First Car

[ritchiem]

Having seen Top Gear's attempts to get a car insured for a young/new driver I feel for the process you are about to go through. My advice would be to look some of the free insurance deals going. Get your no claims built up. IIRC the Corsa SXi has one going just now, fine print says over 19s so your right in there

[Andy3536]

Having seen Top Gear's attempts to get a car insured for a young/new driver I feel for the process you are about to go through. My advice would be to look some of the free insurance deals going. Get your no claims built up. IIRC the Corsa SXi has one going just now, fine print says over 19s so your right in there

That's a little over the 2.5k price tag though

[eshrules]

Last gen Fiesta, current Micra or Fabia are ideal.
Both are safe and cheap to insure on a 1l.
Most mass-market superminis start to wearout beyond about 60k miles. I'm thinking Fiesta, Corsa, C3, Punto, Clio etc. The VW-group cars (Polo,Ibiza,Fabia) seem to last better but are more expensive if they go wrong.

While you do need to consider your needs I'm afraid insurance will still dictate what you can have until your no-claims builds up a little. You may be old enough to get fast-tracked insurance so you gain 1yrs NCB after 10months rather than 12 to help you towards a better car later.

two things...

The VAG group cars ( ) aren't actually that much more expensive than the fiesta/corsa etc. The difference in price is made up for in the fact that they tend to go wrong, a lot less (talking from experience).

The 10 month accelerator policies are good, but some insurance companies dislike them, I remember being refused insurance on the basis of the fact I'd been on such a policy.

[Spitfire01]

Having seen Top Gear's attempts to get a car insured for a young/new driver I feel for the process you are about to go through. My advice would be to look some of the free insurance deals going. Get your no claims built up. IIRC the Corsa SXi has one going just now, fine print says over 19s so your right in there

That is a particularly tempting offer but 11k is a bit out of my price range really. And I don't think I'd be able to get it in finance which I'm not a big fan of.

My main worry is getting ripped off with something that is gonna break down or need lots of work done as at the moment my knowledge of cars is particularly limited and basic. I'm not going to be as lucky as some folk to be put as a named driver on parents car or anything like that so it's just me and my cash, needing a car to get to work etc...

I am a bit on the tall side I was advised that a 206 i was looking at would be a bad choice in the leg room department is that gonna be something I'm gonna have to put up with, with these cheaper cars atleast?

Was also looking at that new Nissan Pixo pretty cheap and reviews about it aren't so bad. I could stretch to that price maybe but then again no free insurance with that so sort of stuffed again.

Just to clarify a bit more, as when I re-read my original post I see it wasn't so clear...
I have about 2k for the car itself about 4k stashed for my car fund figured split it 50/50 car/insurance..

[schmunk]

I am a bit on the tall side I was advised that a 206 i was looking at would be a bad choice in the leg room department is that gonna be something I'm gonna have to put up with, with these cheaper cars atleast?

106 / 206 / Saxo (all same pedalbox) are no good if you have long or wide feet (e.g. if you wear skate shoes). You'll be forever braking when you try to change gears...

[Vimeous]

106 / 206 / Saxo (all same pedalbox) are no good if you have long or wide feet (e.g. if you wear skate shoes). You'll be forever braking when you try to change gears...

Soooo right!
My CAT boots used to press both throttle and brake in 106's etc so I avoided them.

I'm around 6'4" and recommend you avoid a car with any sunroof, in particular steel or those with blinds. They rob head room badly.
My old Mk2 facelift Polo GT had a steel sunroof and I could only truely sit up straight with it open! Still loved the car enough to do 52k miles in 3.5yrs in it though
I can sit up nicely in our current Gen6 Celica as it has no sunroof but not in the same car with one.

I agree that at the price you're talking it is easy to get ripped off. Peeps usually sell cars because they suspect there's an issue or it really is worn out.
However right now there are still redundancy cars out there so unnecessary second cars etc are appearing quite regularily.
All I can suggest is to narrow down what you're looking for and be REALLY picky. There are thousands of cars out available so don't buy it unless your 100% happy with the car and the owner/dealer.
If you're going to your local s/hand emporium aim to knock at £500 of the forecourt price as they're invariably over-inflated. However if they're offering a decent warranty that can give peace of mind. Be careful to judge if the warranty provider will still be in business when you need them.


Our Celica we bought for £1800. We also knew it needed a major service with cambelt (circa £500).
However the owner was a Celica club member who clearly polished his car weekly and loved it alot. The car was worth about £3000 at the time so it was a bargain on the surface as it came with all the paper work, had a good history and ran great.

Looking back I'm happy with the purchase.
I usually look at any car on cheap tyres as one to avoid as the owner clearly can't afford to run it - where else have they cut corners for example. However I made an exception as it made no sense to put decent ones on the car he was trying to sell (wouldn't recoup the purchase cost).
Ever since I've been saving to replace them and trying to wear them out as they're rubbish. Bearing in mind we did the service and within 6k miles need new brake pads you'll find the actual cost of a fully functional car will have been £2.6k.

Oh and it took 3 months before we found a car worth visiting!


I digress.
What I'm getting at is that every s/hand car purchase can be a lottery. However with care you improve your odds of getting exactly what you want considerably!


BTW you'll note a lack of Japanese built cars. Usually the insurance is too high. As you're slightly older it may be worth having a look at our old favourite - the Yaris - or even and older 3dr Civic.
TBH I can't believe we've overlooked the Yaris. It's ideal as a first car!

[Barney]

old square fiat panda FTW

[Zak33]

Last gen Fiesta, current Micra or Fabia are ideal.
Both are safe and cheap to insure on a 1l.
Most mass-market superminis start to wearout beyond about 60k miles. I'm thinking Fiesta, Corsa, C3, Punto, Clio etc. The VW-group cars (Polo,Ibiza,Fabia) seem to last better but are more expensive if they go wrong.

While you do need to consider your needs I'm afraid insurance will still dictate what you can have until your no-claims builds up a little. You may be old enough to get fast-tracked insurance so you gain 1yrs NCB after 10months rather than 12 to help you towards a better car later.

Don't worry too much about performance initially, go with what you can afford to learn to drive and repair. You'll learn plenty about driving quickly even in a 1l (conservation of momentum etc).

Happy hunting

very good advice.

I'd like to add that sometimes a smaller engined car CAN be quicker AND cheaper than a larger engined car too.

Technology does'nt always go up with the engine size, and as cars get newer, and and re launched the insurance groups OFTEN go DOWN.

So do lots of research and ignore the negatives on Micra's. Thety are reliable and strong. I know many rally car micra's.

I'd also HAVE to say that the Ford Ka is a superb vehicle. It is cool, cheap, and reliable, strong and handles like a dream.