I have my driving test today!

My first car was a 1992 1.4 Clio S 8v. Cost me £230 only for someone to write it off when it was parked up over night.
If you can afford to buy a newish car you might as well. I doubt the Polo will entertain you for 5 years though.
 
Buy new if you want, it's your money but my money is on that you will get sick of it after about a year doing motorway journeys. In a 1.2 polo.
 
paradigm said:
Comfy on motorway journeys and you want a Polo?

Get something larger, seriously.

Also, a 1.2 Polo will not keep you happy for 5 years, I guarantee it.
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The new polo's are comparable to slightly older golfs. Also, the 1.2 I want is the TSI, its a 1.2 Turbo with silly high fuel pressure injection. Its "Factory" 105Bhp, but most come out closer to 115Bhp :)
 
I know exactly what the car is, I'm saying that it won't keep your attention for 5 years, and isn't suited to lots of motorway use.
 
I reckon you'll be fine with it, I do similar journeys, 1-2 motorway trips per month and the rest 30/40mph in city driving, I have an i10 and does the job, a-b :)
 
I did 2000 miles last month in a 1.2 Polo. Couple of trips on the M1 but mostly B roads or busy A roads. It's really not a bad car to drive for commuting type stuff, it goes okay, and that's from having had an A4 company car previously.
 
OliverDavis said:
As for the motorway journeys, I live in Mirfield - West Yorkshire and most of my family live in Basingstoke - Hampshire, thats a 700 mile round trip!
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No it's more like 230 miles each way so a 460 mile round trip :)

I imagine you'll be fine with the car. I only have a 120bhp 1.6 Fiesta myself and do a hell of a lot of miles in it and while I am wanting something new, it does the job and it hasn't made me want to kill myself too much. However after 2 years I am extremely bored of it. You won't be wanting to hang onto a 1.2 Polo for 5 years, that's pretty much certain, however adequate it may seem.
 
You won't go far wrong with that Polo.

If insurance for equivalent older models is indeed what you say, then the difference you save will offset the depreciation. Go for a year old one when they're available and it should prove to be a sound purchase.

Regarding people saying you'll crash and ding it etc. You might, you might not. If you crash it, it'll be repaired/written off appropriately like any other car. If you ding it you'll either get it fixed or not bother, just like any other car. This can happen after 25 years of experience or 25 minutes.

It'll be comparatively nippy and provide decent running costs all round.

Having said all that, it personally wouldn’t phase me doing the motorway miles in it, but you have mentioned a bad back. Even if it is once every couple of months, this would put me off somewhat. Your back will feel it on the long motorway journey, without adequate stops.
 
A £500 car will cause more problems then a new Polo so something in between price wise? Not sure how much a new Polo would cost
 
New drivers are statistically more likely to have accidents, this will also be true to dinging, scraping and bumping. Sure we all still do it throughout our motoring life but when you're new to anything you're going to do it more. There's also the financial impact of having to repair it properly for when you hand it back, not true for an older car. Unless you're buying a Polo outright at 17/18 in which case, I don't think normality applies...
 
dacads said:
A £500 car will cause more problems then a new Polo so something in between price wise? Not sure how much a new Polo would cost
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Will it? New car threads on here would say the latter will be in the garage more than the former, sure it's covered but it's still not issue-free. Unless you buy a lemon but that's not a guarantee with a cheap car.
 
Muffin` said:
New drivers are statistically more likely to have accidents, this will also be true to dinging, scraping and bumping. Sure we all still do it throughout our motoring life but when you're new to anything you're going to do it more. There's also the financial impact of having to repair it properly for when you hand it back, not true for an older car. Unless you're buying a Polo outright at 17/18 in which case, I don't think normality applies...
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Finance with a 20% Deposit, insurance is already saved for, just have to wait for my girlfriend to pass her test as she already got a car with help from her grand parents. So im driving that now and i'll get a car when she can drive hers :)

Unfortunately it does mean I am currently driving a Peugeot 107...
 
OliverDavis said:
Finance with a 20% Deposit, insurance is already saved for, just have to wait for my girlfriend to pass her test as she already got a car with help from her grand parents. So im driving that now and i'll get a car when she can drive hers :)

Unfortunately it does mean I am currently driving a Peugeot 107...
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Well, fair enough, but i wouldnt want to spend 16k(might be a bit less as im sure you would not have paid list price) + finance on a 1.2 Polo as my first car....unless i was rich, but then i would buy something nicer anyway.
 
Don't spend that much money on a Polo, its a waste of cash, in a couple of years time you will be fedup with how slow and unrefined it is on the motorway.
 
Firestar_3x said:
Don't spend that much money on a Polo, its a waste of cash, in a couple of years time you will be fedup with how slow and unrefined it is on the motorway.
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Well what else do you suggest that will fit my needs?
- Reliable
- Comfort (for a small car anyway)
- Has a bit of poke to it
- Spacious
- Not french
- Good build quality (With new Polo's, the 3dr are made in Germany, 5dr Brazil)
- Uncommon for first drivers, but not too uncommon (1.2TSI is an unusual engine for a 18yr old as they are rare, but not a really powerful engine either)
- Good MPG (Polo Quotes average of 53.3)
- Preferably petrol, though I was looking at diesel Corsa D's before
- 3dr

Also, look at crash statistics rather than insurance group. I could get insured on a group 13 (Old scoring) Vaexhall Insignia Turbo 180Bhp for less than a group 3 Citroen C2 1.1.
 
OliverDavis said:
Finance with a 20% Deposit, insurance is already saved for, just have to wait for my girlfriend to pass her test as she already got a car with help from her grand parents. So im driving that now and i'll get a car when she can drive hers :)

Unfortunately it does mean I am currently driving a Peugeot 107...
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This is surely madness. Keep the Pug for 6 months or a year to get all the crashy bits out your system whilst saving up.

16k (ish) on a fairly boring first car.... wut?
 
OliverDavis said:
Well what else do you suggest that will fit my needs?
- Reliable
- Comfort (for a small car anyway)
- Has a bit of poke to it
- Spacious
- Not french
- Good build quality (With new Polo's, the 3dr are made in Germany, 5dr Brazil)
- Uncommon for first drivers, but not too uncommon (1.2TSI is an unusual engine for a 18yr old as they are rare, but not a really powerful engine either)
- Good MPG (Polo Quotes average of 53.3)
- Preferably petrol, though I was looking at diesel Corsa D's before
- 3dr

Also, look at crash statistics rather than insurance group. I could get insured on a group 13 (Old scoring) Vaexhall Insignia Turbo 180Bhp for less than a group 3 Citroen C2 1.1.
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I'd rather have the insignia turbo then :p

If you don't mind me asking, what will you be spending in total for car and finance?
 
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