Spec me a first car.

Reppyboyo

Reppyboyo

Reppyboyo

Soldato
Joined
3 May 2004
Posts
3,340
Hi,

So, bored of biking (after 4+ years solid) and will be learning to drive very soon.

What car(s) should I be looking at?
Im 24, no car ncb (obviously) and I know pretty much sod all about cars.
Use will be for pretty much everything (commuting, social stuffs) so needs to be economical, reliable etc.

Been gathering a few quotes of cars I`ve seen previously mentioned such as Fiesta 1.25`s, 306`s and Corsas, generally comes about £900~ FC and £800~ TFPT. :eek:

Finally, petrol vs diesel?
Which is better overall on economy and reliability?

So, any suggestions?
Looking to buy a car before I pass my test so I can get some practise in.

Thanks all.
 
Can't help with a huge amount, but...

"Finally, petrol vs diesel?
Which is better overall on economy and reliability?"

Depends on the distance you're covering, in smaller, city streets a petrol seems to do a better job of coping with the stop/start environment, though a diesel is good for longer, sustained speeds like you'd see on a motorway
 
Petrol indeed, you wont have to handle oily diesel pumps in the fuel station, you wont have to put up with the 'oil rig' smell when you start the car in the mornings, you wont have to listen to the awful clatter of a diesel engine at idle or the dreadful noise they make in first gear. You wont have to blow a cloud of soot out behind you when you put your foot down a bit ...and you wont feel like you are driving a tractor when you are off boost.

Looks all win to me, petrol is better for passenger cars in 'most' circumstances, especially smaller ones. Diesel has it's place though.
 
I'm amazed no one has mentioned a Mondeo yet, better value than a fiesta, more kit and a lot more comfortable. They don't seem to cost much to insure either.
 
Mucky_Pup said:
How can you get bored of biking? lol, What you been riding?
Click to expand...


Easily when you ride daily in all weathers.
Otherwise, CBR 125 > Speed Four > Speed Triple > Versys.

I'm amazed no one has mentioned a Mondeo yet, better value than a fiesta, more kit and a lot more comfortable. They don't seem to cost much to insure either.
Click to expand...

Im pretty sure I ran some quotes on these a little while back and I was looking at £1500 insurance.
Ill give it another look. :)
 
The Mondeo is a very good call for a first car, you can't really fault them for what they are. A lot of people always seem to think buying the smallest car they can is the way to do it with a first car, which isn't necessarily the case, for insurance, other costs or indeed just learning purposes.
 
Moeks said:
The Mondeo is a very good call for a first car, you can't really fault them for what they are. A lot of people always seem to think buying the smallest car they can is the way to do it with a first car, which isn't necessarily the case, for insurance, other costs or indeed just learning purposes.
Click to expand...

I agree with what you are saying, but OP says he's hardly going on the motorway, thus meaning he is probably just going to be driving around town a lot of the time - from personal experience I can tell you that a mondeo can feel quite big and clunky and is difficult to parallel park etc. - why do this and gain back none of the advantages of owning a mondeo ie, refinment on motorways.
There is just no need.

OP - fiesta will be much better for what you want it for IMO.
 
Janesy B said:
My first car was an Escort with no PAS, about 40 million turns lock to lock and it wasn't that difficult.
Click to expand...

Not what I meant.

I have had to turn round quite a few times going up my road because my car won't fit through the gap (yes my road is very narrow)

I also parallel park twice a day and I've got to find a space big enough, then parking it can be a bummer because the rear window is quite high and so I can't see the bonnet of the car behind - if you found one with parking sensors it would help massively though.
 
I had to turn around because the car was to wide to fit through the gap left between two parked vans. Admittedly this doesn't happen very often, but a fiesta would have been able to fit through the gap.
 
ajstan said:
I had to turn around because the car was to wide to fit through the gap left between two parked vans. Admittedly this doesn't happen very often, but a fiesta would have been able to fit through the gap.
Click to expand...

Ah fair enough. FWIW, a MK3 Mondeo is only 200mm wider than a MK6 Fiesta.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom