The Student Room Group

Choosing a 1st car

I’ve recently passed my test and looking for an ideal car to drive to college and back from and an apprenticeship after college where I could be driving quite far. I obviously want something that would last me a couple of years here with minimal issues but also don’t want to just max out my budget of up to £7000 for the sake of it
The sensible option is to look for something Class 1 or 2 insurance as that will be the thing that takes the most of your budget - probably more than the cost of the car! Also get something economical to run - think Citroen/Peugeot/Toyota.
Pick something small and simple that doesn't have a turbocharger.
Reply 3
Not related to what you’re asking but as you’ve said you passed recently did u have to do an emergency stop on your test?
same car you learnt in
Original post by ellieRx
Not related to what you’re asking but as you’ve said you passed recently did u have to do an emergency stop on your test?


No but I practiced this a lot and it’s very easy to do. Just make sure to slam on the clutch and brake as fast as possible when the examiner gives the signal. Make sure you come to a full stop with the handbrake and do a 360° check before moving off when told to do so
The Hyundai i10 is surprisingly a great option for a first car (surprising because I never thought to even consider it until I realised recently how great value for money it is). It's a low insurance group (2), built more solidly than your peugeot 107/toyota aygo/citroen c1 (so is less noisy on the motorway, if you ever need to trek far), is actually a pretty smooth drive, holds value well, all i10's have 5 doors/5 seats and you can get an SE version (look it up, the interior is super pretty) with a 16 plate and around 30,000 miles on it for around £6500.

source: I had my heart set on a new, facelifted Aygo (with the cool cross) until I test drove an i10 - I was thoroughly impressed, especially after researching it more and finding out that the 'which car?' website gave it a 5* review compared to the 3* for the Aygo. Turns out the i10 is the best all-rounder (only beaten by the skoda citigo for small things like boot space - personally I don't like the look of the citigo so I didn't go for it). Good luck!
Original post by VETwannabe
The Hyundai i10 is surprisingly a great option for a first car (surprising because I never thought to even consider it until I realised recently how great value for money it is). It's a low insurance group (2), built more solidly than your peugeot 107/toyota aygo/citroen c1 (so is less noisy on the motorway, if you ever need to trek far), is actually a pretty smooth drive, holds value well, all i10's have 5 doors/5 seats and you can get an SE version (look it up, the interior is super pretty) with a 16 plate and around 30,000 miles on it for around £6500.

source: I had my heart set on a new, facelifted Aygo (with the cool cross) until I test drove an i10 - I was thoroughly impressed, especially after researching it more and finding out that the 'which car?' website gave it a 5* review compared to the 3* for the Aygo. Turns out the i10 is the best all-rounder (only beaten by the skoda citigo for small things like boot space - personally I don't like the look of the citigo so I didn't go for it). Good luck!


I’m thinking of getting a Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo or a Vauxhall Corsa Limited Edition. They look so nice imo I did an insurance check on the Skoda which is apparently insurance band 11/12 and my quote was only £1230 for a 1.6 and the corsas have come back with quotes around £1000
Original post by Student1191
I’m thinking of getting a Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo or a Vauxhall Corsa Limited Edition. They look so nice imo I did an insurance check on the Skoda which is apparently insurance band 11/12 and my quote was only £1230 for a 1.6 and the corsas have come back with quotes around £1000

I don't know much about the Skoda tbh but the corsa definitely had a really good reputation. If it was a bit closer to my budget then I would have definitely considered it.

Have a look at the 'which car?' Reviews for both of those and see what they think of them. Whatever you decide to go for, the younger the car and the lower the milage, the better. Although I recently found out that all cars registered after march 2017 have to pay £140 road tax, regarlereg of the emissions. So a 15/16 plate car would probably be your best bet. Good luck! Also I'm super jealous that your insurance quotes are that nice. The area where you live must be pretty decent. Nice one :smile:
Either a nice area or perhaps the driver is a bit older...those quotes seem very reasonable especially for a 1.6!!!- hopefully they are guaranteed!!
Original post by Simbasoul
Either a nice area or perhaps the driver is a bit older...those quotes seem very reasonable especially for a 1.6!!!- hopefully they are guaranteed!!

Been there, tried that unfortunately. I'm 25 and even after considering the smallest cars from the lowest insurance groups the cheapest I could find was around £1000-£1300 based on whether I paid monthly or annually. The area makes such a massive difference.

Those quotes are really good OP. Whatever the reason for them may be, you have the luxury of getting a nicer car because of them so treat yoself! :wink: (personally I'd probably spend a bit more on getting a newer car, or one with a lower milage, if you find that you're making savings on your insurance).
Original post by Simbasoul
Either a nice area or perhaps the driver is a bit older...those quotes seem very reasonable especially for a 1.6!!!- hopefully they are guaranteed!!


Only just passed and I’m 17. It’s not exactly a rough area but also nowhere near the best
Original post by VETwannabe
Been there, tried that unfortunately. I'm 25 and even after considering the smallest cars from the lowest insurance groups the cheapest I could find was around £1000-£1300 based on whether I paid monthly or annually. The area makes such a massive difference.

Those quotes are really good OP. Whatever the reason for them may be, you have the luxury of getting a nicer car because of them so treat yoself! :wink: (personally I'd probably spend a bit more on getting a newer car, or one with a lower milage, if you find that you're making savings on your insurance).


Thanks :smile:
Original post by Student1191
Only just passed and I’m 17. It’s not exactly a rough area but also nowhere near the best

Genuinely interested in who the quote was with then as we live in a very good area and when we looked recently for my 17 year old son, the quotes were nowhere near as competitive! We ended up looking for a class 1 insurance vehicle as that worked out best and getting a multicar deal as that was better value.
I’m 17 and I have a 60 plate Ford Fiesta. My car cost £1000 to insure with a black box and I think it’s quite cheap to run. From empty, a full tank of petrol is £40. It’s very nice to drive though at first I had trouble getting used to it because I learned to drive in a 2.6L diesel Honda Civic.
Go with something small and cheap as your first car. Then you can use the rest of your budget towards insurance.

When I had my old car, I went for a Ford Fusion. Paid £800 for it, and the insurance for the first year was a black box insurance which was around the £1200 mark. :redface:

Original post by ellieRx
Not related to what you’re asking but as you’ve said you passed recently did u have to do an emergency stop on your test?


I never did on my 3 attempts. You may get asked to do it, but it depends on the examiner I guess. :redface:
Original post by Simbasoul
Genuinely interested in who the quote was with then as we live in a very good area and when we looked recently for my 17 year old son, the quotes were nowhere near as competitive! We ended up looking for a class 1 insurance vehicle as that worked out best and getting a multicar deal as that was better value.


It was from Hastings direct found on compare the market
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by ohhello92x
Go with something small and cheap as your first car. Then you can use the rest of your budget towards insurance.

When I had my old car, I went for a Ford Fusion. Paid £800 for it, and the insurance for the first year was a black box insurance which was around the £1200 mark. :redface:



I never did on my 3 attempts. You may get asked to do it, but it depends on the examiner I guess. :redface:


which company did you use for the black box insurance? I'm concerned with going over the speed limit and having my policy cancelled if i go ahead with the black box insurance.
Original post by blogbyreviews
which company did you use for the black box insurance? I'm concerned with going over the speed limit and having my policy cancelled if i go ahead with the black box insurance.


I've had black box insurance for almost 4 years now, the first 2 were with direct line and I'm currently with Admiral. Now, I don't tend to speed, although I think I accidentally went at 80 on a dual carriageway one time (I came back down to 70 as soon as I noticed), and my black box has never flagged anything up. The only thing it has ever flagged up is the road I had to drive to college on wasn't the safest, but there was no other route. I think if you were consistently speeding and driving on higher risk roads, your insurance company might cancel your insurance. Generally, they allow for a few mistakes here and there, but it's best to follow the rules as much as possible
Original post by blogbyreviews
which company did you use for the black box insurance? I'm concerned with going over the speed limit and having my policy cancelled if i go ahead with the black box insurance.


I went with Admiral :smile:

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