Thanks for the quick replies everyone. Seems like it is a bad idea to try and pass the insurance over. We were really going to share the cars, with her using it on her commute when I'm local etc and me using the Clio, which I could be the named driver on, but it might be all too much hassle - I will probably just get covered properly.
I am hoping on suggestions as to what kind of cars I should be looking for as well, if anyone has the time :)
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I don't know if this would work for the OP, but I might be tempted to consider getting a small car for local driving, and to build up an insurance history, and when work requires a much longer journey, to hire a suitable vehicle for a short term.
The other point to make is that a modern small car is nothing like the small cars of even 20 years ago, and I wouldn't have too many qualms about using, say, a Corsa to drive a long distance in.
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> Too many qualms about using, say, a Corsa to drive a long distance in
Although they have been known to break camshafts, it seems ...
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If you can get a handle on how often you will need to make long journeys it would change my answer.
If you will only rarely need to travel long distances, then I would start off with a low ins group car. These are often small basic hatchbacks. More than pleasant for short trips but a bit wearing for longer runs.
If it becomes apparent that long distance driving is going to be a regular event, I would councel getting something a bit bigger, safer, and more comfortable. I believe some bigger cars are remarkably cheap to insure even for young / inexperienced drivers.
It's all a very very long time ago but I learned to drive on a combination of a driving school Mini and my dad's Volvo 240. As a result, I think anyway, I have never really thought of the size of a car being in any way a limiting factor. Some novice drivers and even some qualified ones fear larger cars when there is actually no need to.
As others have mentioned, why not get a few insurance quotes on various models ?
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I am a little put off by small hatchbacks - the Clio is such and my partner and I just feel like we dont want another really. They seem a little boy racer to me and I dont want to look like a prat when I pull into some clients office (silly reason perhaps).
I think it is better to assume that I am going to be doing more of the longer distances in the car now that I really think about it.
I will have a quick look through the insurance quotes but - as an earlier poster pointed out - since I am over 25 hopefully this will not end up being as bad as I feared. I still have no idea what cars I should be looking at though (not soley thinking about insurnace cost).
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Well, as a rule of thumb, start with mainstream stuff. Forget so called prestige brands. Look at Fords, Vauxhalls etc. They tend to be cheaper due to their numbers and are relatively inexpensive to maintain. Mondeos, Vectras, Astras and Focuses would be my starting point. Some models are also quite low insurance groups. Smaller petrol engines and diesels would probably be a good starting point. Having said all this, the above suggestion from someone re the Panda has a lot of merit. Good wee cars I gather.
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2004- Fiat Panda = IG1
Autotrader.co.uk (national search) has
9 x Panda .........£1995 - £2500
Edited by dnc1781 on 21/02/2009 at 19:31
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Thanks for the advice. What is the reliability like on the Panda? Or Fiats in general? I've been looking more at Toyota's as i would ideally like something with good endurance
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What is the reliability like on the Panda? >>
www.parkers.co.uk/cars/owners-reviews/search.aspx?...a
tchback
{No clickable links to Parkers please}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/02/2009 at 12:02
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> What is the reliability like ?
As you are buying used, I would say get a car whose size and image you feel happy with, which has a service record and has not changed hands often. That should look after reliability - though every brand has its Friday cars. Big cars have advantages, but the size means that fewer parking spaces are available, and they will hit things (and be hit) more easily, by definition; also they will use a bit more fuel.
If image seems important to you, I don't think a Panda is on the list. The only conspicuous one round here belongs to the 'district nurse'.
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Do Pandas have an image problem?
My brother has diesel one as a station car and it is a tremendous little device.
Having said that, he is a bank manager, so perhaps Pandas do have an image problem.
Following recent events, he certainly does. :)
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Do Pandas have an image problem?
They did - but evolution gave them a makeover a few million years ago, turning them into big cuddly looking things despite being smelly and violent.
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Image was only part of it. I don't think I would choose to go from Lancashire to Inverness in a Panda ...
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Ah the image thing !
Quite the most difficult automotive factor to quantify. Everything else can be measured in terms of value, reliability etc. Image though, how do you put a price on that and how much does it really matter and to whom ?
I certainly don't know the definitive answer to that. All I can do is give you some personal experience.
I have spent my whole working life at the sharpest end of the so called "designer" fashion industry. A more image concious bunch of erks could not be found outside the upper reaches of the premier division.
At one time it was nigh on compulsary to drive a prestige car to be taken seriuosly, or so everyone seemed to think. There has though been a subtle shift in relatively recent years where an almost anti-style has crept in. The modern fashionista seems far less concerned by the car element of their "image". Many do not have them at all and by far the vast majority who do don't burden themselves with conspicuous wheels. It is just no longer "fashionable" in high fashion to be a "flash harry" car type.
This trend does not yet seem to have permeated through to other industries yet though. My wife works in a fairly senior position in the financial sector ( no it's not her fault ). The car park at her workplace is still groaning with mainly german cliches but at a major fashion trade exhibition in London a couple of weeks ago the vast majority of vehicles in the car park were fairly careworn mainstream practical things such as MPVs and estate cars plus several vans.
A question for you. You are looking to buy goods or services from a supplier. Suppler A's representative turns up in a BMW but isn't terribly clued up on your needs. Supplier B's rep arrives in a Fiesta but conducts him/herself much more efficiently. On balance, who are you more likely to invite back to further the deal ?
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From a safety point of view, i wouldn't have anything smaller than a focus sized car, considering the motorway journey's you will have to make.
Once you target the range of car you want, check out the insurance groups, and the mpg, ved ratings.
Take a test drive, you will be surprised, how different cars will drive.
With my first car bought from auction, via the advise from a "expert", i took out 3rd party insurance only, not sure if you can still do this.
Increase the excess, garage the car, limit the mileage, all help to reduce premiums.
Good luck, once you get a couple of years nc bonus, the costs come down.
My son took is first insurance out with axa they gave him 2 years no claims. But that was 8 years ago, he was about your age.
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Don't think it has been said, but you may find the insurance is less if you add your partner. May not, but with online quotes it is easy to find out.
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Thanks, that seems to be the case in the experiments I have done so far. All very useful advice. I am now looking at a Ford Focus Zetec and a 2001 Honda Civic Hatchback.
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Try Punto Grande - bigger than Panda, smaller than Focus. Good mpg, cheap to buy, practicle and a little stylish too. Just picked up a 2008 for £5000 from Penrith for bother-in-law, only 1.2, for longer runs I'd get a 1.4, or 1.3 diesel.
Megan 1.4 are plentiful. If you want something very different try Fiat Croma - rare, but never thrashed.
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> For bother-in-law .. Nice one, Barneybear.
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>>and when work requires a much longer journey, to hire a suitable vehicle for a short term.
Probably not possible for somebody who has only just passed his test. And to be honest, half dozen trips in a hire car would surely pay the difference to upgrade the insurance to a decent car anyway.
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