Car Suggestions?

Viro · 26 Nov 2015 at 00:16

Hi there, recently gained my first 1 year no claims. So after driving a few of my mates cars I have come to the conclusion I cannot live with a 1.2 Renault Clio 75 BHP any more. I'm only 18 so I'm kind of restricted to what I can get. I currently have a few cars lined up that I think I'm going to view soon. I'm looking for something that is fast (0-60 at least 8 secs) and also quite smart due to the area I live but I do quite like a sporty looking car.

The max to spend on insurance is £1500 and then the car is £4500.

Here are come of the cars that I have short listed so far, any comments on these would also be great.

Ford Fiesta 2.0 ST 3dr (Insurance £1500 with Elephant)
Mini Copper S 175 BHP (Insurance £1100 with Elephant)
Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 TB 155bhp Veloce (£600 with Elephant)

Any help would be much appreciated!

ci_newman · 26 Nov 2015 at 00:34

The Fiesta is the best of that bunch. The Cooper S is a nice car, but your budget is only going to buy you something pretty old.

Viro · 26 Nov 2015 at 00:45

ci_newman said:
The Fiesta is the best of that bunch. The Cooper S is a nice car, but your budget is only going to buy you something pretty old.

Yeah exact thing that's been going through my mind. Also feel like the Fiesta ST is a little but more manly. Are you from the UK? If you are have you used Elephant before? Because they seem to be a lot cheaper than most the insurers Confused.com are giving me? Or you have any good insurance companies for someone of my age after a car like the ST?

Thank you for your input.

ci_newman · 26 Nov 2015 at 00:49

The CooperS is a really great little car and I would have one over the Fiesta, they just cost more than the Fiesta for the equivalent age / mileage / condition.

A number of the big insurers are not on Confused.com, so you are better going for a direct quote. Elephant are part of the same group as Admiral, they are no better or worse than some of the other big names.

I always found Tesco or Direct Line insurance to be pretty good when I was younger, no idea if that is still true though. Don't forget the little tricks to help bring insurance down, such as adding your parents as named (not main) drivers, adding a girlfriend etc.

p1RATE · 26 Nov 2015 at 01:14

I would probably buy an mx5 in your position unless i had a load of stuff to shift about. You'll get more enjoyment out of it than those three, albeit not bad choices either.

ci_newman · 26 Nov 2015 at 02:32

If he see's the Fiesta as more "manly" than the CooperS, I can see what his reaction will be to an MX5

I agree, they are great little cars though.

eatcustard · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:26

18 year old in a hot hatch = ban or crash. (you are still inexperienced)
Do you really need all that power in a car so young?

PS I pay £190 on my works mini

chroniclard · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:33

Would you actually get 1500 insurance on a Fiesta ST?

Howard · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:34

eatcustard said:
18 year old in a hot hatch = ban or crash. (you are still inexperienced)
Do you really need all that power in a car so young?

PS I pay £190 on my works mini

He's looking at cars with 150-175bhp, hardly rocket ships. They're fun to drive for a youngster who wants a bit more poke without being a complete liability.

Let's face it, an inexperienced driver can do just as much damage in a 1.2 Clio.

OP, I'd choose the Fiesta ST within your budget. The Mini is a better car but a cheap one will be much more of a liability than the Fiesta.

Elephant are fine, they're part of the Admiral group.

paradigm · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:42

eatcustard said:
18 year old in a hot hatch = ban or crash. (you are still inexperienced)
Do you really need all that power in a car so young?

PS I pay £190 on my works mini

I'm not sure I agree. I got my 265BHP Leon Cupra R at 19, I never even came close to binning it, nor have I ever had more points than 3 (and that was a dubious TS10).

slick rick · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:45

eatcustard said:
18 year old in a hot hatch = ban or crash. (you are still inexperienced)
Do you really need all that power in a car so young?

PS I pay £190 on my works mini

I had a Focus ST225 when I was 19, didn't crash and I have never had points on my licence. There are plenty of people with fast cars (M3's etc) in their late teens, early twenties who are fine, although there are some complete idiots also I will give you that, but to tar all younger drives with the same brush is a little unfair IMO.

eatcustard · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:49

Howard said:
He's looking at cars with 150-175bhp, hardly rocket ships. They're fun to drive for a youngster who wants a bit more poke without being a complete liability.

Let's face it, an inexperienced driver can do just as much damage in a 1.2 Clio.

OP, I'd choose the Fiesta ST within your budget. The Mini is a better car but a cheap one will be much more of a liability than the Fiesta.

Elephant are fine, they're part of the Admiral group.

So an 18 year old will be able to handle 170bhp mini, not a chance, he will succumb to the supercharge whine and race everything at the lights, I have to be restraint with retard boy racers in the 1.2 Corsas and huge wheels and gay exhausts. He will get stopped by the feds or crash it into a tree.

And a mini not being a pocket rocket ship :rolleyes:

eatcustard · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:49

slick rick said:
I had a Focus ST225 when I was 19, didn't crash and I have never had points on my licence. There are plenty of people with fast cars (M3's etc) in their late teens, early twenties who are fine, although there are some complete idiots also I will give you that, but to tar all younger drives with the same brush is a little unfair IMO.

Stats show different, you are a rare case of being sensible

chroniclard · 26 Nov 2015 at 10:51

Think the point is not EVERY 18 year old is a chump, just most.

Howard · 26 Nov 2015 at 11:08

eatcustard said:
So an 18 year old will be able to handle 170bhp mini, not a chance, he will succumb to the supercharge whine and race everything at the lights, I have to be restraint with retard boy racers in the 1.2 Corsas and huge wheels and gay exhausts. He will get stopped by the feds or crash it into a tree.

And a mini not being a pocket rocket ship

That's just as much of a load of rubbish as the old "you WILL crash your first car" chestnut IMHO.

eatcustard · 26 Nov 2015 at 11:12

Howard said:
That's just as much of a load of rubbish as the old "you WILL crash your first car" chestnut IMHO.

As I have said before, the stats show different

Howard · 26 Nov 2015 at 11:15

More likely to != certain to.

pugheaven · 26 Nov 2015 at 11:15

ci_newman said:
The Fiesta is the best of that bunch. The Cooper S is a nice car, but your budget is only going to buy you something pretty old.

This everyday of the week, suprised you can get insurance for £1,500 though, is that fully comp?

pugheaven · 26 Nov 2015 at 11:18

ci_newman said:
The Fiesta is the best of that bunch. The Cooper S is a nice car, but your budget is only going to buy you something pretty old.

This everyday of the week, suprised you can get insurance for £1,500 though, is that fully comp?

Also, as in powerful cars, my first car in 1997 was a 205 GTi 1.9... did I crash it? NO, have I ever crashed in 400,000k miles... NO. Just because he's young doesn't mean he'll crash, he'll just need to reign his "ego" as all 18 years olds have one, we all did!

slick rick · 26 Nov 2015 at 11:20

eatcustard said:
Stats show different, you are a rare case of being sensible

The funny thing is, the only time I remember someone trying to race me at the lights when I had the Focus was a guy who must have been in his forties and was driving a Volvo S60, it was actually quite funny, he beeped the horn and when I turned to look he revved the engine, so I revved the engine to feign that I was prepared to race him and just pulled away normally when the light went green while he spanked it off the line.