First Car

[chrishayton]

well i should be driving soon and want my own car. what should i be looking for. makes/models

insurence has to be cheap so group 1/ 2/ 3 cars pref.

also what insurence companys are good for new drivers.

i dont care about performance as ill just be happy that i have a car and ill get something better in a couple of years when i have a half decent job. so no need to slate a car due to slowness ( unless its utter sh!te handling etc)

please help

chris

[Dai the Socket]

I'm in a really similar position. I've got £1200-£1500 to spend which gives quite a few options i think.

I've been looking at:

Peugeot 106 1.1

Citroen Saxo 1.1

Renault Clio (old one)

Peugeot 306 1.4 / 1.9TD

I kinda had a bit of an incident on my mum's insurance meaning they dick me on everything. They're all good on insurance, with the 306 being most expensive, but not by that much 'cos they're fat and slow so not as likely to get smashed up / stolen.

[TomN]

I've been looking at 306, POLO and also a Golf. Couldn't get a qoute ont Golf but for 306 I got 3K qoute. Got my heart set on a Golf

[sfboy]

Hey check out http://parkers.co.uk/insurance/

you can search by insurance group.

[delusional]

I don't know how cheap you mean by cheap... but I'm of the opinion that there's no point spending any real money on a first car. In general you're pretty likely to damage your first car; I reckon it's nice to know that it's an old banger and it doesn't matter that you just scraped it along that wall, or dented your bumper reversing into the drive: it's one less thing to think about when you're just starting out. With that in my mind I don't see much point spending more than £500 (in fact my car cost me a princely sum of £225). Just make sure you get something with as close to a years MOT as possible then you can be pretty sure it'll be roadworthy for at least that time, if it's a scrapper after that years driving then no great loss if it's only cost you a few hundred quid!

My car's a Citroen AX (mk1 1.1l in fact) which is cheap to run (the 1l was in the Guinness Book of Records for the most economical production car in it's day), cheap to buy and cheap to insure and even quite nippy thanks to weighing absolutely f. all. Cost me about £500 to insure in my first years driving, but I'm a bit older than you so you may find it a little more expensive. If you don't mind having something a bit crappy looking then the AX, or most other similar size and age cars, are a pretty good option (and it's very unlikely to get nicked).

[plainlazy84]

I know it will vary depending on the car and the insurance company, but roughly how much (if any) can I expect to save starting driving at 22 instead of 17/18. I've heard different things from different people but have been led to believe that It should be cheaper. I just dont know by how much.

[beigemaster]

I'm in a really similar position. I've got £1200-£1500 to spend which gives quite a few options i think.

I've been looking at:

Peugeot 106 1.1

Citroen Saxo 1.1

Renault Clio (old one)

Peugeot 306 1.4 / 1.9TD

I kinda had a bit of an incident on my mum's insurance meaning they dick me on everything. They're all good on insurance, with the 306 being most expensive, but not by that much 'cos they're fat and slow so not as likely to get smashed up / stolen.

Please for the love of all things sacred don't get one! I'm ensured on my mums and it's simply horrid. The pedals are too damm small and close together and it's nasty to drive.

Edited November 15, 2006 by beigemaster

[Hobnobs]

Look at the 92- onwards Vauxhall Corsa's.

Theyre cheap to insure, and you can get them for cheap too, so meets all the criteria

They havent got piles of power, but they are economical, not too bad looking, and not bad fun to drive around.

[adamtrials]

Anything old and fiat seems cheap to insure.

My Panda was £650 to insure.

Edited November 15, 2006 by adamtrials

[Pauly]

just got insured on my moms 2003 saxo with the co op, cost me 1200 to get me insurd on there.. seems to be the cheapest we could find and belive me we went everywhere, mind you that is fullly comp and i build no claims which is pretty cool.

Pauly

[Mr Motivator]

I'm with Carole Nash, they are pretty good. I'm 17 with a Mini and that's £550.

Footman James are pretty good too.

[F-Stop Junkie]

I know it will vary depending on the car and the insurance company, but roughly how much (if any) can I expect to save starting driving at 22 instead of 17/18.

A couple of hundred maybe. You'll save more though starting earlier and getting no claims built up.

[Haz]

I'm looking at Ford Fiestas for around £300, insurance is still ~£1000 for a 1.1, it's rediculous.

I've got about 4k to play with, but I really don't see the point, it's my first car, and am probably going to trash it anyway, so I'll get a crap one, after a year, I'll get nice one, and it'll be sweet as a dromidary.

Will definately look into Carole Nash seeing that quote ^^ though, that's totally sweet. If you don't mind me asking, is it third party fire and theft, of fully comp?

[Joe_Kearney]

Get a fiesta, they're cheap and cheerful, and you can make spare bits out of wood.

[Mr Motivator]

I'm looking at Ford Fiestas for around £300, insurance is still ~£1000 for a 1.1, it's rediculous.

I've got about 4k to play with, but I really don't see the point, it's my first car, and am probably going to trash it anyway, so I'll get a crap one, after a year, I'll get nice one, and it'll be sweet as a dromidary.

Will definately look into Carole Nash seeing that quote ^^ though, that's totally sweet. If you don't mind me asking, is it third party fire and theft, of fully comp?

Fully comp with roadside, homestart and european breakdown cover

[TheMunn]

Fully comp with roadside, homestart and european breakdown cover

Is that your own insurance or under parents name ?

[Mr Motivator]

Is that your own insurance or under parents name ?

My mums.

However, I've had similar quotes from Footman James in my own name.