What's a decent first car for a 22 year old? [Updated]

MrRockliffe said:
My girlfriend isn't fussed at all at image. So the Jazz may be an excellent shout for her.

I on the other hand... Snobby southerner :rolleyes::p

Edit:

Will take a look at the Ibiza.

Will be used for motorways to and from family between Cardiff and Worthing area. And of course wherever I'm living
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For 4K my money would go on a 2010 Fiesta 1.4 Titanium op my sister has one. They have bigger alloys, rear tinted glass, Sony sound system, Bluetooth, auto lights and wipers, cruise control etc.
 
Diesel Micra's seem to be overlooked on this forum.
Female friendly, cheap to insure, cheap to repair, and really ******* cheap to run. And once you have more confidence, get a little bored, and have a spare few hundred quid, you can have it dyno tuned to about 110/115bhp (maybe more if you upgrade the exhaust and air filter) and turn it into a mini rocket.
 
Likes cars but doesn't enjoy driving.

Alfa. then you wont have to do much driving as the recovery driver will get you to where you want to go.
 
Yaris 1.3 eg, economic, reliable, but maybe insurance is prohibitive;
driving a friends, surprisingly good engine, even with 3 up.
 
When it comes to first cars unless you've got money to literally burn on insurance then you can't really be too picky do loads of insurance quotes on various cars you can pick up in your price range and see which one doesn't make you cry and then start narrowing it down based on not buying sheds and not hating the look of it.
 
Get on an insurance comparison site, fill out your details and then start running different cars through. As others have said, insurance will dictate your decisions on a first car.

You might have £4000 saved up for a car which you'd like to spend on a Polo but if it'll cost you £2000 to insure it vs £1000 on a Fiesta that might sway you a bit :p
 
MrRockliffe said:
My girlfriend isn't fussed at all at image. So the Jazz may be an excellent shout for her.

I on the other hand... Snobby southerner :rolleyes::p

Edit:

Will take a look at the Ibiza.

Will be used for motorways to and from family between Cardiff and Worthing area. And of course wherever I'm living
Click to expand...

I drive a 1.4 2010 Ibiza se and its a great little car, cheap to run and very smooth to drive. Exactly what my needs require. I do get the itch to get rid for something quicker but its quick enough in reality and you can still keep those pesky teenage corsa drivers at bay :p. Go test drive one :)
 
Reading this thread with interest, my son is looking to buy his first car and from what he’s told me a VW Golf is the cheapest to insure for him, currently looking at getting either a 1.4 TSI or a 1.4 TSI GT.

I’m trying to convince him to spend only around 4K as opposed to the 8k he wants to spend.
 
perhaps it's the cheapest of the cars he feels have the street cred he wants... even in the VW range the Polo and UP will be cheaper. Get revenge and get a quote for a Dacia Sandero, I would imagine it to be a LOT cheaper.
 
Isn't insurances all post code lottery as well?

Meaning someone the same age could be insured on the same car but cheaper due to their area?
 
Insurance does vary a little with post codes. For example, it was cheaper, for me, by £100 to insure a car at my fathers compared to my mothers.
 
IAmATeaf said:
Reading this thread with interest, my son is looking to buy his first car and from what he’s told me a VW Golf is the cheapest to insure for him, currently looking at getting either a 1.4 TSI or a 1.4 TSI GT.

I’m trying to convince him to spend only around 4K as opposed to the 8k he wants to spend.
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A TSI Golf the cheapest for insurance?! Clip his ear for being cheeky! The TSI's are quite nippy!

Stick him in a 1.0 Fiesta or Corsa and tell him to lump it like most others for their first cars :P (I had a 1.6 Focus, but that's not the point) :D
 
Post Codes make a huge difference, I imagine with a decent post code my insurance would cost half as much.

Those with less end up paying more... :(

Kenai said:
Get on an insurance comparison site, fill out your details and then start running different cars through. As others have said, insurance will dictate your decisions on a first car.

You might have £4000 saved up for a car which you'd like to spend on a Polo but if it'll cost you £2000 to insure it vs £1000 on a Fiesta that might sway you a bit :p
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Great advise ^^
 
ddoubleep said:
If you like the VW Polos what about a Seat Ibiza?
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Just what I was going to say. Skoda/Seat offer VW quality underpinnings (if not trim) at a lower price.

Personally though, I'd just get a Polo if that's what you want and suggest your girlfriend just gets an automatic Fiesta*. Both perfectly good cars. I don't like autoboxes on small cars but they're no where near as bad as they used to be.

* Ford switched the Fiesta to a 6-speed autobox in 2011, so try and get one from that era or later, it'll make a big difference.
 
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