First Car Ideas?

I just passed my test last week (yay! :tongue:

) and I'm looking into buying my first car. I've been looking around for a while but just keep going round in circles so could really do with some suggestions!

I'm female, 22 so obvioulsy I'll need a small car with a small engine due to insurance but I will be doing motorway/rural driving so will need something that can cope.

I was thinking of paying around £3,000 max for the car, but if it's a decent car that will make an investment then I'm willing to pay a little bit more. It does seem that the newer the car the cheaper the insurance so I could possibly pay a bit more for the car if the insurance decreases (I looked at a new ish fiat 500 which brought my insurance to 700 from £1,200+)

I do want something that looks nice, nice exterior/interior if possible. 5 seats would be great but not essential. A good size boot/or rear space would be needed though.

Any ideas?

Reply 1

Enginerd.

21

Original post by Jaydee18

I just passed my test last week (yay! :tongue:

) and I'm looking into buying my first car. I've been looking around for a while but just keep going round in circles so could really do with some suggestions!

I'm female, 22 so obvioulsy I'll need a small car with a small engine due to insurance but I will be doing motorway/rural driving so will need something that can cope.

I was thinking of paying around £3,000 max for the car, but if it's a decent car that will make an investment then I'm willing to pay a little bit more. It does seem that the newer the car the cheaper the insurance so I could possibly pay a bit more for the car if the insurance decreases (I looked at a new ish fiat 500 which brought my insurance to 700 from £1,200+)

I do want something that looks nice, nice exterior/interior if possible. 5 seats would be great but not essential. A good size boot/or rear space would be needed though.

Any ideas?

Soo angry at the fact that young adults in my area get quoted 3000+. 1200 would be an absolute bargain let alone 700 :tongue:

Anyway, In reply to your question, generally, newer cars have lower insurance but it all depends on the driver and size of the engine and the area. Try googling first time cars with low insurances, that may work.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2

shaymarriott

9

Polo?

Only thing to say - a car is unlikely to be an investment, as unless you buy a decent classic or rare car it will almost certainly depreciate in value.

Theoretically, a greater spend could buy you a car which will last longer... But in reality any used car can die a sad and expensive death. Your best bet on a budget is to go for something simple, with less to go wrong.

Reply 3

Alfissti

20

Look for an 05 onwards Suzuki Swift.

Reply 4

Iqbal007

19

Original post by Jaydee18

I just passed my test last week (yay! :tongue:

) and I'm looking into buying my first car. I've been looking around for a while but just keep going round in circles so could really do with some suggestions!

I'm female, 22 so obvioulsy I'll need a small car with a small engine due to insurance but I will be doing motorway/rural driving so will need something that can cope.

I was thinking of paying around £3,000 max for the car, but if it's a decent car that will make an investment then I'm willing to pay a little bit more. It does seem that the newer the car the cheaper the insurance so I could possibly pay a bit more for the car if the insurance decreases (I looked at a new ish fiat 500 which brought my insurance to 700 from £1,200+)

I do want something that looks nice, nice exterior/interior if possible. 5 seats would be great but not essential. A good size boot/or rear space would be needed though.

Any ideas?

Bigger car or engine doesn't necessarily mean lower insurance quote for me a 1.6l civic is cheaper to insure then a 1.2l polo.

Considering there'll be a lot of motorway driving or driving at higher speeds over a period of time...you need something with cruise control I would say and with a decent size engine. The smaller engines tend to burn more driving at faster speeds.

Add your parents as named drivers to lower insurance.
I would say look at a the ford focus 1.6l, Seat leon, the bigger engined skoda fabia, polos, etc

Reply 5

Witcher

9

I got a '03 Renault Clio for around £2000 which was in fantastic nick, low milage and very clean. I've been driving it for 3 years now and never had a serious problem.

Reply 6

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

19

Original post by Jaydee18

I just passed my test last week (yay! :tongue:

) and I'm looking into buying my first car. I've been looking around for a while but just keep going round in circles so could really do with some suggestions!

I'm female, 22 so obvioulsy I'll need a small car with a small engine due to insurance but I will be doing motorway/rural driving so will need something that can cope.

I was thinking of paying around £3,000 max for the car, but if it's a decent car that will make an investment then I'm willing to pay a little bit more. It does seem that the newer the car the cheaper the insurance so I could possibly pay a bit more for the car if the insurance decreases (I looked at a new ish fiat 500 which brought my insurance to 700 from £1,200+)

I do want something that looks nice, nice exterior/interior if possible. 5 seats would be great but not essential. A good size boot/or rear space would be needed though.

Any ideas?

Id recommend a hyundai- either a getz, i10, or i20.
Also add parents etc as named drivers. Comparison sites can also come in useful.

Reply 7

Jaydee18

OP

5

Thanks guys!

Original post by Enginerd.

Soo angry at the fact that young adults in my area get quoted 3000+. 1200 would be an absolute bargain let alone 700 :tongue:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Wow, £3,000! I thought £1,200 was bad & I live in a high risk area in Manchester so it's not as bad as I thought then!

Original post by Alfissti

Look for an 05 onwards Suzuki Swift.

I want a Suzuki Swift but thought they might be a bit too much to tax, insure, run etc? Do you have one? If so, what are the running costs like?

Original post by Witcher

I got a '03 Renault Clio for around £2000 which was in fantastic nick, low milage and very clean. I've been driving it for 3 years now and never had a serious problem.

Thanks, I looked at the Clio, are they cheap to run?

Reply 8

Alfissti

20

Original post by Jaydee18

I want a Suzuki Swift but thought they might be a bit too much to tax, insure, run etc? Do you have one? If so, what are the running costs like?

We had one on the motor-pool fleet. When we sold it to one of our staff it had nearly 200k km on it. That one was a 1.5l All Wheel Drive model and returned around 7.5l/100km, most of the ones in UK are 1.3l Front Wheel Drive so consumption should be a lot lower. Replacement parts and servicing cost are fairly standard, nothing expensive or problematic on it.

Tax should be fairly similar to your usual Fiesta or Corsa or Clio in UK of similar age as should insurance.

Highly recommend it if you just want a fuss free step onto the motoring ladder.

Reply 9

Witcher

9

Original post by Jaydee18

Thanks, I looked at the Clio, are they cheap to run?

Its about £40 to fill up the tank and £75 on road tax. Also because they are common parts are easily/cheap to get if they need repaired!

Reply 10

Jaydee18

OP

5

Original post by Alfissti

We had one on the motor-pool fleet. When we sold it to one of our staff it had nearly 200k km on it. That one was a 1.5l All Wheel Drive model and returned around 7.5l/100km, most of the ones in UK are 1.3l Front Wheel Drive so consumption should be a lot lower. Replacement parts and servicing cost are fairly standard, nothing expensive or problematic on it.

Tax should be fairly similar to your usual Fiesta or Corsa or Clio in UK of similar age as should insurance.

Highly recommend it if you just want a fuss free step onto the motoring ladder.