My first car - newbie what shall I go for....

blinko

Hi guys

I'm looking to buy my first ever car, i have a budget of around £2,500 max and ZERO idea where to start.

I've looked on auto trader and they have quite a lot in my budget but they could be selling me a write off so i have no idea what to check for, so was thinking of a dealer if they are any good.

I'm looking for a car to go to shopping, meet friends and nip around town. It's just me and maybe a lady friend / daughter

So in short could anyone recommend a direction to head that would be much appreciated

eg is it better to go to a dealer up north, better local deal, better to get it delivered any thoughts greatly appreciated

jimbo6977

Something small, Japanese or Korean, and unfashionable.

That way it will be cheap to run and insure, while being reliable.

Suzuki Celerio
Hyundai i10
Kia Picanto

Ebe_Scrooge

The above post is a good starting point.

Also, you'll want a small petrol engine for the sort of driving you describe, diesels don't like doing only short runs.

I'd say use a local dealer, not somewhere miles away - you don't want to have a 100-mile drive to return it under warranty if any faults occur.

Make sure you have a decent test drive.  There are many cars that are generally regarded as "good" - cheap, reliable, reasonable insurance, etc.  But you may find that the seats are uncomfortable for you, or it's difficult to reverse because you can't see clearly, or any number of reasons why it's just not "right" for you.

For that sort of budget, I'm tempted to say look at private sales.  But you do need to know what you're looking for if you want to avoid buying a total lemon.  If you have a mechanically-minded friend who could take a look with you, you can get a really good car for a lot less than at a dealer, as long as you're prepared to take your time and check everything carefully.

But at least with a dealer you do have some comeback, which you don't when buying privately.

Ditzy_Mitzy

How old are you, if you don't mind answering?  With young and inexperienced drivers, insurance costs are often the most important factor in choosing a car.  Sometimes a lower powered variant of a slightly larger car is cheaper to insure; a 1.6 Focus, Astra or Almera equivalent can sometimes cost less to cover than a Fiesta, Corsa or Micra.  'Normal' cars: Ford, Vauxhall or Nissan are sometimes cheaper to insure than more exotic stuff as parts are cheaper.  
Swings and roundabouts: cars that were cheap to begin with tend to have less equipment, so there is less to go wrong.  The trade-off is that they are made of cheaper materials, so what is there is more likely to break.  They can also be a bit nasty to drive.  Unfortunately the days of well made simple cars are long gone, unless you fancy something a bit older.  

blinko

hi i'm 40 but never owned a car before, do you think 2.5k is too low to get something decent

Flight3287462

Fiat Panda's are pretty bomb proof a bit tardis like and cheap to maintain.

Grumpy_chap

£2.5k is a perfectly suitable budget to get something that will meet your needs and be perfectly functional.  

I'd go for something a bit larger, maybe C4, Focus, Astra or equivalent.  Plenty of room for 3 and comfortable in the back seat if you ever need to do a longer jaunt.  You may get a better deal as these types of cars are not so much in demand for young learners.

Goudy

Some Japanese cars can fall in higher insurance groups, so it's worth checking out potential cars on somewhere like Parkers.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/

For your money you should have a glut of Ford Fiestas to choose from, something like a 1.25 Zetec would be easily within budget.
As there's so many you won't have to travel far for a decent one either.

Grumpy_chap

I don't think the OP has said where in the country they are based, but if they are outside the ULEZ zones and well clear, then for mostly local use that they mentioned, it may be possible to find a good family car but not ULEZ-compliant at a good price.

The catch is, many of these will be diesel as even quite old petrol (2005?) can still meet ULEZ requirements.  Diesel is not particularly well-suited to just local journeys.

Just an option to consider as a source of suitable vehicles.

jamesjazz

Hello,

£2.5k should get you something suitable.

I can recommend the Citroen C1/Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo (same car just with different badges). Fairly bombproof and cheap to run/tax/insure. £2.5k should get you a good one.

If not one of those then try for a car in the sub £30 a year tax bracket to keep your ongoing costs down. Autotrader will let you filter on annual tax cost.

Try and ask around for a trusted local dealer, preferably one that also services them as they should see you right.

Apps like TotalCarCheck are useful for making sure a car isn't written off/stolen etc and worth paying for a check if you are interested in a car for the extra piece of mind.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

James

jhw280289

blinko said:

Hi guys

I'm looking to buy my first ever car, i have a budget of around £2,500 max and ZERO idea where to start.

I've looked on auto trader and they have quite a lot in my budget but they could be selling me a write off so i have no idea what to check for, so was thinking of a dealer if they are any good.

I'm looking for a car to go to shopping, meet friends and nip around town. It's just me and maybe a lady friend / daughter

So in short could anyone recommend a direction to head that would be much appreciated

eg is it better to go to a dealer up north, better local deal, better to get it delivered any thoughts greatly appreciated

If you can I'd say dealer is most ideal option, less likely to have been a write off etc. Kia picanto is a good option, comes with a 7 year warranty so even if you buy one older than 7 there's a good chance its kept a full service history and been kept in good condition for those 7 years. Perfect size for round town, cheap to insure, kia are Korean and reliable (see long warranty). Definitely agree test driving is key! You can often haggle dealers down by a good few hundred quid and/or get them to throw in a free service or cover first years tax in my experience. Look for as low mileage and as new as you can for your budget but do shop around between dealers and see what price is average for what age/mileage. Full service history (ie serviced every year) is ideal. Always check when next mot and service is due. This can be done on dvla website. I'm sure there are also websites you can check the reg to see if they've been a write off too. Local is easier so you can check the condition of the car in person.