Muscle Car as a first car in the UK
I haven't seen this thread posted before so i wanted to find out exactly if it is actually possible for a 19 year old to have a muscle car,besides the cost on petrol will insurance really be that bad? I see load of american teens owning mustangs and camaros i just don't see why we cant..
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Original post by BritBoyWonder
I haven't seen this thread posted before so i wanted to find out exactly if it is actually possible for a 19 year old to have a muscle car,besides the cost on petrol will insurance really be that bad? I see load of american teens owning mustangs and camaros i just don't see why we cant..
In films?
Insurance and what not aside, how much is one of these anyway, they'd be rubbish here, parts will be expensive and it'd be all headache.
Original post by MrWhosane
In films?
Insurance and what not aside, how much is one of these anyway, they'd be rubbish here, parts will be expensive and it'd be all headache.
Insurance and what not aside, how much is one of these anyway, they'd be rubbish here, parts will be expensive and it'd be all headache.
They are 3-5k for an old plate Camaro mustangs are a bit more
Original post by BritBoyWonder
They are 3-5k for an old plate Camaro mustangs are a bit more
The rule of thumb when importing is take the dollar sign in front of the value of the car and change it to a pound sign.
A $5000 (£3000) car will cost £5000 to import.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by BritBoyWonder
I haven't seen this thread posted before so i wanted to find out exactly if it is actually possible for a 19 year old to have a muscle car,besides the cost on petrol will insurance really be that bad? I see load of american teens owning mustangs and camaros i just don't see why we cant..
Because their fuel is dirt cheap, their insurance is dirt cheap and the cars are dirt cheap to buy. A friend of the family in the US bought a brand new Mustang in about 2007 for about £14k, with extras like air con, leather seats, all that stuff. He was only 23 at the time and it cost him $400 a year to insure, fully comprehensive. He was getting 24 to the gallon, but he didn't care because fuel was $2.50 a gallon, not $10.00 a gallon it is here. Even the conversion between US and UK gallons makes no difference - they are very thirsty cars to drive and in the UK you'll be filling the tank twice a week without even driving it very much.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by BritBoyWonder
I haven't seen this thread posted before so i wanted to find out exactly if it is actually possible for a 19 year old to have a muscle car,besides the cost on petrol will insurance really be that bad? I see load of american teens owning mustangs and camaros i just don't see why we cant..
I do like my Australian muscle cars the Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) F6 and FPV GT and Holden Special Vehicles Clubsport R8 (sold in the UK as the Vauxhall VXR8) and HSV GTS (also sold here with a GTS badge in its latest generation, though not in the VXR8's earlier generation when the VXR8 was 35,000 pounds brand new (the same car was sold in Australia for around £29,000 new) now I think it is like 40 to 50k pounds new (depending on whether you have the higher spec GTS model or not). Thus there is limited demand for muscle cars or Vauxhall would have not bothered importing the VXR8 or before that HSV UK existing.
Original post by AK.tsr
the UK sucks for true petrolheads...
Not entirely, although of course it will never match the USA.
OP there are some decent yank cars around already in the UK, you don't really need to import any.
The biggest two issues if you were to buy one of these would be:
1) Insurance - biggest issue by far.
2) Servicing/repairs. To keep costs down you would need to purchase all your spare parts from eBay, and import them from the USA. This would be by far the cheapest option, however you would need to be very mechanically minded, and competent enough to solve many problems your car may potentially have. Otherwise it would cost a fortune.
Original post by sabian92
Because their fuel is dirt cheap, their insurance is dirt cheap and the cars are dirt cheap to buy. A friend of the family in the US bought a brand new Mustang in about 2007 for about £14k, with extras like air con, leather seats, all that stuff. He was only 23 at the time and it cost him $400 a year to insure, fully comprehensive. He was getting 24 to the gallon, but he didn't care because fuel was $2.50 a gallon, not $10.00 a gallon it is here. Even the conversion between US and UK gallons makes no difference - they are very thirsty cars to drive and in the UK you'll be filling the tank twice a week without even driving it very much.
Wow America has got it good,so it is basically really rare for a teen to have one as a first car
Original post by JC.
Don't see why not?
I had a british muscle car when I was 19. Had a jag too.
Actually, there's someone I know on another forum - 20 year old just bought himself a '68 Dodge Coronet 500.
I had a british muscle car when I was 19. Had a jag too.
Actually, there's someone I know on another forum - 20 year old just bought himself a '68 Dodge Coronet 500.
Wow you had muscle what make was it? And was the insurance and everything and thanks il try look into that forum
Original post by 1992LP
Insuring them is the main problem - most reasonable prices will come from specialist insurers who won't touch you until you are 21 / 25.
They are quite expensive here too compared to the other cars on offer, what is your budget?
They are quite expensive here too compared to the other cars on offer, what is your budget?
My budget is 3k on the for the car 5k altogether for anything else road tax etc
Original post by BritBoyWonder
Wow you had muscle what make was it? And was the insurance and everything and thanks il try look into that forum
MGB GT V8. I've had another 4 of them since then, mind.
Original post by JC.
MGB GT V8. I've had another 4 of them since then, mind.
Its a beauty mate!! If I was to get one can you give me a estimate on roughly how much the insurance would be
Original post by BritBoyWonder
I haven't seen this thread posted before so i wanted to find out exactly if it is actually possible for a 19 year old to have a muscle car,besides the cost on petrol will insurance really be that bad? I see load of american teens owning mustangs and camaros i just don't see why we cant..
The petrol and insurance costs would be insane- they usually get about 10mpg or less. They are also quite powerful and expensive to repair in the event of an accident, so they will be very expensive to insure, thats if a company will actually insure you on one.
Spare parts will be expensive and very difficult to get hold of.
Unless you have a very well paying job, i wouldn't recommend it. Even then, insurance will be at least double at the moment than what it will be when you're 25. My advice would be to get a cheap runaround that is cheap to insure. After you have a year's NCB, you'll be amazed at how much your insurance is reduced by, and then you can start considering getting a better car.
You have plenty of time to have a muscle car in the future.
Original post by NewFolder
The petrol and insurance costs would be insane- they usually get about 10mpg or less. They are also quite powerful and expensive to repair in the event of an accident, so they will be very expensive to insure, thats if a company will actually insure you on one.
Spare parts will be expensive and very difficult to get hold of.
Unless you have a very well paying job, i wouldn't recommend it. Even then, insurance will be at least double at the moment than what it will be when you're 25. My advice would be to get a cheap runaround that is cheap to insure. After you have a year's NCB, you'll be amazed at how much your insurance is reduced by, and then you can start considering getting a better car.
You have plenty of time to have a muscle car in the future.
Spare parts will be expensive and very difficult to get hold of.
Unless you have a very well paying job, i wouldn't recommend it. Even then, insurance will be at least double at the moment than what it will be when you're 25. My advice would be to get a cheap runaround that is cheap to insure. After you have a year's NCB, you'll be amazed at how much your insurance is reduced by, and then you can start considering getting a better car.
You have plenty of time to have a muscle car in the future.
You have a really good point thanks mate i think i might just have to go with this..what car would you recommend being a good runaround?
Original post by BritBoyWonder
Its a beauty mate!! If I was to get one can you give me a estimate on roughly how much the insurance would be
Depends where you shop and whether you can get a classic car policy I suppose?
Use my cars details if you like....
'75 MG BGT V8
reg no LRT 802P
Manual / 3500cc
Original post by AK.tsr
the UK sucks for true petrolheads...
So true! America pays a small proportion of what we pay for insurance, fuel is less than £1 per litre there, and cars are a lot nicer and more value for money!
And to top it off, the test takes like 15 minutes, with one manoeuvre , parallel parking...so unfair!
Original post by BritBoyWonder
You have a really good point thanks mate i think i might just have to go with this..what car would you recommend being a good runaround?
You may think that you'd be better off getting a small car with a tiny underpowered engine is the way to go, but you may be surprised there.
I can't really recommend any particular car as insurance quotes can vary wildly for all sorts of reasons. Also, depending on where, when, and how often you will be driving, different cars will be better suited to you.
As an example, I got a quote on a 2.5l Volvo Estate with 142bhp. I was expecting the cost to be a few thousand, but it was actually £750 (2 years NCB at the time). At the same time, I got a quote on a 1.2l Renault Clio, with 75bhp. Despite having almost half of the horsepower, it was only about £8 cheaper than the Volvo to insure. Small cars are in high demand due to their low running costs atm, so they are very expensive compared with some larger cars of similar age and condition.
I'd definitely recommend that you look at larger cars as well as smaller ones, and get insurance quotes, it can be surprising what you can insure a larger car for, compared to a smaller one. Stuff like Mondeos, Vectras, Passats, etc.
Although what you eventually go for depends on your circumstances. For example, if you are going to be doing a lot of miles, you will want a car with good fuel economy, which may not necessarily be the cheapest to insure and tax. Petrol is very expensive, and when looking at insurance quotes, a lot of people forget that. Yes you may be able to insure an old estate car with a 2 litre engine for less than a newer small hatchback with a 1 litre engine in some cases, but if you're commuting 50 miles every day, the difference in fuel costs will cancel out the savings in insurance. But if you only use your car a few times a week, it may well be worth getting the larger car if it's cheaper.
I'd definitely recommend looking at a range of cars though. But what will be the best car depends on your circumstances.
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