My 17-year-old daughter wants to learn to drive, even if the media says young people aren’t interested, and last Christmas, my sister gave me her mid-90s Ford Scorpio saloon she’d had on SORN since 2017 as a Christmas present.
Admittedly, it’s a big car with a 2.9-litre engine, but she’s had it from new since 1995 when she got it as a company car, then bought it off the company when she left aged 36 in 2003. She’d kept it right up until last year but barely used it due to having a Toyota Prius she bought a few years ago pre-lockdown.
I’ve had it on SORN, although I’m planning on insuring it for me, my wife and possibly my daughter.
But is an old Scorpio a bad choice of car for a teenager to learn to drive in and eventually use as a first car?
It’s a Ford, so parts supply shouldn’t be a problem… but the size of it? Too big or not?
The Scorpio isn’t my main car, I drive a 2014 Audi A6 saloon which is going to be replaced anyway if I can find a good newer model version, it’s served me well since March 2014 when I got £5k off it brand new!
Looking for advice here, any advice welcomed.
18 comments
I would be dubious if a Scorpio that hasn’t moved since 2017 passes an MOT without a lot of work.
I think you’ll find the insurance premium will be too high for such a large-engined car. Most new drivers pick a group 1 or 2 car because the prices are astronomical. Aim for small cars with a tiny engine, not a big beasty like that.
I say get a small car for your daughter – a micra, ka size – She has to learn to parallel park, reverse around a corner etc etc. I would struggle in a Scorpio and I have been driving for years.
It will likely be expensive to insure her on it due to the engine size and age of the car. Both old cars and new cars have higher premiums on average, you’d want something in the middle.
I’d recommend looking at a Ford KA for her. 1 litre engine, £30 road tax and usually fairly cheap to insure. They’re small and nippy so learning to drive would be easier for her than a large car. You should be able to get one for about £3000-4000
Big is good for taking her mates around, but harder to learn in, harder to find parking spaces, and the engine size will make her insurance premium much higher.
Honestly a Ka, Fiesta or Focus would be a better choice.
Insurance’ll probably be pretty horrible on that for a learner/teenager. Also – a bit of a boat for a learner to manoeuvre!
I recommend a Hyundai i10. We’ve had one for years (and it’s been the learner car for a few kids). Small, cheap, reliable.
To be honest, it’s a bad car for your 17 year old. Insurance in her name will be ludicrous too.
Give it to me, and I’ll take care of it.
Check the potential insurance cost before anything else
It’s also an automatic so not ideal to learn in. Very cool cars though. Literally probably less than a dozen on the road in the UK.
You might be able to sell it to a Ford enthusiast and put the money towards a more suitable car. They are turning into collectors cars so don’t lose out on any cheap offers
The large engine is only an issue in terms of insurance. It is not a fast car and certainly at ours current age would unlikely get to 60 in under 10 seconds.
No, totally unsuitable for a teenage girl. Totally suitable for me though, if you want to get rid of it. 🙂
No.
It’s too big, lacks modern features, is likely pretty terrible in a crash by modern standards, will cost a ton to insure and run.
It will not help her pass a test.
/r/cartalkuk might be a good place for this question
I think it’s a bad idea. It’s a big car so it’ll be awkward to learn in, and it’s old so anything she drives afterwards will feel very different. I like old cars but you want to make her life easy. Insurance is anyone’s guess.
The worst thing though is that it’s been SORNed since 2017. Does it even start? You’ve had it for a year already and haven’t driven it. Get it roadworthy first and see if that helps you make a decision (i.e. when the damn thing never runs just buy her a fiesta)
It’s going to be expensive to insure, maintain and run. More importantly, it won’t have safety equipment such as air bags and crumple zones to match even smaller, newer cars.
Dependant on condition, it could appeal to a collector and I wonder if selling it on eBay, could go a fair way to a more appropriate car 😊
Ask her? Agree insurance will likely be cheap, very few 17yr old girls will be driving Scorpios so very low risk profile!
Rear wheel drive and a fair chunk of weight is not really the best combo for a first car. Maybe get her a go on a skid pan or similar before as the Scorpio didn’t have any stability control and was quite tail end happy. Good car but I’m not sure it will be the best car for a first time driver ( unless she has previous experience).
Perfect car, as its something different and no electric stuff to get in the way of driving.
You may also be able to get classic car insurance depending on when exactly in the 90s its from, although not sure if you need to be 20+ to get classic insurance.
That old frog eyed tank?
Too big, too cumbersome and probably high on insurance as well as fuel.
At least they could sleep in it if they got lost
High insurance.
High cost of fuel.
There’s a reason why small hatchbacks are considered great first cars. Smaller cars are generally easier to handle. I wouldn’t like to have a 3l car in the hands of an inexperienced driver.