“Our suggestion to any new driver is to build up as many years without making a claim as possible as this can help to reduce premium costs. Experience helps to achieve discounts of up to 65% on your policy in just four years of driving, so a £1,000 premium would reduce to £3502. “

Over the last 10 years3 it has been the under-30s who have accelerated their spending on motor vehicles: up 161%, compared to a national average of 110%. This age group spent £1,426 on cars in 2003/2004 (equal to 5% of total spending in this age group), compared to just £547 a decade before (equal to 3% of total spending in this age group) MORE TH>N’s survey revealed.

The first car

The ‘Motor Ladder’ Report, conducted for MORE TH>N by the Centre for Economic Business Research and Autotrader.com, also reveals that cars today are not only more affordable due to tempting forecourt offers and higher average wages, but first time drivers are more likely to get a helping hand from their family when buying their first car. Nearly nine out of ten (87%) drivers 30 years ago paid for their first cars themselves, compared to around two thirds (64%) today. So it is little wonder that around one in ten (8%) new drivers in 2005 will have a brand new first car.

Size matters

Aligned to today’s ‘have-it-now culture’, according to those surveyed more than one in ten (11%) motorists aged under 25 currently drive a

The majority (68%) of young people today will drive a small saloon or hatchback as their first motor, whereas around 30 years ago a greater number of new drivers chose a medium sized saloon or hatchback (30% versus 18%).

Jonathan Williams, Head of Marketing at AutoTrader Media Group, comments:

"As the number one motoring destination for new and used cars, we attract a large audience of 17-30 year olds. In recent research through our Desirability Index, we found that the most desired car for this age group was the Toyota MR2, followed by the Porsche 911 and the Subaru Impreza. Within the top 10, Audi and BMW gain two entries each - both are clearly prestige marques whose success in the new car market appears to be driving desirability in the used market.

“Interestingly Mercedes, arguably less successful in new car sales, does not appear in the top 10, despite its prestigious brand heritage and the associated potential for used car buyers to find a quality used car bargain."

Notes :

1. Source: Survey conducted on Auto Trader for MORE TH>N throughout August 2005 amongst 827 motorists aged 17+.

2. Table below shows percentage of no claims discount accrued with each year of no claims insurance.

3. The last ten years refers to the period 1994/1995 – 2003/2004.