First Cars

wsurfa · 13 Apr 2006 at 12:12

I'd recommend a mondeo as well - wife and mum have one and for the cash they are great. A 2.0 GHIA has toys galore, lots of space, and easy to get spares. Servicing will be cheap via a decent independant and the 2.0 does c35mpg, 1.8 about 40 or higher on motorway.

tesco quote c 600 for fully comp ungaraged where I live for a 21y.o male with 3 yrs no claims on a 99 2.0 GHIA X.

Much better option than some tiny tin can IMHO

fonzee · 13 Apr 2006 at 12:18

[TW]Fox said:
Nippy is a word used by people with slow cars to make themselves feel better. A 1.3 Corolla is not nippy. It is gutless. It is a Focus class car, and needs a proper engine. Not a sewing machine.

Damn rite... now the king of 'nippy' is the fiesta zetec 1.25... ( a mahooooosiv 75bhp iirc)... and it makes me feel better stating this

edit: mondeo a good sugesstion... so much kit for so less money.. i may even have to consider one as me nxt car

richolmes72 · 13 Apr 2006 at 18:45

Ukadder said:
At 21 I had a 2.0Ltr Calibra, insurance was >£500 a year TPFT. Can't stand small cars tbh.

I'm 21 and have a 3.2 litre XJ6, i pay £350 TPFT

To the Op, if you are planning on keeping the car for a while, take your time on the decision, too many people rush into these things. Watch the market for cars that you are interested, and get plenty of opinions (off here, friends, family...etc).

Get something with at least 90bhp (minimum) then you won't get bored in the future. (although the more the better

)

lordrobs · 13 Apr 2006 at 18:54

Fox et all will argue until they are blue in the face that a bigger car will cost you a negligable amount over a much smaller "shoe box" the fact is that whilst this might be correct it entierly depends on your situation. For example if I were to own, for arguements sake, a 2L Mondeo doing 25k (mostly NON motorway miles) a year and having to insure my car for business use the running costs would be substatially higher. Not crippilingly (sp?) so but enough for it to be a concern and probably enough per month to make the mortgage I'm going to be having unfeasable as opposed to a bit of a stretch.

If you can afford something better then go for it but you need to look at YOUR usage and how much you can afford.

[TW]Fox · 13 Apr 2006 at 20:33

lordrobs said:
For example if I were to own, for arguements sake, a 2L Mondeo doing 25k (mostly NON motorway miles) a year and having to insure my car for business use the running costs would be substatially higher.

Very, very few people do 25k a year NON motorway miles and those that DO manage 25k a year do so substantially by making long trips.

25k a year around town is a HELL of a lot of driving, average is only 10k a year and most new drivers, even those that think they drive a lot, probably do no more than 7k a year.

I've not suggest he goes out and buys a 3 litre monster or something with a 2 litre engine, infact all I said to get a flaming off some guy I've never heard of was point out the 1.3 Corolla is gutless - which it is. It's a very small engine in a Focus class car.

Tesla · 13 Apr 2006 at 20:58

I do a lot of town driving. A few hours per day around Bristol and Bath and am clocking up about 250-300 a week.

To do 25k you would have to do about 500 a week which is a heck of a lot of town driving! I would say 4-5hours every day, Mon-Fri.

I would pimp the Mondeo as expected. I have gone from Mondeo -> Rover 200 and although I think the Rover 200 is a pretty much perfect 1st car I would never pick one over the Mondeo I had, it was lovely.

saitrix · 13 Apr 2006 at 21:04

You dont need to think you need a car with a tiny engine as its your first car. For example i got my 1.6 Focus at 17, its not the largest engine about. The one thing though is that how i accually got a cheaper insurance quote then someone i know with a much smaller engine.

At your age you could get yourself the 2.0 Focus Zetec, now that would be a nice forst car for you. I even got quotes at 17 on the 2.0.

Serj · 13 Apr 2006 at 21:11

I've had my 2 Litre Coupe since i was 18. First years insurance was £850 TPFT with 1 years NCB. This time around it's going to be around the same figure but for Fully Comp. I imagine it would cost around the same to insure some small engined rot box tbh.

lordrobs · 14 Apr 2006 at 00:59

[TW]Fox said:
Very, very few people do 25k a year NON motorway miles and those that DO manage 25k a year do so substantially by making long trips.

A fair bit is dual carriageway but unfortunately 15k+ is twisty NSL roads and around towns/villages. Joys of living in the sticks

My post did sound a bit negative against many posters in the thread, that wasn't my intention. I was merely trying to point out that the OP should really consider his position before making a choice and not basing it on someone on a forum randomly blurting out models or types of car without any real consideration as to the guys needs.

I think part of the reason that i'm so concious of the fact that a car should be matched to your needs is that since changing jobs my car is suddenly very unsuitable. I have to carry a lot of gear around with me at times (sometimes quite a lot of weight) and as I mentioned I do a lot of miles. Both of which make my car completely unsuitable as its A) too small and B) not a diesel

Confused · 14 Apr 2006 at 19:50

We're not tieing the OP's arms behind his back forcing him to buy a large car.

We're simply making a suggestion that he may have not originally thought of, which is to go for a slightly larger car.

He can then investigate the costings and suitability himself, and if it's no good - then he doesn't need to get it!

Just making a suggestion, as you are

Barton · 14 Apr 2006 at 21:37

Right up until today I would have joined those suggesting a nice small car as a first, however today I was involved in a crash whilst driving my dad's skoda superb (basically a long wheelbase passat) and was fortunate enough to be able to hop straight back out afterwards with no worries- not so sure how well my little punto would have faired. I just find it more reassuring having that bit more car around you- especially at the time you are most likely to crash!

chemdog · 15 Apr 2006 at 01:26

i'd say a seat ibiza.

you didnt say if you were a car nut or not or your budget but i bought an ibiza brand new as my first car (technically 2nd but thats just details), its was about 7500, 3 years free servicing and obviously low costs and low insurance and i got to pick full spec since it was new. cheap running costs as well.

my plan was 4 year bank loan against the car, just when ive finished paying it get myself something a bit meatier... saving for the s2000 now

i suppose its a balance, new car is lower risk for unpredicted costs an older car could be a nightmare but you could get something bigger or faster without worrying too much.

theres always the option of buying a sub 2 grand low mileage ex granny bingo once a week fiesta, say 5 years old 15000 miles ish.

might be a good investment and your not stuck to a bank loan for 4 years.