I am buying a Corsa

fiveub

fiveub

fiveub

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This will be my first car and I am looking around for Corsas, just because they seem to be popular for first cars, affordable, and I like the look of them too. - My budget is £2000 on the car and I am hoping someone here can give advice of where to look and what to look out for. I am based in the Stoke area, so anywhere local to Stoke is great.

I am liking the 1.2 version, and I like the aluminium trim, prefer black, silver, dark blue or gold. Would you buy from a private seller or would you go to a used car garage?

Just created this thread for any pointers or anything I should look out for. - Also any recommended places will be appreciated.
 
Drive both and all will be clear. Never ever just pick a car and say I want XYZ, always test drive a few different cars to see which is best suited for you.
 
The Focus tends to be around the 1.4-1.6 which I think is going to hit me harder as a first time buyer, yes it maybe a better car, but maybe not better for me to start off with?

I have looked at the Fiestas and Corsas and they are both nice.
 
The Corsa isn't nice at all - it's a particularly poor car and you can do better whilst at the same time retaining the features you want in your first car. Pretty much any available small car is superior to the Corsa, but the standout models would have to be something like a 2002 onwards Ford Fiesta, or a Seat Ibiza, or something like a Skoda Fabia.

Leave the Corsa for people who know no better. You've taken the first step towards not buying a drossy crap car by actually asking advice. People who buy Corsas go out and buy them because they know nothing about cars, they think it looks nice, and because they've likely never driven a decent car so don't notice how crap it is.
 
I have test driven a couple of cars, Fiesta, Corsa, and old Polo, and a Yaris, out of the ones I drove I prefered the Corsa, I thought it would have been easier for me to pick the model and then go from there. This is my first time buying so I must admit I will be a complete noob when it comes to this. :)

I may be making the wrong choices, which is why I posted here, so I expect to be shot down due to the amount of knowledgable of people on this forum.
 
5UB said:
Wouldn't the Focus be more expensive for me as a first time driver though (insurance)?
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Get some quotes, insurance is a very odd beast. But often cars that have a 'following' with the Max Power brigade are more expensive to insure. Even if they're low performance models without silly modifications.

The general view held on this forum and by most of the motoring press is that most Vauxhall cars aren't as good as the equivalent Ford.

I'd also give serious thought to spending a lot less, especially if you're planning to insure 3rd party only.
 
5UB said:
The Focus tends to be around the 1.4-1.6 which I think is going to hit me harder as a first time buyer
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not always true. A lot of chavs buy Corsas and crash them. This pushes the insurance cost up. Run some quotes, you might be pleasantly suprised
 
5UB said:
The Focus tends to be around the 1.4-1.6 which I think is going to hit me harder as a first time buyer, yes it maybe a better car, but maybe not better for me to start off with?

I have looked at the Fiestas and Corsas and they are both nice.
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Not necessarily, run some quotes first (go compare the meerkat etc), find which is cheapest to insure and report back would be my advice :)

EDIT: Gah beaten :(
 
Great advice already. :)

I shall be test driving and looking at more cars on Sunday within my budget, I don't think I want to make the decision on the same day though, may go back the following Weekend and then actually buy. Or is a day going to be enough time to pick the car? :p
 
NathanE said:
Clio has better ride/handling.
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This is true, but they're often plauged by electronics issues, unsurprisingly. Oh, and leaky sunroofs! Not sure if they're more or less to insure though, probably similar.

I think the best advice is buy something the least boy racerish and then the insurance should be low (plus you usually get a better car). You should look into how much insurance for you is on a Focus or similar.
 
How old are you? I had (and still own) a 1.6 Astra SXi as my first car at 21. Car cost me just shy of £2,000 and insurance wasn't far off that either, but it also wasn't much cheaper for a Clio, Corsa, Fiesta etc Incidentally, to get one of those of a similar age, condition and spec to the Astra seemed to be just as much if not more expensive.
 
Definitely get something better then. First year insurance may hit you hard, but mine halved after my first year. I'm still pretty happy with the car, whilst I do wonder if I'd be able to say the same had I got something smaller with a more frugal engine.
 
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