First car for 20 yr old male

artichi

If I was going to be involved in an accident I'd rather be in a Rover 75 or a Mondeo than a Micra. Euro NCAP safety ratings can be misleading as the cars hit stationary solid objects (with no momentum), so a 5 star rated large car is much safer than a 5 star rated small car. You can only compare like-for-like in the same size vehicle.

That said I'd rather all new drivers were in Micras, etc. - easier to control and less like to cause damage and injury if they do crash.

Weird_Nev

I've focused on "Cool" at least a little bit. You're 20, not 17, and so past the prime age for wrapping cars around trees. Plus, cars are expensive, may as well have one you enjoy whilst you're young.

You don't sound too sure about your £2000 budget, so what I've done is this: Halved it. You can get a perfectly decent car for £1000, and save the rest for maintenance, keep it as a contingency or waste it all on wine women and song.

Anyway:
2003 Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 Manual with 86k, one owner from new £800


Seat Leon 1.4 2003 77K miles £980


Toyota MR2 2.0 GT £995
Just in case "cool" to you means "fun to drive" as much as "nicely styled".


Ford Puma 1.7 £500-£1000
The 1.7 is the engine to have. There's a wealth of these available from £500-£1000, they have great handling and different styling, but are based on the fiesta so parts are cheap and plentiful. I've heard of decent ones being bought on ebay for as little as £300. Beware rust o nthe rear arches and rear subframe.



Any of those suit you? You mention cars you "like" but don't tell us what they are. Perhaps that would guide us a bit better - if you say you really like the new Audi A3 S-Line or the new Mini, perhaps we could find you a budget equivalent to be getting on with.

wba31

braun wrote: »

Nissan Micra was the cheapest car to insure for a family member at that age.

Not a 'cool' car I know but better than nothing.

I got through 3 Nissan Micra's in 2 years when i passed my test (because i was a 19yr old moron who drove like a bell...) and the insurance was relatively cheap for them.

Something uncool is the thing to go for, my missus is looking for her first car and the Honda Jazz falls within your price bracket and the insurance is as cheap as micra's, yaris etc etc.

however my 3 cars cost no more than £500 in total, and it was irrelavent when i scraped posts or walls as i learnt to properly drive, so although they werent the most reliable, they didnt cost me much and as such enabled me to save for my first "proper" car (7 yr old VW Bora at the time...)

wba31

Weird_Nev wrote: »

I've focused on "Cool" at least a little bit. You're 20, not 17, and so past the prime age for wrapping cars around trees. Plus, cars are expensive, may as well have one you enjoy whilst you're young.

You don't sound too sure about your £2000 budget, so what I've done is this: Halved it. You can get a perfectly decent car for £1000, and save the rest for maintenance, keep it as a contingency or waste it all on wine women and song.

Anyway:
2003 Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 Manual with 86k, one owner from new £800


Seat Leon 1.4 2003 77K miles £980


Toyota MR2 2.0 GT £995
Just in case "cool" to you means "fun to drive" as much as "nicely styled".


Ford Puma 1.7 £500-£1000
The 1.7 is the engine to have. There's a wealth of these available from £500-£1000, they have great handling and different styling, but are based on the fiesta so parts are cheap and plentiful. I've heard of decent ones being bought on ebay for as little as £300. Beware rust o nthe rear arches and rear subframe.



Any of those suit you? You mention cars you "like" but don't tell us what they are. Perhaps that would guide us a bit better - if you say you really like the new Audi A3 S-Line or the new Mini, perhaps we could find you a budget equivalent to be getting on with.

I bet the insurance on these 3 cool cars, and the puma, would be pretty high for a new driver... i hope im wrong though...

Weird_Nev

Don't know until you try. He's 20, not 17-18.

Insurance is such a total lottery that I think you might as well start with cars you like, and see if you can insure them. Postcode, local profiling, odd risk factors, all make as much of a difference as simple age and driving experience.

I know 20 year olds who've insured 2.8 litre Audis, MR2's, mx-5's and quite a range of performance cars for reasonable rates.

Going left field, rather than going for the same little hatches that all learners pick up, and instantly crash, can yield good results. Newer cars are also safer, and can attract lower premiums. ABS, air bags, and generally better design can = lower premiums.

I'd also suggest things like saabs, volvos, ford saloons, but the OP needs to get back to us with what he actually wants from a car.

Think of it this way: I've halved his budget, so he can spend a bit more on insurance. The first year is the killer, you need to get that no-claims rolling then you can start driving interesting metal.

Weird_Nev

Ok, so I've run "sample" quotes, guessing the OP's job and using a half decent postcode. Fully comp, 0NCB, 0 experience.
Alfa: £2,600 with £1000 excess.
Seat: £1800
MR2 (imported, unhelpfully. Find a UK one!) £3,400
Ford Puma: £2,700


Reference quotes:
Nissan Micra 1.0 2003 model: £1800
Ford Fiesta 1.4 2003 (another good shout for 1st car) £1700
Skoda Octavia 2.0: 2003 £2900
God good. Being 20 was great in some ways, but I don't envy their premiums!
FWIW, I had a diesel Audi 80 estate at 22. Cost me £600 a year.

Seeing that balance of car Vs premium, I think I'd be looking for ~2002 1.4 Fiestas (the facelifted ones, not the round blobby ones which are crap). It's the best balance of car and premium, IMO.

OddballJamie

Weird Nev has a point, pick a few unusual young driver cars and get some online quotes. Insurance works on statistics and can do some very odd things. When I was 20 I had a Xsara VTR 1.8 (group 11), it was reasonable on the insurance due to young lads normally going for Saxos VTR/VTS at the time.

OP what about a Seat Ibiza 3dr with the 1.2 or a 206 1.1?

If you want something much cooler, go down the classic car route, an old Mini or Beetle. Insurance can be very cheap on them.

Or something inbetween like a Sirocco or Corrado.

OddballJamie

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Ok, so I've run "sample" quotes, guessing the OP's job and using a half decent postcode. Fully comp, 0NCB, 0 experience.
Alfa: £2,600 with £1000 excess.
Seat: £1800
MR2 (imported, unhelpfully. Find a UK one!) £3,400
Ford Puma: £2,700


Reference quotes:
Nissan Micra 1.0 2003 model: £1800
Ford Fiesta 1.4 2003 (another good shout for 1st car) £1700
Skoda Octavia 2.0: 2003 £2900
God good. Being 20 was great in some ways, but I don't envy their premiums!
FWIW, I had a diesel Audi 80 estate at 22. Cost me £600 a year.

Seeing that balance of car Vs premium, I think I'd be looking for ~2002 1.4 Fiestas (the facelifted ones, not the round blobby ones which are crap). It's the best balance of car and premium, IMO.

Try a Citroen C2 if you still have the quotes open.

mattyprice4004

A rather amusing story involves my old Rover 75 and a Ford Ka that couldn't use a roundabout properly - they veered into my lane and I ploughed straight into them with a speed difference of about 25MPH.

The Ka was destroyed, and I only needed a dent pulling out of my wing and a dab of paint.

I wouldn't advise small cars for this reason alone - a second of mind-slip and you could be toast. In a bigger car you have a better chance of getting out OK.

wba31

OddballJamie wrote: »

Weird Nev has a point, pick a few unusual young driver cars and get some online quotes. Insurance works on statistics and can do some very odd things. When I was 20 I had a Xsara VTR 1.8 (group 11), it was reasonable on the insurance due to young lads normally going for Saxos VTR/VTS at the time.

This is why I bought a Bora, I had the 150BHP diesel model, the same kinda thing in a golf was £1200 fully comp, I was paying £750 for the first year in the Bora...

unfortunately I went into the back of someone during year 2, bought a 2.2 diesel Accord, had major issues with my insurance company who lost all evidence of the 3 years no claims i had (reduced to 1 for accident) and I paid £2500 for the year on the Accord.

Currently paying £900 on a 2.2 diesel Civic, with 4 years no claims. next year the "any accidents in last 5 years" will hopefully be a "no" answer...