Passed my Theory, Practical November 14th! - NEED A CAR!

Kaiju

Kaiju

Kaiju

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Joined
27 Jan 2005
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Expat in HK
To be honest i'm quietly confident i'll pass first time, the only thing that worries me are the disgruntled drivers around me who have a knack for barking up the wrong tree. If my car didn't have a big "L" stapled above it, i swear i'd feel so much more comfortable. Just seems everyone is gunnin' for ya when you're a learner, even the older drivers. :rolleyes:

Anyway, to the point.

I'm looking out for my first car and already got an idea. £1000 max to cover everything; 2nd hand, third party insurance, possible MOT and road tax already covered. Basically i want to build up my no claims so i can get a nicer car in the future for less on the insurance. Will take me a while, 5 years i think before i notice any cutbacks, but still, it's an aim of mine to keep my head firmly intact in the foreseeable future. Not like some of the other *aheM* boy racers about.

Any advice on what to buy, what to expect, etc would be greatly appreciated guys.
 
Worry about your test and save up more. 1k is an absolute poverty budget, though it helps if your not 17 it'll still be your first year driving so insurance is bound to cost.

mk1 micra with a 100k miles in as good as nick as is reasonable should be a few hundred at most. Try and buy from someone as equally old and reliable
 
Well i'm 23 in December, so will that make a difference? How much should i realistically be looking at? I could stretch to £3000, but the less amount to spend on my first car, the better.
 
If you can do it for 1k then that'd be great, I just dont think it'll be easy. Do you mind driving a mk1 micra for example.

My first car was about 1k all inc but it only lasted about 14 months and was unreliable. It helps if you can work on it yourself.
It will be hard for people to advise you correctly because you have to know when you see it
 
I was quietly confident and I failed :( (this Saturday just gone), I'd wait until you pass before you buy a car... as someone else here once said - "it's the worst feeling walking past a car you can't drive"
 
aftershxck said:
I was quietly confident and I failed :( (this Saturday just gone), I'd wait until you pass before you buy a car... as someone else here once said - "it's the worst feeling walking past a car you can't drive"
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LOL, classic! Will do mate, thanks for the words of warning.
 
aftershxck said:
I was quietly confident and I failed :( (this Saturday just gone), I'd wait until you pass before you buy a car... as someone else here once said - "it's the worst feeling walking past a car you can't drive"
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I disagree, it would be worse if I had passed my driving test and didn't have a car.
 
Kaiju said:
Well i'm 23 in December, so will that make a difference? How much should i realistically be looking at? I could stretch to £3000, but the less amount to spend on my first car, the better.
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Your age will be quoted as from the day cover starts, if at all possible it would be a good idea to wait the extra month until you are 23 in december. As for the premium, you may find it to be cheaper than you expect. The optimum age for drivers as far as insurance companies are concerned is 25 (first proper job was as an underwriter) so you're not all that far away. You're certainly not close enough to 17 that you should be worrying too much.

Get your first years NCB on the board and you will see the premium falling by a decent amount each time you renew.

As for which car to go for, that's down to your personal preference, tho it would obviously be wise to go for one in a low insurance group (the base rate for car insurance is calculated from the insurance group of the vehicle and one from either your age or the area in which it is kept, ie where you live)
 
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lucasade1 said:
I disagree, it would be worse if I had passed my driving test and didn't have a car.
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Aye! About 1 minute after being dropped off having passed my test I was half way down the road driving by myself.

I was grinning like a nutter for the rest of that day... I remember that well. :D
 
alexthecheese said:
Aye! About 1 minute after being dropped off having passed my test I was half way down the road driving by myself.

I was grinning like a nutter for the rest of that day... I remember that well. :D
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Still grinning here. 1 week on!
 
lucasade1 said:
I disagree, it would be worse if I had passed my driving test and didn't have a car.
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I wonder if you'd be saying the same thing if you didn't pass? I know what you mean cos I wanted to be driving straight after too (UNI), but seriously just the relief of passing... and having all the time in the world to look for a car after...
 
Alright guys, well i've got three grand available anyhow, so i'll leave it for now and look for car after and when i pass after my birthday. Hopefully my folks can help me out a bit in December too.
 
i passed in april and i havn't driven a car since :( Still waiting for my dad to get a quote on his car for me :mad:
 
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