Best Cheap First Car?

Tara1981

Hi

Firstly, hello, this is the first time I've posted on the forum so I'm hoping that I'm not repeating threads :S

I just passed my driving test this morning after a very expensive last few months! I have some savings put aside for a car but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good cheap first car to buy, I'm thinking it'll most likely be second hand. I've heard the Polo Blue Motion, you have no yearly tax to pay on it, but its the only car that offers this no tax option.

Can anyone recommend a cheap car to insure, mot, petrol etc. I'm totally new to all of it so any advice greatly apreciated!

Also am looking to do the Pass Plus course at the moment you can get a £70 discount from London Road Safety Unit if you are doing it in the London Boroughs, unfortunetly its only aimed for 19-25 year olds and I'm 26! Does anyone know of any other scheme or orgnisation offering a reduction on this Pass Plus Course? I have heard the council offer discounts but Wandsworth council didnt seem to know much about it when I called earlier!

Thanks!

T x

terryw

Tara1981 wrote: »

Hi

Firstly, hello, this is the first time I've posted on the forum so I'm hoping that I'm not repeating threads :S

I just passed my driving test this morning after a very expensive last few months! I have some savings put aside for a car but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good cheap first car to buy, I'm thinking it'll most likely be second hand. I've heard the Polo Blue Motion, you have no yearly tax to pay on it, but its the only car that offers this no tax option.

Can anyone recommend a cheap car to insure, mot, petrol etc. I'm totally new to all of it so any advice greatly apreciated!

Also am looking to do the Pass Plus course at the moment you can get a £70 discount from London Road Safety Unit if you are doing it in the London Boroughs, unfortunetly its only aimed for 19-25 year olds and I'm 26! Does anyone know of any other scheme or orgnisation offering a reduction on this Pass Plus Course? I have heard the council offer discounts but Wandsworth council didnt seem to know much about it when I called earlier!

Thanks!

T x

For what it is worth, have a look at the Kia Pride. Useless for bird-pulling and no street-cred, but they have generally been owned by old codgers who have looked after them and kept them like new. Cheap on tax, insurance and petrol and generally very reliable and easy to fix if they go wrong. the hatchback is useful for picking up biggish items, and they are surprisingly nippy on motorways.

I used them years ago as a driving instruction car, and was loathe to update when they stopped making them. The learners loved the cars as well. I still use one and think that they are one of the best little cars even made.

Passplus is well worth it, and obviously be really careful for your first few years driving.

best of luck

the poster formerly known as
terryw

anewman

Do you have a budget? You should be ok with something like a Skoda Felicia 1.3 which you'll easily get for under £1000, look hard you'll find a good one for £500 or less.

Shoshannah

Something cheap and cheerful. If you're anything like me in my first few years of driving it will get a few dents, so don't go buying anything too shiny! :rotfl:

There are a few cars you don't have to pay tax on but I would imagine a lot of these are quite expensive to buy (especially because most of them are fairly recent models plus they are desirable in the current climate). Road tax is pretty horrendous at the moment but there is no point in paying over the odds for a tax-exempt car because you will end up spending what you would have saved.

Unless you go for something pre-1972 but then a lot of Classic cars are expensive now as well. :rotfl:

There is more money to be saved by running a car that is economical on fuel and cheap to insure. Something with a small engine will be cheap to insure because insurance companies are very short sighted and seem to think that small cars are less likely to crash (although the last time I checked, my mum's knackered little Rover Metro could still exceed the 70mph speed limit). :rolleyes: PassPlus is a good idea, but it sucks that the discount doesn't apply to those over 25!

You can find some real gems on the second-hand car market. My 16 year old car cost me £250 and is ten times more reliable than some of the new cars I know! :rotfl: You just have to be careful when you choose one - take someone knowledgeable with you - and unfortunately a lot of the time it's luck of the draw.

Sorry, I've rambled on quite a bit with some not-very-useful information. Good luck in your search!

AdrianHi

I would not get too hung up on free tax disks.
A bit of advice which will save you a fortune in your car using / owning life time is to work out the real cost of a car over the period you think you will use it or if not sure the next 12 months.
Work out the difference between what you buy it for, what you can sell it for later, add on fuel costs, insurance etc. to get the final result.
Unless you are buying older cheaper cars, the dominant cost is depreciation. It's possible for a new £13,000 car (like a Mini One) to be cheaper than a £10,000 car (like a Hyundai i10) in the long run even if paying finance charges on the extra £3000.

The cost of a tax disk, even one costing £400+, is a small and relatively insignificant part of the total cost of running a car.

For an older under £3000 car I'd suggest a Skoda Fabia (or Felicia if you want to get cheaper) or a Nissan Micra.
Four younger cars the Toyota Ayogo / Peugeot 107 / Citroen C1 (all the same car) is hard to beat for first time buyers, cheap to insure and run. Buying new pick the Toyota (holds it's value best so despite being more expensive works out cheaper in the long run), buying nearly new / older go with the Peugeot or Citroen where depreciation has worked in your favour.

lizziebell*80

Hi Tara1981,

Congrats on passing your test!

Just thought I'd recommend the Peugeot 107 (or C1 or Aygo, but I have the 107). It is fab and I love mine so much. Tax is £35 for 2008/09 but going down to £20 2009/2010 so nearly free. Also is lowest insurance group of 1E (I am 27 and last quote for comprehensive, NCD protected and legal cover was £190 and my husband who is 24 was quoted £211 so very cheap). We get about 450 miles out of a tank (35 litres) and it is comfy for long trips (>400 miles). I have a silver, Urban Move with 5 doors, it is a limited edition with A/C and I love it, especially the 5 doors (as we are planning a sprog soon) as easier to get all your gear in. It is easy to drive and park and squeeze through small spaces. You can get a cable to plug your ipod into the stereo which is good.

ArsenalFC

Congrats Tara,

Ok it all depends on your budget. A toyota yaris would be my recommendation , an excellent small car that looks nice, drive nice, easy to get around, low bracket on insurance and tax and very reliable. Or a > 2002 mk6 fiesta, I have heard from reviews that these are very good too.

If your budget dont stretch to a yaris or a mk6 fiesta, sub £1k, then I would recommend a ford fiesta 1.25 (mk4) or a nissan micra. I have driven the yaris, owned a year 2000 micra and the current owner of a mk4 1997 fiesta 1.25 so I'm quite well place to give recommendations to u. So yaris or mk6 fiesta would be my 1st choice then the mk4 fiesta then the pre 2002 (bubble shape) micra.

DJ_Billy

lizziebell*80 wrote: »

Hi Tara1981,

Congrats on passing your test!

Just thought I'd recommend the Peugeot 107 (or C1 or Aygo, but I have the 107)....

I have to second this one. We have just bought a Citroen C1 and we’re very pleased with it! It’s only the basic version, but the engine is pretty nippy and fine on motorways. It has basics like power steering and even a CD player. The insurance is pretty much as low as it gets and the tax is only £35 per year. You can get them for around £6000 new (we got ours from https://www.carselect.co.uk).

grownupgirly

hiya

I really like my car, Seat Arosa. When I got it, it was an ex driving instructors car and had already done around 90,000 miles. That was 2 and a half years ago. Its now got almost 130,000 miles on it, as I commute 60 miles a day and do long journeys probably 2-3 times a year. But no probs, whatsoever. Its a Spanish version of the VW (same, just made in Spain, thats all) and I understand that the VW engine is excellent. It only has 3 doors though.

Good luck
Grownupgirly