Cheap first car ideas

Englander91 · 9 Oct 2016 at 14:58

Hello all, I am new to driving and I was looking for ideas on what would make a good first, cheap car. To qualify this thread, I really haven't got a lot of knowledge about car manufacturers/models so I was hoping that those more in the know might be able to shed a little light on the matter.

Requirements are:
5 seater (3 door would be fine)
Some sort of usable boot space
Half decent reliability
Mostly urban/semi-urban driving. I won't need to do long journeys with any sort of regularity
Second hand (to fit budget)

Budget: what would 2-3 thousand get me?

Akagi · 9 Oct 2016 at 14:58

Focus.

MK2/2.5 1.6/1.8 petrol (insurance dependant)

For example - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...vertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&page=2

uchuff · 9 Oct 2016 at 15:04

Yeah Focus seems a good bet.

Akagi · 9 Oct 2016 at 15:11

One of these would probably be a decent bet too.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...imum-mileage=90000&transmission=Manual&page=1

A bit more kit and should be equally reliable and cheap to run.

Englander91 · 9 Oct 2016 at 15:17

Just plugged some numbers and letters into Autotrader - a couple of Ford Focus' in the price range I quoted with >125,000 miles on the clock. That's half way to the moon.

So if I'm looking at a car, how many miles is too many miles? Are there any guidelines on how old is too old? I'm after efficiency, so my instinct leads me towards newer rather than older cars.

Engine size, that Skoda is 1.6L - that sounds good. A few cheap generic hatchbacks I was looking at are in the realms of 1.0-1.2L. Are there any gut feelings on how small an engine is too small?

Phemo · 9 Oct 2016 at 15:20

I personally don't see the point in spending loads of money on a newer car as a new driver. I'd be looking to buy something with the intention of only having it a year or two once a year or two of no-claims is built up, then you can move onto bigger and better things because you will get bored of it quickly.

Mileage in itself isn't a big deal. For me, the condition and service history is more important. I certainly wouldn't rule out a 100k+ mile car if I could see it had been looked after well, nor would I rule out a 10 year old car if the condition and MOT history was looking good.

Realistically it's a case of what fits your needs and what works well for you with insurance costs. Have you ran any insurance quotes on any cars at all yet? That may well have more of a say in your engine size choices than anything else.

Englander91 · 9 Oct 2016 at 17:15

Phemo said:
I personally don't see the point in spending loads of money on a newer car as a new driver. I'd be looking to buy something with the intention of only having it a year or two once a year or two of no-claims is built up, then you can move onto bigger and better things because you will get bored of it quickly.

Mileage in itself isn't a big deal. For me, the condition and service history is more important. I certainly wouldn't rule out a 100k+ mile car if I could see it had been looked after well, nor would I rule out a 10 year old car if the condition and MOT history was looking good.

Realistically it's a case of what fits your needs and what works well for you with insurance costs. Have you ran any insurance quotes on any cars at all yet? That may well have more of a say in your engine size choices than anything else.

I haven't run any insurance quotes yet. I was just wanting to get a ballpark idea of what makes and models to look at first in order to guide my searches.

Iamzod · 9 Oct 2016 at 21:26

Englander91 said:
Just plugged some numbers and letters into Autotrader - a couple of Ford Focus' in the price range I quoted with >125,000 miles on the clock. That's half way to the moon.

Look at the condition & how well it's been looked after rather than the mileage, I bought my current car about 6-7 years ago with 149k on the clock and it's never let me down, it's now on it's way back from the moon.

adolf hamster · 9 Oct 2016 at 21:47

Englander91 said:
Engine size, that Skoda is 1.6L - that sounds good. A few cheap generic hatchbacks I was looking at are in the realms of 1.0-1.2L. Are there any gut feelings on how small an engine is too small?

engine size isn't important, whats more important is engine to car ratio.

eg a 1.0l engine in a motorbike? flying machine, 1.0 in a big estate barely moves.

tbh as a first car dont worry about power, cheap insurance and reliability are your 2 buzzwords you need, as i said in another thread save the big fast luxury motor for when you have the experience and no claims bonus to afford it.

the old skodas are good motors to look at, not your average boy racer crop so insurance can be a bit more sane, first car i owned was an 01 fabia and served me well enough until i managed to trade up this year.