First Car (mature driver)

[roadie]

Well done! I bought my first car a couple of years back aged 32. It was a 2007 Honda Civic 1.8 EX. I'd happily recommend it as a first car. Might be worth thinking again of them; they are not perfect, but are good all rounders.

 

[radderfire]

A relatively new Honda Jazz. Well designed cars and good about town.

 

[PiKe]

Mature driver, 32, rofflecopter.

 

[BinnsY]

Yes. Have you looked at the depreciation? I wouldn't buy new but as a used car it can be a bargain.

Are you sure? It may be loosing tons of value but a "bargain"? The very cheapest on Autotrader is still £10,000 and is 13 years old! The running costs of keeping something like that on the road will be absoultely extrorniate completley negating the fact that it was once a £60-70,000 car. The ultimate reason they are so cheap, is that if you could afford to properly run one of these, you could afford to buy one considerably newer. They will only appeal to people who don't really understand what they are buying, and have to bodge them or sell them on the first time any serious problem occurs. To really put it into perspective, even a set of tires for such a car will run close to £1000. Utter madness for a new driver, living in london, who is looking at Mazda 2's and Fabias........

To answer the OP's question, I'd echo what others are saying in terms of going slightly bigger and perhaps consider a Civic? Something like this would be a lovely model. Tons of toys, reasonable running costs, and a nice place to be with tons of space even on long journeys.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709199446724

 

[Hater]

How often do you have people in the back? It's just that 3 doors are generally cheaper, and the amount of space between the 3 and 5 doors is exactly the same, being the same car and all, just a 3 door means it's a two step process to get in the back, so if you hardly have anyone in the back, who cares

 

[xs2man]

Are you sure? It may be loosing tons of value but a "bargain"? The very cheapest on Autotrader is still £10,000 and is 13 years old! The running costs of keeping something like that on the road will be absoultely extrorniate completley negating the fact that it was once a £60-70,000 car. The ultimate reason they are so cheap, is that if you could afford to properly run one of these, you could afford to buy one considerably newer. They will only appeal to people who don't really understand what they are buying, and have to bodge them or sell them on the first time any serious problem occurs. To really put it into perspective, even a set of tires for such a car will run close to £1000. Utter madness for a new driver, living in london, who is looking at Mazda 2's and Fabias........

To answer the OP's question, I'd echo what others are saying in terms of going slightly bigger and perhaps consider a Civic? Something like this would be a lovely model. Tons of toys, reasonable running costs, and a nice place to be with tons of space even on long journeys.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709199446724

You forgot. They are also hideous to look at.

 

[Somnambulist]

How often do you have people in the back? It's just that 3 doors are generally cheaper, and the amount of space between the 3 and 5 doors is exactly the same, being the same car and all, just a 3 door means it's a two step process to get in the back, so if you hardly have anyone in the back, who cares

I'm not completely married to the idea of a 5 door as long as it'd be a 3 door that doesn't require too much contorting to get into the back, as I'd be doing stuff like picking my parents up to take them to dinner etc and they're both over 60. I'd imagine that probably won't be an issue on a slightly larger car. A few hundred quid difference isn't an issue in the grand scheme of things though.

Re Civics, dat rear visibility though? Or do all you owners have the rear camera installed?

 

[BinnsY]

I'm not completely married to the idea of a 5 door as long as it'd be a 3 door that doesn't require too much contorting to get into the back, as I'd be doing stuff like picking my parents up to take them to dinner etc and they're both over 60. I'd imagine that probably won't be an issue on a slightly larger car. A few hundred quid difference isn't an issue in the grand scheme of things though.

Re Civics, dat rear visibility though? Or do all you owners have the rear camera installed?

The EX-GT I linked has rear parking sensors so the visibility issue isn't too much of a problem as they make up for some of it. It's certainly no worse than my own Skoda Octavia with no sensors. When driving I honestly don't find the rear bar a problem at all, it's also at the perfect height to prevent the dazzling you get from things like Range Rovers / Ford Transits headlights when they are sat behind you as it lines up pretty much perfectly with their light beam.

 

[JDMaverick]

Yeah I've never found the window an issue regarding visibility...only a very slight niggle that there isn't a rear wiper.

 

[Uther]

If I lived in London I'd get something cheap that you don't really care about too much. It WILL get damaged at some point.

 

[Somnambulist]

If I lived in London I'd get something cheap that you don't really care about too much. It WILL get damaged at some point.

I'm only technically in London (Borough of Bromley) - it's pretty much suburbia round here, with ever increasing urban sprawl if you go North and the Kent countryside not far to the South.

 

[roadie]

The EX-GT I linked has rear parking sensors so the visibility issue isn't too much of a problem as they make up for some of it. It's certainly no worse than my own Skoda Octavia with no sensors. When driving I honestly don't find the rear bar a problem at all, it's also at the perfect height to prevent the dazzling you get from things like Range Rovers / Ford Transits headlights when they are sat behind you as it lines up pretty much perfectly with their light beam.

Yeah, I agree. My Civic had parking sensors which worked well, and the bar across the rear window was brilliant for blocking out the headlights of cars behind.

The only issue I occasionally had with visibility was at acute angles over my left shoulder, as the C pillar between the rear door window and the rear window is large.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

When you apply for insurance they do ask you how long you have held your license I imagine when you enter 2 months it automatically inflates the price a few times over. They then ask you about age and NCB, etc.

As a first car and having just passed you would be best going cheap. Like <£10K for sure. An old civic, polo or focus will suffice with a 1.6 engine max. Or you could just not drive at all for a couple of years. Wait for the amount of years you have held a license to increase. Even without any NCB the fact you have held a license for 3 years will make a difference to premiums especially when combined with your age.

If you really need a car then go cheap on the first one for the first 2 years. After that you can get something decent with a nice engine.

 

[Somnambulist]

When you apply for insurance they do ask you how long you have held your license I imagine when you enter 2 months it automatically inflates the price a few times over. They then ask you about age and NCB, etc.

As a first car and having just passed you would be best going cheap. Like <£10K for sure. An old civic, polo or focus will suffice with a 1.6 engine max. Or you could just not drive at all for a couple of years. Wait for the amount of years you have held a license to increase. Even without any NCB the fact you have held a license for 3 years will make a difference to premiums especially when combined with your age.

If you really need a car then go cheap on the first one for the first 2 years. After that you can get something decent with a nice engine.

<£5K more like, and that'd be including insurance!

It's been busy at work all week so I haven't had much down-time to look and play with quotes, and doing 12hr shifts means either side of a decent commute = no time to look at home either (last day tomorrow though) but I have booked my first Pass Plus lesson with my instructor; it may or may not make any difference to insurance but it's stuff I obviously wasn't able to do as a learner with the motorway driving, and keeps me getting practice/experience as I don't want a long gap between passing and actually having a car.

 

[Somnambulist]

Did my first Pass Plus today, 2/6 modules done (Town Driving and Dual Carriageways so nothing haven’t done already, although I did get the chance to stay on some carriageways for longer than when I was learning and do some overtaking!), much more importantly, his car - a DS3 - was being serviced as someone had gone into the back of him while he was stationary at some lights, so he’d been given a dual control Fiesta in the interim.

First different car I’ve driven. I can totally see what people mean when they say they’re fun to drive - handling was way nicer, gear selection easier and the clutch was more forgiving... the braking I did not like though, at all. Seemed super sharp! Like nothing, nothing, wham harsh braking. Interesting experience though. Motorways next week...

 

[blueacid]

How often do you have people in the back? It's just that 3 doors are generally cheaper, and the amount of space between the 3 and 5 doors is exactly the same, being the same car and all, just a 3 door means it's a two step process to get in the back, so if you hardly have anyone in the back, who cares

On the flipside, often a 3 door car will have a longer front door. That's fine for fitting people in and out, but it can mean that squeezing in to your car when it's parked in a narrow space is more difficult than if you had a 5 door.
Something to think about.

Did my first Pass Plus today, 2/6 modules done (Town Driving and Dual Carriageways so nothing haven’t done already, although I did get the chance to stay on some carriageways for longer than when I was learning and do some overtaking!), much more importantly, his car - a DS3 - was being serviced as someone had gone into the back of him while he was stationary at some lights, so he’d been given a dual control Fiesta in the interim.

First different car I’ve driven. I can totally see what people mean when they say they’re fun to drive - handling was way nicer, gear selection easier and the clutch was more forgiving... the braking I did not like though, at all. Seemed super sharp! Like nothing, nothing, wham harsh braking. Interesting experience though. Motorways next week...

Enjoy! Yep, you'll see the point about the Fiesta being a fun little car

If you're on the motorway a bit more, I'd suggest something slightly bigger; Focus or Mondeo sized. Although don't let me stop you getting something little, nippy and fun

 

[blueacid]

Oh and forgot to mention. When you think you know what kind of car to get, look for the owners club website / forums. Often there'll be a buyer's guide stickied somewhere. These are invaluable for knowing what to look out for when you go and actually view the cars. "Ah it's a minor clunk, they all do that sir", but the owners forum says "that's a rare clunk, but if it's got it, a 4-figure bill looms", you'll save yourself a fortune.

 

[Somnambulist]

Yeah I've read about the 3 v.s. 5 door thing in regards to tight spaces! Slightly bigger is fine in the Ford's case as the Focus looks a bit nicer on the inside than the Fiesta. I know the amount of cheap looking plastic shouldn't be high on the priority list for a first car but...

Oh and forgot to mention. When you think you know what kind of car to get, look for the owners club website / forums. Often there'll be a buyer's guide stickied somewhere. These are invaluable for knowing what to look out for when you go and actually view the cars. "Ah it's a minor clunk, they all do that sir", but the owners forum says "that's a rare clunk, but if it's got it, a 4-figure bill looms", you'll save yourself a fortune.

Thanks!

My dad suffers from glaucoma and although the optician he uses is 100% sure he's fit to drive still, it's gotten slightly worse lately so to be a good boy he's informed the DVLA and just done an eye test with a DVLA affiliated optician who sends the results off to them and they make the ultimate decision on whether he can still hold his license. He'd be royally ****'ed if they took it away from him, but if they did he has a late 2000's high spec Fabia that I would apparently have first dibs on (assuming insurance wasn't £££), so I'm sort of waiting to here what happens there before oogling at any more Civics on Autotrader (starting to develop an attachment...). Only thing is that it's an auto - well, not a proper one but an automatic for all intents and purposes - and I was planning on sticking to manual for a while a least seeing as I've only just learnt.

 

[blueacid]

Yeah I've read about the 3 v.s. 5 door thing in regards to tight spaces! Slightly bigger is fine in the Ford's case as the Focus looks a bit nicer on the inside than the Fiesta. I know the amount of cheap looking plastic shouldn't be high on the priority list for a first car but...



Thanks!

My dad suffers from glaucoma and although the optician he uses is 100% sure he's fit to drive still, it's gotten slightly worse lately so to be a good boy he's informed the DVLA and just done an eye test with a DVLA affiliated optician who sends the results off to them and they make the ultimate decision on whether he can still hold his license. He'd be royally ****'ed if they took it away from him, but if they did he has a late 2000's high spec Fabia that I would apparently have first dibs on (assuming insurance wasn't £££), so I'm sort of waiting to here what happens there before oogling at any more Civics on Autotrader (starting to develop an attachment...). Only thing is that it's an auto - well, not a proper one but an automatic for all intents and purposes - and I was planning on sticking to manual for a while a least seeing as I've only just learnt.

I'd grab the Skoda. High spec, and presumably it's been in a family so you know its history (servicing, mechanical sympathy, etc). It's your first car, so you'll get a good chance to learn more about what you want / don't want from your second car. You might even decide you want to get an auto again

 

[Nasher]

Did my first Pass Plus today, 2/6 modules done (Town Driving and Dual Carriageways so nothing haven’t done already, although I did get the chance to stay on some carriageways for longer than when I was learning and do some overtaking!), much more importantly, his car - a DS3 - was being serviced as someone had gone into the back of him while he was stationary at some lights, so he’d been given a dual control Fiesta in the interim.

First different car I’ve driven. I can totally see what people mean when they say they’re fun to drive - handling was way nicer, gear selection easier and the clutch was more forgiving... the braking I did not like though, at all. Seemed super sharp! Like nothing, nothing, wham harsh braking. Interesting experience though. Motorways next week...

Ford are very good at steering.