[emznjav]

Ive got a seat ibiza 1.9 tdi it's a rocket lol

[AaronShort555]

Hey everyone, this is my first car, a 1970 morris minor £754 to insure, fun to drive, gets good looks, whats not to like?
apart from the reliability and fuel economy haha

[mbutt94]

Hi

Having trouble deciding between a few cars for a first buy.

2008 1.2 vw polo £4000 35000 miles
2009 1.4 ford fiesta £7000 20000 miles
2007 1.4 vw golf £7000 40000 miles

Would it be worth spending extra on a 1.4 polo instead of the 1.2?

[shaminn]

(Original post by mbutt94)
Hi

Having trouble deciding between a few cars for a first buy.

2008 1.2 vw polo £4000 35000 miles
2009 1.4 ford fiesta £7000 20000 miles
2007 1.4 vw golf £7000 40000 miles

Would it be worth spending extra on a 1.4 polo instead of the 1.2?

I think the Golf isn't worth it, because I have a funny feeling the insurance would be a bit higher. With the Polo, do a check on insurance. It may be worthwhile if you are looking for a bit of a faster car etc.

If you are willing to spend £7000 on a fiesta, why not look at the new shape Polo's from 2010 upwards?

[Kevmeister]

(Original post by mbutt94)
Hi

Having trouble deciding between a few cars for a first buy.

2008 1.2 vw polo £4000 35000 miles
2009 1.4 ford fiesta £7000 20000 miles
2007 1.4 vw golf £7000 40000 miles

Would it be worth spending extra on a 1.4 polo instead of the 1.2?

Fiesta is way overpriced - you can get a brand new one with a 1.25 for £9000. Do NOT spend £7k on a three year old 1.4 Fiesta. A quick autotrader search shows they're going for circa £5500.

[TheFatController]

(Original post by emznjav)
Hi i am 18 years old and male and am wanting to purchase a first car for myself. I will be travelling around 80 miles everyday from sheffield to bradford and back so need a reliable and safe car for the motorways. I was looking at honda civics etc and can get insurance on these for roughly £1200 with co-op so not too bad. I would like some advice from current owners please?

Regards

emznjav

Astra Mk4

(Original post by linkdapink)
Old cars are usually more expensive to insure because they're unreliable and lack some of the safety features of newer cars.

I've found that the main deciding factor in insurance cost (especially on comparison sites) is the book value of the vehicle - moreso than the insurance group and engine size - but that could just be because of the age of car that's in my price range

[rock_climber86]

Hi everyone,

I want to get a first car. I want something reliable, efficient, not too shabby sized boot, around £2kish, 2nd hand. I'll mainly be using it to drive to random naturey places like devon, peak distract, north wales etc. To emphasise I want a car that won't need regular servicing and will keep on going for a few years!

Not too fussed about pulling girls, a stupidly loud engines and anything flashy...just a reliable car that won't break down. Oh and I might drive it to France once or twice a year around Paris so the car can't break down. . I have this idea of a Matilda's dad salesmen from Roald Dahl's book ....too much of a noob and fearful I might end up with a banger full of wood chippings in the engine (yes that movie haunts me )

I looked on auto trader but i've absolutely no idea where to even start because i'm a car noob! Also, other than car insurance and road tax, is there anything else a driver needs to get? Is road side assistance with RAC/AA compulsory/advised?

Thanks!

[1992LP]

(Original post by AaronShort555)
Hey everyone, this is my first car, a 1970 morris minor £754 to insure, fun to drive, gets good looks, whats not to like?
apart from the reliability and fuel economy haha

That is brilliant, well done for gone for something a bit different!

Even if it does break down a bit, they are very simple to work on so you should be able to do most jobs yourself, and you will learn a lot about how engines work!

Congratulations, I love that

[Dizmel]

Try to get something made near the year 2000 (it will be hard with that budget though...), with minimum safety, radio, AirCon, etc.
Also check that the brand is popular and will have cheap spare parts and service because you don't want to end up paying a whole load just for that. Low miles is a bonus, but at that budget, it's hard. A car that has good mileage is also useful if you don't want to pay too much for fuel.

Brands such as Toyota, Ford, BMW (old ones), Volkswagen and Renault are all reliable and drive solidly enough.

Hope the advice helps!

Good luck!

Edit: the Peugeot 206 model is also great and there is every chance that it could come under your budget.

[Herr]

(Original post by mbutt94)
Hi

Having trouble deciding between a few cars for a first buy.

2008 1.2 vw polo £4000 35000 miles
2009 1.4 ford fiesta £7000 20000 miles
2007 1.4 vw golf £7000 40000 miles

Would it be worth spending extra on a 1.4 polo instead of the 1.2?

That Fiesta is way too much money. Don't bother with it. Add a bit more and you can buy a brand new VW Up!

The Polo, is the 1.2l a 6v or 12v engine? The 6v version is too underpowered for this car, plus it is also fairly stripped down of a lot of kit usually. There are several versions of the 1.4l, is it a FSi, 1.4l 75PS or 1.4l 100PS. Early model FSi models had issues with the injectors and fuel pump in addition they also gave problems with carbon buildup at the valve seats. The 75PS version is quite thirsty but it is one of the most reliable VW engines out there and it is also cheap to maintain, only thing is if I'm not wrong the tax can be quite high on it annually. The 100PS model is obviously the nice one to have but am sure it will bring forth a penalty when it comes to the insurance. I'd say stick with a 1.2 12v Polo it is a better option for a starter car.

As for the VW Golf, the 1.4l is too small an engine for a car this size, it will struggle when you drive on any hills or when the car is loaded up with passengers. Plus the Mk5 Golfs weren't fantastic cars.

[Herr]

(Original post by AaronShort555)
Hey everyone, this is my first car, a 1970 morris minor £754 to insure, fun to drive, gets good looks, whats not to like?
apart from the reliability and fuel economy haha

Congrats, nice car, long ago a Morris Minor was my first car as well though mine was a very poor condition convertible from 1949.... now I'm in the midst of restoring one to it's original condition, alas I'm still trying to catalogue it and find the parts required for it.

[rock_climber86]

(Original post by Dizmel)
Try to get something made near the year 2000 (it will be hard with that budget though...), with minimum safety, radio, AirCon, etc.
Also check that the brand is popular and will have cheap spare parts and service because you don't want to end up paying a whole load just for that. Low miles is a bonus, but at that budget, it's hard. A car that has good mileage is also useful if you don't want to pay too much for fuel.

Brands such as Toyota, Ford, BMW (old ones), Volkswagen and Renault are all reliable and drive solidly enough.

Hope the advice helps!

Good luck!

Edit: the Peugeot 206 model is also great and there is every chance that it could come under your budget.

Thanks for the advice . You're making it sound as if the budget is low. What is a good budget for a first car? . Can I get decent insurance for under a grand now that i'm 25 and have had my licence for a few years? i also have the pass plus thing. If i can get cheap insurance I could probably stretch out my budget to £3k

[KCLeblanc]

(Original post by rock_climber86)
What is a good budget for a first car? . Can I get decent insurance for under a grand now that i'm 25 and have had my licence for a few years? i also have the pass plus thing. If i can get cheap insurance I could probably stretch out my budget to £3k

Why not go and look at a few garages and see what's available. Don't just go and buy a car at random, but pick out a few that you think might be suitable. You can then get insurance quotes and do a bit more research.

Also think about how much you'll use the car, a diesel might be more economical but it'll cost more to buy in the first place. If you're only doing a low millage then the petrol car will be cheaper over all. Also modern diesels are generally less robust then their petrol counterparts.

As a shot in the dark I'd say a Focus would probably be a good choice, there's a lot out there to choose from. So you can afford to be picky about condition, colour and spec.

[Dizmel]

£2k is a decent budget for your first car, but you've got to choose carefully. There are plenty of rubbishy cars on the market which sound appealing enough, but the maintenance can get quite expensive.

I'm not sure on the insurances prices, but there is already a thread about it ( a bit old): http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=501355

Essentially, your insurance will look at a few things:

-Your driving record
-The type of car you own (powerful or economical)
- The lifestyle you lead (travelling a lot or little, in the city roads or motorways)

These and other factors will affect the quotes they will give you. Search around for a good deal

Hope this helps!
BTW, ask friends and family members about this because I'm sure many would have gone through this process

[rock_climber86]

(Original post by KCLeblanc)
Why not go and look at a few garages and see what's available. Don't just go and buy a car at random, but pick out a few that you think might be suitable. You can then get insurance quotes and do a bit more research.

Also think about how much you'll use the car, a diesel might be more economical but it'll cost more to buy in the first place. If you're only doing a low millage then the petrol car will be cheaper over all. Also modern diesels are generally less robust then their petrol counterparts.

As a shot in the dark I'd say a Focus would probably be a good choice, there's a lot out there to choose from. So you can afford to be picky about condition, colour and spec.

focus is the only thing that comes to mind because that's what i had lessons in and did my test in. Choosing cars is such a faff...if only this were a communist car state

[ReeferMadness]

I friend of mine got a 1999 1.6 golf for £3,500 from a car sales shop near by and insured for £2000
Brilliant car been perfectly good 4 years now

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[A Mysterious Lord]

(Original post by AaronShort555)
Hey everyone, this is my first car, a 1970 morris minor £754 to insure, fun to drive, gets good looks, whats not to like?
apart from the reliability and fuel economy haha

That looks fantastic

[KCLeblanc]

(Original post by rock_climber86)
focus is the only thing that comes to mind because that's what i had lessons in and did my test in. Choosing cars is such a faff...if only this were a communist car state

In that case get a Trabant

Actually that makes it easier. Because you can cut out all the obscure cars and just stick all the bog standard Ford, VWs, Peugeots, Citroens or if you must Vauxhalls.

Bare in mind VW also includes Skoda and Seat.

[TheFatController]

(Original post by rock_climber86)
Hi everyone,

I want to get a first car. I want something reliable, efficient, not too shabby sized boot, around £2kish, 2nd hand. I'll mainly be using it to drive to random naturey places like devon, peak distract, north wales etc. To emphasise I want a car that won't need regular servicing and will keep on going for a few years!
Thanks!

I get a feeling I'm going to keep saying this to people in this thread - but:

Astra Mk4 (1.4 16v petrol if you want to skim a few quid off tax and insurance). Large boot for the size of the car (can get an estate if you need more space), acceptable size for medium-distance journeys. You've already mentioned a Focus and this is probably the next best thing (but probably a bit cheaper).

Mine needed hardly anything doing in the few years I owned it and if I hadn't been an idiot and ignored the timing belt interval it would still be running now.

Given the amount you pay for it, I'd say AA cover is definitely worth it

[emznjav]

(Original post by TheFatController)
I get a feeling I'm going to keep saying this to people in this thread - but:

Astra Mk4 (1.4 16v petrol if you want to skim a few quid off tax and insurance). Large boot for the size of the car (can get an estate if you need more space), acceptable size for medium-distance journeys. You've already mentioned a Focus and this is probably the next best thing (but probably a bit cheaper).

Mine needed hardly anything doing in the few years I owned it and if I hadn't been an idiot and ignored the timing belt interval it would still be running now.

Given the amount you pay for it, I'd say AA cover is definitely worth it

Dont these have the rubbish ecotec engines?