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Anyone got a suggestion on an ideal first car?
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1.O L corsa ive got one as a knockabout for £300 with 35000 miles onit
or polo or punto
but get the most basic spec and the best alarm you can
it would be interesting to see your insurance quote on it if your a new driver,
i always found tesco helpful
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Thanks derek for your reply.
I've tried Endsleigh with a Fiat Punto 55s and it only came to £838.25 pa which is not bad i suppose for being a first time driver.
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A lot of people say that old Polos are good cars, but I have had 2 in the last year, both of which had head gaskets blow (one as soon as got it home, the other after about 3 months).
So I would say do not get an old Polo as they are piles of scum on wheels, though their parts are cheap.
I used to think that the "good" makes VW, saab, nissan etc meant that pretty much any of these would be Ok, even if their service history isn't totally upto date, but I reckon the main thing about 2nd hand cars is the service history/ general history, whatever the make. Though there are obviously some shoddy makes (punto? some rovers?) that more often than others appear in forums like this with queries.
regards
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An original Mini. You will never have more fun with 40 bhp (on four wheels anyway)
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A lot of people say that old Polos are good cars, but I have had 2 in the last year, both of which had head gaskets blow (one as soon as got it home, the other after about 3 months). So I would say do not get an old Polo as they are piles of scum on wheels,
You are quite right, a lot of people do say old Polos are good cars; they may even be correct.
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So I would say do not get an old Polo as they are piles of scum on wheels, though their parts are cheap.
Wrong on both counts I think, but then... I could be slightly biased.
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>> So I would say do not get an old Polo asthey are piles of scum on wheels, though their parts are cheap.
>>Wrong on both counts I think, but then... I could be slightly >>biased.
No no no, extremely correct on both counts I know, if you want to come to my freezing barn in cambridge and rebuild the engine whilst I'm at work , so I can use the damn thing, and take me to and from work each day, I may accept that you are correct ;)
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Another biast view, but I think they are just as reliable as anything else on the road, and parts for mine ARE cheap, even the genuine ones.
If its just a gasket(?) why dont you take it to a garage. They could do the job in a day for less than £180 and you would have the car back for work ASAP. (plus you would be warmer too ;-))
Lastly, if they are so bad, why did you buy another?
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I agree that the parts are cheap, I just dont like the frequency with which you need to buy them.
A head gasket change, cylinder head skimming for £180? No way...every quote I've seen is around a days labour, with them waiting on getting the skim done, so at least £700 .
I bought one dud, which was meant be temporary anyway (120000 miles, not much history), but more temporary then just getting me home once.
So i put it down to bad luck and everntually got another with only £50000 miles on, some s/h, i went on the VW "reputation" for reliabilty and assumed i'd get at least more than 3000 miles before another blown head gasket.
Just unlucky i guess, oh well.
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>>I just dont like the frequency with which you need to buy them.
LOL
I feel a bit sorry for you, as luck just isn't going you way.
The £180 quote comes from when mine was done in 1998. Looking at the reciept the owners passed on to us, it reads: "remove cylinder head + skim and replace gaskets + timing belt." The total bill comes to £168.20, with the head skim only coming to £25! (did they do it properly?)
Best of luck with it all anyway
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i was thinking about getting a Fiat Punto 55s for a first car put i have been put off by someone saying that they are rubbish. does anyone else have an opinion of them and are they good on petrol consumption?
Lola04
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Try looking here for info on all cars.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm
But don't necessarily be put off by a few bad words, as most cars will have some faults
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I don't know much about them, but I am in the process of doing an engine rebuild for a Polo, and when searching for advice about this came up with loads of cases of Punto engines falling to pieces after a couple of years. Do a forum search for "gasket punto" and you'll see what i mean.
So i'd say be careful with what you get.
regards
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Not sure whether you are a learner, but I started this thread some time back.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=19814&...e
The relevance of it is that I was thinking of a Punto. I eventually bought a 1996 Megane 1.4RT. Once again, I'm not sure of your budget, but Meganes seem better value for money - particularly as they have a good NCAP rating of 4 stars (I know, before anyone brings it up again, that this is not the only consideration!). I paid £1000 for the car, which had 76000 on the clock. Apart from a few minor problems with the exhaust & cooling system, it has been a great car and my son is quite happy driving it.
As was suggested, look at the car by car breakdown on this site - gets a reasonable write up. Best of luck with whatever you choose.
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BTW, I get a consistent 39mpg.
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Hello Lola,
If you can find a good one, then I think they are good, but as they are cheap, many get neglected.
They have thin door skins which are very prone to parking dents.
The 55 8 valve is probably more reliable that the 16v, and also have you looked at the SX, should have better interior trim and foglights etc... and clear front indicators instead of orange, the price will be about the same by now.
Sometimes the head gaskets blow and the coolant disappears, so check the coolant level by taking the black plastic top off, it should have a dip-stick.
Good luck!
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If it's your first car you want fun to drive, cheap to maintain, reliable and good fuel consumption. And cheap to insure.
A Ford Ka or Fiesta fit those requirements admirably...
madf
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More specifically about Puntos: they probably don't stand being thrashed as well as some other cars, so look for a cosseted one; 'rubbish' - what does that mean , except prejudice?; and consumption - I had one that always did 50mpg. Some common probs: jerky wipers, rusting holes in sumps; flaking paint on wing mirrors; gaskets as already mentioned.
Otherwise, well-designed, roomy, comfortable, but ride a bit jittery. Good luck.
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Actually the car was designed by Italians for Italian drivers, the engine is designed to be thrashed. I did 50k in 3 years in my 95N S. Only problem I had was bushes in rear suspension, it would thump going over bumps. IIRC it was about £300 to fix, the bushes are cheap, but the labour was expensive.
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As (I assume) a 'first driver', if money is an important part of your equation, it makes sense to get something in the lowest insurance groups (Corsa, Polo, Punto). By definition this will not make you a girl-racer. Actually buying the car is quite cheap these days as used prices for that sort of car are low - loads of nice ones only 5 years old for <£2500. But loads of tatty ones too, for the same reason. The essential thing is to take along a knowledgeable accomplice when you buy, or you may spend all your savings on repairs.
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My first car was a second-hand Volvo 340 - as was my second. My parents wanted to ensure that if I ever got into trouble, I'd live through it and indeed they're rock solid pieces of machinery that only required WD40 and the occassional jump start.
I hear that the old shape Volvo S40 are quite reliable. Perhaps a cheap second hand one of those?
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I have a lovely 1.3 Toyota Starlet for sale if you fancy it.
Extremely reliable, economical, cheap to run and insure. Two lady owners, low mileage... I could go on. Ask for more details if you're interested.
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If you can, try & find one thats NOT been someone elses, first car.
Not wishing to sound patronising or anything, but it's gonna get mis-treated, one way or another!!
How about a trip to the auctions, on a saleday with BIG main dealer part exchanges, section?
You'll quite often find 'genuine' trade-ins, 1 lady owner & such like.Remember the no miles Metro, HJ reported a week or 3 back? £300 ish for an ideal starter motor!!
VB
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Citroen Xantia 1.9TD/Peugeot 406 1.9TD
Cheap to run
Cheap to insure
Spacious and comfortable
Performance thats not too much, but enough to be there when you need it
Reliable
Plenty of toys to press
Safer in the event of an accident than a rotting old Polo
Cheaper than the eqiuvilent Fester.
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Isn't £300 a bit steep for a starter motor? :-)
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Lola04 -
As a former Punto owner for nearly three years (albeit of the 60 SX rather than the 55), I can offer some first-hand experience here. We ended up getting a couple of them within a couple of months, due to changing commuting requirements and a pretty good free insurance/PCP package. Sadly, I knew next to nothing about cars and hadn't done much in the way of research into car buying/owning at the time. That is something I was determined would never happen again and is probably why I've become a bit of a car geek since. I guess it probably says a lot about the Punto ownership experience! Ok, objectively they're not bad in terms of spaciousness and being reasonably nippy for a 1.2. However, although reliability was never a problem, a couple of things really got to me.
1 - by far the biggest problem for me: because of the position of the pedals, the driving position was absolutely awful for longer journeys - anything over half an hour caused severe discomfort in my right ankle because of how I had to twist it to keep my foot on the accelerator.
2 - the steering wheel, while height-adjustable on mine, does not adjust for reach and is too far away as a result. Or, if you adjust the driver's seat for the wheel, the pedals are too close.
3 - the sunroof in one car meant that at 5'10", the ceiling was too low in spite of the height-adjustable driver's seat. This, combined with 1 and 2 above, meant that if I drove that car for any period of time, I ended up with a sore back as well as a sore ankle. Get one without a sunroof.
4 - the paint quality was rubbish on the black one. The lacquer bubbled and peeled away from stone chips in large patches (nearly two inches in diameter).
On the plus side again - the crumple-zone/safety cell combination is robust enough to withstand a front-OS-quarter impact from a skidding, fully-laden lorry at over 30 mph. Ask my wife - she's still around to answer, for which I am eternally grateful!
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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What car should I buy? must be a the worst question anyone could ask on here.
"Buy car A - I have one, fantastic"
"A??? Don't touch them with a bargepole, my brother had one and it fell to bits, nine days to change a spark plug and the clutch only lasted a week. You wanna buy B, most reliable car ever made."
"Car B? You gotta be kidding..." etc etc.
First car? Who cares what make it is. If you are looking at the sub £1000 market any dogs will have died the death years ago and those left should have a reasonable chance of living a bit longer. Just follow the golden rules, take a knowledgeable friend with you to give an unbiased opinion and check the insurance group before you buy, not after.
And don't worry about the colour. Nobody else will.
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Very good way of putting it Tom. I agree, that thread pattern can already be seen here.
In addition to the above, try as many different cars as you can, and then go for the one you like the most, simple.
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It does depend a bit on the circumstances.
Are you:
a) an experienced driver but who has never actually owned a car before
b) a new driver hoping to learn on this car
c) a keen DIY mechanic
d) going to get it seviced and maintained by a friend
e) going to have to pay garage prices for serving and maintenance
f) poor
g) very poor?
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How about the £20 Mondeo featured on today's auction report (see right). It's probably easier to drive than many 'small' cars without power assistance. Not that much worse on fuel. Already dented so no worries about novice parking attempts. And when something breaks you'll turn a profit turning it in at the scrappy. :-)
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well im a 17 year old male and it all depends if dads paying insurance
i turned 18 this year and my dad bought me a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
my first car was a 2008 Volkswagen GTI
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well im a 17 year old male and it all depends if dads paying insurance
i turned 18 this year and my dad bought me a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
my first car was a 2008 Volkswagen GTI
Don't fall for it
Troll responding to a 7 year old thread who can't even spell "opinion" for his name
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You are right Amstrong Sid,bit of a wind up.My first car second hand Hillman Imp £600.
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"Troll responding to a 7 year old thread who can't even spell "opinion" for his name".
Possibly, or he may be confessing to being shortsighted.
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I can't believe nobody has suggested a Fiat Panda!
You don't say how much you have to spend or whether you're looking to buy new etc.
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You don't say how much you have to spend or whether you're looking to buy new etc.
The question was asked in November 2004. The OP may now be on their third or fourth car
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