Suitable car for first time driver?

sillyGoldie

Ok, I'm looking for a decent start up car and I'm open to suggestions,
Obviously I want something that will not a a high price tag or will come with high insurance.

I draw the line at a Micra, Clio, smart car and cinquecento. :P

Heroditas

Toyota Yaris or maybe a Volkswagen Polo

mickdw

Yaris? Available over a huge price range and cheap to insure and reliable

Edit: heroditas beat me to it

Overature

id get a toyota or any other japaneses car as they are reliable no mater how old they are. cheap too

L-M

My first car was a Polo. Very easy to work on, it had no elec's or central locking so there wasn't much to go wrong. Everything was simple. Bought it cheap, so it easy enough as for more than i paid for it. Kept it for six months and sold it on. It was a 1.0 litre, insurance was ok running costs were easy on the pocket too.

Cheap and cheerful as they say.

snowman707

sillyGoldie wrote: »

Ok, I'm looking for a decent start up car and I'm open to suggestions,
Obviously I want something that will not a a high price tag or will come with high insurance.

I draw the line at a Micra, Clio, smart car and cinquecento. :P

My daughter has Toyota yaris & loves it

not the cheapest car to buy but well worth the extra few yoyos

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Yaris/car/1133581

this one doesn't look too dear

gerardoleary

mitsubishi colt maybe
i would love to get one

bazz26

OP, what kind of budget are you looking at spending on a car?

Also what kind of driving will you be doing, just city or country driving?

Based on the limited info you gave I would recommned a Fiesta, excellent little car, they are cheap to buy, generally very reliable, cheap to repair/service and run, later models are well equipped and are very nice to drive.

The Yaris would be my second choice but they tend to be more expensive than a similar Fiesta.

kuro_man

Yep, Fiesta 1.25L petrol would probably prove to be the best overall, based on price of the car, depreciation, running costs, service, tax etc.
If you are doing high mileage, 1.4 TDCi diesel might be worth a look.

Avoid the 1.3L petrol - much older engine, less power, more fuel. Some may be avertised incorrectly, so check log book for precise cc.

Mr.David

kuro_man wrote: »

Avoid the 1.3L petrol - much older engine, less power, more fuel. Some may be avertised incorrectly, so check log book for precise cc.

+1

Ya the 1.3L is stone age and unreliable. Fiesta is a great starter car though. Yaris is also but its over priced second hand. You could also consider a Fabia.

Hazelnutter

I have a Toyota Starlet 1995!! Learnt to drive in it over two years ago and it's still going strong! Never had to spend a penny on it. Did my driving test in it - no problems. It went through the NCT last year and passed straight away - I didn't even bring it to a garage before hand. I love my car! Only down side is that it's a target for joyriders - so you have to be careful where you leave it and the manual steering can be a bit of a pain!

kuro_man

Mr.David wrote: »

+1

You could also consider a Fabia.

Agreed, Skoda Fabia is worth a look. They even do a small estate, if you need a boot! Its based on the Polo so you can't go too wrong.

sillyGoldie

Sorry for lack of info, first timer remember, And ****ing useless at car stuff.:o
So i'm looking around 1000-1200 (this is of my own money, I am open to a car loan, how hard is it to qualify for one?). Am I hoping for miracles? And it would be for country driving, not for a far distance travelling, possibly only 30mile radius of home tops! and its not a dirt road type country its in a town in the country. TY

ergonomics

I learnt in a Corsa and it did me fine. I wouldn't go spending too much on your first time car because you're more likely to pick up a few bumps and scratches and they won't worry you as much on an old car. When I was learning I never got a bump or scratch but my sister bought a brand new 06 Aygo when she was learning to drive and she was so nervous cause it was brand new that she crashed it three times in her first week. Stuff like scraping off the pillars in car parks or reversing back too far. It's not worth the hassle. You want to be worrying about how you're driving rather than how likely you are to damage the car!

sillyGoldie

how much should I look at for spending on my first car do you think?

ssmith6287

I bought a 1.4 escort last week, nct'd till 2010, Tax cost under €300 and nt hard on the fuel, also im 21 year old male on prov licence got my insurance for 1500€

Graham_B18C

sillyGoldie wrote: »

how much should I look at for spending on my first car do you think?

I spent 2000 on my first car, twas a seat ibiza, was a grand car but terrible heavy steerin, don't think you'd get a decent yaris for that kinda money, have you driven on another car or are you only startin to drive now? If you've been a named driver before then get a loan and get a decent yaris for 4 or 5 grand, that'd be a great lil car

JP Liz

Get a 1L or 1.1L car

Hyundai Metiz or Atoz

mossyj

Hi OP,

I started out in a 1.0 corsa + served me well + my brother started ina fiesta+ had no complaints...

came across this on carzone - seems reasonable + 1 previous owner always a plus

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Fiesta/BEST-EXAMPLE/1120589/


best of luck.....

bazz26

sillyGoldie wrote: »

how much should I look at for spending on my first car do you think?

Really depends on how competent you are at driving. If you are fairly new to driving then I would not be spending thousands on a first car. You will probably tip or scrape it numerous times and on an expensive car it will break your heart. Start off with a cheap car, a suggested budge of up to €2k or €2.5k sounds good to me, at least that way if you bump or scrape it then it is no big deal (in relative terms anyway). Plenty of late 1990s small cars out there within that budget to choose from.

Just make sure you have a mechanic check the car over before buying it and I would recommend buying from a private seller as you will get more car for your money. Cars in this budget from garages tend to be crap trade-ins with little or no warranty on them which is the only reason I can think of buying from a dealer.

Max_Damage

kuro_man wrote: »

Avoid the 1.3L petrol - much older engine, less power, more fuel. Some may be avertised incorrectly, so check log book for precise cc.

It maybe an older engine (1950's design originally to be correct), but they're bulletproof (my Escort has one). They're fairly economical too, although they wouldn't set the world on fire with performance.

Darragh29

snowman707 wrote: »

My daughter has Toyota yaris & loves it

not the cheapest car to buy but well worth the extra few yoyos

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Yaris/car/1133581

this one doesn't look too dear

+1.
As reliable as you can get OP.

Renegade_Archer

You'd go far in a Corolla Hatch.


My first car was a 1.9TDi Seat Toledo that cost me 2800eur to insure on a provisional, good times.

sillyGoldie

I have not driven before, my mum is willing to put me down as a named driver but she drives a ford mondeo and i think its to big, heavy and bulky, I have just done my theory test (past it) so a starter car to learn in too?

Rowley Birkin QC

sillyGoldie wrote: »

I have not driven before, my mum is willing to put me down as a named driver but she drives a ford mondeo and i think its to big, heavy and bulky, I have just done my theory test (past it) so a starter car to learn in too?

Sorry OP but I really don't get this thing about a car being too big/bulky. Why not learn to drive on this car seeing as she has offered to insure you?

My first car was a 1.5 saloon Corolla. If you can drive and park a "big/bulky" car then you will be more than competent when you go to buy a smaller car for yourself.

Sorry for the semi-rant but my cousin and sister have the same attitude, both been offered named-driver experience on a Avensis & Primera but seem to be afraid of the extra 2-3 feet on the end of the car.

Alanstrainor

One of the girls i know from college learned/is learning to drive in a toyota land cruiser! Doesn't get much bigger than that!

sillyGoldie

bigkev49 wrote: »

Sorry OP but I really don't get this thing about a car being too big/bulky. Why not learn to drive on this car seeing as she has offered to insure you?

My first car was a 1.5 saloon Corolla. If you can drive and park a "big/bulky" car then you will be more than competent when you go to buy a smaller car for yourself.

Sorry for the semi-rant but my cousin and sister have the same attitude, both been offered named-driver experience on a Avensis & Primera but seem to be afraid of the extra 2-3 feet on the end of the car.

Ok, Its too big cause i dont want to wreck it on my mum, its our only car and I have NEVER driven before and we dont exactly have the money to replace a car, and the car is almost falling apart itself too, its a 1992.
the bumper barely stays on. so trying to learn in it and buming it a good few times while trying to park will not do it any good.

Rowley Birkin QC

sillyGoldie wrote: »

Ok, Its too big cause i dont want to wreck it on my mum, its our only car and I have NEVER driven before and we dont exactly have the money to replace a car, and the car is almost falling apart itself too, its a 1992.
the bumper barely stays on. so trying to learn in it and buming it a good few times while trying to park will not do it any good.

All the more incentive not to tip it. It's just something that I don't understand amongst learner drivers, this "Big Car Syndrome".

ninty9er

Have to agree with Kev, practice in a big car.

but you're putting the cart before the horse. You shouldn't even consider getting insured or buying a car until you've had at least 5 lessons from a reputable driving instructor. (S)he will give you an idea of what (s)he sees as your capabilities and you can go from there.

I'd say practice in the Mondeo....in fariness if it's a '92 it's worth practically nothing anyway and it won't be that much of a big deal if you scrape the bumper as it would be if it was a '05 or newer.