17 and mobile

Can we make suggestions??? It'll be fun to find something almost but not quite perfect... perhaps with a lean?

"The little shi-ite". Is he of a Sunni dispoaition?

I'm with you on bangernomics, Al: there's a maximum price at which you can say 'this car can be w/o without my feeling gutted about it'. I'd say £1,000, perhaps up to £1,500 if you find one that really does seem to have been looked after and serviced. Hopefully your son's private education (is that at the Quaker school in Reading that I think it is?) has taught him not to look a gift horse in the mouth!

My first car was a Wolseley Hornet. I think it's quite important to start with an embarrassing car. Character building.
😉

Well this is the question rather.  I could hand the Honda back later this year, and get something like this, which has a far lower insurance grouping and so could be insured with the boy as the main driver once he's passed his test, so he can use it to run to and from school, and we can use it on weekends/holidays/tip runs etc, using the Leaf for all our other needs as we do now in any case:

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012036748902

I could PCP that for far less than the Honda currently costs, and the difference would help pay the increased insurance costs, so I estimate I'd come out even.  And in 2 years time another upgrade to the Leaf, to get into a 40kwh Mk2 version, would make our electric car even more useable for non-local journeys.  The Tipo could then go to University with the boy if necessary.

Or, like you say, add a third bangernomics car to the fleet.  Or I could just go with keeping the Leaf and getting an old banger, but then I'd want an estate so choice would be extremely limited in terms of £1500 cars under group 10 insurance.

I'd rather not have 3 cars on the drive.

It's a bit of a dilemma really.

Yes I thought you might, and you know what I'll say about C1 type cars.  Also, thinking ahead to sending him off to Aberdeen University, not the best for long motorway journeys with his belongings on board.  Focus far, far superior for that.

Old (ish) Focus estate then? If he had that at Aberdeen he'd almost certainly be automatically invited to be the president of the university ski club !