Hi all
Brand new to the forum (introduced by my lovely Dad) and need some advice.
Have just passed my test ten days ago at the late age of 32 and want to get myself a first cheap car.
I want to spend around £1000 as need to budget for a first years insurance which I'm presuming will be high for me as I live in London and will be parking on the street.
I have been looking at Nissan Micras and Fiat Puntos which are mostly over ten years old within my price range and don't know if this is too old or should I be looking at the mileage the car has done over how old the car is.
Please help as I really don't know where to start!!
Many thanks :)
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At that price point, you need to be flexible on what make and model you go for, and buy on condition. For that you will need someone you trust who knows his way around cars. Dads usually step in at this point.
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Dad is unfortunately 250 miles away and not mechanically minded (his words).
I'm open to make and model but was looking at them in particular as they have small engine size and hopefully won't be as expensive to insure.
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Hello and welcome Camdenprincess, do we know your Dad well? :)
A quick way to get an idea of what's out there is to do a search on a site like Auto Trader's. For example:
bit.ly/OCLtGZ
This is a quick search for hatchbacks up to £1,000 within 10 miles of SW1 postcode (it's a good idea not to use your own postcode if you're going to post a link to a particular car on here, as anyone could find your house from it!). A new feature they've introduced is an indication of insurance prices (in the bottom right-hand corner of each car's listing) - for a 32yo female driver with no NCB most small cars seem to attract a premium of between £900-£1150 regardless of engine size.
The general consensus on here is that German and Japanese cars are better-built than French or Italian ones, but most of the stylish small cars popular with younger buyers are French or Italian...
To find out how expensive your own insurance will be is a quite laborious process, but what you do is enter your details into one of the well-known comparison websites repeatedly for different cars - a pen and paper is handy for this and you'd be surprised how small the difference in premium can be between, say, a Saxo 1.1 and a Golf 1.4.
Don't worry too much about mileage, in the £1000 market condition is far more important. Few owners, little or no bodywork damage, clean interior, receipts for servicing, and matching brand tyres are all pointers to a good car. If it doesn't look abused, it's probably not been.
Hope this helps!
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>> I'm open to make and model but was looking at them in particular as they
>> have small engine size and hopefully won't be as expensive to insure.
Its your first car, you live in London, it will be EXPENSIVE - size wont matter.
For example I chose a street in Camden, and asked for a quote from direct line for a new female driver age 32
Nissan micra 1.0 £2990 pa
Ford Focus 1.6 £3,050 pa.
Its not the car, its where you live that will do it.
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>size wont matter.
>Its not the car, its where you live that will do it.
You tell them that all the time Zero. Or something similar.
;-)
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is it illegal for "Dad" to insure it, and add her as a "named" driver, using his address?
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It's fraud if she is the main driver, i.e. won't really be insured.
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My impression is that value for money lurks a size above the in-demand small cars. I suspect people imagine only a tiny car can be driven or parked in a city, but in practice a parking space is usually a parking space, and if it will take a Ka it will take a Focus. And the bigger car has the advantage that you can get out of it after a motorway trip without feeling you've spent two hours inside a washing machine.
But you haven't told us where you'll be taking this car, or how many people it needs to carry. Or who your dad is. Welcome.
};---)
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As the Beest says, a car like this
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201239486180987
A nice tidy Ford Focus.
Will be very little more than a micra to insure.
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>>
>> www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201239486180987
>>
>> A nice tidy Ford Focus.
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>> Will be very little more than a micra to insure.
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Very nice, will have a look at some more and suss out the insurance costs :)
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I would happily drive a Ford Focus as this is what I learnt in but presumed it would be a lot more expensive to insure because of the bigger engine.
The car will be used for shopping and generally getting around, and a few trips to visit family up North and so on and only needs to fit four comfortably, really.
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Evening. Dad here. 250 miles oop motorway in Lancashire.
Quiet correct not very technical minded, i know where to put the oil, fill washer bottle etc, and i did manage to change the head light bulbs on our Panda.
One point not mentioned, daughter passed test on an auto box. So has to be an auto.
I think for a first car up the budget to about 3500/4000, a grand is not going to get you much. Any major problems and it,s scrap, ie. if the box goes for example.
The higher figure would probably get a decent Panda auto on a 04 or possible 05, others that spring to mind are Nissan Micra, Corsa, Fiesta,Polo.
Fire away chaps, any input welcome.
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Hi,
Obviously depending on how often/how far you'd want to use a car, have you thought about putting the £1000 into an account and just use it paying for a Zipcar as and when?
Pretty much brand new cars parked all over London, lots with auto boxes.
Might work out cheaper and less hassle.
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Good idea, but not for at least a year.
Zip Cars terms, Have held a full licence for a minimum of 12 monthes.
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Another vote for the Focus.
For a 32 year old, it is just as cheap to insure as a small car.
Larger size generally equates to greater safety than smaller cars.
Larger size generally equates to more comfort for longer trips.
Unless doing mega-miles, then difference in annual spend on petrol between large and small cars unlikely to be significant.
Insurance - try all the comparison sites (be careful to decline all marketing options).
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>> ............ a grand is
>> not going to get you much.
£1000 should get you something fairly decent. My 2003 Focus, 67,000 miles, is only worth about £1000. Mechanically it's still sound and if it doesn't succumb to rust it should be good for quite a few more years. There must be thousands of reasonably low-mileage Focuses to choose from.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 16 Oct 12 at 09:35
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Look at slightly newer cars as well, when we bought a Corsa for a 17 year old (a few years ago) the same model a year newer was £500 more to buy but it took £400 off the insurance.
You pay for the car once, you pay for insurance every year.
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A professional inspection (AA, RAC etc) is well worth the money.
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Automatic Honda Civic are unwanted unloved and often low mileage.. Very reliable.. and cheap
tinyurl.com/18r
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Wouldn't want a low-mileage small automatic; too popular with oldies who don't exercise them properly. Chances are it would have spent its life being cold-started, driven half a mile to Asda, parked diagonally across two spaces in the Parent-and-Child section, then cold-started again for the half-mile home. Friend bought an Astra like that and it was awful; perhaps a Honda would wear it better but ye cannae change the laws of physics.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Tue 16 Oct 12 at 10:58
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>> Wouldn't want a low-mileage small automatic; too popular with oldies who don't exercise them properly.
>> Chances are it would have spent its life being cold-started, driven half a mile to
>> Asda, parked diagonally across two spaces in the Parent-and-Child section, then cold-started again for the
Please: all these myths about wimmin parking abilities...
two spaces ? The better mothers manage three...
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I'm pretty damn good at parking thanks, even if I do say so myself and that's the least of my worries at the mo, need a car to park first really!
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The women I'm thinking of park by remote control. "Park there, George, nice and close to the door. Now put on your beige jacket, tweed hat and defeated expression and follow me round with the trolley for the next hour."
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Think I'm even more confused to be honest, especially with my Dad telling me to spend £3-4000. Really haven't got that much too spend.
Not seen many Ford Focus for sale in my area for my price range.
How bout a VW Polo 1.4 auto from 1998, has done 52000 miles, service history and looks in lovely condition with news tyres and new brakes and discs or a Renault Clio 1.6 from 1999, has done 34000 miles and is also in pretty good condition, one previous owner and service history.
Buying a car when you don't have a clue is hard work!!!
Oh and really don't like the Honda idea!! Not very nice to look at.
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I'll chip in with my usual comment when small cars are mentioned: Daihatsu.
Plenty of 'em around cheap and they're as bulletproof for reliability as it gets. A little Cuore is ideal for city use and the five door version is extremely practical.
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Welcome, Camdenprincess!
You've got me thinking back to when The Brother and I bought our first cars - both within 6 months of each other, but a few years back now. Some tips from what we got right (or didn't) that might help.
- Work out your monthly budget for buying AND running the car, and stick to it.
- Figure out how long you want to keep the car for. If a Zipcar is an option next year, then the lowest cost car you can get over the next 12 months makes most sense.
- If you buy old, or odd, plan on scrapping it when you're finished with it. Anything you make back on resale or trade in is a bonus.
- Try not to be too swayed by image. Buy practical, buy cheap, and when your NCB allows, then buy the car you really want. As said above, buy on condition, not age/mileage/model.
- Anything below 9000 miles per year suggests short journeys that kill older cars: let other buyers pay the premium price demanded for buying this sort of trouble!
- Anything ex-police, post office, NHS, driving school etc. is not for the first-time buyer.
- Remember, cars do get dented/scratched/crashed, especially in town. Aim to buy a commonplace car, so its easier get second-hand panels and parts to fix.
With that in mind, draw up a shortlist of cars that you think will suit you, and go shopping. Stick to budget, and trust your gut instinct. You may think you don't know about cars, but you know that niggly feeling when something isn't quite right. If you're not happy, walk away - there are oodles of cars out there to choose from.
Last edited by: Gromit on Tue 16 Oct 12 at 11:41
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>>Oh and really don't like the Honda idea!! Not very nice to look at<<
I reckon you secretly desire a Perodua Kenari.
:-))
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I think Dog's cracked it! Buy something too ugly and bizarre to be worth stealing or vandalizing on the mean streets of Camden, keep it for a year until you can join the sharing scheme, then sell the monstrosity to our Stu - who should be ready for a change by then, providing you approach him on a day ending in Y.
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>> >>Oh and really don't like the Honda idea!! Not very nice to look at<<
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>> I reckon you secretly desire a Perodua Kenari.
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>> :-))
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Its not the worst looking car I have seen, nicer than the Honda anyway :)
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Any particular Honda?
Your money, your choice. I wouldn't be buying on styling, or colour, at £1,000.
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The 1998 1.4 Polo sounds worth a look albeit a bit elderly but the new bits will be money you dont have to spend.
Of course all this assumes the price is right and that the car is "straight" with no engine/gearbox faults.
As always
Mark
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First car! - Zero
