Just passed my driving test - tips for first car

marywooyeah

Hi all I passed my test this morning on my 5th attempt - (1st failed due to nerves, 2nd and 3rd were parallel parking and 4th someone drove into me so it was a non test)

I am really confused about buying a car though, I have set aside £1000 to buy one as I dont fancy being on a £100+ month finance and I dont want a top of the range car, just a little run around. It needs to have 5 doors as I have a little boy who needs to go in the back, and would prefer a diesel as they are more economical.

I'm just confused because if you buy from a dealer you get a 3 month warranty but if you buy it off a private seller it's caveat emptor, do you just test drive the car and buy it if you like it? I wouldnt know what to look for to tell if it was a good car to buy or not. I've been looking on gumtree and seen a few but when I see a car for £500 I get suspicious as to why its so cheap, but similarly don't want to hand over £1000 to some random person and possibly be left with a heap of junk. Also, when deciding whether or not to buy a car how do you know what the insurance will be? I'm 24 and female if that makes a difference.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated re tips when choosing a car/buying secondhand/insurance, thanks in advance I'm just keen to get driving!

McKneff

Let me be the first to congratulate you:j:j:j

McKneff

See if there are some dealers who sell older cars, I have known a few poor kids (no offence) who have bought privately, within days they
find out why they are so cheap.

If any of your friends are selling one, fair enough, but a total stranger, walk away.

Insurance, read the terms and conditions through and read them again.

Good luck with it all and hope you enjoy many happy and safe hours of driving.

WaxiesDargle

Hi Mary

see my thread here...there's a handy website posted on it

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3578313

marywooyeah

thank you for your replies - McKneff I think the examiner was too scared to congratulate me after I started whooping and clapping like some kind of demented circus seal so thankyou!

the link looks handy I'll check it out - I spent so long trying to pass the blooming thing now I don't know what to do lol!

McKneff

I remember throwing my arms around my examiner, many years ago..............

Annie

forgotmyname

Examiners must have been thinner back then or you have long arms...

Fill out ALL the online comparison websites, Use ebay and autotrader to find reg numbers
of suitable vehicles.

Anything sport, fun, trendy, snazzy, cool = you wish quotes.

Think along the lines of you wouldnt see me dead driving one of those, You may find its the only
cars you can afford to insure.

Ignore the group system, A group 4 car maybe cheaper than a group 1 car. Ignore the engine size for some. I dont
mean supercharged V8's though. But a 1.4 can be cheaper to insure than a 1L.

Same with fuel consumption a bigger engine is not always less fuel efficient.

I have a mondeo diesel and i did a trip of about 40 miles today all a roads, Averaged over 50mpg. And i dont dawdle.

McKneff

forgotmyname wrote: »

Examiners must have been thinner back then or you have long arms...

Fill out ALL the online comparison websites, Use ebay and autotrader to find reg numbers
of suitable vehicles.

Anything sport, fun, trendy, snazzy, cool = you wish quotes.

Think along the lines of you wouldnt see me dead driving one of those, You may find its the only
cars you can afford to insure.

Ignore the group system, A group 4 car maybe cheaper than a group 1 car. Ignore the engine size for some. I dont
mean supercharged V8's though. But a 1.4 can be cheaper to insure than a 1L.

Same with fuel consumption a bigger engine is not always less fuel efficient.

I have a mondeo diesel and i did a trip of about 40 miles today all a roads, Averaged over 50mpg. And i dont dawdle.

They were thinner and i have short arms:D well, actually I have thin arms really but even now, 40 years on I still remember the elation of passing on the third test

worried_jim

Go Japanese, something like a Mitsubishi-

2000 MITSUBISHI CARISMA 1.9 TD Equippe 5dr Diesel Hatchback £795

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201142422847781/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/diesel/make/mitsubishi/page/1/radius/1501/postcode/bn424sn?logcode=p

Change out of a grand and very reliable. Job done.

forgotmyname

worried_jim wrote: »

Go Japanese, something like a Mitsubishi-

2000 MITSUBISHI CARISMA 1.9 TD Equippe 5dr Diesel Hatchback £795

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201142422847781/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/diesel/make/mitsubishi/page/1/radius/1501/postcode/bn424sn?logcode=p

Change out of a grand and very reliable. Job done.

Good find except the insurance want £9500 third party fire and theft.

Beats the KA insurance by £7k....

Somehow i dont think a carisma is worth the extra.


Go back 10 years and you would have laughed and thought them mental is they said insurance for
new drivers would be in excess of £3k a year.

DCFC79

You need to buy a car your comfortable with but soemthing thats easy or cheap to maintain, apart form that well done in passing. Do you know anyone who is a mechanic who you could ask to maybe go with you to look at a privately sold car.