First car - which one of these would you pick?

Running costs are pretty important. Good questions to ask when looking at a car (in person) are:

How much does it cost to fill the petrol tank?
How much does the yearly tax cost?
How much does the MOT cost?
When was the last MOT and Service performed?
How much will insurance cost?

You can already answer a few of these questions by looking at the ads I'd cross off the first and last one, because the tax is much higher.

Run an insurance check on a price comparison site for a car of your preference to see if you can realistically pay the insurance costs. Also, I know you'd rather have black, but this can actually result in higher insurance premiums due to them being harder to spot at night!

You want to go for the one with a lower millage as well, as these have had less use and more likely to last longer

Don't go for the cheapest one either; they are cheap for a reason (also, a car that's 13 years old with only a 120 miles on the clock? If that's correct the car shouldn't run! Don't go with that one!) :P

I'd personally go for either the second or forth option The forth one is the most expensive but has cheaper tax and less miles on the clock. However if you only intend to keep it for a few months, then spending less and going with the second option will probably work well too

Hope This little essay helped

Not necessarily. A car that's been sat on the motorway for 100000 will be in better condition than a car that's been used as a city car for 50000 miles.

Also the 120 miles is likely a mistake it was probably meant to be 120k.

This is true, so another question that needs to be asked is "What was the car primarily used for?"

Hi, I passed my test today (yay!), and have just started searching for my first car. I'm after a 3 door Ford Focus and I'll pay up to about £1,400 for it (it's only for a few months until my insurance drops, then I'll get something a bit more fancy, hopefully!). I've found a few cars on AutoTrader that are pretty close to me, what do you think of them?

What should I bear in mind when buying a car like this?
What specific comments would you make about each listing?
Ultimately, which would you pick?

Any help would be much appreciated! Cheers

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201406295404937

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201406134990304

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201406235242832

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201406245254898

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201405104086263

Preferably in black or silver (though I'd rather have black), either 1.6 or 1.8 litre, and within, say, 50 miles of the Wirral area. If anybody comes across any decent looking Focuses, please give me a heads up!

Does it really need to be 1.6 or 1.8? I went for a 1.1/1.2 as first cars as insurance was cheaper until I got a couple of years in and the insurance dramatically dropped. That way I could save for something a bit better rather than wasting it on higher insurance costs and remember people are more likely to have accidents in the first year after passing so didn't want to risk wasting too much on first car until have lots of alone driving practice in.

I get what you're saying but I've already factored it in - it's one of the reasons I'm after a Focus. Basically, most quotes for a 1.2 Corsa/206/Clio etc. have actually turned out to be the the same or more to insure - from what I can gather, it's to do with the fact that small cars like that - despite the small engine - are seen as Boy Racer cars and, given my age, the premiums are really high.

It's a bit silly really! But cheers for the response!

Cool beans was just wondering. My first car was a 206, loved it just near the end wish had bigger engine (then the rear axle went and a new one was more than what the car was worth lol!) so that kind of made me buy another. Bought a swift 1.5ltr, it's ok but 206 had so much more space inside and decent boot (even coped with ikea trips and multiple passengers and a pram) whereas swift moves fast but somehow is wider yet nowhere near as much room inside. Was going to buy another car (really want an XF!) but bought a house instead!
If its just for a few months could you/can you get put on parents insurance then you can save more for the better car rather than buy one and replace it few months down the line when you could use that extra grand or two towards something better?

Why 3 door? 3 door cars suck.
Don't go for any with tinted windows, smoked lights or after market alloys. It will increase your chances of randomly getting pulled over by the police by %5000 (statistic pulled out of my backside) .

Check Gumtree as well. Go for one with a zetec or ghia trim level. Avoid the 1.4.
You might be able to get the diesel for that money.

Running costs are pretty important. Good questions to ask when looking at a car (in person) are:

How much does it cost to fill the petrol tank?
How much does the yearly tax cost?
How much does the MOT cost?
When was the last MOT and Service performed?
How much will insurance cost?

You can already answer a few of these questions by looking at the ads I'd cross off the first and last one, because the tax is much higher.

Run an insurance check on a price comparison site for a car of your preference to see if you can realistically pay the insurance costs. Also, I know you'd rather have black, but this can actually result in higher insurance premiums due to them being harder to spot at night!

You want to go for the one with a lower millage as well, as these have had less use and more likely to last longer

Don't go for the cheapest one either; they are cheap for a reason (also, a car that's 13 years old with only a 120 miles on the clock? If that's correct the car shouldn't run! Don't go with that one!) :P

I'd personally go for either the second or forth option The forth one is the most expensive but has cheaper tax and less miles on the clock. However if you only intend to keep it for a few months, then spending less and going with the second option will probably work well too

Hope This little essay helped