Passed my test now onto finding a car. help much wanted:)

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

So yeah passed my test 1st time on tuesday
Now onto finding a car that I can drive, I have a Bit of a dilemma I am at school (4 and a half days a week) and work part time at McDonalds which is about 4 miles walk away. overall I earn roughly 240 pounds a month, but I may be able to work some more hours and get that up too roughly 300 but I would rather not as it takes alot of time away from school work and what not.
I have roughly about £1500 to spend on a car, So is there any suggestions to a car obvously I would like to be able to insure it for under 240 a month. I would like something that looks fairly decent and not a rust bucket, I am also going to see if I can lease-hire (I saw an advert for Peugoet 207 for 200 including insurance a month but I think there is terms and conditions involved)

But yes advice much wanted. Thank you

Paris

 

[astrosdude91]

It's your first car, so it doesn't have to be anything exciting. I would suggest something cheap like an old Fiesta or Panda.

 

[Tommi]

It's your first car, so it doesn't have to be anything exciting.

^This. 👍

__________________

Aside from the initial purchase of the car and insurance, you'll need to budget for the consumables (Fuel, tyres, bulbs etc.) and even more important things such as M.O.T's, servicing, Road Tax and repairs(just in case) too.

Before I decided to wait until i'm 18 and earn a bit more money for my C1, I was looking at several different cars. These are the few I can remember which all fit the criteria you have set(When using my insurance details at the time):

MK4 Ford Fiesta 1.25

MK2 Seat Ibiza 1.0 MPi

Nissan Micra (K11C) 1.0

You can decent ones with around 65k+ mileage on the clock for around a grand, they are fairly good on fuel and from what i've heard are easy to run. Have a look for some of them on Autotrader, take down a registration or two and try getting some quotes from price comparison websites, they should give you a rough idea of insurance prices, then you can progress from there.

A couple of tips:

• Try putting your parents (if they drive) as additional drivers on your policy, it may bring the price down a bit
• Try both Fully Comp and 3rd Party F&T, sometimes I got cheaper results with Comprehensive cover, might be the same for you

As for the lease-hire cars, most of them i've come across require you to be at least 21.

Of course you could always wait a while and save up a bit more if you're having no luck.

Congratulations on passing your test too!

 

[CodeRedR51]

It's your first car, so it doesn't have to be anything exciting.

I kind of agree with this, but even now I find it hard to buy cars that don't excite me. My first car was a 1985 Mazda RX-7....automatic. It was slow, but it was cool.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Thanks so far guys Tommi how much are you paying for your insuance on the C1 if you dont mind me asking, I dont like the Micra, the Fiesta I would but if if was the generation after that one and thats the oldest fiesta I would go for as there are fairly horrible to look at, and I like the Ibiza.

 

[Tommi]

Tommi how much are you paying for your insuance on the C1 if you dont mind me asking, I dont like the Micra, the Fiesta I would but if if was the generation after that one and thats the oldest fiesta I would go for as there are fairly horrible to look at, and I like the Ibiza.

£1700 a year fully comp which I paid in one go, not sure how much it would have been monthly.

If you don't like the look of that generation Fiesta you could try the facelift, it will be a bit more expensive to buy though.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Thats pretty good quote and yeah I prefer the facelift just looks better.
Did you do pass plus Tommi?

 

[Tommi]

Thats pretty good quote and yeah I prefer the facelift just looks better.
Did you do pass plus Tommi?

I did, I also have my parents as named drivers on the policy and i'm 18.

 

[TommyWizard]

I hope your able to get good insurance dude, I bought a Robin Reliant for 350 and the thieving insurance brookers want just under 3 grand for it. The excess alone is the same as the car

Of course what I have is going to be a little... extreme, same engine as the one Clarkson had (so it will wheelie with heavy, sudden throttle)

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

I did, I also have my parents as named drivers on the policy and i'm 18.

Hmm my instructer has recommended me to do it, but I am not sure whether to do it or not.

 

[Tommi]

Hmm my instructer has recommended me to do it, but I am not sure whether to do it or not.

It's entirely up to you, the insurance discounts aren't as good as some people make them out to be, but the experience of driving on motorways etc. is great. I was fortunate enough to participate for free through a Road Safety Partnership, I think the price is only around £40.

I recommend you look into it. 👍

 

[gogatrs]

Just completely throwing this out there, I'm completely unknowledgeable in this area do to me being only 14, but what about an older golf?
You could probably find an old old one for a pretty cheap price, and they're REALLY quick for their price.
But again, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Just completely throwing this out there, I'm completely unknowledgeable in this area do to me being only 14, but what about an older golf?
You could probably find an old old one for a pretty cheap price, and they're REALLY quick for their price.
But again, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

My dad just bought a mark iv gti, but a standard golf is still very expensive to insure so there are cheap but they're expensive collectively.

Tommi I have been offered £125 to do it but I do not know if I will make that back on the insurance.

 

[Tommi]

Tommi I have been offered £125 to do it but I do not know if I will make that back on the insurance.

Ah, I thought it was a consistent price around the country. Try the insurance quote thing I mentioned earlier and then change your licence to a Pass Plus one but leave all the other details the same to see if prices drop at all, if you can't justify the cost of Pass Plus I wouldn't bother.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

I am going to make a shortlist before I do the insurance comparing thing and I am going to talk to my dad and see if he will be a named driver on the insurance.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

From what I've heard, base model Toyota Starlets tend to be fairly cheap to insure and are far from bad cars.

Also, a 1.6 mid-size (Mondeo, Primera, etc) or 1.4 compact (Civic, Focus/Escort, etc) may be cheaper to insure than those cars most often recommended for learners (1.25/1.3 Fiesta, 1.0-1.2 Corsa/Punto/Saxo/106) just because the statistics say they'll be crashed less.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

How about Volvo 360 2.0i? small, light, nimble, reliable.. and RWD.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Startlets look rather nice, Ill add a 1.4 Civic to the shortlist and a Lolvo 240 looks pretty horrible, The car needs to look nice and not crap becuase I dont want to look like a fool, to all the rich kids in my year.

 

[stumpydino]

the nicest you'll be able to get is one that is reasonably clean and if you're concerned what they think, ask them instead

Hmm my instructer has recommended me to do it, but I am not sure whether to do it or not.

you'll save what you spent on it and that's about it...go in for it for the experience by all means but don't think that you'll get much off, if anything

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Startlets look rather nice, Ill add a 1.4 Civic to the shortlist and a Lolvo 240 looks pretty horrible, The car needs to look nice and not crap becuase I dont want to look like a fool, to all the rich kids in my year.

ublind brah?

He said 360.

(340 but you get my point)

 

[Jondot]

Tommi I have been offered £125 to do it but I do not know if I will make that back on the insurance.

Probably not. When I took it my local council were doing it for half price (£60 at the time) as a form of road safety campaign, but it only took £50 off my premium with Sleazy McSleazy Insurance LTD. However I didn't take it to lower any potential costs so much as I took it to have some motorway experience before I graced the M1 with my presence, and in that sense it was quite helpful actually.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

ublind brah?

He said 360.

(340 but you get my point)

I looked at right one but said 240 for some reason either way its ugly

 

[Azure Flare]

How about one of these?

 

[Rotary Junkie]

^That'll be cheaper to insure than a Civic Type R.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

It is my dream car so I wish, but no.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Anyone from the Uk want to hint at possible insurance costs per month?

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

http://www.youngmarmalade.co.uk/
Your guys thought's on this I cant help but feel there is a catch?

 

[Jondot]

Anyone from the Uk want to hint at possible insurance costs per month?

Can't help with that I'm afraid as I've always paid in one solid lump (and then lived off toast for the rest of the year), but what I can tell you is that Admiral/Elephant (who tend to be the cheapest for me) don't like you doing it unless you speak with them over the phone.

However, here's what Confused.com spit out at me when I do a quote as a 19 year old with 2 months of license on a new C1 VTR+.

http://www.youngmarmalade.co.uk/
Your guys thought's on this I cant help but feel there is a catch?

Hehehe, this thread is basically me a year and a half ago

Anyway, I really, really dislike Young Marmalade. As far as I'm concerned I think it's a scheme to encourage young drivers into signing their lives away for the privilege of driving a new car.

But, since you asked for the catches...

(Taking a typical 1 litre C1 VTR+ as an example)
​

Firstly, that hire purchase plan is spread over 60 months - in other words, 5 years. I don't know about you, but I have no idea what I'm going to be doing in 5 years time or what my financial situation is likely to be. I know I'll probably be bored of a C1 by then, though. Obviously you've got a job so the situation's a bit different, but I'd say for the average student tying yourself into a 5 year contract isn't a fantastic idea. Not to mention that (unless you've selected a Hyundai), that takes you 2 years past the end of the car's warranty.

Secondly, I'm sure it wasn't like this when I was looking into it a year ago but the insurance quote they just gave me was exorbitant. I just ran a similar quote through Confused.com saying that I was 19 and had my licence for only 2 months with no experience of being insured, and a staggering 21 results came out cheaper than YM's - the cheapest being £1390 with Elephant, essentially saving a grand. Sneakily though, what they've done is suggested spreading that cost over the period of the rental, suggesting a mere £51/month figure for insurance.

...except that it's not £51/month for insurance, is it. It's five years of £51/month paying off one year of insurance premium. That would be fine if this 'overcoming the initial insurance hurdle' phrase of theirs rang true, but the reality is that the premium for your second year of driving isn't going to be that much cheaper. And it's fairly likely that the third year won't be, either. And because YM seem to leave you on your own after the first year of insurance, you'll have to find ways of covering that premium of, let's say £700 for the second year's insurance, by yourself.


So, quick summative version:

• You're locked in for 5 years paying monthly amounts
• You're locked into having the same car for 5 years
• After 3 years the warranty will run out
• After 1 year, your insurance will run out
• After 5 years, you'll still be paying off your first year of insurance
• If you can't afford to reinsure your car after the first year, you'll still be paying monthly amounts to own it even though you're not using it
• If you decide to sell it, it'll be a pain because the car will have outstanding finance until the end of year 5
• Their insurance premiums are too high before you even consider the interest on monthly amounts

Hateful, hateful company.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Ah thanks Jondot I knew there would be a catch, I had a look at the 2011 Polo becuase of the deal of 99 pounds a month for five years and they said that it is unlikely that I would be able to go as a named driver on the insurance, but we are going to pop up there on saturday to have a talk and discuss our options and I do not mind buying into a car deal for five years as I have brothers(24 and 15) who when they eventually pass there tests may want to take over the car and the finanace involved, but there is a 2600 deposit which may prevent me from buying that, but I did have a brief look at renault clio's A Campus and a 07 with a good finance deals 160 a month if I remember correctly, and I am also going to have a word with my manager at work to see if I can push up my income to 90 quid a week by working some more hours, but I am shopping around at the moment, I am most likely to buy a newish car on finanace at the moment, as I would quite like to have a new car and a years safety at least.
Off to see my dad now so I will update later.

 

[Jondot]

Ah thanks Jondot I knew there would be a catch, I had a look at the 2011 Polo becuase of the deal of 99 pounds a month for five years and they said that it is unlikely that I would be able to go as a named driver on the insurance, but we are going to pop up there on saturday to have a talk and discuss our options and I do not mind buying into a car deal for five years as I have brothers(24 and 15) who when they eventually pass there tests may want to take over the car and the finanace involved, but there is a 2600 deposit which may prevent me from buying that, but I did have a brief look at renault clio's A Campus and a 07 with a good finance deals 160 a month if I remember correctly, and I am also going to have a word with my manager at work to see if I can push up my income to 90 quid a week by working some more hours, but I am shopping around at the moment, I am most likely to buy a newish car on finanace at the moment, as I would quite like to have a new car and a years safety at least.
Off to see my dad now so I will update later.

Ahhh, now that was going to be my next point: if you're going down that route, head for the dealer and negotiate

...well to be honest head for anywhere that isn't Young Marmalade as far as I'm concerned...

Anyway, good luck