the first car...

nullogik

albertross wrote: »

The BMW quote is less than I would expect for a 17 year old with the same car, but I could be wrong.

Age obviously would have a bearing, but I think they mainly go on experience, thats what I heard from an insurance expert on TV.

gizfizz

if you've got pots of money then please feel free to ignore me but it sounds to me that you might be looking at cars that arent really suitable as a first car. my OH is 28, he got his first car last year-a 6 year old corsa 1.2 it was £2500 and insurance cost over £1000, he now has a years no claims and his insurance is now under £600-quite a difference. have you thought about a corsa or clio? i wouldnt really class a bmw as a first car as i wouldve thought it would be too expensive-cant stand the things so i wouldnt know but thats what i would assume. perhaps you ought to look at something a bit smaller and simpler rather than something like an audi tt, then once you've been driving for a while you will actually know what you need and want, whether its a bigger car, something more economical etc
just my opinion and like i said, feel free to ignore me!!

tomstickland

The 4 pot BMWS (316/318) are not performance cars in terms of power or acceleration. There's no reason not to have one as a first car though. They actually make a very good proposition as a second hand car due to their decent original build and the fact that parts are not expensive. There's loads of independant BMW specialists out there too. I run a 1990 E30 318iS and it's a brilliant car. I wouldn't swap it for a new Mondeo/Vectra/Civic whatever.

Anyway, insurance is a good starting point.

FlameCloud

bargaindoctor wrote: »

3. 2005VW GOLF GT TDI,Manual, 38,000 miles,VW Golf in metalic black,3 Door,150 BHP,38.000 Miles,Permishined inside and out,6 Month Tax, 9 months Manafacuters Warranty. £4,500 THIS ONE LOOKS REALLY NICE TO ME!

4. 2000 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2.8 V6 4MOTION 3dr Hatchback Manual, 64,000 miles, Matalic black, ABS, automatic climate control, Alarm, Alloy wheels, Body coloured bumpers, CD changer, full VW dealer service history, new car forces quick sale hence price. First to see will buy. Superb car. £6499

Dont touch the GT TDI with a barge pole. They are VERY respected cars, and this age should be going for at least £10,000, so theres going to be something wrong with it.

The 2.8 V6 is nice, but at group 17 insurance it'll be expensive.

If you like the golf, have a look at the Seat Leon, exact same car underneath, but it will have more kit on it, be cheaper and have less miles.

bargaindoctor

thanks guys.

i'm now basically choosing between the Audi A2 that my mate is selling and a 3 series BMW like the 160i. They are both pretty small cars, and I think insurance isn't too bad for either. I am not too fussed about the acceleration since I woudl rather have a safe first car that works well and is reliable.

Any thoughts aobut this 'oil leak' business- the guy selling the BMW said it's not really a major leak, very little, and has passed MOT - plus the fact that it's only done 78000 in 10 years is apparently ok. I will chase up this time belt change business....

Today I saw this BMW- looks very nice:

1999 T, BMW 318i E46,manual, black, E46 M3 front bumper, E46 Sports rear bumper,82000 miles, 18" M3 CSL wheels, Sports suspension, M-tec spoiler, Mint grey interior,Sony CD player, MOT untill Feb 2008, Tax August 2007, Comes with a HPI report, looks like an M3. £5500

Is this a better deal than the 160i at £3000? They have done about the same amount of miles (the 160i as a reminder is 3series 1.6i compact black, 1997 r reg, petrol, manual, 78k miles, 18" bmw alloys, fsh, hpi, full years mot but suffers minor oil leak)... obviously £2500 in difference with price.


Thanks

nickmack

bargaindoctor wrote: »

1999 T, BMW 318i E46,manual, black, E46 M3 front bumper, E46 Sports rear bumper,82000 miles, 18" M3 CSL wheels, Sports suspension, M-tec spoiler, Mint grey interior,Sony CD player, MOT untill Feb 2008, Tax August 2007, Comes with a HPI report, looks like an M3. £5500

This is modified from the manufacturers original specification. If it looks like an M3, many insurers will insure it as an M3 - expensive!!!

I strongly suggest you get insurance quotes and declare the modifications to find out what effect this has.

save-a-lot

Hi

This thread is barely worth replying to. The OP is very indecisive about what to buy. I think this thread could go on for a very long time before the OP's mind is made up.

On topic though, always declare modifications, if not it CAN invalidate the insurance when a claim is made if not declared.

Hintza

save-a-lot wrote: »

Hi

This thread is barely worth replying to. The OP is very indecisive about what to buy. I think this thread could go on for a very long time before the OP's mind is made up.

On topic though, always declare modifications, if not it CAN invalidate the insurance when a claim is made if not declared.

I would tend to agree. The OP needs to either hunt for a bargain ie anything will do if the price is right.

Or decide what car they want and draw up a shortlist of contenders.

To do this you need to look at your lifestyle:-

Do you need/want:-

Sporty car, car for dogs anfd kids, car for shifting your winsurfing gear, do you go off road etc etc

From what OP said in his first post he was looking at a lotus, now taking that as an indication of where he is coming from what about an MX5?


Otherwise just go and buy a banger until you decide on what your lifestyle dictates.

bargaindoctor

haha sorry guys. as the OP i don't mean to drag this on. it's obviously because i don't know enough bout cars and it is my first buy.

as i say i have a budget of up to around £5000-£6000 for my first car. the reason I get 'indecisive' is becasue I keep getting told that my first car doesn't matter, just buy a good decent car.. not necessarily a bargain but not a brand name either, just a reliable make like Honda or Toyota with low mileage. and good FSH / clear HPI. I am not sure how reliable this advice is.

Obviously in my shopping around I see cars I like the looks of then I will post them up here to get advice from people with more experience. It is helpful to me for example to know that I should perhaps avoid the mod M3 BMW even though I like the look of it because of the mods. I also learned a few things from some of the really helpful replies about insurance and hwere to look etc.

I don't want to spend a couple of thousand pounds on a banger and then watching it mess up and then waste alot of money when I could just have bought a much better car.

So basically perhpas what I should do instead of posting new cars is to pick a few, and get a mechanic to hceck them out for me if they are within the price range of what I like?

The BMW 160i is definitely on my top pick list right now along with my mate's Audi A2... I will check them both out.

Oh one thing - I love new gadgets so would definitely want to equip the car with mp3, GPS, etc. does this matter on what car I buy? Does insurance go up with these things?

Thanks!

FlameCloud

bargaindoctor wrote: »

The BMW 160i is definitely on my top pick list right now along with my mate's Audi A2... I will check them both out.

Oh one thing - I love new gadgets so would definitely want to equip the car with mp3, GPS, etc. does this matter on what car I buy? Does insurance go up with these things?

Thanks!

Firstly, theres no such car as a BMW 160i (With beemers, the first number is the model, the next two is a rough engine guide). For a first car I REALLY wouldnt get a rear wheel drive car, especially one that doesnt have any real traction control bar that of the driver. It'll catch you out on the first wet roundabout and you'll put it in the ditch!

Just to clarify, it has a cam BELT, so needs changing!

Go get a 1.6 Focus, they really are brilliant cars to drive, far far more modern and safe than that old beemer and for the sort of money you'd be looking at a 2005-06 one for the old model, which I think is nice looking than the new one.