Another first car thread!

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Thanks for the replies.

I do like the look of the focus, probably the mk1 more so but haven't studied them they closely enough yet

Is the 1.6 zetec the best model type to look for?

Any other suggestions before I concentrate on the focus?

Will keep that insurance company in mind, I'm on a Tesco policy atm so I think they take my experience into account if I stay with them. Should make a good comparison
 
What kind of thing are you looking for? Do you want a Focus sized hatchback? There's also the Mondeo to consider if you want something a bit bigger.

You might also want to go run some quotes on some cars like the 2.0 Focus, 2.0 Mondeo etc and report back, that way we'll know what's realistic and what isn't. :) There's no point in recommending cars until we know what insurance is like!

I find Admiral and Bell to be the best for me, Direct Line and Tesco are also worth a shout. Try some of the comparison sites as well - Meerkats etc.
 
My advice really would be to get some quotes and go from there.

I wouldn't have thought insurance would be too bad at 22 even without any NCB.

It is also worth pointing out that a 1.6 Focus is far from a quick car. Quicker than a 1.25 Fiesta perhaps, but in the same way a tortoise is quicker than a snail.
 
Tute said:
What kind of thing are you looking for? Do you want a Focus sized hatchback? There's also the Mondeo to consider if you want something a bit bigger.
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Wanting another fiesta or a 3 door hatch kinda gives an idea that a mondeo might be a touch too big ;)
 
Steve_bullockuk said:
Slightly OT here but its becoming increasingly apparent in my short stint on OCUK that this forum is slightly biased towards Fords??

Would that be a fair comment?
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Cheap to buy, mass made, reliable, cheap to run. In their respective markets they are suitable choices, no?
 
A guy in my office just bought a Fiesta ST 2 weeks ago, he's 19, been driving since 17 and has 0 NCB. He's got fully comp insurance for 900 quid. But we do live in the sticks (north wales) so insurance is generally a lot cheaper round these parts.

I really like the Fiesta ST, he got his for 6700 but was an 07 with very low miles in amazing condition so for 5k you could pick up a really tidy example

Ninja edit: Clicky
 
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Well I've been maintaining a 10 year old Mondeo over the last 12 months and its a piece of cake!

A couple of screwdrivers, spanner set and a hammer and you can fix most things :p Parts cost virtually nothing from ebay or scrapyard - Heck, we bought a whole new Mondeo for £250, stripped the bits we needed and re-sold it to the same yard for £80!

As for alternatives, you could look into Peugeot 206's or 306's, or possibly something like a Suzuki Swift (new body style)

I'd say try to avoid looking at Corsa's, Saxo's and any 'GTI' or fast version of a car, you'll literally be ripped to shreds on insurance.

May be worth considering a 1.25 Fiesta of your own? They're not too mad on insurance, and you could build a year or 2's NCB up before getting something much more enjoyable?
 
I wouldn't go for anything bigger than a 1.6. Solely because the insurance will be really expensive. I started on a 1.6 Focus and found it was fine. It's got enough power for dual carriageways and motorways.

If you're definitely after a 3 door car then you can pick them up cheaper than a 5 door as most people want a 5 door.
 
Morbius said:
I wouldn't go for anything bigger than a 1.6. Solely because the insurance will be really expensive.
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Not necessarily!

People really need to go into the first car buying process with their eyes open and stop relying on the old myths of small engine size or low insurance group = Cheap insurance.

If you like a car run a quote on it. Don't discount it just because it has a high insurance group or "large" engine size. You might be surprised :).
 
I find that anything beyond the extremes (like Grp 1 is cheap and group 20/50 is expensive), that insurance groups and engine sizes are generally irrelevant.
 
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