Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,367
try driving a vauxhall. gearbox, steering, clutch all made of chocolate. there is a reason why they are worth 50p after 4 years.
First Car (mature driver)
- Thread starter Somnambulist
- Start date
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
I'm assuming down the line most cars are going to be hybrid and transitioning to electric eventually, and they're all autos so I'll be driving automatic eventually, it's just that I've got used to learning in a manual and it seems sensible to keep my education in one going rather than changing a big variable straight away! We'll see what the DVLA say though, he'd be gutted if he couldn't drive any more so I'd hope he gets good news.
Got my actual license in the post today. Still doesn't feel like I've passed. Motorway driving next week on the M25, then that just leaves country lanes, driving at night and all-weather driving which I presume is going to be mostly theoretical unless he has a snow machine and wind turbine handy.
Pass Plus done, going round the M25 was interesting.
Dad's car - he's fit to drive so won't be selling the Fabia.
Honda Civic - I've developed a thing for these after all the recommendations, I love the shape, interior looks a lot better than a lot of cars around the same price etc. Wouldn't mind the panoramic sun roof either! Guess I better see if I can test one out to see how it feels to drive and how I feel about the vision etc. Insurance quote permitting...
1) what spec/trim level should I be looking at?
2) should I always be looking at the 1.8 over 1.4 petrol? (quick interwebs says the 1.4 is a bit gutless?)
3) 16 vs 17" wheels? (interwebs seems to suggest the former are better?)
Dad's car - he's fit to drive so won't be selling the Fabia.
Honda Civic - I've developed a thing for these after all the recommendations, I love the shape, interior looks a lot better than a lot of cars around the same price etc. Wouldn't mind the panoramic sun roof either! Guess I better see if I can test one out to see how it feels to drive and how I feel about the vision etc. Insurance quote permitting...
1) what spec/trim level should I be looking at?
2) should I always be looking at the 1.8 over 1.4 petrol? (quick interwebs says the 1.4 is a bit gutless?)
3) 16 vs 17" wheels? (interwebs seems to suggest the former are better?)
Associate
Assuming you still have the £5000 ish budget than I would recommend going for the EX-GT it was the highest trim available and has everything your origional budget requires. Anything less and you will be sacrificing some feature somewhere. You are correct that the 1.4 is gutless, the 1.8 petrol is the one to go for unless you do high mileage at which point the 2.2 diesel becomes a contendor.
The 16" wheels might offer more comfort and be cheaper to put tyres on, but I think you will find all the high spec models come with the 17"s and you would likely have to sacrifice something from your requirements to get the 16" wheels. With that in mind I just wouldn't worry about them and just accept the wheels that come on the car you want.
Something like this would still be my recommendation https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707257709426
If you do go for a civic try and stick with 2009 onwards cars, they had a facelift then that improved lots of little bits and they are just a little nice all around than pre 09 models.
Thanks. There's only a couple of EX-GT's on Autotrader, this being the other one (much closer to me), presume despite being a 2011 model the similar price is down to it having 1.25k miles on the clock. £5k ish was my limit although I wanted that to include insurance as well, but I'm selling all my guitars as I never play any more so perhaps I can ignore that bit!
Associate
I'd avoid Renault's most of their models are fitted with an elastic band to propel the overhead camshaft these need changing every 5 years or 70k miles whichever comes sooner. You're looking @ + £350 quid if done by a dealer, you're looking @ bent valve stems & possibly holed pistons if you ignore the belt change.
Associate
Thanks. There's only a couple of EX-GT's on Autotrader, this being the other one (much closer to me), presume despite being a 2011 model the similar price is down to it having 1.25k miles on the clock. £5k ish was my limit although I wanted that to include insurance as well, but I'm selling all my guitars as I never play any more so perhaps I can ignore that bit!
Yea it is a hard trim level to find I must admit. Me and my partner had a good 6 hour round trip to get hers as it met our needs perfectly. Ultimately it's up to you how many toys you are happy to loose for going for a lesser model. If I remember rightly the trim levels go SE -> ES -> EX and then the GT pack was an option on any of them. I think if you can find a ES GT you actually get almost everything the EX has save for the leather seats and navigation, both of which were available as options as well so it is possible to find an EX GT that isnt an EX GT if that makes sense. If It were me I'd try and stick to the EX, but you might find the ES gives you everything you want as well.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,367
smaller wheels the better for going over bumps. plus tyres are usually cheaper too. it's a civic so flashy alloys isn't exactly a big plus. i'd rather go for comfort. especially with a first car and budget of £5K. you would be amazed at the difference 1" can make to feeling bumps on the road.
Ok so the playing around with insurance quotes has begun. Without experimenting too much with variables that might result in knocking a few quid off here and there and just using some comparison sites, something like a 1.8 Civic EX-GT seems to be around the £800-1200 mark (ones with black boxes fitted at the cheap end). Things like a Focus and Leon (looked at Titaniums in the 1.6 region for instance) were around £800-1000 mark. Obviously far more of them available on AutoTrader than the Hondas and getting a 2009 onwards EX-GT for under £5K looks like it might require patience and/or haggling.
All in all cheaper than I expected though.
All in all cheaper than I expected though.
Associate
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The EX also has HID/xenon lights with automatic height adjustment, although I'm not sure how big a difference the former makes and the latter isn't important since I want to stick a decent CarPlay thingy in. I quite like the velour-y looking seats that pop up occasionally which seem miles better than the bog-standard cloth ones, although no idea what the quality is like (does remind me of my dad's old Accord though).
Scouting Autotrader on the daily; so far candidates are...
This ES - nearest to me!
This ES which is completely the wrong side of London (long way round on the M25)
This ES and this EX from the same dealer - accessible by Tube
Definitely prefer the grey to the black but I'll take what I can get. Price seems rather low on all 3. Checking as many places as I can for other stuff though.
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have you considered the new kia rio. nice looking car and well put together with plenty of extras as standard such as lane keeping assist and cruise control. the space is decent compared to other cars of that size. and it comes with a 7 year warranty which the remainder can be transferred to the new owner.Being a Londoner I got away without really needing to drive for a long time but for a few reasons that's changed and I'm now close to booking my practical test, so hopefully I'll have passed soon and will need something to drive. Alas, I know very little about cars. Learning in a DS3 and not enamoured with that.
I'm 32 so I'm not sure if that will come into play with first-time-driver insurance (I'm sure it'll still be high and BR5 seems to be a Cat E area too...) and I have a bit more money to spend than a 17 year old, but at the time from what I've gleaned from skimming treads I probably shouldn't be looking to spend too much either for the usual reasons.
Driving would mostly be town runaround with occasional motorway/longer distances. Only real list of wants would be:
• 5-door, don't want it to be cramped in the back
• As good an interior/comfort (for longer drives) as I could expect for a first car
• The usual reliability/economy/cost of any parts etc stuff
• Decent visibility/vision/driving position or whatever you'd call it
(• Love my hi-fi so something I could stick a CarPlay receiver in and some better speakers although this might be something that's dead-easy to do on most cars)
I've searched a bit and seen things like Civics, Grande/Evo Puntos, Mazda 2s, Ibizas, Fabias - anything in particular that's recommended? I've looked at places like Honest John and all he ever recommends is a Yaris 1.3, but I don't want the same car as my mum!I don't really want something like a Fiesta either just because they seem so ubiquitous, although I recognise that's not a strong reason not to consider one!
bear in mind it also depends on where you live. london is likely be most expensive
Associate
Yep, I agree, but living in the smoke would be the same I guess, for any quote from any insurance company
I read the first few posts of this thread, then jumped to the end. I saw the initial requirement of 5 doors and plenty of room in the back, then i get here and see polo/swift/rio recommendations. I guess you downsized a little?
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but there's a boring octavia to fit every budget.
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but there's a boring octavia to fit every budget.
No, people are just talking amongst themselves! I'm 100% looking for a Civic as per my last couple of posts.
Soldato
No headroom at all as a front passenger in the current shape fiestas. I'm only 5'10 and I've hit my head on the roof lining a couple of times over speed bumps. Seriously not fun. Avoid them if you're intended to cart passengers around.
Still looking. There's this private seller EX that came up the other day (not a fan of silver but it has all the gubbins) but hasn't replied to my email yet asking a few questions. Checked out an ES fairly local to me but dealer seemed dodgy as they said the car had been got from Honda Bedford (who aren't actually a Honda garage any more) and in between being part-ex'ed and being put on AT it had clocked up another 1600 miles. Bit pricey too.
Still looking at the Windsor one and this one and there's also this one in Ashford although their number isn't listed as being part of any garage I can see. All I want for xmas is a car...
Still looking at the Windsor one and this one and there's also this one in Ashford although their number isn't listed as being part of any garage I can see. All I want for xmas is a car...
Associate
That first one looks to be the best to me, although it's not badged as an EX-GT I cant work out what it's missing compared to the EX-GT I have. It definately has the pano roof, the built in sat nav, and the higher quality stereo.
The only downside I can see is that it's a pre-facelift, but given your budget and the amount of kit you are getting it seems to be a good choice.
The only downside I can see is that it's a pre-facelift, but given your budget and the amount of kit you are getting it seems to be a good choice.