For first car, with zero non claims bonus, insurance cost is a dominant factor.

You need a list of all insurance groups listed per car, and shortlist from the lowest insurance groups you can tolerate.

Myself for a first car I would be looking at something like a fiat Panda diesel.

I agree, with the budget available your best bet is going for a naturally aspirated Japanese car. The Focus 1.6 petrol is also good and should be plentiful.

We do need to know more about the driver and their use of the car though. Your requirements thus far could cover everything from an Aygo to a Mondeo.

Hi All.

I'm trying to help a friend choose his first car.

The idea is to buy a car that can be used as a work horse for 2-3 years, to rack up miles and be a comfortable to drive at the same

Budget is 4k, mileage per year: 15-18k, manual transmission and Diesel ( looking for 40mpg roughly).

My suggestions were as follows, ( all used cars with 40k ish on the clock)

Kia ceed (Pre-2013 models, post 13 are 7k and above)

Seat Ibiza, 2011 onwards

Honda Civic 2007 onwards.

Any other suggestions you might have ?

Thanks!

As others have asked, the age and gender of the driver can matter a LOT for the insurance, especially if they want/need a larger car or one 'seen' as being a higher performance model or one with a 'boy racer' reputation or that will likely be bought for modding.

Additionally, we need the following to get a more accurate picture of their circumstances:

1. Type of driving - mostly urban, slow speed work, mainly faster flowing out-of-town roads, a mix of both, plus roughly where the car will be driven - more remote rural and/or hilly areas that often experience bad weather (especially in winter) or not;

2. What sort of storage and passenger accomodation is required - i.e. size of car. Is there a minimum, e.g. worst case when they and family are going on a trip/holiday or they regularly use the car to shift large/heavy loads, e.g. garden/major household waste, work equipment, etc that may need a larger boot space than a city car or Fiesta sized car;

3. Are they willing to put aside a reasonable amount to cover not just insurance, but also to keep the well maintained at either a main dealership or well-regarded independent garage, or will use a cheapo 'back alley' garage or maintain it themselves. Korean and especially Japanese lower spec N/A petrol cars tend to be the most hardy/reliable, but must be properly maintained, especially chain-cam engines which require fresh oil of a high standard as per the handbook schedule;

4. What do they mean by 'comfortable to drive'? Many cars nowadays have decent seats, but have larger wheels and lower profile tyres fitted as standard (even lower spec models - hoping to attract young people) and quite firm suspension, which can often lead to poor ride quality, especially when driving on poorly surfaced urban and rural roads, not so bad on motorways. They are also far more susceptible to blowouts and general tyre/wheel damage and wear much quicker than standard profile (55 or above) tyres.

They also put more strain on suspension parts which also wear more quickly. Added to their higher replacement cost, this can add quite a bit to the maintenance cost of the car. A good compromise is 55 profile, up to 65 profile is fine unless you want really great handling. Some cars that are known for good handling can more easily take higher profile tyres (matched with smaller wheels) without much of a handling penalty.

Personally speaking, I'd go for the lowest spec required, common Japanese or Korean small/mid-sized N/A petrol car (dependent on their passenger/storage requirements) that can do 0-60 in about 10-14 sec and an overall real mpg (check out the section on this website for that - manufacturer's figures often are well above what can really be achieved) of 40-50mpg. Having A/C is fine (especially if they going to do lots of long journeys or be driving a lot), but keep the number of toys and spec level to the absolute minimum needed - not doing so will a) bump up the price of the car or restrict them to older models (not so good for reliability), b) may cost more to insure (higher group) and c) more to maintain (something more to go wrong). Follow the KISS principle.

As others have said, their insurance will likely be the highest outlay per year for the first 5 years or so, far more than all the other costs (including VED and servicing). As such, which car they choose can have a significant bearing on the insurance premium level.

My first car was a mid-90s near base-spec 1.0 petrol Micra (when Nissan still made reliable cars - I'd avoid them nowadays), which had no electric windows, no A/C (great for reliability, but never again once I could afford it next time) power steering (so light - it didn't need it). Very few issues in the 8 years I owned it - not quick (0-60 in about 15 sec), but fine around town and easy to park (great for visibility - something to look for for your friend's first car) and achieved more than the quoted overal mpg (47) at 52mpg (though I was doing more driving on dual carriageways than in urban areas).

Make sure they find out ALL the likely costs of buying and running the car first, as many young people buy cars they cannot afford and often have to divert money from other areas, e.g. saving up for a home, etc to fund running it, often because they bought a older premium/performance car that cost the earth to run (reliability problems and expensive parts/servicing) or without verifying it had previously been reliable/well maintained/not crash damaged.

Edited by SLO76 on 02/11/2018 at 19:02