UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

FROM £1,500 We pick the top second-hand buys for students on various budgets

IT’S that time of year when you have to load up the family car to get your offspring to university, with everything they’ll need for the next term. You’ll repeat the same trip on several more occasions over the coming years, too. Just think how much easier it would be if they could transport themselves.

The problem is, buying and running a car isn’t cheap, and the costs are even worse for teenagers. Their lack of experience means insurance is usually cripplingly expensive. And as they have no or low income, buying and maintaining a car is often out of reach.

However, students are currently entitled to a maintenance loan to help them through university. For those living at home, this is set at £6,904. For anyone living away from home and outside London it’s £8,200, while grants within London are £10,702. On a term by term basis, these result in payments of £2,301, £2,733 and £3,567 respectively.

While this money is provided primarily for living costs, we’ve found it is possible to buy a decent car with years of life in it for less than a single term’s instalment. That could be a good investment, not just for trips home but also getting around at university, giving worried parents real peace of mind.

We’ve chosen three budgets, each of which leaves a significant chunk of change from a payment of the annual loan. Even on such a small budget, most of these models can often be found with low mileage, due to their popularity with older owners who don’t cover many miles each year. Pick one of these up as you start studying, and it’ll still be going strong when you graduate.