Hey. I need some advice regarding a first time buyer for a motorcar.
I am a student studying full-time. However, I do not recieve this "EMA" which I think is a joke so my money will be even more stretched. I feel bad asking my parents for £10 a week to cover lunch and money aside for books etc.
Anyway, I am currently learning to drive and I will need to acquire some transportation. I have been asking around at College for which they think in their opinion they render the most reliable car. However, some suggestions are that a Vauxhall Corsa 1200c.c. Diesel is in order.
I ask what do you suggest and how to proceed further.
My father has suggested to start with "an old banger"; but in my opinion I think it will be long-term more efficient if I can buy a half-decent car so I don't need to spend a lot of money on repairs etc.
I was hoping not to go above £2,000 - is this a reasonable amount?
My life savings consist of less than four times that but I would like to put it towards other things. Perhaps make more money from that one day.
Thank you for any suggestions.
|
Dads are old and grey for a reason - experience. £2,000 is a really horrible amount to spend on a car. You stand very little chance of getting a more reliable car than if you spend £500-£750, but if the big bills hit, you have to spend the money on the £2k car, because you've got £2k tied up in it. A £500 car can, as a last resort, be scrapped, if it's going to cost a lot to keep running.
Diesels can be good, but only if you really expect to do lots of miles, ie more than 15,000 a year. A small petrol car will do almost as many mpg, and petrol is very slightly cheaper.
Try to avoid the trendy models such as Saxo, Clio, 106, as they have inflated prices. Look instead at the Skoda Felicia, for example. VW under the bonnet, but no cred in the badge, hence cheaper. Or go for an older, but cared-for model, such as the Peugeot 205 - loads around, grannies still selling them, and £500 gets you a car that is still very good, and easy to fix, with all the parts you need on Ebay.
Don't commit to buying a specific car until you have checked the insurance costs.
|
Mk ii polo. £100, and a second one to park in the garden for spares for £30.
|
|
How about one of those Kia Picantos or a Perodua Kelsa? Ive seen 3 year old ones for less than £2000 and they have low miles too. Must surely be a low insurance group.
|
|
|
|
You're going about it the wrong way round.
Your major expense isnt going to be repairs or even the car. You're about to buy expensive insurance, you need to find a car that keeps the insurance cost down.
I'm with your Dad - cheap/disposable is the way to go. Although if I was your dad I wouldnt be giving you £10 for lunch if you had £8k in the bank.
|
|
|
|
Get something for about £500 that's got a years (or nearly) MOT (any tax is a bonus) and has good tyres. Make sure it isn't low mileage, and hasn't had engine work done, and that it does not burn oil, and that it has been in daily use. It should have many very rusty areas at all. Oh, it helps if you like it/the colour, but the prescence of knick-knacks like audio equipment add 0 to the usability or worth of the thing. Consider what the insurance will cost, too. Keep up with the oil changes when you do buy it.
Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 08/02/2008 at 12:44
|
|
a colleague bought a brand new Punto as his first car - bumped it three times in the first year. Not bad bumps, things that would have been left if it was a banger but he felt had to be repaired as it was new. You should have seen the insurance quotes for the second year... Buy a banger until you've racked up some miles, experience and NCB.
|
I would look for a Ford KA. Simple mechanics and low insurance (or so my sister - job classifies her as high risk - tells me). You will get a decent one for £800 and a really good one for £1500. Go for an older one with a genuine service history rather than something newer but iffy!
|
im a dad ! Daughter is a student.
car 1 was old fiesta, current car is a clio.
Neither are worth much (resale) but both are(were) worth a fortune to her.
Cheap enough to throw away if repairs are expensive or if accident happens.
Insurance is golden, car is a lump of metal. It will get better with age and money.
Insurance, reliability, street cred in that order !
Fiesta, 205, 106, Ka, corsa (wont get 1200 diesel btw), skoda, polo, clio are all worht looking at.
|
|
Get a job whilst studying. Then you wont need to ask your Dad for lunch money and you can afford to a car thats actually good.
|
I assume you mean a Corsa 1.2 petrol in your original post. The diesels were bigger engines than that.
I've owned a 1.2 Corsa for several years, and my children have had Novas and Corsas as well. They are simple and cheap to maintain, and have proved extremely reliable too.
You can pick one up with 12 months MOT for around £500-£600 and they do about 45mpg. Cheap to insure too. Cambelt replacement is a cinch (and therefore inexpensive) when needed too.
I'd definitely recommend one. Do the usual checks when buying. Popular with the older generation because of their low costs of ownership, you can often find older cars that have just had one elderly owner, as I did. I bought privately cause I knew I could trust the old chap that was selling it.
Go for a 5 door and you'll lose next to nothing when you do finally sell it on. They are always easy to sell.
Just don't go for a tarted up one that has been owned by a boy (or girl) racer !!!
Ron
|
Ka, Fiesta or Corsa.
Reliable, mechanically simple, fairly straightforward for DIYmaintenance, and if you're not that way inclined, any garage anywhere can and will fix them for reasonable money! Parts available anywhere, loads in breakers for secondhand bits, cheap to insure, and will always find a buyer later on if in reasonable nick and with evidence of regular maintenance.
Cheers
DP
Edited by DP on 09/02/2008 at 11:53
|
Look for something small which is ugly enough to put kids off it; Corsa, Pug 106 and Saxo are trendy so expensive second-hand. My missus had a Skoda Felicia which she said drove like a tank but was incredibly reliable, had plenty of space and was cheap to buy and insure. She now runs a Punto which even I admit is quite nice to drive.
Another poster suggested Mark 2 Polo; I'd go along with that, great little cars but getting a bit scarce now. Don't be put off by the age of them becasuse they seem to last well.
|
|
Wifes L reg Peugot 106 1.4 diesel which had given 7 years stirling service was recently written off because some scumbags broke in and stole the battery.No cash to spare at the time so had to get a replacement for the(£500) insurance settlement.Found a mint condition same model 1years MOT 6 months tax(worth£110 alone) recently replaced cambelt(£200 job) and lots of other recent work new battery etc for£565 from a trader who'd taken it in part exchange.It would probably give another 7 years good service is extremely economical cheap road tax and low insurance group.No modern diesel engine nasty's either. Very simple and cheap to fix too.Worth considering something similar.
|
|
|
|
Hey, this is my first post from a long-time lurker, and hopefully it'll be of some help
I'm an 18 year old full time student like the OP, and I'm lucky enough that my parents bought my first car for me. My parents priorities were safety, reliability and running costs, whereas I was more concerned about about image.
After some debating, my parents bought me a 1.0 Corsa for £2000.
IMO, a Corsa is pretty hard to beat for a first car. For £1995 I got a one old lady owner, Y reg 1.0 Corsa C Comfort, with 23000 miles. This is a car with a 4 star EuroNCAP rating, power steering, remote central locking, an alarm and a sunroof. It also has group 1 insurance.
I realise that Corsas are often slated, and sometimes for obvious reasons. But for the purposes of a first car I don't think there is a better car out there. Yes, it's slow, and not particularly thrilling to drive, but for me it's an excellent cat that's done everything I've asked.
My dad usually only buys Japanese cars, and originally wanted to get me a Yaris, but for the money we paid, the Yari (?) we saw were much higher mileage and lower spec.
Hope I've been of some use!!
|
|
|
Do you really need a car? There are very few universities in the UK which I would consider it a necessity to own one. In a lot of cases, it's positively discouraged, with extortionate campus parking fees etc. I certainly would think twice about spending my life savings on what, in a lot of cases, is a luxury. Don't forget, you'll already be faced with a significant debt on leaving university, so is it really worth adding to it now?
|
|
|
