New drivers and their first car

gort · 20 Oct 2013 at 12:39

With lots of "New driver, which car?" threads popping up, I'm just curious to know why new drivers appear more critical than they used to be.

OK, I got my first car back in 1998 and at the time, I, along with friends passing their tests were chuffed just to be driving literally anything with wheels and an engine and a stereo for not a great deal of money.
Don't think people ever spent much more than an afternoon deciding and buying their first car.

Now many new drivers appear super-critical over their first car and just can't make a decision. I'd hazard a guess that if the internet wasn't around, most on here would just look at a dealers or Auto trader and pick a car and be done with it.

I know "times change," and people always want value for money but is it about confusion over advice given? Image? Too much choice? Afraid of getting a car and being blasted on a forum as it is the "wrong car?" Or other?

233 · 20 Oct 2013 at 12:43

Pfft don't know their born some of them

My first car was a fiesta literally hauled out of a scrap yard as needed the least amount of welding of what was sitting there

My second car was a xr2 rescued on its way to the scrap yard

Neither cost more than £50 and both were worked on by myself and my dad to get them road worthy it put a sense of achievement in me and certainly made me appreciate them both all the more. For the hard wrk. That had been put into them

King4aDay · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:44

My first 3 cars were knackered old hand-me-down sheds from relatives

Been driving since 17, didn't buy a car I actually wanted until 29, heh.

Zero Pope · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:49

First car was a £50 fiat panda, the first time I washed it half the paint came off to show rust underneath. It didn't even have a stereo.

Kids these days seem to care even more about how good they look in the nearest car park than anything else.

Matt82 · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:49

People watch too much "my sweet 16th'

[TW]Fox · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:51

Massive entitlement culture meets easy credit.

Housey · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:55

My first car was around 1984 and was a Mini 1000 (£1000), for me the perfect first car back then. Roads were significantly less busy than they are today and most the cars on the road crumpled like a mini did when you hit them. I had it for around 9 months before I got banned for reckless driving, for 3 months. I kept it for around 18 months in total, sold it to friend in a part ex for his Fiesta Mk2 1.3 Ghia (£3200) which his mum had from new. I sold that and then bought a Golf GTi (£6000) and after that got on the company car ladder with various Vauxhalls.

Vita · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:55

My first car was my best car.

Housey · 20 Oct 2013 at 13:57

Vita said:
My first car was my best car.

I think mine was the one I remember most fondly as it was the one I started to experience driving and going places with mates.

Frozennova · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:00

My first car in 2010 was a 1989 1272cc mk2 Golf. It cost me £100 and another £200 to get it on the road including mot and tax. Cost peanuts to insure compared to what most young drivers pay and took abuse including being drive with no oil and anti freeze on more than one occasion. It was still going after I'd put 25k miles on it.

Vita · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:01

Housey said:
I think mine was the one I remember most fondly as it was the one I started to experience driving and going places with mates.

I regret ever getting rid of mine. It was a great car, reliable and took abuse. Why I sold it, I will never understand. I wish I had thought through it more.

wingman · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:03

I'm not sure I agree with some of the comments.

We now live in a world where information is at our finger tips and we are able to delve into any subject to significant depth. Coupled with this is a massive choice of cars, far more vast than some of the older forum members here had when they were buying their first vehicle.

We've had a fair few threads pop up recently but that doesn't account for all of the newly passed drivers on the road. I assure you, many non car enthusiast couldn't care less what they were driving for the most time with regards to their first set of wheels. I wasn't a motoring enthusiast when I passed at 17 in 2007. I handed my dad £500 and I said get me something that will last a year. He came back with an H reg Nissan Micra that was registered the same month I was born. I loved it. It's still running now.

Fox, your response surprises me. You analyse everything and are critical to the point of an obsequious degree. I'd have thought you'd have understood individuals taking into account every facet of a purchase?

Glanza · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:03

It's a status thing now, especially with a lot of rich parents buying their kids tricked out range rovers for their first car.

My first car was a Fiat that cost £500 and I was happy as pig in ....

wingman · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:05

Housey said:
My first car was around 1984 and was a Mini 1000 (£1000), for me the perfect first car back then. Roads were significantly less busy than they are today and most the cars on the road crumpled like a mini did when you hit them. I had it for around 9 months before I got banned for reckless driving, for 3 months. I kept it for around 18 months in total, sold it to friend in a part ex for his Fiesta Mk2 1.3 Ghia (£3200) which his mum had from new. I sold that and then bought a Golf GTi (£6000) and after that got on the company car ladder with various Vauxhalls.

So everything went downhill for you then?

wingman · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:06

Giggz said:
It's a status thing now, especially with a lot of rich parents buying their kids tricked out range rovers for their first car.

Massive generalization there. So far off, too.

JonnyGeee · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:17

Too easy to get credit and they want to be cool woth the freshest car.

I witnessed what looked like an 18 year old kid in his black 63 corsa do the worst parking this morning, massive gap and he scraped his front bumper all down the one side of this a1.

Then the cheeky sod drove off, so I took his reg and gave it the owner of the a1 :-)

dacads · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:24

street rep init, you don't wanna be seen cruisin round in a clapped out banger do ya now

Boycey0211 · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:35

still got my first car, a '98 saxo I bought in 2006, absolutely love the little thing and couldn't bear getting rid of it now.

Taking a lot of effort to keep it on the road mind, but its got loads of 'character'

I think these days its definitely a status symbol for youngsters

dacads · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:50

Boycey0211 said:
still got my first car, a '98 saxo I bought in 2006, absolutely love the little thing and couldn't bear getting rid of it now.

Taking a lot of effort to keep it on the road mind, but its got loads of 'character'

I think these days its definitely a status symbol for youngsters

Exactly my point, but who's to blame when people are too quick to judge these days so individuals will be scared of getting laughed at and such by their mates

geekman · 20 Oct 2013 at 14:57

For me it wasn't anything to do with getting laughed at by my mates for getting the "wrong" car. It was the biggest purchase I'd ever made, therefore I wanted to do my research. Anyone who spends hundreds or thousands of pounds on a random car without applying any thought because it's their first car and it doesn't matter is being a bit stupid.