£2500... car + insurance... a challenge for you guys :)

[streetster]

Well... Summer is here, I dont have any form of transport apart from my legs and my bike, and seeing as town is a hefty 45min trek on foot I'm seriously considering getting a car...

I was insured on my mums 1.4 astra up until easter but she's working full time now so if I paid to be insured on that again I would only have access to the car a few evenings a week, and at weekends (unless she was using it ).

I passed my test last august and the only things i've driven have been the driving instructors corsa (1.2), my mums astra (1.4) and a white ford escort van (not sure of cc but a diesel beast which was fairly slow), so not a great deal of driving experience - I havent done pass plus either .

There is a possibility of me getting my great uncle's Citreon ZX, which is (i think) 1.6/1.8 tdi - well its definately diesel... which would mean i would not have to spend a large amount on a car - unless the ZX needs some work (+ tax + mot)... but I can Insurance being a hefty sum.

What do you guys suggest? or shall I stick to man power and keep my money for another day?

Mark

[5lab]

how old are you?

i'd strongly reccomend getting the cheapest possible car to insure, and driving that for a while. it is quite easy to pick up an ebay special with 6 months mot for £50, run it for 6 months then bin it. the reason i suggest this is cos as a young/inexperianced driver you *ARE* likely to crash wherher you think so or not..

other than that, get something small with old fashioned internals. carb based engines are a LOT easier to fix if they go wrong compared to injection.. i suspect you could get a fester for around a grand that will go on for a while, and repairing it against anything would be cheap too

[wedge22]

I suggest a cheap banger with some MOT on it mate as it will give you experience of driving, once it runs out get something else. We always get some bargain basement cars in where I work. One of the girls here got herself a diesel citroen for £80, proper bargain.

[streetster]

I'm only 19... so a few years away from the magic '21'...

If my dad was the 1st named driver that would drive down the quote (fact?), however that may be slightly fraudulent if its me who will be mostly (well entirely) driving (also fact?)...

I'll have a look on ebay for some bangers... insurance will still be pretty steep whether its a £50 car compared to a £1000 car on tpft (same engine size) wouldnt it?

[schmunk]

I'm only 19... so a few years away from the magic '21'...

If my dad was the 1st named driver that would drive down the quote (fact?), however that may be slightly fraudulent if its me who will be mostly (well entirely) driving (also fact?)...

Fact (unless your dad's a driving reprobate) and Fact.

I'll have a look on ebay for some bangers... insurance will still be pretty steep whether its a £50 car compared to a £1000 car on tpft (same engine size) wouldnt it?

I wouldn't imagine the cost of the car (at that level) would make a massive difference to the insurance price.

[5lab]

yeah insurance cost will be pretty much the same - some newer cars are a bit more thou

the advantage of an older car on your own policy is that you can smash it into something stupidly, not claim and you keep your ncb. winner!

i think you'd be ok on your dads policy but often the difference is a lot less than youd think (and probably nothing in the 2nd year if you have a ncb)

on another note, invest 100 of your pounds into doing a pass plus course - it will probably knock £150 off your first years insurance, £100 off 2nd and maybe £50 off 3rd. it will also make you a better driver..

[tiggerai]

Nissan Micra.

Reliable as a reliable thing, 2nd hand one (older style, not the newer ones) is about £1000 (estimated for mine, which is 64k miles atm), insurance as a new driver is about £600 (will drop dramatically at one years ncb)
Lowest tax band. group 3 insrance I think

As a comparison, my insurance at 19 was £660 (0 NCB), 20-£450(1YR NCB),21-22 £250 (3YRS NCB) . I'm sure it'll drop again in dec, when i've got 4 yrs ncb.

[autopilot]

I would go with a banger too for the above reasons. And because £2000 is actually quite a difficult amount of money to be buying a car with in my experience. Cars at that price (£1000-£2000) often seem to be of a certain mileage and be right in the middle of banger and decent (last a good few years) car. I.e. they look tidy but end up costing a bit in parts coz thier right on the edge. I would never spend £2000 on a car unless i was unlucky enough to find a real gem. But you just never know. I would either buy a banger or save/borrow and grand or 2 more. That said, my girlfriend got a blinding car for £2000. But most of my family are in the business and that took some hunting and bargining.

Oh, and go for an older model with low millage than a new car with high mileage. Sounds obvious though i know. I got a 10 year old Civic with imaculate engine and body work and just 60,000 on the clock. Cost me £300! A mate bought a 3 year old car for £2000ish but it had nearly 150,000 on the clock (ex reps car). And it's been costing him a fortune each MOT. Mine flew though the last MOT.

Have i just confused matters? Sorry. Good luck