[e1usive]

Thinking of buying
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...40ae?logcode=p

If I can get it down to £1000-1050

Does anyone have advice on how much the insurance will cost and how to reduce it to the cheapest cost? Also would anyone offer any alternatives on that, and is it a good price he is asking

[M4LLY]

Seems like a reasonable price for what it is. Insurance-wise your realistically lookong in the £1500 range if its your first car. But beware of the fact that it is a Fiat. Fiats of that age aren't exactly known for their reliability.

[snufkin_]

I have an active punto and was looking around £1800 for my insurance, fully comp when I first got it.

However note that car is an active SPORT. which automatically will add quiet a bit more onto your premium. When i was looking at an active sport it was nearly 2500 for insurance.

Be aware that mk2 puntos have quite a popular steering fault, so it might be key to make sure this has already been done in their service history. But, I've had my punto for nearly a year now, and very rarely have had a problem with it, and when I have it's only been something small. (a sensor went...). When people say old puntos aren't known for their reliability, you can get reliable ones it's just about checking you have a full service history and it's been looked after.

Then again my check steering light bobs up frequently, but there is nothing wrong with my steering at all, it's an electrical fault.

I think it's an alright price he's asking, possibly try and get it a bit lower though.

[persov]

for what that is, the insurance is gonna be a rip off. Insurance on a bigger car with a 1.6-2.0 litre engine will in most cases be cheaper to insure. Those cars have been popular with young drivers, hence a large number of claims hence higher insurance premiums.

In terms of reliability, my cousin had one for a few years, and eventually so much went wrong with it that it wasn't worth repairing.....and he's doing a phd in mechanical engineering, knows a thing or two about fixing cars. That being said, I'm sure some of the Fiat Punto's have been largerly without a problem, but they are not exactly known for having good reliability.

In all honesty, if you're going to be spending around a grand on a car you could get something that represents a lot better value for money, and will be much cheaper to insure.

Like someone has mentioned, the "sport" models do cost a lot more to insure.

Buy on condition and service history not milage, you have to go and see the car before you put a deposit down or commit.

Let us know what you're going to be using the car far, the type of driving you'll do on it and what's important to you and should be able to recommend a few models to look at.

[e1usive]

Will mainly be driving to gym and sixth form

[tufc]

What is the first part of your postcode? That's probably the biggest factor when it comes to young people's car insurance. And how old are you?

As for alternatives, I have a Skoda Fabia. It's a very good car that's very reliable, and the 1.4 version is cheaper to insure than the 1.2 Punto you're looking into getting.

[e1usive]

I'm 17, will look into prices, I have a budget of around £1000. For my first car, full time education is it best to keep budget to a low?

[1992LP]

No mention of service history
No mention of Tax or MOT
Pretty crap advert.

Have you seen the car yet? DO NOT buy it unseen, and I personally wouldn't bother with that one.

As for insurance, there are hundreds of variables which will affect your premium so run some quotes and see what you can come up with.

My mate has a Punto Active Sport 1.2 and it is very slow and very noisy. Personally, I wouldn't buy one. Get a nice mk1 1.6 Focus with FSH instead

[e1usive]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...s/10?logcode=p

That caught my eye also.

[Emma:-)]

(Original post by M4LLY)
Seems like a reasonable price for what it is. Insurance-wise your realistically lookong in the £1500 range if its your first car. But beware of the fact that it is a Fiat. Fiats of that age aren't exactly known for their reliability.

I agree.
I used to have a fiat punto and i had a few problems with mine. Mine was a W plate one though, and ive heard they have improved since then.
Overall, they are pretty decent cars though,and they are pretty decent on insurance (i found they where anyway).

[persov]

(Original post by e1usive)
Will mainly be driving to gym and sixth form

how far are they? what kinds of roads to get there? motorway/dual carriageway, NSL roads or is it all urban? If you were looking at the punto I take it you don't need much passenger space or a decent boot?

[Herr]

(Original post by Emma:-))
I agree.
I used to have a fiat punto and i had a few problems with mine. Mine was a W plate one though, and ive heard they have improved since then.
Overall, they are pretty decent cars though,and they are pretty decent on insurance (i found they where anyway).

It was improved when they did a facelift, the one in question is still a pre-facelift model.

[Transcendence]

Looks awful. Choose a decent car tbh.

[1992LP]

(Original post by e1usive)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...s/10?logcode=p

That caught my eye also.

That is the facelift model, so will be easier to sell on come resale time.

However still no mention of service history, tax or MOT.

Also look at the drivers door in picture 6 - doesn't look like it shuts properly so could very well have been in a crash (hence why it is so cheap for a 2004 car) so tread very carefully with that one.

This looks much, much better:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1218467486794/

[e1usive]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...40ae?logcode=p

I can get insurance down to around £1600.