Used car, no idea at all

buckeejit

buckeejit

buckeejit

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Joined
14 Aug 2004
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So, I have my driving test this Thursday (2nd try) and I'm feeling confident. I'm the kind of guy who needs things right now but I haven't got a clue about what car to get :( I've got about £1800 to spend and was just wondering if someone could give me some tips? BTW, even though they are probably good stable cars, I don't want a focus or fiesta as I think they're ugly.

I would like a sporty looking car if possible in a colour other than silver with fair mileage on a decent insurance group. I'm 23 even though that probably doesn't make a difference... as I say, I have not got a clue about cars etc.
 
beggars cant be choosers mate

Our first cars are always rotters that we dont really like. Insurance is dead expensive which means buying anything interesting as our first car is a no no.

Plus i'm guessing your young judging by the ammount your spending so not exactly rolling in tens of thousands of spare cash with which to run a nice car either.

People recommend fiestas / focus because they

A) are very reliable
B) dont cost you a lot of money by breaking down all the time (like some cars do) and being cheap to insure
C) are cheap to repair when they do have something go wrong because they are a Ford so parts are dead easy to come by.

What exactly are you going to be able to afford as a first car thats nice to look at anyway ?
 
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Try to pick up a nice bog standard astra 01/04 with few owners and put a couple of
Quid into making it nice. The look good with a few cheap mods.

My opinion :P
 
1800? you will spend more of that on insurance than on the car. Unless you have a separate budget for insurance?
 
jamief said:
2.0 engine for a newly qualified driver? That should be fun to insure.
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Engine size isn't the be all and end all of insurance quotes, i wish people would learn this!!!!!!

IrishChr1s said:
Try to pick up a nice bog standard astra 01/04 with few owners and put a couple of
Quid into making it nice. The look good with a few cheap mods.

My opinion :P
Click to expand...

Nice Astra, sorry but that doesn't compute.
 
Firestar_3x said:
Engine size isn't the be all and end all of insurance quotes, i wish people would learn this!!!!!!



Nice Astra, sorry but that doesn't compute.
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insurance isnt based upon just engine size but it still makes up part of a quote, one mans rubbish is another mans treasure :) if an astra is the nicest car in that price range then cant really be picky unless the budget changes
 
I'll proberly get stoned for this but try and find yourself a nice little Fiat Punto Mk 2 or Mk 2b, for £1800 you can find usually the nice looking ELX range, which comes with all the mod cons like alloys AC, ABS ect ect, they good to look at and quite nippy.

But when buying a Punto make sure it got full service history.
 
Go to some dealers and see what's out there, don't buy a car, just go and see what's on offer.

When you've got some ideas get researching, ask us, run some insurance quotes.
 
thanks for the tips :)

Yeah, separate budget for insurance. I found a nice 1.6 Renault Megane Coupe within my budget, new timing belt, 2 new wheels and others so think I'm going to go view this tomorrow.
 
buckeejit said:
thanks for the tips :)

Yeah, separate budget for insurance. I found a nice 1.6 Renault Megane Coupe within my budget, new timing belt, 2 new wheels and others so think I'm going to go view this tomorrow.
Click to expand...

As boring as it sounds mate, most people will suggest you buy a banger for the first car. Your bound to have some scrapes etc and a decent car + insurance will be a pretty large financial outlay.

Maybe try look at some larger cars. These aren't as common as going down the usual 'pass test and buy a hatchback' route. Insurance should be more friendly.
 
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