21 and looking for my first car.

BloodlessDawn

BloodlessDawn

BloodlessDawn

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Joined
5 Jul 2012
Posts
36
Hello!

Well, as the title might explain. I'm 21 years old, and looking to buy my first ever car.

The current car I drive is a 5 door Vauxhall Corsa 1.4Si GLS, 16 years old. It has actually done pretty well considering how old it is. But it belongs to my parents - so I don't have the same freedom with it that I'd have with my own car.

I've been speaking with my manager at work recently about which car to get.
He's been really helpful! But I'm still kinda confused...

Budget? £4,000 but I'd stretch if it meant I was truly getting value for money.
£5,000 is the maximum for my budget I think.

One suggestion has been a Ford Fiesta ST 150 on an 07 plate or similar age. These look great! And they look dead quick for what they are too...
Another suggestion has been to get a Nissan Micra? But although I've been told they're great cars - I'm not overly keen on the looks.

So:
I'm 21, I have a car budget of about £4,000, and an insurance budget of £1,300. I've found that the Fiesta ST 150 insurance can be had for 1,190 ish, and my current 1.4 Corsa insurance is something like £1,300... so the 150bhp Fiesta ST is actually cheaper than the 60bhp Corsa (one reason I'm starting to favor the ST.)

What're your opinions?

What other great cars can you recommend?
 
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I personally wouldn't go for the ST, id get a Zetec S, in reality there isn't too much differance. That and there are much quicker 2.0 cars than the ST.
 
Trusty Ford Focus. If you dont mind the lack of sporty young folk styling a Focus is a great size car for taking you and a few passengers about :)
 
Go for the ST if you like it. Zetec S will be SLOW. If you get a Zetec S i'd be obliged to go for the Diesel and tune it. DEM Torks.

If you're going for that sort of car have you considered a Clio 172/182?
 
Owned both ST not for long and the ZS is just slower in real world applications.

The diesel i've had a courtesy car and they are boring and dull to drive ( never drove a tuned one, but i still cant see it being "fun"

I'd definitly consider the clio much better car for money of an ST.

The ZS is a slightly slower version of the ST that is it, identical looks but nicer alloys. Oh and the ST has side skirts..
 
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NathWraith said:
Buy a non turbo supra for £3K.

Insure it with the rest.

Enjoy maximum amount of clunge pulling.

Avoid fences.
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At 21 I'd definitely be looking at maximum clunge. Make sure you spec a pussy magnet.

Is this a car that you have to rely on for a daily commute etc? If its just for a bit of fun then get something without a roof and enjoy yourself!
 
tom_nieto said:
At 21 I'd definitely be looking at maximum clunge. Make sure you spec a pussy magnet.

Is this a car that you have to rely on for a daily commute etc? If its just for a bit of fun then get something without a roof and enjoy yourself!
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I'm afraid it actually is something I'll need for a daily commute.
I'd love to get something more "fun" but I need it to be reliable at the same time.

I think the current girlfriend would complain slightly if I went around looking for more clunge. I showed her the Fiesta ST though, and she said she liked it, so that's all good.

Is there anything similar to the ST in looks and reliability, but.... better?
 
NathWraith said:
Ibiza Cupra.

I have no idea how much they are or if they are more reliable but I think they look better.
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this.

plus you can throw in a remap and make them significantly livelier should you wish for.

People are going to hate me for this this, but another suggestion would be a diesel Ibiza sport. 1.9TDI 130bhp standard, agricultural but reliable engine (for a diesel) and if you remap them they will surprise a lot of cars in terms of in gear acceleration while still doing very good MPG. they also have a very low insurance group(7) so you should get them insured cheaply as well.

The downside is that they will be worse handling than a ST and are likely to cost more to run (potential turbo failure etc). You can get them much much cheaper than a fiesta though, so just keep that £1000 saving in the bank and you'll be fine.

Again it's a suggestion and probably not to everyone's tastes but it's worth mentioning imo.
 
Cristian said:
People are going to hate me for this this, but another suggestion would be a diesel Ibiza sport. 1.9TDI 130bhp standard, agricultural but reliable engine (for a diesel) and if you remap them they will surprise a lot of cars in terms of in gear acceleration while still doing very good MPG. they also have a very low insurance group(7) so you should get them insured cheaply as well.
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The 130bhp does not come standard with the Sport trim, you had to spec it as an upgrade. This one for example. Owning a 52 plate Ibiza TDI... I probably wouldn't pay £4k for that. I would however pay £3.5k for this... maybe. I'm starting to disagree with the interior of the car, it just seems cheaply put together.

I would totally buy an MX-5. Thinking of getting one right now tbh, the only thing holding me back is that they're pretty cramped inside, and I could probably bring myself to spend extra and get a 350z instead...
 
BloodlessDawn said:
I think the current girlfriend would complain slightly if I went around looking for more clunge. I showed her the Fiesta ST though, and she said she liked it,
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Oh dear, do not ask the mrs? That's when considerations like shopping space come in.

What about, 04 Astra GSI or SRI turbo?
 
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