Ideal first car?

[Bryn]

Just wondering, what do people think of this?. It is a pretty cheap car and the insurance is a few hundred pounds cheaper than some of the other cars including the fiesta.

Polos are pretty solid and that's a tidy price, bit older than some of the cars you were looking at but if that don't bother you go for it. It's the 1.3 version too which is nice.

[Jay]

Just wondering, what do people think of this?. It is a pretty cheap car and the insurance is a few hundred pounds cheaper than some of the other cars including the fiesta.

I drive a VW Polo although mine is alot newer than that, I like the way VW's drive they are normally good cars although parts can be more expensive than some other makes if anything goes wrong

[Bryn]

What does the grouping take into account? I would've thought Corsas ands Clios would have been in a higher group, they tend to be mostly driven by young drivers.

Nah the groups aren't affected by age, the grouping and the age of the driver are two different variables. Grouping takes into account desirability, size of engine (and as such speed and fuel consumption and stuff), how replaceable the parts are, how likely the car is to fall apart, and also to an extent statistics, how likely the car is to be thrown about rather than driven cautiously for example. They're aware a boy racer is more likely to pick up a golf than a big Volvo estate. Probably a few other things as well, I'm not an expert (much as I probably appear to want to seem like one )

[Basingstoke Fox]

Well ideally I would like a car that was made in 1998 or abit newer but if its too good to turn down then I would probably get it. I will still continue to look around but Volkswagens are nice cars and I was surprised at the insurance price as it was better than what I expected. There is bound to be something that will go slightly wrong eventually though so I will keep in mind what you said Jay.

[StanSP]

Before I started driving, my ideal first car was along the lines of a Corsa or a Polo. But, I never imagined it would actually be a Honda Civic Sport

[Head Honcho]

Just gimme a Schuppan 962CR

[Basingstoke Fox]

Before I started driving, my ideal first car was along the lines of a Corsa or a Polo. But, I never imagined it would actually be a Honda Civic Sport

Wow. How much did that end up costing?

[StanSP]

Wow. How much did that end up costing?

Well it's not my car. I share with my parents and brother, but we all get a fair share off it . Sometimes take it during the week, and it;s mine on Saturdays for work.

Not sure how much insurance was. But won't need it this year as I'm off to uni.

[CosbehFox]

And for type, you know the score really I reckon, Peugeot 106/206, Fiesta, Corsa, Punto, that kinda size. Engine of no more than 1.3l and that.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/c...icleRegLetter=W

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/c...icleRegLetter=R

Couple of examples which I'd look at.

Agreed. Keep it simple and think common really. You've got to think that there's gotta be some idiot who might scratch or give it a prang....and you'll still be learning for a couple of years in road conduct. So going for something real nice will have it's drawbacks. I'll admit I made errors when first passing (and still make the odd mistake). This meant a lovely scratch and scruff on my bumper...no point getting some flash until the insurance comes down at 25 years of age as well.

Had a Corsa 1.2 1997 for my first....great runner and never had a problem with until the thieves had their way. Then I got bit greedy and went for a 1.4 Focus 5dr....family car at 21!!! Be interested to know how many miles I have done this year.

Just think simple and use commonsense. Personally I think milage can be a red herring. It's just pot luck...sometimes.

[Bryn]

Agreed. Keep it simple and think common really. You've got to think that there's gotta be some idiot who might scratch or give it a prang....and you'll still be learning for a couple of years in road conduct. So going for something real nice will have it's drawbacks. I'll admit I made errors when first passing (and still make the odd mistake). This meant a lovely scratch and scruff on my bumper...no point getting some flash until the insurance comes down at 25 years of age as well.

Had a Corsa 1.2 1997 for my first....great runner and never had a problem with until the thieves had their way. Then I got bit greedy and went for a 1.4 Focus 5dr....family car at 21!!! Be interested to know how many miles I have done this year.

Just think simple and use commonsense. Personally I think milage can be a red herring. It's just pot luck...sometimes.

Digressing a little here but that sounds like a great progession to me, kinda thing I wanna look at next time I go for a car.

My mate started with a Corsa, then got a 1.6l Astra after a year or so, will probably end up with something with about a 2.0l engine in a couple of years, and it don't sound like a bad way of going if you can afford it.

[Basingstoke Fox]

I agree about mileage sometimes being pot luck, though I would still rather stick below 80k. As for the Polo I was looking at, I would rather get a 3 door one as the 5 door one will probably be heavier, use more petrol and be abit slower too. Btw, if anyone is looking at Fiestas, I was having a look at different models. I have been getting quotes of roughly 1900, for the Zetec and LX models, however when you look at a quote for the Zetec LX model, it is closer to 1800. I couldn't understand why this was but one of the main flaws with that model is that the air con apparently uses an awful lot of fuel. So things aren't as good as they look straight away!

[Unknown Fox]

Marginly off topic and slightly cheeky of myself but I am 17 on tuesday and been looking at cars for a while and in similar situation to Basingstoke Fox with pretty much the same budget, so I was wondering if anyone knew a good place to buy old Mini's from? Thanks in advance.

[Smudge]

Of course I wanted an MGB but the insurance story never changes for 17 year olds

[Samilktray]

Just wondering, what do people think of this?. It is a pretty cheap car and the insurance is a few hundred pounds cheaper than some of the other cars including the fiesta.

Looking at the price I'd imagine its got some problems, VW's usually hold there price well due to reliability, also I'd guess there may be a lot of rusting around the wheel arches. I looked at 2 similar priced Polos, although I think the 1s I looked at were a bit more expensive but the rust was a problem on both.

[Bryn]

Marginly off topic and slightly cheeky of myself but I am 17 on tuesday and been looking at cars for a while and in similar situation to Basingstoke Fox with pretty much the same budget, so I was wondering if anyone knew a good place to buy old Mini's from? Thanks in advance.

Er I doubt highly you'll get a working classic Mini for less than a grand. Even a mini that's falling apart is worth a few hundred quid because they're so desirable and then you have to put the money in to make them roadworthy again.

[orangecity23]

I had a P reg 1.4 Polo for my first car, and they are a pretty solid choice. Nice to drive, normally reliable if you get one thats been looked after. Only extra advice I'd give though is that the one you posted is the L model, and it doesn't have Power Steering, so it can be a bit of an armache when parking, or on the motorway (vibrations through the wheel will tire your arms out ). The CL models have power steering (+ air con and electric windows and all that jazz).

You might want to check out www.usedcarexpert.co.uk , you can get a free guide on common faults and stuff on various cars, comes with pictures, so you know things to look out for when viewing a prospective used car. Good luck!

[Bryn]

I'd definitely advise getting power steering... air con and electric windows you can live without, in fact a lot of people say the more electrics you have the more can go wrong, although my ancient car has electric windows and I've had no troubles.

[Basingstoke Fox]

I had a P reg 1.4 Polo for my first car, and they are a pretty solid choice. Nice to drive, normally reliable if you get one thats been looked after. Only extra advice I'd give though is that the one you posted is the L model, and it doesn't have Power Steering, so it can be a bit of an armache when parking, or on the motorway (vibrations through the wheel will tire your arms out ). The CL models have power steering (+ air con and electric windows and all that jazz).

You might want to check out www.usedcarexpert.co.uk , you can get a free guide on common faults and stuff on various cars, comes with pictures, so you know things to look out for when viewing a prospective used car. Good luck!

Good advice, and I posted a link to that used car expert website which is fantastic! I didn't know the difference between the L and the CL so cheers for that

I'd definitely advise getting power steering... air con and electric windows you can live without, in fact a lot of people say the more electrics you have the more can go wrong, although my ancient car has electric windows and I've had no troubles.

I agree that it isn't essential to have air con and electric windows. Electric windows would be nice to have though I don't really like air con, I prefer just opening the window instead. I have been told that you don't need power steering for a car of this sort of size though.

[Basingstoke Fox]

Looking at the price I'd imagine its got some problems, VW's usually hold there price well due to reliability, also I'd guess there may be a lot of rusting around the wheel arches. I looked at 2 similar priced Polos, although I think the 1s I looked at were a bit more expensive but the rust was a problem on both.

Good points, I do know someone who actually used to work in a VW garage in Hinckley during the 90s so maybe I can ask them for advice too. It would be good if it was that cheap for a good one though!

[Trav Le Bleu]

How about this?

[Basingstoke Fox]

How about this?

Yeah alright then . How much for insurance?

[stez]

Of course I wanted an MGB but the insurance story never changes for 17 year olds

racist!

i decided to drive bangers, udsually cars with 12 months mot on them and run them into the ground and scrap them after a year, just to get my insurance down. then buy a decent car after 5 years.

this i did, until someone pranged my decent car and i was back to (almost) square one. <_<

anyhoo, i'd go for a punto as there are loads about, and if you need any bits there are plenty in the scrap yards too.

[Smudge]

racist!

i decided to drive bangers, udsually cars with 12 months mot on them and run them into the ground and scrap them after a year, just to get my insurance down. then buy a decent car after 5 years.

this i did, until someone pranged my decent car and i was back to (almost) square one. <_<

anyhoo, i'd go for a punto as there are loads about, and if you need any bits there are plenty in the scrap yards too.

Haha I never noticed that; just a google image, I think mine was 485 DFK

[The Doctor]

ford fiestas are ideal for new drivers. very few gadgets, nice and simple.

[Unknown Fox]

Er I doubt highly you'll get a working classic Mini for less than a grand. Even a mini that's falling apart is worth a few hundred quid because they're so desirable and then you have to put the money in to make them roadworthy again.

There's that dream gone then