Suggestions for a first car

[TW]Fox · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:03

Anders0n said:
Perhaps I should have said "Hot hatch".

Not for your first car you don't

Anders0n · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:16

[TW]Fox said:
Not for your first car you don't

Whats car would you suggest I should be looking at?

Mr Jack · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:28

Anders0n said:
What does 'cat c insurance loss' mean?

It means don't buy it in a million years. That's what it means.

Anders0n · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:32

Mr Jack said:
It means don't buy it in a million years. That's what it means.

Removed from list.

The car I was looking at earlier, this one, went for £970. Is that about right?

Mr Jack · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:41

Anders0n said:
The car I was looking at earlier, this one, went for £970. Is that about right?

That's a pretty damn good price, actually. If I was you, I'd pick up a copy of Parkers Car Price Guide from a local supermarket or newsagent. It's only £3.50 and it's very useful for knowing what you should be paying and for comparing different models and their kit.

Anders0n · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:57

Mr Jack said:
That's a pretty damn good price, actually. If I was you, I'd pick up a copy of Parkers Car Price Guide from a local supermarket or newsagent. It's only £3.50 and it's very useful for knowing what you should be paying and for comparing different models and their kit.

Thanks. I'll pick a copy up.

What insurance companies should I be looking at?

digitalwolf · 19 Nov 2006 at 18:58

I looked at and drove a few cars before I went for my VTR.

3 door 306 HDi ......Nice, handled well, seemed a bit flat, but at 70mph it was quite nippy.

3 door 306 1.9 D Turbo......Felt stupidly fast, I loved the torque but they are just too noisy for my liking.

3 door Punto Sporting......Flat as a pancake, hated it, dash is horrid,didn't handle at all.

3 door Fiesta Zetec 1.25......Nippy. Insurance is only £200 cheaper than my VTR.

3 door Saxo VTR......I don't care about the image, soon as I took it down the dual carriage way and just tapped the go faster pedal it sealed it for me. And then there is the handling, truly awesome grip, just don't lift off. No bodyroll at all.

Sone · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:03

digitalwolf said:
3 door 306 1.9 D Turbo......Felt stupidly fast, I loved the torque but they are just too noisy for my liking.

hmm.....

Jez · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:05

Sone said:
hmm.....

People have vastly different experiences and expectations from cars. The guy is obviously a new driver and has never experienced a fast car. Nothing wrong with that.

Sone · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:07

Jez said:
People have vastly different experiences and expectations from cars. The guy is obviously a new driver and has never experienced a fast car. Nothing wrong with that.

suppose it was a little harsh, a few days after passing my test i drove 90bhp HDi 406 and though it was quick

Anders0n · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:12

digitalwolf said:
I looked at and drove a few cars before I went for my VTR.

3 door 306 HDi ......Nice, handled well, seemed a bit flat, but at 70mph it was quite nippy.

3 door 306 1.9 D Turbo......Felt stupidly fast, I loved the torque but they are just too noisy for my liking.

3 door Punto Sporting......Flat as a pancake, hated it, dash is horrid,didn't handle at all.

3 door Fiesta Zetec 1.25......Nippy. Insurance is only £200 cheaper than my VTR.

3 door Saxo VTR......I don't care about the image, soon as I took it down the dual carriage way and just tapped the go faster pedal it sealed it for me. And then there is the handling, truly awesome grip, just don't lift off. No bodyroll at all.

Few questions:

Who does your insurance? And how much is it?

Ta

digitalwolf · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:13

Anders0n said:
Few questions:

Who does your insurance? And how much is it?

Ta

Quinn Direct and it's £1780

Jez · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:20

digitalwolf said:
Quinn Direct and it's £1780

I'm sorry but holy jesus :eek:

for a car slower than a 1.4 one of these:

This is yet another example of my complete failure to "get" Citroen Saxo's. They carry huge premiums for no reason simply down to their very bad boy racer image. Avoid them and you can insure cars with much greater performance, and a better image for the same money.

I dont mean to sound as harsh as i am probably sounding, but at the end of the day its a small engined low powered little hatchback for a new driver, what is the point in getting hammered on insurance for what SHOULD be a cheap car to own?

digitalwolf · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:24

It's a 100bhp 3 door 1.6l hatch that weighs 800-900kg. I tried insurance quotes on cars with the same power and they are all £1500+

The reason why I said the 306 DT felt fast was mainly due to the fact it had loads of torque.

Anders0n · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:26

Quinn direct quote me £1600 for every VTR I put in. Goes down to £1450 if I do pass plus.

They also seem to quote me £1,385.03 for every other lesser car I put in. Wierd.

But thats still less than everyone else I've tried.

Tried Confused.com but they were just useless.

Mr Jack · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:27

Anders0n said:
What insurance companies should I be looking at?

All of them?

Seriously one company will give one person a great quote and another a pants one; the only way to get a good price is to phone round.

Having said that, Quinn seem to be really good at the moment. They're also the first company to offer me a renewal quote I couldn't knock a hundred quid off by ringing round. Confused.com (despite annoying adverts) seem to be good for getting a good price for you.

Jez · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:28

Anders0n said:
Tried Confused.com but they were just useless.

Ive found this too, as have others on here

Keep trying yourself is the only option really.

digitalwolf · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:35

When I get my 1yr NCB I'm thinking of going for a Focus 1.8 Zetec Collection 3 door. My mate has one and it's a nice car. The Saxo is totally unrefined but fun. The insurance on the Saxo will still be £1000+ when the Focus is £750.

Jez · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:37

digitalwolf said:
When I get my 1yr NCB I'm thinking of going for a Focus 1.8 Zetec Collection 3 door. My mate has one and it's a nice car. The Saxo is totally unrefined but fun. The insurance on the Saxo will still be £1000+ when the Focus is £750.

I think the general opinion on foci' is to go straight for the 2Ltr and not bother with the 1.8. The two will have near identical fuel consumption and identical reliability traits, but the 2.0 is noticably more powerful

That insurance scenario is exactly what i mean about saxo's, expensive for no good reason.

digitalwolf · 19 Nov 2006 at 19:38

Jez said:
I think the general opinion on foci' is to go straight for the 2Ltr and not bother with the 1.8. The two will have near identical fuel consumption and identical reliability traits, but the 2.0 is noticably more powerful

That insurance scenario is exactly what i mean about saxo's, expensive for no good reason.

The 2.0 is damn thirsty though.