First car

TheGamingGeneral

TheGamingGeneral

TheGamingGeneral

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Hey guys, was wondering if I could get some help here. I like to think of myself as a ''car guy'' but now that I am actually old enough to get one, I feel an injection of the common sense could be useful. Everytime I am let loose on one of those sites listing motors, my aspirations, and, indeed budget seems to swell.

I'm 19, and have never had a car before. Over the last few months I have been blowing my salary on rubbish, but now I've descided I need some wheels. That and the fact, me borrowing daddies mondeo to take the lovely ladies out in my work isnt really cutting it.

So, £10k budget, preferably something new (or nearly new). Good performance (not a boy racers car tho), stylish and, funny enough coming from someone my age, safe. I do quite a bit of racing, I used to be in a young drivers programe that sort of fell through due to funding issues (damn those bankers). Point being, on the track I only have myself or other, psuedo professional drivers to worry about. On the roads, you have, well, the public....


I guess the main thing to keep in mind is insurance as from what I have seen so far, am likely to be crucified regardless.

Thanking you.
 
For a first car I'd spend a lot less. How have you managed to get £10k as a 19 year old?

3 year old Fiesta, Punto, Focus etc...

I'd even go older for a 1st car for a year. Something like a 2003/2004 Fiesta should be cheap enough, and it won't matter if you knock into anything.

Could get a good quick Clio 172/182 for about half your budget, they're suppose to be quick, fun and again won't be the end of the world if you do any damage.
 
jesus there isnt many 19 year olds with 10k!!

I got a seat ibiza chill, 2001 because i didnt want the corsa/fiesta/punto that everyone else has got.

The speed is meh but i like interior and it drives decent for a small car. I paid £1700

oh btw ^^^ thats what i did and i dont have 10k :D dont even have 10p lol
 
Stellios said:
Working full time since 17 while living with parents and it wouldnt be that hard to do.
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Said he's been blowing his money on rubbish recently. Very few 17 year olds would consider saving £10k up. I'm just trying to make sure this isn't a real budget of £1k deposit £9k finance.
 
Please dont spend 10k on your first car.

Buy something cheap and cheerful that will introduce you to the magnificent freedom that cars give you, that in the long run won't cost a fortune when you inevitably stack it.

My first car was an 'e' reg Fiesta 1.4, frickin brilliant car at the time ( 8 years ago ).
 
I was going to mention that the £10k would just about cover insurance on a 1.8 :p

In all seriousness you could get something like a 1.8 2001 Celica for £5k, should get you round a track nicely and I've heard they have a really comfortable driving position if you really have to spend £10k that is

As has been said get something small and nippy, like an old Fiesta or Corsa or similar and wait til your insurance comes down a bit before getting anything that extravagant
 
Can just get a Focus with a 1.6 and build up some NCB and then invest more money. The insurers will absolutely rape you now if you get anything even remotely sporty.
 
For the love of sweet baby Jesus don't spend £10,000 on a first car. Due to the wonders of insurance you'll only be able to insure some awful shopping trolley with a tiny engine which will depreciate horribly whilst being crap to drive.

Buy something as cheap and old as you dare, get some NCB and then spend the majority of the saved on something half decent in a few years.
 
neoboy said:
Can just get a Focus with a 1.6 and build up some NCB and then invest more money. The insurers will absolutely rape you now if you get anything even remotely sporty.
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This guy speaks sense, listen to him.

At 18, my insurance for an 03 clio 1.2 was over £1300, whereas it was half that for a 1.7L new diesel Astra. Go figure.
 
Dont spend £10k because...

...you can only afford to insure crap cars. So you'll spend £10k on a crap car. Then 2 years later when you can insure a good car you cant afford one, as you spend it on a crap car 2 years previously which is now worth only £4k.
 
Peerzy said:
Said he's been blowing his money on rubbish recently. Very few 17 year olds would consider saving £10k up. I'm just trying to make sure this isn't a real budget of £1k deposit £9k finance.
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True :p

I only started back in febuary, I managed to land myself a very well paying job and, since I am so young, it isnt as if I have mortgages n stuff like that to pay. My dig money and train ticket are about my only expenses. This means, what am left with, I tend to blow on crap because, well I guess it is just because I can.

I thought putting it into a car would be a better idea than the rubbish am spending money on. Still this was the point in the thread, to get some ideas floating around, because if it was left up to me, which I guess it ultimatley is, I would have done something I'd probably regret.

Appreciate the help guys, am having a look at the suggestions on the sites now.

How about a 3dr Astra? 2006

edit:

Infact scratch that, am clearly not listening, checking out fiesta's :)
 
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First, stop blowing money on crap and start putting it in some sort of savings bond, shares, whatever - just make it "difficult" to get hold of. That way you won't be so tempted to take it out and spend it.

As for cars, I don't think spending £10,000 on your first car is a particularly brilliant idea. New cars depreciate very quickly, and after 6 months the newness will have worn off and it won't feel anywhere near as special.
I wouldn't say don't spend it because you'll knock or scrape it, because plenty of people don't hit their first car. Don't spend it because you don't know much about cars or driving - what you are proposing is the same as going into a wine shop having never drunk so much as a glass and grabbing a random £500 bottle off the shelf.
Buy something slightly cheaper, keep it for a year, if you don't like it then you can change for something else and as the car is already a few years old the hit has been absorbed.

If I had the amount of disposable you had when I was 17 I'd honestly have gone straight out and bought an Escort RS Turbo, but times have changed :D

Small cars come at a premium because girls think they are nippy and cheap because of their size. If you move up slightly you get an awful lot more for your money and the price differential on insurance is usually not as much as you'd think.

I think I'd be looking at a nice spec Focus for £2-£3000 if I was in your shoes.
 
[TW]Fox;15398270 said:
Dont spend £10k because...

...you can only afford to insure crap cars. So you'll spend £10k on a crap car. Then 2 years later when you can insure a good car you cant afford one, as you spend it on a crap car 2 years previously which is now worth only £4k.
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This, and do this:

neoboy said:
Can just get a Focus with a 1.6 and build up some NCB and then invest more money. The insurers will absolutely rape you now if you get anything even remotely sporty.
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You'll be bored with it. Probably stick a sound system in it. But it will get you around, reasonably comfortably and reliably.
 
Personally, I'd get something cheap until 21 (when your insurance drops massively) and then get something really smart and probably rather quick.

Two choices at the minute: ultra eco (fiesta/focus), or a bit sportier (Clio 172, max), but prepared to pay well into 4 figures on the latter, whereas you should get the former for closer to a grand.


I ran a diesel Fiesta until I was 22. Then quickly went through an RX-8, A3 and now happy with a Z4. I am glad I didn't go too quick too early, though my uni circumstances would have prevented most of it anyway.
 
alexhull24 said:
This guy speaks sense, listen to him.

At 18, my insurance for an 03 clio 1.2 was over £1300, whereas it was half that for a 1.7L new diesel Astra. Go figure.
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Can I ask what company?

I'm 18 and looking for my first car and I've been getting silly quotes even for a 1.0 Micra. Between £4800 to £16000 :(
 
stoke1863 said:
jesus there isnt many 19 year olds with 10k!!
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£10k isn't a great amount of money to earn if you apply yourself......maybe you should set your goals higher if you think 10k at 19 is outstanding....

As for your first car, I echo others comments only because you won't be able to insure anything decent at your age, hence 10k will get you an average car. Imo, you should carry on driving your parents car if you have no need for your own. You will still be picking up driving experience, you will save money and then come a few years later you can get something decent:D
 
gurdas said:
£10k isn't a great amount of money to earn if you apply yourself......maybe you should set your goals higher if you think 10k at 19 is outstanding....
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Not this again..... Nobody said it was outstanding, he said there arent many 19 year olds around with 10k to spend on a car, which is true.

I'll echo the previous sentiments that the OP shouldnt spend 10k on a car, especially if 9k of that is on finance. Spend 1k~2k on something crap and run it into the ground - then when you can afford to insure something more interesting, you can spend decent money on a decent car
 
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