Car choice: Toyota Aygo an automatic choice for a young driver

Need a new or used car but not sure what make or model? James Ruppert can help you decide

The Toyota Aygo is an obvious choice for the first-time buyer

Robert Stern has £3,000 to £3,500 to spend on a car for an 18 year old stepson. It must be cheap to run, and an automatic.

A Car for the Head

Although I think Robert should enforce a compulsory manual gearbox rule on the youngster, if he wants an automatic, then fine. It usually does make insurance a touch more expensive; also the engines tend to be larger than for manuals, and thus more powerful. Robert will have to do a lot of comparison insurance searches. The obvious choice would be a Toyota Aygo. It has a small 1.0 litre engine. The semi-automatic Multimode model is worth a try. When in E mode it is very similar to D in a full automatic. I found a privately advertised 2008 model at £3,000.

VW Polo: Polishes up nicely

A Car for the Heart

There really isn’t much in the way of excitement at this level of small, basic, automatic motoring. However, it is possible to find some quality. With that in mind, it would be worth Robert’s time to track down a Volkswagen Polo. The petrol engined models seem to be reasonable to insure, with affordable premiums. A 1.4 petrol engine model comes with an automatic gearbox. It is well built and nicely finished. For a teen that wants to polish and be proud of their wheels it is ideal. £3,000 buys a 2005 1.4 Twist with 40,000 miles.

If you would like James Ruppert to help with your car choice, email james@bangernomics.com. For more motoring views visit freecarmag.com