First car buying time is very close. Any suggestions/advice appreciated

Akagi

Akagi

Akagi

Caporegime
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Hi guys, so I am at the point now where very soon it will be about time to buy my first car. I am taking driving lessons at the moment, they are going pretty well, and I have about £5000, wanting to spend no more than £1500 on the car, which leaves me enough for a years insurance (possibly 2 depending on my no-claims discount)

The car I have been looking at mostly is the Corsa C 1.0 12v, a 3 cylinder jobbie with low emmisions so low road tax, pretty cheap insurance all things considered, and it is a reasonable size with enough room for 'stuff' (unlike some other small hatchbacks).

I was wondering if you have any alternative suggestions. The only issue I have with the 3 cyl Corsa really is that it's so damned slow. "Perfect for a first car then" you may be thinking, but I mean *really* painfully slow. There is a video on YouTube of someone driving one with a sports induction kit/air filter on it, and it takes about 15 - 16 seconds to get to 100KPH (62MPH) and the 1:15 video ends before he reaches 90MPH.

This is only a concern because I wonder if it will even be up to the task of carrying 4 people and some PC's to Telford for iSeries LAN for example, and I know there are more powerful cars out there in the same insurance bracket.

The nippiest car I found in the right insurance bracket is the Lupo 1.4 16v Sport, but it is too small to be practical even for me as a first time driver (because of the need to carry PC's around occasionally and such) and the fuel consumption is a little on the un-economical side with 25MPG Urban..

I suppose Fiestas and such would be other options, but let me know your thoughts and suggestions. :)

Preferably petrol rather than diesel, preferably with more room than a Lupo, obviously reliability is something i'm very interested in because of my limited funds, and it has to be something which I can get a *decent* example of for under £1500. Newer cars tend to bear lower insurance quotes because of the better safety and security, and I don't want anything pre 2001 for road tax reasons.

GO GO GO :D

Thanks all :)

Oh and just a forewarning, I am a fussy git, so don't be surprised if I turn down your suggestions of things like base model Peugeot 107's/Citroen C1's etc, because to be honest, I would rather take a bus than be seen driving one. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Citroen_C1_rear_20070511.jpg Eugh.
 
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The Corsa is crap. The engine is crap, the car drives like crap, the driving position is crap, it's not particularly reliable and it leaks. Buy a Fiesta or a Yaris or a Polo or anything else.

Have a look at insurance prices on a 1.6 Focus too, you should be able to pick one up and be able to insure it easily within your budget. I wouldn't have thought it'd be much more expensive to insure than the "typical" first cars that you've mentioned.
 
Howard said:
The Corsa is crap. The engine is crap, the car drives like crap, the driving position is crap, it's not particularly reliable and it leaks. Buy a Fiesta or a Yaris or a Polo or anything else.

Have a look at insurance prices on a 1.6 Focus too, you should be able to pick one up and be able to insure it easily within your budget. I wouldn't have thought it'd be much more expensive to insure than the "typical" first cars that you've mentioned.
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Hahaha I was wondering how long it would take for someone to come along and tell me the Corsa is a pile of crap :D

Not long it seems. I'm looking at Polo's at the moment, i'll report back when I know whether or not one is a viable option.

I'll look at the insurance price for a 1.6 Focus, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will cost too much to insure.

*EDIT* Insurance is about £600 more for the Focus. I dont want to spend any more than £2500 on my first years cover, which is the point all the small cars seem to come in at.
 
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I would rather be left with the Taliban than be left with a Corsa for my car.

Make your budget £2k. Look at Focus's, Fiestas. Yaris is going to be your cheapest car to insure but they are small and painfully slow.
 
Found that I can insure a 1.2 Lupo E (MK. 4) for the same price as that Corsa, so i'm looking into that a bit further now.

Anyone know what these Polo's are like? My grandparents had a Golf for years and it was as good as gold, no issues whatsoever. And Dad has always had VW group cars (Passat, A6 etc) and they have been fine too.

*edit* Whaddaya know. It's even more gutless than the Corsa. Urgh. Quality is in a different league though, no denying that.
 
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They are a solid car. Just look out for rust with it being German.

Please do not be one of them nobbers who ruin it with stupid dangerous wheels and lowering. :)
 
Polos are fine, decent enough. Way better than a Corsa. But that's not difficult. The Lupo is a bit *too* small and tinny. You really don't need to buy the smallest car you can find. Should be able to find a nice 1.25 Fiesta for £1-1.5k too.

I happen to think the Yaris is pretty excellent for a small car. A friend of mine had a mk1 1.3 and it went well, was very reliable as you'd expect, didn't cost anything to run, was comfortable enough to sit in, pretty good on the motorway for what it is, and we could fit an incredible amount of house-moving crap in it.


Rybo, you forgot the car bra ;)
 
Don't worry, i'm not 'one of them nobbers' I actually respect cars and understand them. And I have an understanding of the laws of physics as well, unlike most of those *****s who are the reason my damn insurance quotes are so high. :mad:

Quote for the 65BHP 12 valve Polo is only £80 more than the 55BHP 6 valve one :)
 
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1.4's cost a-bit too much to insure :(
Also it's pre 2001 so it would have the blanket pre-2001 road tax pricing applied to it.

That Polo I linked above, will only cost me £25 more a year to tax because of the emmisions over one of the cleaner cars, which when you take into account the fact that insurance will cost me £2500 for the first year, approx £1400 for the second year and approx £700 for the third year, I honestly don't care about that £25. :p

Fuel economy isnt too bad at 47MPG combined either :)

I'll look up the insurance on 1.4 Fiestas like the ones you linked.
 
All I can suggest then is just buy a decent example of the car you want. There's no need to be buying insurance writeoffs with wind-up windows. You can afford to be a little bit picky so you might as well find a nice example with electric windows and air conditioning and such.
 
Howard said:
All I can suggest then is just buy a decent example of the car you want. There's no need to be buying insurance writeoffs with wind-up windows. You can afford to be a little bit picky so you might as well find a nice example with electric windows and air conditioning and such.
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I'm listening to your advice, don't get me wrong :)

I'm looking up the insurance on Fiestas like those you linked at the moment. I was just struck by the colour and the alloys on that Polo really haha.

*edit* A little too pricey on the 1.4 models, looking up the 1.2 models now. :)
 
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Another vote for a Yaris, 1.3 feels very nippy, its a very light car which makes it cheap to run. I've got the MK1 1.4 diesel and its been excellent, i've put 25k on it and all its needed is oil changes and a set of tyres (and a door but that's entirely my fault..)
 
Toyota Yaris would be my pick. Not a bad little motor and super cheap to run. £1500 would buy a nice enough example with room to go lower imo. I picked up a '99 1l for £700 for a cheap run around, it had 95k on the clock but you wouldn't know it, very tight all round, needed no work and fairly nice to chuck around the corners. No piff though, and poverty spec toys, if you could call them that, but perfect for city driving.
 
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