First Car
Hi Everyone,
I need a bit of advice for my first car. I'm 22, and I have had my license for just under a year now, but I have been sharing my dad's 2.0L Diesel.
Im going to be traveling to Uni in October, its about a 40-45 min drive on the motorway so I have been looking at a diesel for the fuel economy.
i have a budget of around £6000 max.
I am a bit of a car enthusiast so I wanted a fun hatchback, but the fuel is going to be a killer.
Some of my ideas are: BMW 120D, 316D-320D, Merc C220, Audi A5, TT TDI, what are your opinions, or are there any better options I could go for?
Thank you
I need a bit of advice for my first car. I'm 22, and I have had my license for just under a year now, but I have been sharing my dad's 2.0L Diesel.
Im going to be traveling to Uni in October, its about a 40-45 min drive on the motorway so I have been looking at a diesel for the fuel economy.
i have a budget of around £6000 max.
I am a bit of a car enthusiast so I wanted a fun hatchback, but the fuel is going to be a killer.
Some of my ideas are: BMW 120D, 316D-320D, Merc C220, Audi A5, TT TDI, what are your opinions, or are there any better options I could go for?
Thank you
Original post by Zephyr0221
I hope you are also looking into Insurance because its wild... unless you use your dad as a named driver and put yourself as second driver. Estimate is about £1.5k to £2.0k for a 22 year old. As 19 y/o I got about 2.1k without blackbox... So yea that decreases your budget to 4000£ unless you are paying insurance separately.
A 320D for me is £1800 to insure without a black box which I don't mind paying.
Original post by Ritchie123
A 320D for me is £1800 to insure without a black box which I don't mind paying.
Thats good cuz its an important issue which most people don't look at before buying a car.
Original post by Ritchie123
Hi Everyone,
I need a bit of advice for my first car. I'm 22, and I have had my license for just under a year now, but I have been sharing my dad's 2.0L Diesel.
Im going to be traveling to Uni in October, its about a 40-45 min drive on the motorway so I have been looking at a diesel for the fuel economy.
i have a budget of around £6000 max.
I am a bit of a car enthusiast so I wanted a fun hatchback, but the fuel is going to be a killer.
Some of my ideas are: BMW 120D, 316D-320D, Merc C220, Audi A5, TT TDI, what are your opinions, or are there any better options I could go for?
Thank you
I need a bit of advice for my first car. I'm 22, and I have had my license for just under a year now, but I have been sharing my dad's 2.0L Diesel.
Im going to be traveling to Uni in October, its about a 40-45 min drive on the motorway so I have been looking at a diesel for the fuel economy.
i have a budget of around £6000 max.
I am a bit of a car enthusiast so I wanted a fun hatchback, but the fuel is going to be a killer.
Some of my ideas are: BMW 120D, 316D-320D, Merc C220, Audi A5, TT TDI, what are your opinions, or are there any better options I could go for?
Thank you
Id check the insurance costs of any cars you are thinking of insuring before getting anything. Insurance is the killer, especially with newer drivers.
Yeah deffo always secure an insurance quote before buying anything, last thing you want is to get a comparison site quote, buy the car then when you actually talk to the insurer you find a rule which changes things 😅
You're a relatively new & young driver but you've still got that 1 year history and a few more years of age than many, so you can possibly got for something a bit snazzier than a group 1 beigebox.
Will you be getting a no claims bonus for the last year, or are you only an added driver to your dads policy? Also do you live anywhere with or planning to get a 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' or such? as they hate diesels (my 08 4.2l petrol car is allowed in, my 14 plate 1.6 diesel van isn't 😄)
I do like my used German cars, one of my best buys ever was a cheap 1st gen Merc SLK, pretty nimble and there's later diesel 3rd gen ones in that budget and the folding hard top is always badass IMO. Both the Audi A4 and A5 are nice places to be if a bit heavier on the road than they look. Something to take into account with almost all used German cars of a certain age is the high likelyhood of some expensive maintenance down the line if you plan on holding it for a while. I had an 06 A4 and its auto gearbox/ABS went mad and crashed 😄 I have an S5 now but it's off the road for a v expensive clutch replacement, like at least double what a 'normal' car would cost so be warned 😬
You're a relatively new & young driver but you've still got that 1 year history and a few more years of age than many, so you can possibly got for something a bit snazzier than a group 1 beigebox.
Will you be getting a no claims bonus for the last year, or are you only an added driver to your dads policy? Also do you live anywhere with or planning to get a 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' or such? as they hate diesels (my 08 4.2l petrol car is allowed in, my 14 plate 1.6 diesel van isn't 😄)
I do like my used German cars, one of my best buys ever was a cheap 1st gen Merc SLK, pretty nimble and there's later diesel 3rd gen ones in that budget and the folding hard top is always badass IMO. Both the Audi A4 and A5 are nice places to be if a bit heavier on the road than they look. Something to take into account with almost all used German cars of a certain age is the high likelyhood of some expensive maintenance down the line if you plan on holding it for a while. I had an 06 A4 and its auto gearbox/ABS went mad and crashed 😄 I have an S5 now but it's off the road for a v expensive clutch replacement, like at least double what a 'normal' car would cost so be warned 😬
Original post by StriderHort
Yeah deffo always secure an insurance quote before buying anything, last thing you want is to get a comparison site quote, buy the car then when you actually talk to the insurer you find a rule which changes things 😅
You're a relatively new & young driver but you've still got that 1 year history and a few more years of age than many, so you can possibly got for something a bit snazzier than a group 1 beigebox.
Will you be getting a no claims bonus for the last year, or are you only an added driver to your dads policy? Also do you live anywhere with or planning to get a 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' or such? as they hate diesels (my 08 4.2l petrol car is allowed in, my 14 plate 1.6 diesel van isn't 😄)
I do like my used German cars, one of my best buys ever was a cheap 1st gen Merc SLK, pretty nimble and there's later diesel 3rd gen ones in that budget and the folding hard top is always badass IMO. Both the Audi A4 and A5 are nice places to be if a bit heavier on the road than they look. Something to take into account with almost all used German cars of a certain age is the high likelyhood of some expensive maintenance down the line if you plan on holding it for a while. I had an 06 A4 and its auto gearbox/ABS went mad and crashed 😄 I have an S5 now but it's off the road for a v expensive clutch replacement, like at least double what a 'normal' car would cost so be warned 😬
You're a relatively new & young driver but you've still got that 1 year history and a few more years of age than many, so you can possibly got for something a bit snazzier than a group 1 beigebox.
Will you be getting a no claims bonus for the last year, or are you only an added driver to your dads policy? Also do you live anywhere with or planning to get a 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' or such? as they hate diesels (my 08 4.2l petrol car is allowed in, my 14 plate 1.6 diesel van isn't 😄)
I do like my used German cars, one of my best buys ever was a cheap 1st gen Merc SLK, pretty nimble and there's later diesel 3rd gen ones in that budget and the folding hard top is always badass IMO. Both the Audi A4 and A5 are nice places to be if a bit heavier on the road than they look. Something to take into account with almost all used German cars of a certain age is the high likelyhood of some expensive maintenance down the line if you plan on holding it for a while. I had an 06 A4 and its auto gearbox/ABS went mad and crashed 😄 I have an S5 now but it's off the road for a v expensive clutch replacement, like at least double what a 'normal' car would cost so be warned 😬
Hi, thanks for the response. That has been a great help. I honestly don't think I will be going into clean-air zones that often so not having a Euro 6 car doesn't matter for me.
So yeah I have been looking at quotes, I will be having my dad on it too. It's about 1700-1800£ to insure a 220d for example. But I can get insurance for a R53 Cooper S for £1000 or a FN2 Type R for £1500, so I'm honestly now debating getting something fun even if the fuel cost and tax is going to be higher.
I did drive a mk3 TT for a couple of months also so I have experienced a car with a bit more power.
Original post by Ritchie123
Hi, thanks for the response. That has been a great help. I honestly don't think I will be going into clean-air zones that often so not having a Euro 6 car doesn't matter for me.
So yeah I have been looking at quotes, I will be having my dad on it too. It's about 1700-1800£ to insure a 220d for example. But I can get insurance for a R53 Cooper S for £1000 or a FN2 Type R for £1500, so I'm honestly now debating getting something fun even if the fuel cost and tax is going to be higher.
I did drive a mk3 TT for a couple of months also so I have experienced a car with a bit more power.
So yeah I have been looking at quotes, I will be having my dad on it too. It's about 1700-1800£ to insure a 220d for example. But I can get insurance for a R53 Cooper S for £1000 or a FN2 Type R for £1500, so I'm honestly now debating getting something fun even if the fuel cost and tax is going to be higher.
I did drive a mk3 TT for a couple of months also so I have experienced a car with a bit more power.
If you want something fun - I might suggest a Mazda MX5. Recently bought a mk3 (as a first car) and they aren't too bad in terms of efficiency. Also not expensive at all to insure (or to buy - you can get a very clean one under 3k if you look). My 2liter costs me about £750 to insure - which isn't bad given I have 0 NCB. They do tend to cost a bit to tax though.
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by math4892
If you want something fun - I might suggest a Mazda MX5. Recently bought a mk3 (as a first car) and they aren't too bad in terms of efficiency. Also not expensive at all to insure (or to buy - you can get a very clean one under 3k if you look). My 2.0i costs me about £750 to insure - which isn't bad given I have 0 NCB. They do tend to cost a bit to tax though.
That has been an idea tbh. I do really like the MX5s. The only problem would be the lack of seats.
A first car is often chosen for affordability, reliability, and ease of handling, making it a practical option for new drivers.
Original post by Ritchie123
Hi Everyone,
I need a bit of advice for my first car. I'm 22, and I have had my license for just under a year now, but I have been sharing my dad's 2.0L Diesel.
Im going to be traveling to Uni in October, its about a 40-45 min drive on the motorway so I have been looking at a diesel for the fuel economy.
i have a budget of around £6000 max.
I am a bit of a car enthusiast so I wanted a fun hatchback, but the fuel is going to be a killer.
Some of my ideas are: BMW 120D, 316D-320D, Merc C220, Audi A5, TT TDI, what are your opinions, or are there any better options I could go for?
Thank you
I need a bit of advice for my first car. I'm 22, and I have had my license for just under a year now, but I have been sharing my dad's 2.0L Diesel.
Im going to be traveling to Uni in October, its about a 40-45 min drive on the motorway so I have been looking at a diesel for the fuel economy.
i have a budget of around £6000 max.
I am a bit of a car enthusiast so I wanted a fun hatchback, but the fuel is going to be a killer.
Some of my ideas are: BMW 120D, 316D-320D, Merc C220, Audi A5, TT TDI, what are your opinions, or are there any better options I could go for?
Thank you
If you can afford it than those sound like a boat load of fun, although those BMW 4 pots aren't known for being all that reliable in the mid to late 2000s era. The A5 TDI in manual would be my choice out of that lot, (mainly to avoid any expensive DSG issues, although when serviced these are good gearboxes). I did do some driving in my uncles fiesta Zetec S (MK6 TDCI) and found it really fun. Nothing special in terms of pace but the short gears, sporty suspension (on the cusp of being underdampened while still being predictable) and borderline telepathic steering made 90hp a lot of fun. IIRC £40 road tax and 50MPG, although it isn't Ulez compliant and due to their popularity for young drivers can be a bit to insure. I have only passed a little bit ago so I can't insure anything apart from a 1.1i C2 (which I hope to get in a few months time), but id love to have a fez at some point. Also if you can find one, a Lexus IS200 would be a really cool shout. The good ones have started to go up as most have been chopped into drift cars and/or exported to Ireland, but they are a great platform with a decent motor and I think they look quite nice too with the right factory option wheels.
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