first car

bnev

hey all,

I just looking for some advice on buying my first car. I am 20 and am looking for something insurable, below 1.3L. I have a full licence so that should bring it down.

At the moment I am looking into an Opel Corsa, 99. Any recommendations, or reasons not to buy! I have a budget of up to 4000. Any other car recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
bnev

colm_mcm

everybody will have their favourite car, any car that is said to be unrebiable will be countered by posts from people who say they've done a million miles in one without ever having problems.

That said, for the money I'd consider:

Ford Fiesta 1.25
Opel Corsa 1.2
Toyota Starlet 1.3

unkel

If your main priorities are keeping the overall costs down and total reliability, I'd go for a Micra 1.0. If your main priorities are getting a good drivers car, but still on a budget, I'd go Fiesta 1.25

What are your main priorities? Almost any car under 1.3 is insurable enough for you and the difference between a 1.0 and a 1.3 is generally quite low

Skyuser

You COULD get a 1.6 1999 Opel Vectra for €1000 and insurance for about €1600 (Third Party)

Henry Ford III

Skyuser wrote:

You COULD get a 1.6 1999 Opel Vectra for €1000 and insurance for about €1600 (Third Party)

......but only if you were mental :eek:

judesherry

Hi Ive got the perfect car for you. I'm selling my 01 Ford Ka for only 3,900. Its perfect for a first car because its small and really cheap to run and I've never had any problems with it. Its a 1.3 and was no difference in insurance for me than a 1L.let me know if your interested.

Skyuser

Ka ?? Don't be mad, as if he'd want that thing.

green-blood

eh because they're a fab piece of kit to drive maybe...

gstonesmx5

corsa aint half bad. it would be my pic of the lot just not sure about the lotus involvment in the 99 model . they helped develop them for a while so
the handling was improved.

Vegeta

Skyuser wrote:

Ka ?? Don't be mad, as if he'd want that thing.

Kas are a very nice little car and I'd have one over a micra or a fiesta anyday

unkel

Ka = Fiesta

Well, pretty much...

Vegeta

unkel wrote:

Ka = Fiesta

Well, pretty much...

ah man ya cant just come out with that.

The Ka is a lovely little car to drive, handles pretty sweetly for a car of that nature and is quite nippy with the 1.3 engine.

The fiesta (not the new one, the model previous which looked the same as the mazda 121), while being a solid work horse I don't think is as much of a drivers car.

My own opinion

Big Nelly

Vegeta wrote:

Kas are a very nice little car and I'd have one over a micra or a fiesta anyday

Had to drive a Fiesta one day when my car was in garage and it drove me thru the roof, threw it back at them, slow, sluggish take off etc. Was brutal and interior was woeful

Also got a vectra from garage while I got a few things looked at car before warrenty ran out and it was terrible as well, I hated the thing, the interior was terrible, indicator drove me nuts. Also slow

I would go for the Micra, best value for money and they hold there value which cant be said about the rest of the cars. Also they are nice to drive and quiet nippy for a 1lt

Joeface

KA = Fiesta..................isnt the KA a Three Cylinder engine.... idea stolen by ford form the Swift,

Big Nelly

Joeface wrote:

KA = Fiesta..................isnt the KA a Three Cylinder engine.... idea stolen by ford form the Swift,

Friend has one of the 3 cylinder swifts, faster than a Fiesta ever was

numorouno

i kknow this is somewhat off topic but are u male/female. not a sex issue but if your tall forget about gettin any of those cars no matter what kind of a budget your on. i (6' 1'' 17stone) was driving a small rover for 2 days on loan and i thought i need back surgery after gettn out of it everytime even with the seats back at the furthest back. i felt like doin hightower in police academy and ripping out the front seats and sitting in the back.
anyway my point is if you are tall go for an older reg saloon 1.3 corolla perhaps or something that would allow a bit of leg room or youll find yourself in the market for another car quickish
(this is probably irrelevant but just had to mention it in factoring in the price if you had to get a diff car after 3 months with an uncomfortable one!)

stevejazzx

1999 toyota corolla



will be cheap to insure,

Quinn direct offer a better rate the newer and higher price a car is. For example moving from micra (1995 1.0l) to my toyota (2001 1.4l) saved me money on my insurance. If you've got a full license I can't see your quote being above 1000 euro. All these small cars are really dull & annoying to drive, too thinny, not really suited to motorways or long journeys, a corolla covers you just about on all trips...plus if you're not that bothered about upgrading and you chose wisely a toyota corola would last you forever.

numorouno

id agree whole heartly on the toyota as i own one but i ment it for any type of reasonably bigish saloon car like a civic or any other mid range saloon

ianobrien

My two pence.

For a first car, I'd go for Japanese as they tend to be more reliable, if boring. I'd go for a Micra 93 to 01 model.

We have one at home and I and My brother learned to drive in it. They are reliable and will give 200,000 miles before anything goes wrong. Our has done that milage, and the only thing that went was the water pump at 100,000miles. Another point is that their clutch is small and wont take too much abuse, and their rear brake cylinders can leak.

I just spent my own money on one, so they cant be that bad

Before anybody gives out for spending my own money on a second Micra, at home there is a mark 2 Escort and a Citroen AX GT for fun.

alias no.9

People, people, people, try thinking about what you're saying.

The lotus input into the corsa was on the chassis design and that can only be a good thing because opel hadn't been much good at doing it on their own for quite some time.

The ka has a 1.3 litre 4 cylinder engine, the origins of which probably predate suzuki, nevermind their venture into making cars or their decision to ship these cars to ireland. 3 cylinder engines also predate suzuki and many other manufacturers produce them. The 1.0 engine in the corsa for example is a 3 cylinder, but that wasn't an idea stolen from suzuki, the entire engine was bought from them and could quite possibly be manufactured by them in hungary, or whereever their eastern european plant is.

The ka is all fiesta underneath, as is the puma, all of which have excellent handling though the 1.3 engine in the fiesta probably leaves a little to be desired in terms of performance compared to the ka given the extra weight. So indeed he can say ka = fiesta.

natnif

the 98 to 00 corsa were reduced to a 1.0 litre 12 valve engine = no power.
to learn in they are grand but they are VERY sluggish.
micra's are great cars....have been through several of them with only the odd cv joint to be changed.....
corolla again very good, but more modern design MAY require more expensive upkeep but it depends which year you go for.
will you be mainly in town?
as someone asked earlier are you male or female?
what sort of mileage?
its hard to reccomend a car if we don't know your needs

Anan1

Skyuser wrote:

Ka ?? Don't be mad, as if he'd want that thing.

Insurance and costs aside, I'd drive a Ka over a 99 1.6 Vectra any day of the week.

colm_mcm

Ka's are hugely overrated, a Fiesta 1.25 is a far nicer car.

unkel

colm_mcm wrote:

Ka's are hugely overrated, a Fiesta 1.25 is a far nicer car.

Care to elaborate? Both are great drivers cars - easily the best in class for that age. The Yamaha 1.25 is a great wee modern engine which makes the Fiesta that has it very nippy. The 1.3 in the Ka (this engine was also available in the Fiesta of same age!) is old but it's sound. It has 60bhp and it is not slow again compared to most of the competition

Kas are cheaper second hand than Fiestas! Personally I'm not that hot on the looks of the Ka though and I feel they're a bit girlie, but I suppose one can say that about pretty much all superminis

bazz26

Vegeta wrote:

ah man ya cant just come out with that.

The Ka is a lovely little car to drive, handles pretty sweetly for a car of that nature and is quite nippy with the 1.3 engine.

The fiesta (not the new one, the model previous which looked the same as the mazda 121), while being a solid work horse I don't think is as much of a drivers car.

My own opinion

The Ka uses the same running gear and 1.3 litre engine as the old pre 2002 Fiesta. The 1.3 litre engine in the Ka and Fiesta originates back to the 1950s Ford Anglia.

The 1.25 litre 16 valve Fiesta is the one to get as that engine was designed by Yamaha and is very nippy in that model Fiesta. The Fiesta also has the option of 5 doors if needed.

colm_mcm

I reckon the 1.25 Fiesta is a better option than the Ka because:

1) The engine is light years ahead of the old 1.3 in the KA

2) The Ka looks ridiculous

3) The Fiesta has a bigger boot

4) Most Ka's are ridiculously low spec.

Anan1

colm_mcm wrote:

I reckon the 1.25 Fiesta is a better option than the Ka because:

1) The engine is light years ahead of the old 1.3 in the KA

2) The Ka looks ridiculous

3) The Fiesta has a bigger boot

4) Most Ka's are ridiculously low spec.

A 1.25 Fiesta is definitely a better car, but it will cost more than a Ka of the same age.

colm_mcm

4 grand should stil get you one though!

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote:

4 grand should stil get you one though!

Should get a late 1990s Ghia spec 1.25 litre for that money:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=423417
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=381235

Or here is a facelifted 2000 model with air con for €3,800:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=434144

colm_mcm

that Ghia for €3800 is a hell of a lot of entertaining car!

obrien_pa

my first car was a 1litre opel corsa - 1999. It was grand. plenty of room for a small car (i'm 6 foot and like my elbow room!)

it was nifty enough and relatively comfortable even on long journeys for a small car.

value wise - it's great - runs on practically nothing and I didn't have to spend a penny on maintenance really.

Thoroughly recommended as a first run-about. (The 1.2 or 1.4l would obviously pack more of a punch when passing out other cars though - sometimes passing out with a 1l corsa took a lot longer than I would have liked!)

judesherry

Hey just for reference here is my 01 Ford KA. Two years younger than that fiesta and more or less the same spec, price and lower mileage. But miles better looking (I think anyway)

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=367984

Anan1

colm_mcm wrote:

that Ghia for €3800 is a hell of a lot of entertaining car!

True. Although why is it that, whereas all Ghias have a/c, only a handful have ABS?

colm_mcm

Aircon was a major luxury at the time, and a far easier sell than ABS

bnev

thanks for the advice folks, and yes im a guy. But the room inside the car should not be too much of an issue, apart from transporting people around.

Which car would be better for passengers? Ill be the only one in the family driving so ill have to do all the moving people about!!

Ill be mainly using it to get to and from work and general running about!

appreciate the advice

bnev

bnev

oh and im also wondering if its better to buy from a garage in case anything goes wrong? or buy from a private seller?

colm_mcm

bnev wrote:

oh and im also wondering if its better to buy from a garage in case anything goes wrong? or buy from a private seller?

Depends on how much of a warranty they give, whether the car comes serviced, and how much the car costs!

bazz26

bnev wrote:

thanks for the advice folks, and yes im a guy. But the room inside the car should not be too much of an issue, apart from transporting people around.

Which car would be better for passengers? Ill be the only one in the family driving so ill have to do all the moving people about!!

Ill be mainly using it to get to and from work and general running about!

appreciate the advice

bnev

If you are transporting people around then the practicality of a 5 door is a huge bonus. This would rule out the Ka as it is only available as a 3 door.

A 5 door 1999/2000 Fiesta 1.25 Ghia is a good suggestion, it comes with air conditioning or sunroof, cd player and electric windows. Very rare to find these in a Ka.

bazz26

bnev wrote:

oh and im also wondering if its better to buy from a garage in case anything goes wrong? or buy from a private seller?

Totally depends on the warranty that the dealer is offering, what is covered under that warranty and the price difference between the dealer and a private sale.

My guess is that most dealers on average would offer a 6 month engine and gearbox warranty on a 1999/2000 car.

dmck2886

Why not consider a Mitsubishi Colt, it's a 1.3 and is better looking then most of the other cars in its class, and they are very reliable aswel.

cantdecide

if you'll be driving everyone about, forget about the lot and get a more substancial car. i bet you're assuming there will be a big insurance hike when it probably won't be too bad. check out a €4k mazda 626. 1.8. reliable/ economical/ extremely good value. a car like that wouldn't just be your first car, it would simply be your car.

colm_mcm

cantdecide wrote:

if you'll be driving everyone about, forget about the lot and get a more substancial car. i bet you're assuming there will be a big insurance hike when it probably won't be too bad. check out a €4k mazda 626. 1.8. reliable/ economical/ extremely good value. a car like that wouldn't just be your first car, it would simply be your car.

Not like you to be trying to get people into much bigger cars

Spitfire666

get something you wouldnt mind holding on to. forget buying a 1L unless your looking for economy or whatever. I bought my first car abut 5 months ago, was told by everyone to get a 1L as the insurence will be crazy otherwise (am a 19/male/provis licence) and i rfused as i couldnt stand to be driving something that slow.i was quoted the same for a 1L micra as i was for a 1.2clio / 1.3 corsa / 1.4 206 / 1.4 golf, and believe it or not, a 1.6 astra was only 200 quid dearer. and all cars were valued in around 3500 - 5500 and '99-'01 in year. that was TPFT with quinn direct. i bought the 206 and am loving it. and im 6'0 with no hassle for space. a 1.3 starlet could be a good choice. would get a good 95 one cheap no bother. or a honda civic? both good reliale cars.

zilog_jones

cantdecide wrote:

...check out a €4k mazda 626. 1.8...

A lot of insurers will find the concept of a 20-year-old in a 1.8 quite amusing...