Amen to all the posters suggesting you wait before taking the plunge - uni is quite a small world and you'll be living pretty close to the campus I'd guess and the transport from student accomodation areas to the campus and city centre is always good. If you do decide to go for it, buy at home with people you trust to help you, not your new found uni friends
As regards hacking it out on the road I can only pass on the words of my instructor which so far has kept me out of any trouble for the last 22 years - don't look at the car in front, it tells you nothing, always look two or three cars ahead, that's where the trouble will come from.
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Emma
Welcome to the BR!
There's plenty of good advice here about driving with both brain and gearbox in gear, so can't add any more here.
As to which car to go for
Metro - for your budget avoid unless its very cheap, got a years MOT and you can afford to bin it after that.
205,Citroen AX/ZX, worth a look. very rarely fail the MOT for Rust. The AX is obviously the smaller car here.
Renault 5 - Avoid like the plage build quality is rubbish
Renault Clio - worth a good look
Fiesta - Great little car, can be a bit pricy
VW Golf - Again, a great car, can be pricy, as with all models that hold their value, there will be a lot of overpriced rubbish around.
Also, I would seriously avoid buying from a dealer for your money, unless you happen to find one that will 'Trade' you a good car ie sell to you as if you were trade. Even then you shouldn't pay more that £300 to £500 for a 10 year old car unless it's really good.
Alternitively a trip down the auction with a trustworthy knoledgeble friend is a good idea
In addition, I don't know where you are, but have a look at the Classifieds on this site - A Talbot Horizon (Escort Size) with 66K is going begging. No street cred, but if the price is right.... and they're solid as well!
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Thanks for all the useful advice so far. I've thought about what you've all said, but I really want my own wheels. I'm in Edinburgh, where the public transport is v good, but there's lots of places to go up here and a car would be handy.
I've got a budget(for buying the car) of around £600...
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I like Fiestas...should be able to comfortably find one at that price
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Am I being rash in also suggesting a '93-on Nissan Micra?
(with the usual proviso that it's had regular, decent-quality oil changes to protect its chain cam drive)
Only group 3 insurance for the 1.0 too.
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Am I being rash in also suggesting a '93-on Nissan Micra? (with the usual proviso that it's had regular, decent-quality oil changes to protect its chain cam drive) Only group 3 insurance for the 1.0 too.
Won't get one for 600 quid.
Emma, I'd suggest for that money a Fiesta on perhaps an L plate. Try and find one that's not too rusty. Citroën AX is another possibility, these are going very cheap these days but try to get the lowest mileage possible and make sure the mechanical bits are okay. You'd have to put up with collapsable trim and poor driving position though. Or, like I said, perhaps an 8 or 9 year old Polo.
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Emma,
If you're in Edinburgh there's a fantastic bus network, take a look, you may be pleasantly surprised.
www.lothianbuses.co.uk/
or
www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland/sescot/home/
I subscribe to the theory that you'll manage just fine without a car so why bother adding stress to your life, there's plenty of time for that after Uni.
Good luck.
PP
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As a Midlander, who didn't buy his first car until he was well into his thirties, I've long envied the inhabitants of Edinburgh their public transport and cycle paths.
ScotRail allow bicycles on trains, putting some of the most spectacular bits of Scotland within travelling distance. Catch a train to Bridge of Allan or Dunblane and you're close to the edge of the Trossachs.
And, at the risk of sounding like a knit-your-own-yoghurt type, I believe there's some sort of car pooling arrangement being set up in Edinburgh. A quick Google brings www.smartmoves.co.uk/eccc.html. I don't know whether they allow recently qualified drivers to join but it's worth investigating.
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A girl at work, also called Emma, is in a similar situation. Her brother is a mechanic, so reliability isn't quite as much of an issue, but she's been looking at AXs, 91 on Polos, Fiestas, 205s and Fiat Unos (90 on).
I'm not sure I would avoid a well kept, cheap R5 like the plage - French for beach - but only if cheaper or newer than the competition.
Above all, rust hurts. You can usually find a mate who knows a bit about cars to do the easy stuff (oil, plugs, filters, shockers) or take it to a fast fit or whatever, but if it rusts, it's time to call the professionals in. Without wanting to be outrageously sexist, I think even a semi knowledgeable bloke like me is less likely to be ripped off than a girl on her own, so drag one along if your car ever does need work.
For that reason I'd be reluctant to consider most small cars other than those listed as pretty much anything else (including the Fiesta, actually, but they are so plentiful they can't be avoided completely) will rust quite badly at this age. The dates are significant because post 90 Unos were galvanised IIRC and certainly don't rust as much as earlier ones; and the late 1990 facelift of the Polo introduced a brake servo. Earlier ones will basically feel as if they have no brakes if you've never driven anything that old before.
Finally, look at your life and see if it really needs a car. If you find that lack of a car is stopping you from doing what you want to do, then fine, but if you're only buying a car to avoid occasional taxi fares, it simply doesn't add up.
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Edinburgh city centre is a real pain to get parked in - also I believe the local council plans to introduce a congestion charge as well....
A £600 car will *not* be reliable - you can take that as read. You'll find people on this site who disagree with me but then they probably do all their own servicing on the cheap. Are you mechanically-minded?
Also if something goes wrong (and it will) the repair costs could easily be well over that. You have road tax, insurance, petrol, repairs, the inevitable paring tickets, punctures, parking tickets - it can all add up.
If you want to get 'out and about' at weekends you have great rail links from Edinburgh and if there are a few times that you really *need* a car then renting a car a few times a year will be cheaper.
I'm really sorry to 'rain on your parade' as it were, but I don't like to see somedbody spend their hard-earned cash and end up with a financial liability.
Also - if you are not driving you won't have a any problems when you pop out for a few drinks!
Anyway, good luck whatever you decide to do and have a great time at university.
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ps - sorry if it sounds as though myself and others are being miserable s**s by saying "don't get a car - wait until after university" it's just I've lost track of the number of times I've seen people eager to get a first car when very young and really regret it.....
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