I should have my full driving license within the next few months and will be on the looking to buy a car before April next year.
I will be 19 in December, and I'm male.
Can anyone recommend a car, with insurance costs of less than £2,000 (less than that would be great).
I'd be looking to spend up to £3,000 probably, £3,500 tops.
I know a lot of factors come into it, but any recommendations/directions would help.
I would be the only driver on the policy and can't get a policy as a named driver on someone else's, unfortunately.
There's many pieces of advice people give, such as going for a small engine car, and/or a two-door, and/or a diesel etc etc.
Not sure how much of it is good advice.
I'm not too fussed about most things in a car at the moment, as it's only a first car.
Also, I would be making 270 odd mile journeys to and from university every few months.
Does employment status make a difference?
I'll be on a gap year, working full-time (for several months) when I buy it.
Last edited by doberman.xxx : 04-04-2009 at 13:27.
Personally I would rummage for old cars under 500 quid, with one liter of engine or less, and spend that three grand on your first years rent.
Fronting insurance policies is a recipe for disaster anyway, but if you can get someone on as a named driver that can help.
Working status does seem to make a difference, those insurance companies that counted medical student as employment gave me cheaper quotes than those that just had student.
If you are only making the journeys to and from uni every couple of months I would leave it out of the equation.
I drive an old one of these clicky which was 900 to insure for the first year (with dad on as a named driver), does 50mpg, has shedloads of space in the back with the rear seats out, you can roll the roof back in 30s, and everyone on it is a piece of piss to do yourself.
They are however getting expensive, for one with an MOT you will be looking at 1200 minimum. Unless you fall in love with a particular type of car I would look for something like this [IMG]clicky[/IMG] that is cheap to get, cheap to get parts for, and easy to work on.
You should be able to pick a car up for under 500 with a good bit of shopping around, then depending on postcode etc insure it for about a grand, maybe a bit more. Leaving you a pile of cash for rent etc, reducing then amount of student debt you'll be paying back in a few years time substantially.
Mondeo. If you're going to be sitting on the motorway for a long distance drive the last thing you'll want is a rustbucket shoebox bogged down full of your stuff revving away to keep up with traffic. Ex rep cars are not going to cost that much more to buy/run/insure than a small shoebox if driven and cared for properly.
Just an example of what you can get for the price. Insurance shouldn't be too bad because it's a sensible car. Add a female relative as a named driver to your policy even if they have no intention of driving it as it should reduce the cost.
Mondeo. If you're going to be sitting on the motorway for a long distance drive the last thing you'll want is a rustbucket shoebox bogged down full of your stuff revving away to keep up with traffic. Ex rep cars are not going to cost that much more to buy/run/insure than a small shoebox if driven and cared for properly.
Just an example of what you can get for the price. Insurance shouldn't be too bad because it's a sensible car. Add a female relative as a named driver to your policy even if they have no intention of driving it as it should reduce the cost.
1.8/2.0 for a first car and insurance 'shouldn't be too bad'?
1.8/2.0 for a first car and insurance 'shouldn't be too bad'?
No because you're failing to look past the fact that insurers don't just base the quote on the engine size, they take the whole car and look at the bigger picture. Straight away people assume that first car = small car, people also assume that young driver plus small car equals lots of damage. By changing the car the equation changes. It's a sensible family car that boy racers associate with people who are getting on a bit in age therefore do not use them themselves so is less risky. It's a mass produced inexpensive car with parts cheaply available (apart from Diesel injectors, the only bad thing with the modern TDCi engine) When I was originally looking at them the 2ltr diesel/petrol engines were returning cheaper quotes than 1.6/1.8ltr focii, and I could get more car for the money.
I'd recommend a Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta. Make sure you get at least a 1.2 - 1.4. The 1.0 have no poke and won't get you out of trouble. The Fiesta is a nicer drive and has more pull but the Corsa is a nicer car overall and is more spacious. Stay away from anything foreign due to service costs. I put my Mum on as a named driver and it brought my premium down by a few hundred. Make sure you take your Pass Plus. Will give you cheaper insurance. I prefer 5 door but 3 doors can have more boot space. (e.g. Corsa)
Thanks.
I can't really get it on someone else's name nor can I use an older person as a named driver.
Any insurance provider recommendations?
One really can't recommend anyone, you must take a copy of the yellow pages, a phone, a pad of paper, and phone every provider you can find, writing down all the quotes, then going for the cheapest one.
It'll take an afternoon, but even if you only save 150 quid doing it, thats working out at a good 30 pounds an hour of work.
Comparison websites are a good starting place. Check them carefully though. One I thought was a really good price would impose a huge hike in price once I had passed my test.
Direct Line were the cheapest for me. Avoid 3rd party unless you can afford to cover the costs of any repairs that you may have, yourself.
A second hand Peugeot 206. Good reliable cars. Loot magazine car section is useful. Directline insurance is quite cheap and trustworthy
Had a claim with Direct Line. Excellent service. Highly recommended! They also give an additional year no claim discount for having taken PassPlus.
My local garage advised I stay away from Peugeot, Fiat, Citroen etc and went for Ford, Vauxhall. (Due to reliability and costs). I think, at the end of the day, you are either lucky or unlucky with the car you get.
Check the log book carefully. Make sure that it has not been seriously damaged in the past and then patched up and put back on the road. (Note at the bottom of the first page) AVOID!!!!
I've a 5 door, 03 Corsa, 1.2 GLS and love it too. Cost under £3000 with 42K on the clock. Good for insurance too. Recommended. (Though I did love driving the W reg 1.3 Fiesta Zetec that I had before, Fab car, just looks a little dated now.)
Had a claim with Direct Line. Excellent service. Highly recommended! They also give an additional year no claim discount for having taken PassPlus.
My local garage advised I stay away from Peugeot, Fiat, Citroen etc and went for Ford, Vauxhall. (Due to reliability and costs). I think, at the end of the day, you are either lucky or unlucky with the car you get.
Yeah, good points. I found DirectLine good and my Peugeot 206 was very reliable. I know Ford and Vauxhaull are great cars but what turns me off them slightly is they are a bit of a favourite for joyriding car theives. Maybe it is largely down to luck though.
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Recommend a first car, please.
