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

blinko

Well guys this is absolutely incredible thank you so much I am based in London and yes I am keen to avoid becoming liable for the u l e z

NBYasmin

I paid less than your budget for my Smart fortwo. They are great fun to drive and £20 a year to tax. Insurance is cheap and they're good on petrol. I use mine for the work commute and longer motorway journeys. They have a good community too and a record attempt is being made to have the most Smart cars in one place next year which should be fun. They're very roomy inside I have the seat forward to reach the pedals. Definitely ideal for one and a passenger and the boot holds a surprising amount of luggage.

Grumpy_chap

NBYasmin said:

Definitely ideal for one and a passenger

Might not be ideal for the OP plus lady friend and daughter.

NBYasmin

Grumpy_chap said:

NBYasmin said:

Definitely ideal for one and a passenger

Might not be ideal for the OP plus lady friend and daughter.

Ah I read that bit wrongly thank you

[Deleted User]

If at all possible whatever and wherever you buy from try and see if it is possible to take someone along with you who knows what to look for. Having been on the road since around about 1984 driving my own cars and company vehicles for a long time and now a Motability vehicle all I can do is base it on my own experiences. I would avoid anything with a Renault badge on it as in my experience they are dreadfully made with the cheapest parts possible dressed up to to look nice. Vauxhalls are not the kind either. My previous car to my current motability car was a citroen and unlike their French friends at Renault are much more reliable and relatively cheap to run. I currently have a VW Tiguan and VWs in general are in my opinion quality built cars if you can ignore their !!!!!! on emissions lol. Anyway that's my experience good luck

[Deleted User]

I would further add that you should try and maybe look at something with cheap road tax also as paying more you will only waste by giving this to the government to waste on something else other than the roads lol

BOWFER

If you can find one for the money, a VW UP / Seat Mii / Skoda Citigo.
They're all the same car under the skin.
I've bought some of the other suggestions for our daughter (Kia Picanto for one) and there's no comparison in terms of build quality.
The Kia will crash, bang and rattle everywhere - no such issues with the VW/Seat/Skoda
I honestly think it's the VAG group's most impressive car, to get that feeling of solidity and refinement in such a small car is amazing.
The build quality also means they wear well and our 8YO one looked as good as new inside and out.

Ebe_Scrooge

billydeardan said:

I would further add that you should try and maybe look at something with cheap road tax also as paying more you will only waste by giving this to the government to waste on something else other than the roads lol

The only thing to bear in mind - in the grand scheme of things, the cost of road tax (or, to pre-empt the pedants, vehicle tax as it's called these days!  And the income isn't ring-fenced for roads.) is a drop in the ocean compared to all the other costs of buying, maintaining and running a car.  Sure, you get a nice warm fuzzy feeling when you're paying £30 a year and your neighbour is paying £130, but really it's a negligible difference overall - and if you're looking at/comparing most ordinary, medium-sized cars then you really shouldn't allow that one factor to sway your judgement to any great extent.

Herzlos

Yeah, I feel too many people look at the road tax as a big selling point, but it's almost irrelevant on most cars compared to the other costs. There's also no guarantee that it'll stay low, as the Government need to raise revenues.

Just look at the total overall cost. It's not worth paying £1000 more for a car to save £100 a year on road tax, because you probably won't keep the car long enough to recoup the difference.
If you are looking at 2 cars at the same price, then it might be a factor, though.

At the £2500 range, I'd be buying purely on condition.

tr7phil

Herzlos said:

Yeah, I feel too many people look at the road tax as a big selling point, but it's almost irrelevant on most cars compared to the other costs. There's also no guarantee that it'll stay low, as the Government need to raise revenues.

Just look at the total overall cost. It's not worth paying £1000 more for a car to save £100 a year on road tax, because you probably won't keep the car long enough to recoup the difference.
If you are looking at 2 cars at the same price, then it might be a factor, though.

At the £2500 range, I'd be buying purely on condition.

My son's Alfa Mito is free road tax and the average fuel economy on it is worse than my 2 litre BMW, even when doing exactly the same journeys!  The main factor for him choosing it (apart from liking it) was the fact that he was able to get surprisingly cheap insurance on it.  He's paid £650 for the year with no black box aged 17, Fiestas and Corsas were coming in at approximately twice that.