Want to buy your first car? Help is here!

everyone finds admiral really cheap, try a quote online. I promise you it will be one of the cheapest, put you as main driver so you can build up your NCB and have your mum and dad as named drivers.

I just paid £800 for third party and fire + theft on a 2000 Astra 1.4. Others such as direct line and aa and churchill were quoting £1500-3000

Ok, I'm in serious need of advice.

Recently passed my driving test and have never owned a car.

I have about £3,000 cash to spend.

My problem is:
a) Do I get a new car and put down the £3,000 as a deposit and finance the rest with a car loan, OR
b) Get a used car (maybe max. 5 years old) and either pay for it all using the £3,000 (and pay for the rest using a credit card or something).

I know getting a new car for a first car is probably unwise, but I'm just worried about getting loads of problems if I get a used car and end up having to spend loads on repairs in the long run.

Basic requirements the car needs to have are: less than 150g/km CO2 emissions (for tax and environmental reasons), insurance group 4 (prefereably lower than this), power steering, 5 door, hatchback.

I'm also 6ft so I don't really want a tiny car cos I don't wanna be squashed. And I'm gonna be taking pass plus asap for cheaper insurance (and additional road experience).

I have narrowed my choices down to: Citroen C3, Volkswagen Polo, Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 307 and Seat Ibiza. However, I would very much value and advice on other possible choices.

Thanks!

EDITED to correct typos.

Firstly, don't buy new. It's not a brilliant idea in the first place, but when you're a lowly student with (presumably) not a lot of cash, monthly payments on a car aren't something you're going to want to deal with. The hideous depreciation means you'll just end up losing buckets of money too (unless you buy a Mini, of course, which tend to hold on to your cash). If you want a new car, buy nearly-new instead (i.e a year or 2 old). It'll still have a year's warranty left on it, and will be considerably cheaper. You're still looking at a fair amount of money, though - the only 2 year old cars you'll get for £3000 are likely to be Ford Kas and Chevrolet Matiz...es, both of which are pretty love-or-hate.


The cars you've mentioned are all pretty OK, to be honest. Be careful with the 307, though - they're typically unreliable, so I'm told. The C3 also has a typically girly image (just look at the thing...) and a rather flaky interior, so you might want to avoid that. Out of your selection, I'd go for either the Polo or the Ibiza. They're both the same car underneath, but the Ibiza might be a bit more on insurance (the average Seat driver is about 40 years younger than the average VW one). The Corsa is likely to be pretty reliable too, but personally I don't like them. But then I have odd taste, so...

At the end of the day, used cars are more likely to be unreliable. But the cost of buying (and insuring) a brand new one just outweighs the cost of repairs for an old one. You could well buy a 1995 Ford Fiesta and run it for thousands of miles before you need anything done to it. Or it might fall apart driving home from the dealership. It's a bit of a lottery. But it's still much cheaper to risk it than pay £10,000 for a new one.

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/uvl/popup.jsp?currentaction=searchresults&e2w=228&max_pr=500&sort=5&did=228&partner=TMG&postcode=ts182bq&max_records=200&dropdowntype=uvl&configfile=http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/228/228_config.xml&searchsrc=msl&miles=1500&modelexact=1&lid=search_used__full&source=2&csslocation=http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/228/228&id=200916332637411&distance=2

Opinions? It would be my first car.

When buying your first car, a used one obviously, what's the maximum mileage you'd want it to have. And why is it that people make the "hmmm" noise at me when I say I've found a car and then tell them the mileage, what difference does it make?

is it possible for me to get a basic used car for around £500 that is cheapish to insure and I won't have a ton of problems with? I'm 22, passed my test in october, haven't really needed a car at uni but now i'm going home for summer I feel i'll need one or i'll be trapped. I'm also starting a masters degree in september down south so it'd be usefull to be able to drive down.

I go on sites like auto trader and see the same models like swifts, clios, fiestas, puntos micras. what am i looking for, only thing i know is low milage is a plus, like under 60,000? Id only be looking to use the car for a year-1.5 years, before i'd likely have a full time job and be able to afford something better. But i wouldn't want to buy something that'd just break. Alot of them say MOT for 12 months so does that imply they've been checked out or can car dealers ******** quite easily? Just seems with most purchases in life you're kind of protected but with cars who knows.

also when going to car dealers to they have you just go test drive all over the place or do they take you somewhere quiet, i won't have driven in ages if i do by a car!


please quote me if you reply cheers

I am going to start a job in september. I will be taking my driving test over the summer. I actually got my first driving license abroad in 2000 but have not had a massive deal of driving experience. In any case, I have a budget of approx 5000 to 7000 (I might be able to stretch a bit. I was first thinking of buying a used new-ish car (1 to 3.5 years old), like a Fiesta or a Corsa. But having a look at new car prices, I think at the moment it works out more convenient to buy new. I've had a look around and the Fiat Panda seems of a low price and has also low carbon emissions. I'm not too impressed by the looks, but it seems cheap and it gets very good reviews in top gear (not sure how reliable that is though). I would appreciate comments and suggestions. Thanks.

I would be happy to get at least one useful answer thanks.

Just a little bit of general advice. Low mileage is an advantage because the car will run better and last longer, so under 60,000 is great. If you want low insurance a small car engine size, ideally 1.0 - 1.3 litres is better. So cars such as Ford Ka, Nissan Micra, Renault Clio, Fiat Punto and Vauxhall Corsas are great. When you see the car dealers you can ask to see the MOT so you can check it yourself. Tell them where you would like to go for the test drive. Also, its advised to test the car on different types of roads, just to see how the car generally runs.

If I was in your situation, I would not purchase a car for 500 pounds, because I think its kinda pointless because a) You wouldn't get a car younger than 7 years old which means it'll be old and there's a risk of a lot of problems b) There is always public transport to use over the summer c) Cars are v.expensive, esp if there are any problems- tax, parking (how much would it be at your uni), maintenance, MOT d) car's value depreciate quickly so by the time 1 and a half years have passed the car probably wouldnt be worth much if anything, you probably wouldnt even be able to trade it in and get a large discount

HOWEVER on the plus side, you're 22 so insurance would be a lot cheaper than if you were younger. Also, there is a certain risk regardless of the car you purchase. And you are only looking for a short term car. So ultimately its up to you I guess.

Appreciate what you're saying, cars are indeed an expense. But I can justify it for a few reasons, if i can afford a reliable car of course. I went to uni about 20 miles from my mums house, so while I live back home over summer the intention is to be able to carry on my job here as well as sports training. To get to my sports place would be a 10 minute walk, 45 minute bus, and another 15 minute walk. Or i could drive it in 35 mins. Plus the busses back at night are hourly. Seems hassle if the car option is there. Additionally I work at events doing hospitality/security, if they go on later then 11 there will be no busses so i'll lose out on shifts.

The course i'm applying for is in reading and parking at the halls is £30 a term which i think seems reasonable. I intend to get a job at the stadium down there which would require a bus into reading then a bus to the stadium from where i live, more hassle. Also come september i'd feel bad having my parents drive me down there with all my stuff for a 9 hour round trip in one day!

So what is a minimum amount you'd spend on a car? i know i said i'd use it probably for about 1.5 years but that's not saying i'd get use out of it longer if it was running well, I just thought i could justify spending £500 ish and not seeing any money back if i got to use a car for that length of time.

was playing with insurance quotes for like corsas etc, saw quotes as cheap as £460 a year with quinn, though thats with a £250 excess. Seems reasonable though compared to what i see 17 year olds posting about!