First Car

DCP11C

Hey. I need some advice regarding a first time buyer for a motorcar.
I am a student studying full-time. However, I do not recieve this "EMA" which I think is a joke so my money will be even more stretched. I feel bad asking my parents for £10 a week to cover lunch and money aside for books etc.

Anyway, I am currently learning to drive and I will need to acquire some transportation. I have been asking around at College for which they think in their opinion they render the most reliable car. However, some suggestions are that a Vauxhall Corsa 1200c.c. Diesel is in order.

I ask what do you suggest and how to proceed further.
My father has suggested to start with "an old banger"; but in my opinion I think it will be long-term more efficient if I can buy a half-decent car so I don't need to spend a lot of money on repairs etc.

I was hoping not to go above £2,000 - is this a reasonable amount?
My life savings consist of less than four times that but I would like to put it towards other things. Perhaps make more money from that one day.

Thank you for any suggestions.

dmg24

Assuming that you are seventeen or eighteen, £2000 is a lot for a first car. Remember that you will also need to tax the car, and pay for insurance.

I would agree with your Dad, go for an old banger.

bestpud

I would think you could get soemthing fairly decent for £2000. I agree with you about repairs but there is no sense in spending more than you have to either. Maybe try and get something around 5 years old?

Have a gander at the 'Honest John' website - you should get it via google. You could just have a looksie at the reviews etc or ask a specific question on the forums as they are pretty good on there.

I believe a Corsa will be expensive to insure as it is a typical teens car! Have a look at some insurance sites, putting in different makes and models to see which ones you'll need a mortgage to get on the road!

katy-lou

Yup

I'm 18, got my car when I was 17 when I finally passed my test.

Its a 1.0 Vauxhall Corsa S reg (10 years old)
It cost £1100, with only 45,000 miles.

I was like you, wanted a 5/6 year old car, was positive I needed it but then my dad finally talked me round and realistically this was a much better option.

I've bumped it 3 times while I was heartbroken at the time I would have been alot more if the car cost more in the first place.

Seriously its all you need a little run around to get used to driving, its a hell of a diffrent experience being on your own.

I would reccomend a low engine (cheaper insurence and tax!) I wouldnt say diesel though but I'm no car expert.

By the way dont forget petrol is a never ending drain too. Expect £10-£30 a week!

bestpud

katy-lou wrote: »

Yup
I've bumped it 3 times while I was heartbroken at the time I would have been alot more if the car cost more in the first place.

Seriously its all you need a little run around to get used to driving, its a hell of a diffrent experience being on your own.

Hmm, that's a good point! You may well have the odd bump/scratch when you first start out - I know I did.

Try and make it a wall (like I did) though as hitting other cars can get costly!!! :rotfl:

Lokolo

DCP11C wrote: »

However, I do not recieve this "EMA" which I think is a joke
........
I was hoping not to go above £2,000 - is this a reasonable amount?

This says it all.

I got EMA, wanna know how much my first car was?
£50. My mum couldn't afford anything more, she paid for my friends dad to fix the door and repaint the bumper where it had hit. EMA paid for my car insurance and petrol so I could get to school and back.

This car is a 1993 1.1 Ford Fiesta. It gets me from Stafford to High Wycombe (120 miles) every month and otherwise gets me to shopping etc.
I have had the car since October 05, my birthday, and driven it regularly since May 06 (when I passed).
Its fine.

You should think carefully about getting an expensive car. Have you tried looking at insurance yet? (if you, take a look, NOW)

Grass_Stained_Feet

Hi,

I gotta agree with your dad, go for an old banger! I got my first car a year and a half ago now, you talk about costly repairs....... I paid £350 for my car at auction, Mk3 1993 Polo 1 litre 65,000miles. In the year and a half i have had it I have had to spend £200, including getting it through an MOT. thats £550 for a year and a half's worth of car,and I only just fixed something so up until last week it was £40 less!
The impression I get is that older cars are cheaper to repair if something does go wrong, and there are less electrics to go wrong! Also for a first car I'd recommend a polo....not being bias or anything but...a) they are pretty solid, b)they are cheap to buy and to insure, my insurance when i passed was £350squid! It's because they aren't in demand,no reason for them not to be, but that's the way it is...going for an older car that isn't typically 'hip' is a good idea. Although polos are the coolest thing in the world.

Also if you do knock it, it only cost you £350 in the first place and it is an old car, so looks less wrong with the odd knock, plus its not likely to get nicked/broken into!! What you do want to watch out for is the mileage, check it isnt too high.

This is me talking in a money saving forum.

I have mates that spend 1-2k on a car, and have had more problems than me, i honestly think, they dont make em like they used to! hehe

When you do get a car, especially if it is a bit old, it is worth joining a forum related to your specific makeso that if you do have any probs people can help you out,alot of car maintence can be done by yourself and saves bucket loads as long as you know that it is easy, a lot of people think it is much harder than it is.

So yeah, old banger all the way.....it just makes so much more sense to have one when you start. I think.

Grass_Stained_Feet

One more thing, if you get an older one get one with a good bit of tax and MOTleft, that way you pay virtually nothing for it, and settle a bit before taking the dreaded test...!

DCP11C

Thank you everyone for feedback and suggestions! I appreciate your support.

Sorry to be a burden but what mileage is best to buy? Since looking on some trading sites the highest mileage I've seen is 144,000 miles! I was under the impression that over 80,000 miles plus if used properly, that the gearbox is worn out and needs replacing?

Also, is it petrol or diesel?

CloudRuler

I'm 19, on my second car at the moment.
I'd go with something a little old but not too old and Japanese for reliability. My first car was an X-reg Nissan Micra 1.0 which I had for six months, cost around £1300, can't remember the mileage but it was below an average of 10,000 for each year, I think it was either in the 40ks or 50ks. No problems whatsoever.
My current car was bought last summer, it's an 06 Toyota Yaris T3 1.3, had roughly 11,000 miles on it and I've had no problems with it, cost a little over £7,000.
I've never had a diesel but with regard to which one to choose try this: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=191
Average miles per year is around 12,000. Personally I wouldn't go for anything with over 60,000 miles and I wouldn't go for anything older than 2000.

A couple of questions:
1. How much can you afford to pay for your insurance?
2. How soon do you plan to replace the car?

Blacksheep1979

wouldn't necessarily worry about the gearbox over 80k but the cambelt should have been changed (most cases) and the clutch may be on the way out. Get something cheap under 1k and go for something like a ford/vauxhall that has cheap parts and is easy to fix - if you're handy yourself you can pick bits up from a scrappy and sort things yourself cheap.