatron** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:49 am

All good valid points - I'm all for buying a 1.0 litre banger, I've been there myself so he should suffer too!

However I was thinking something like a smart roadster would be much better suited to him. They're great fun to drive, paddle shift I found quite cool and a few electronic safety aids to keep things in check.

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:59 am

I would think that all the electronic wizardry would foster the same invulrability feelings and remove some of the "learning" that comes with driving too fast and regaining control.

Don't get him molly-coddled, get him a sh*tter, make him learn the hard way.

How about a Volvo 340, RWD and the very definition of a banger....

OR how about a classic Chevette, Escort, Cortina, etc. cheap to run, cheap to fix, easy to work on, dunno about insurance, but they aren't exactly powerful.

A chevette in rally livery would be way cool and there are a couple of cheap ones on flea-bay.

Rich

Andy G · Post by **Andy G** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:22 am

The_Rossatron wrote:All good valid points - I'm all for buying a 1.0 litre banger, I've been there myself so he should suffer too!

However I was thinking something like a smart roadster would be much better suited to him. They're great fun to drive, paddle shift I found quite cool and a few electronic safety aids to keep things in check.

You'd need to do something special to prang a smart roadster. My cousin got one when he was 19, as insurance on other cars was nuts. Still wasn't cheap for him, but that car doesn't have enough power to get you in to serious trouble, and handles pretty well. The gearshift would drive me nuts though.

Can't blame him for hankering after an Elise though

Titanium S1 111S (gla) · Post by **Titanium S1 111S (gla)** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:26 am

I agree. When I started to drive I got a Series 2A Landrover which had a retro fitted straight 6 Diesel. Top speed 45 mph down hill with a following wind but could tow small inshore islands. It was difficult and unpleasant to drive and I wouldnâ€™t recommend that to anyone but it did have the advantage that anybody who I hit or hit me was coming off worse. It also taught me a thing or two about working on cars since it never completed a journey without running repairs. Moderate sized car with low to moderate power is defiantly the way to go until you have a few miles and years behind you.

Terrible story which explains why:

When my old man lived with his folks on the south side of Glasgow they had neighbours with some serious cash. The family had three sons, son No. 1 got an e-type jag when he learnt to drive, didnâ€™t make his next birthday, son No. 2 got a Lotus Elan, didnâ€™t make his next birthday, son No 3 didnâ€™t get a car.

Thatâ€™s a hellish story and cars are a lot safer these days but young guys (myself included) and fast cars are not a good combo.

2p

Graham

alicrozier · Post by **alicrozier** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:57 am

My wifes Puma is up for sale soon - would maybe suit him?

1.7 VCT, 51 plate, 24K miles, Black, lux pack.