Learning to drive atm and wondering about what car to get later if i pass

[TW]Fox · 2 Oct 2019 at 09:21

billysielu said:
My 2 cents is don't bother learning manual. Automatic is a lot easier and more pleasant to own.

There is nothing pleasant about owning a 500 quid auto.

tom_e · 2 Oct 2019 at 09:22

Quartz said:
It's counter-intuitive but you might find that you fit better into something like a VW Polo or Mini than a supercar.

Absolutely disagree. Manual drive cars are common.

My mates 6'5 and owned one of the old ford ka for years apart from the suspension not being overly happy when he sat down he fitted surprisingly well.

Quartz · 2 Oct 2019 at 09:27

tom_e said:
My mates 6'5 and owned one of the old ford ka for years apart from the suspension not being overly happy when he sat down he fitted surprisingly well.

I'm 6'4"...

HecFam · 2 Oct 2019 at 09:39

I was kinda in a similar situation when I first passed, I'm fairly tall at 6'1 but still wanted a smallish hatchback rather than a saloon esc as I wasn't all that confident.

My advice would be to have a little trip round dealers and just sit in a car that almost meets spec, I went to a vauxhall dealer, had a sit in a few of the forecourt cars and found the astra or the adam at the time really didnt fit me! And if they did, there were about 2 inches of leg room in the back. Worked my way round a few private garages as well and tried a Renault Clio, did buy the one there, but knew to shop around with that car in mind.
Ended up picking up an 04 privilege model, which had alloys, aircon, automatic windows and whatnot, think it came to around £1000 with 80k miles on the clock.

Couldn't tell you if a Clio is a good car or not to be honest, but it was comfortable, passed it's MOTs and ran fine for me for 3 or 4 years.

Jez · 2 Oct 2019 at 10:16

loltim said:
I prefer auto but this is terrible advice

Agree with Mr loltim. I'd not want to own a manual but not being able to drive one at all is a lot of hindrance for little gain.

carlmeyer · 2 Oct 2019 at 10:35

SkeeterUK said:
Hi all.

Ive been learning to drive since about april i think now and even tho its late ive just passed my theory test first time, woohoo...

If I were you, I would worry about spending a hell of a lot on your first car, so £500-£800 would be perfect. Expect a few problems with it being so cheap, though. Which isn't such a bad thing as you'll gain experience in either fixing it, or knowing when it needs looking at. Once you get used to it, it's time for a new car that you can treat better. My first car was a peugeot 206 lx, 1.4ltr engine. Over the first year, there were no problems and it cost me £500. The second year was another story as it cost me a fortune to maintain (almost the same cost as I bought the car for). I wanted to keep paying for repairs and it helped me look after the next car, Honda Civic 1.8 executive.

ShiWarrior · 2 Oct 2019 at 20:18

probably will try to stick to something japaneese like nissan, or honda or toyota or vauxhall, and avoid fiat, peugeot citreons as heard they rust and and all sorts some of them types.

Vauxhall in the same sentence as jap cars ? lol

Fords are generally better than Vauhalls anyway

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201909282733383?body-type=Hatchback&maximum-mileage=60000&transmission=Manual&make=FORD&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.6&postcode=ox394je&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&price-to=1000&price-from=500&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&model=FOCUS&sort=price-asc&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201909061919767?advertising-location=at_cars&body-type=Hatchback&maximum-mileage=70000&postcode=ox394je&make=FORD&radius=1500&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.6&transmission=Manual&fuel-type=Petrol&price-from=500&price-to=1000&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&model=FOCUS&sort=price-asc&page=1

sideways14a · 2 Oct 2019 at 20:47

If your one of those people who view a car simply as a means to get from A to B and care nothing for how you do it then by all means get an Auto and be happy.

However if you view driving as an art and something to be enjoyed rather than tolerated then you will want more involvement in it and thus you will want a manual.

-westy- · 3 Oct 2019 at 10:35

sideways14a said:
If your one of those people who view a car simply as a means to get from A to B and care nothing for how you do it then by all means get an Auto and be happy.

However if you view driving as an art and something to be enjoyed rather than tolerated then you will want more involvement in it and thus you will want a manual.

Alternatively, learn to drive properly in the first place and don't be horrendously restricted in the future.

Jez · 3 Oct 2019 at 10:42

sideways14a said:
If your one of those people who view a car simply as a means to get from A to B and care nothing for how you do it then by all means get an Auto and be happy.

However if you view driving as an art and something to be enjoyed rather than tolerated then you will want more involvement in it and thus you will want a manual.

The issue is more things like borrowing cars or vans for whatever reason. Youd be fairly restricted on an Auto license when renting a van or vehicles like that for example.