Car at 19 years old ? (financial info included)

xmodz

For me, getting a car was about time.

if would take me to get 16 hours to get to uni and come back in a week without a car.

i think spending a few thousand quid is worth it as you are saving time
one thing is for sure. you can always earn money but you will never get your time back again

Alex92_2

kteara wrote: »

To the bike owners, is an R1 or R6 relatively cheap to run? Insurance ? I would only enjoy purchasing those tbh. Not a big fan of other models of bikes.

Yeah, all bikes (except old classics, harleys and expensive track bikes) are cheap to run, providing you dont crash them or drop them.

Insurance would have to take a lot into account for. An R1 for me at (nearly 21) with 2 years NCB and no previous accidents would be affordable, perhaps £500 fully comp? And R6 would be a lot less. My friend picked up a 2002 R6 for around £1300, insurance was peanuts, road tax was peanuts but it wouldnt go faster than 165mph (not sure if that would be a problem). R6 is obviously cheaper as its 400cc less and lower performance. Still very quick though.

pleasedelete

Ok. Cruel to be kind. Sorry in advance.

Are you going to a real uni to,do a serious course? If so why do you want to have the kind of lifestyle/image that includes having an old BMW? If you want to be a drop out wide boy or a taxi driver then knock ourself out and buy an old flash pimp car but if you want to change your life by going to uni then drop the dead end image and the old BMW.

Wait until you can get your 1st One new from a dealer ideally paid for by the company you will work for as a successful graduate.

SliAbhaile

kteara wrote: »

Sixt offer car rentals to a "minimum age of 21". Whipcar has shut down

Hertzondemand, which I use regularly and fully recommend, say:

"You must be 19 years of age with a valid driving licence, and a clean driving history..."

They are all over London.

karlie88

Don't buy a car if you're going to university.

Save the money.

Work hard (but also play hard ).

Make sure you get any grants/scholarships that you're eligible for from your university or Local Education Authority.

Reap the benefits in your mid-20s.

tiger_eyes

University is a time when a lot of people start going off the rails financially. Many of your friends will graduate heavily in debt with huge overdrafts. You don't have to be one of them. Keep saving.

Dazza86

Hey,

I live in London, am a male and am desperate to own a new car (got plans for a Scirocco)! I'm slightly older than you (26) and have done the whole Uni in London thing whilst living at home - so I should be able to provide an insight.

For me, I love driving and don't exactly "need" a car, but I need a car. When I was going to Uni, I still lived at home and would drive in my car to the Uni. It was that or get around 2 or 3 buses each way, which I just wasn't going to be doing. I also needed the car to go to friends houses as I simply wasn't within walking distance.

I've looked through your original post and I haven't seen you specify if you'll be living at home or in dorms? I'd say, if you're in dorms, you'll probably be able to walk to uni and any friends you make will likely live close by, so you'll end up wandering to a few locals all the time and finding you don't need a car that much. But if you're at home, you might need the car to even be social and for me, that's a big enough reason for having one.

Oh, and advice, do you have someone else who has had insurance for a number of years that you can piggy-back on? I did it for a while on my dad's insurance, which ended up costing around 800 a year. After 23 is when I started doing my own insurance and by then the costs were below £1000 and "becoming" reasonable.

All the best.

waiax73

Derivative wrote: »

In London, a small motorcycle would be a much better bet.

The days when it's horrific weather, get a taxi or the train. Otherwise you're in the money.

My 500cc motorcycle can hold its' own on the motorway, carry pillion, costs £200 a year for insurance (age 21).

Currently living in London. Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately I have to forget about motorcycles and got to get a car.... Am going to be a daddy in 6 months.... :-)

talexuser

The o/p should read a story in this months Which? A guy in London bought a second hand BMW 320i for £2200, within days the engine packed up requiring a new engine. He cut his loses and sold the car for a grand losing the £1200 in 2 weeks. Which? commented that in their customer surveys the BMW 3 series between 1998 and 2006 had one of the worst records for reliability.

kteara

Big thank you to everyone who's posted. I will have to suck it up and forget about owning a car until I finish university atleast. I'll be 22-23. To those that have asked, I will be staying at home and travelling to university by train (I haven't figured out the costs yet but its not going to be pleasing to say the least).