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Right, can't do this by myself....
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
I'm on a mission. Dad's given me 45 minutes (while he walks the dog) to print out adverts for cars off autotrader that:
a) are in my budget
b) are not falling apart
c) I can insure.
So I need help! What would you guys suggest as a first car?
a) are in my budget
b) are not falling apart
c) I can insure.
So I need help! What would you guys suggest as a first car?
0
Comments
Vauxhall Corsa, VW Lupo, VW Polo, Ford Fiesta, Ford KA, Peugeot 106, Renault Clio, Citroen Saxo, Fiat Punto etc...
Any other ideas?
Kia Picanto, Toyota Yaris, MC Smart, An old Mini. There is far too many to mention
That'd be amusing if I had one of those. My mum had one a few years back and it nearly ended in divorce...
I'll have a look though.... just to hear the ranting
Ooh I completely forgot those, a friend of a friend has one.... well... had.... it ended up meeting his garage door at 30mph.....
Best car I ever, ever had was a 205GTi! Never gave me a moments grief, and it was a hoot to drive
Could always get a turbo-diesel one?
Mine had 153k on the clock when I sold it. Strong engine, no work other than routine servicing and a clutch at 138k.
Whatever car you buy, you run the risk of getting one that'll start giving grief in the near future. Some cars are just unlucky
About £800...I think anyway, would have to go the bank
how about a 306, they are a nicer than 106's, a bit bigger so you get the 5 doors so no getting in and out to let people in and you get them in 1.4's so not too bad to insure my friends insurance on hers is 700 for the year.
A Renault Clio? though for £800 it would be the older shape ones.
I'm the same as you i have about £800-£900 for when i pass, and i'm getting a Renault Megane, because you generally get a bit more for your money, electric windows, remtoe lock in power steering etc and i think they look loads nicer than clio's anyway and you get get loads of them in 1.4's and i really love my boyfriends to drive.
others, fiesta, rover 200, punto, saxo etc
Pug 306 - nice car, don't get one with a leaky radiator! Still sought after, prices somewhat higher than they should be. Citroen ZX is essentially the same car.
Pug 106 - very small. Good for short-arses.
Any small Rover - lovely car to drive, comfy inside, bank on a head gasket replacement every 40k.
Fiesta isn't a bad car. Later ones(1996-on) with the 1.25 and 1.4 Zetec engines are great fun to drive!
Punto - another head gasket eater.
What about a VW Polo? Or an Astra?
If I didn't know for a fact vthat you have no idea who I am, I'd think you were taking the piss
You sound like my goddamn father.
Some cars that are 1.1 can actually be quite decent, cheeper insurance and more fuel efficient,
Diamond are doing quite good though... they're offering insurance for me as a provisonal driver, with my boyfriend as a named driver (both of us 17....) for rpices between £600 and £800 fully comp... which isn't bad, I must admit.
don't get an astra, my boyfriends had two and they tend to drive a bit like tanks, i seriously couldn't drive his second one it was horrid and that was with power steering and everything, although they are really cheap.
We've only had three renualts, but all of the electrics on them have been fine, i suppose everyone has different experiences with cars though.
Really? This is why i don't get insurance companys at all, i swear they just make different stuff up for everyone i got quoted 920 for a 1.4 306 and 860 for a 1.4 megane for the year and then when you add on pass plus they take it down another 20%. and that was for my own policy, but if your just being a named driver it should be really quite cheap.
It took my boyfriends insurance down putting me on it and thats as a learner driver, and the quote for when i pass was just an extra £50 for the year.
edit thats on a 1.6 btw
How about this:-
Red, 3-door 1997 VW Golf
1.9 Diesel engine
110k
2 or 3 owners
Power steering, remote central locking/Toad alarm, stereo, etc
Tidy, mechanically sound
Full(ish) MOT, 6 months tax
Just serviced, she's a good car. My best friend has owned it since early 2004, and has used her to commute to uni and back home each day. He's only parting company because I've persuaded him that it would be wise to get something old and interesting, now he can get reasonable insurance - we found a Lotus Elan last weekend, we're collecting it this coming Saturday.
He was going to advertise it at £1200 and be prepared to drop to a grand - I'm confident I can talk him into going down to £900 if he doesn't have to worry about advertising, but I really can't see him going below that.
Insurance doesn't just boil down to engine size, for what it's worth. I found that it cost me £30 more to insure an Orion 1.6i Ghia(the top model one) than a Mini 1000. It's a fine balancing act, but some models of some cars can cost less to insure than you might think...
Define "short-arse"
The general trend we've discovered with insurance companies is: the engine size goes up, the cost ROCKETS.
My friend (female) has just passed and bought a rover 200 but the diesel version so it's a 1.9 turbo diesel 220 and her insurance is £700 and something for year and thats her as the main driver!
[EDIT] And it's not like there was any real difference between us either, other than male/female... Both 17, both provisional drivers (at the time... he's passed now, but his quote has a year to go down), both 1 year NCB from mopeds... and I claimed I lived at his and would of kept it in the same place... but even if I had put my address and keeping places in it would of gone up because theres no driveways on my street...
But yes at 17, it is going to be very expensive and more so for incresed engine size, so she should definatly go with a 1.1 or there abouts.
A Fiesta comes in 1.1 I think your probably best looking for one of them about 5 years old.
See, if I was allowed a Fiesta, I'd have one like a shot.
Unfortunetly Dad's a mechanic and has decided that Fiestas are "rot boxes" and his only daughter is not having one of those.
I might have to kill him. Or go back in time and get him a different qualification
Firstly, a short-arse is someone who I can use as a table for me beer, whilst standing at the bar
Secondly, insurance is a nasty, complicated game. Different companies give better quotes for different types of car - no single company out there will get everyone the best quote they'll get. A lot of the time, the quote is influenced by:-
Car
Model
Engine size
Your occupation
Whether it is garaged, parked on a drive, or on the roadside.
Whether you're tall enough to see over the steering wheel
Okay, I was kidding about that one
Whether you'll use it for travelling to work
How many miles you do per year
How likely that particular model of car is to get stolen, or damaged
How many claims young drivers(like yourself) have made for that type of vehicle, and How expensive each claim was
And a whole heap of other things that I can't think of right now. The petrol engined Rover 214 makes 90-odd horsepower - the 1.9 diesel Golf makes around 70bhp. As a rule of thumb, diesel engines need 33% more size to make the same power as a petrol engine - though this doesn't apply to turbo-diesels.
It really isn't just about the engine size - work out what cars you'd like, and then get a quote for the models you're most likely to buy. Sometimes you'll find the results aren't what you'd expect... back when I was 22, if a Mondeo 1.6 cost me £500 to insure, then the 1.8 was £503 and the 2.0 £501! Those aren't the right numbers but they were damned close!