How much did you pay for your first car?

boardsie08

My daughters planning on buying her first car, she has her heart set on a 04 Hyundai Coupe for around 12k. I think it's a bit much to spend on your first car when you're a learner and have never driven before but she's determined to get it.

Just wondering how much you all spent on your first car, did you get a "banger" or did you get yourself something you really wanted?

Wishbone Ash

Moved to Motors.

boardsie08 wrote: »

Just wondering how much you all spent on your first car, did you get a "banger" or did you get yourself something you really wanted?

What if someone wishes to give the price they paid in the 1950/60/70/80s?

Anan1

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Moved to Motors.

What if someone wishes to give the price they paid in the 1950/60/70/80s?

Good point. I paid £800 for a 1968 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 sport zagato in 1988. That said, I think we can all agree that it's madness to spend €12,000 on a car when you can't drive at all, particularly one as hard to see out of as a Hyundai Coupé. These days, i'd spend €2-3,000 on a first car.

bringitdown

Princely sum of EUR0 for an '97 Opel Astra my dad was retiring ... still on the road but my brother has it now ... I charged him EUR0.

R.O.R

First motor was a 10 year old Starlet which I inherited. Value was circa £300.

Family heirloom that went from Grandad to Sister to me. Got it about 4 months before my 17th Birthday so spent 6 months fixing the bodywork, servicing the engine and generally polishing it.

I think €12,000 is far too much to pay. Especially if, like my Sister in law, they have a large loan against the car, third party insurance and manage to write it off by driving in to a wall. She now has another 3 years paying off €14,000 of car loan, and no car!

joolsveer

£200 Irish Pounds in 1978. It was a FIAT 124.

http://jalopnik.com/cars/retro/pesto-calzone-gnocchi-borscht-paella-the-fiat-124-223896.php

Alanstrainor

boardsie08 wrote: »

My daughters planning on buying her first car, she has her heart set on a 04 Hyundai Coupe for around 12k. I think it's a bit much to spend on your first car when you're a learner and have never driven before but she's determined to get it.

Just wondering how much you all spent on your first car, did you get a "banger" or did you get yourself something you really wanted?

I like the hyundai coupes....but for learning in, i'd say it'd be quite difficult. As said, they haven't got the greatest visibility, and insurance would be high as a result of the 1.6 ~100bhp engine, and the fact that it's a coupe. That and the fact that there's a high risk of the car getting bumped around the place while learning.
I'd spend 3/4000, should be able to pick up a quite nice motor for that money in this climate.

Danbo!

€800 for a 94 corolla saloon. Solid as a rock, but looked like a farmer.

noel farrell

500 i paid cash was fortunate got two years thruble free driveing got 200 trade in on my first and last new car had a family after that it was bangers

CrowdedHouse

£3500 for a 1983 Ford Fiesta 'St Moritz' in 1987 :pac:

Dibble

£1000 for a 'Texas Yellow' 1972 1300 Bug in 1994. Drove it daily for four years.

challengemaster

€1,500

I'm sorry, but 12k is just stupid for a first car

Anan1

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

£3500 for a 1983 Ford Fiesta 'St Moritz' in 1987 :pac:

Wow, that's worse than €14k for a Hyundai Coupé now!;)

az2wp0sye65487

Got my first car in 2006, a 00-D 1.25 Fiesta LX. Paid €4,000. Only Traded it in a month ago, twas a great little car, even if it was a girly colour!

€12K on a first car?? I wouldn't even spend that on a 2nd or 3rd car! My 2nd (current) car is a 2003 Nissan Almera, and i only paid €6K for that with the Fiesta trade in...

PaddyFagan

Hi

I spend £10,000 (punts) on my first car, but I'd already learnt to drive and passed my test six month earlier, using my Mums car!

If she's only starting to learn, I recommend something a bit less pricy to fix the knocks and scrapes which will happen..... Even if she only keeps it for a year and then gets the car she really wants.

Paddy

PS I think the poll has a typo, 1000 - 1499 should be 10000 - 14999 and 1599+ should be 15999+ (there's already a 1000 - 1999 which overlaps with these otherwise)

helimachoptor

Bought a 98 Charcoal Grey Punto in 2004, paid 3K for it.

Abused it for 2.5 years and it didnt give a problem!! I miss it!

bazz26

Paid £3500 for a 1991 Nissan Sunny back in 1997. Sold it on a year later for £2900.

Switcharoo

In 2000, I paid £7,500 for a 1995 Mazda 323F.

billyhead

Hi OP,

I am selling this car. Its in excellent condition and would be ideal for her learning how to drive and as her first car. Thats was the reson I purchased it 3 years ago. Insurance, Tax and Fuel costs are very cheap on it. TBH I think it would be madness to spend 12,000 on a first car. I live in Rush by the way so if she was interested give me a shout to arrange a viewing time. Send me a pm

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=84927

hottstuff

Between 6k-7k.

alias no.9

I spent £800 on a 1990 Ford Fiesta back in 2000. I put 10k miles on the clock in about 8 months (including the 5 or so miles covered in my driving test) and got £500 of a trade in on it.
She obviously wants something girly, how about steering her towards a Ford Ka, that's what I had my missus learn in and she loved it. Here's a 2004 model with low mileage and from a dealer so most likely a 6 month warranty, best of all, it's less than a third of the cost of the Hyundai.

cmcsoft

1990 Toyota Starlet 1l van. Bought it for €1100, sold it for €600 3 years later. 3 years driving for €500. I'm sorry I ever sold it, best buy ever.

Waste of time spending that kinda money for your first car in this climate in my opinion. You'll pick up plenty of bargains. Max I would be thinking for a first car would br €5,000 but that's just my opinion...

Cookie_Monster

Spent €1700 on my first car and traded it a year and a half later for €1950:D

Suffered a fair few bumps and bruises too. I think it's a bit crazy spend 12k on first car, though the gf spent 23k on her first recently:eek:
Learned to drive and got licence first, but even so!

Blue850

£600 for a 1978 Fiat 127 in 1992, cost me £1300 to insure it.

Rosedale6

Passed my test in January 1994 and in the same month i brought a mark two 998cc ford fiesta for £750.

ARGINITE

€500 for a Rover 200, over 30K miles later and its still going strong.

Dermo123

1983 Micra, calf Scour yellow, 30Kmiles paid £3,200 in 1989. Sold it for £2,800 1 year later.
Then bought brand new Renault 19 Supervan in 1990 for £9250. Kept it till 1998 and gave it to my sister in UK.

fasty

A 1999 Polo for around 3.5k, three years ago. Gave a bit of trouble initially but I got 2.5 years of excellent driving out of it until someone wrote it off on me!

robbie99

PaddyFagan wrote: »

PS I think the poll has a typo, 1000 - 1499 should be 10000 - 14999 and 1599+ should be 15999+ (there's already a 1000 - 1999 which overlaps with these otherwise)

+1.

And funnily enough you've a typo as well. I think you mean 1500+ should be 15000+

Biro

boardsie08 wrote: »

My daughters planning on buying her first car, she has her heart set on a 04 Hyundai Coupe for around 12k. I think it's a bit much to spend on your first car when you're a learner and have never driven before but she's determined to get it.

Just wondering how much you all spent on your first car, did you get a "banger" or did you get yourself something you really wanted?

Why bother blowing 12k on a 04 Coupe when you could get a 02 one for 8k? Very same shape. You'll find one with similar mileage and in similar condition for 4k less. The reg is just a number. The condition of the car is key.

Anan1

Biro wrote: »

The reg is just a number. The condition of the car is key.

In general i'd agree, but I think we can safely assume this one is going to be wrecked anyway.;)

richiepoorman

In 1995 I paid £150 for a '84 Ford Fiesta (Diamond White with extra rust for free) Mk2 and was seen coming by my gf's brother! LOL. Did ok until it broke down on A13 in East London and then sadly died. At the time it got us about and did the job - proper first car.

12k on a first car is chavvy - I hope everyone she is trying to impress will give her a lift when she wrecks her motor.

Saab Ed

£300 for an Alfa Arna 1.5 twin carb. Looked like sh1te, went like stink

Zube

Anan1 wrote: »

In general i'd agree, but I think we can safely assume this one is going to be wrecked anyway.;)

I bought my very first car new: a 1988 Peugeot 205 XS. Great little car, it was, too. Like PaddyFagan, I'd already learned to drive in family cars before buying anything for myself.

djvext

I paid 13,500 for my first car, a Peugeot 307.....wrote it off after 6 months (nasty accident where the car flipped over)...Anyway, I learnt my lesson the hard way and now have a better understanding and respect for the roads and other drivers.

I bought a BMW 3 series 2 years after.. I still think about the accident everytime i get into the car. I'm aware of what can wrong and how unpleasant it is. These TV ads are not sufficient, IMO, people need real life experience (maybe to actually see a crash site....as opposed to putting people purposely in harms way!!! LOL)

Anan1

Zube wrote: »

I bought my very first car new: a 1988 Peugeot 205 XS. Great little car, it was, too. Like PaddyFagan, I'd already learned to drive in family cars before buying anything for myself.

They were a great little car. As you say though, I think the key is driving experience. I well remember taking left turn in the car I learned to drive in, an elderly Carina. There was a lamp post right on the corner, when I (as in my body, not the back of the car car) drew level with it I turned left. BANG went the rear arch off the lamp post. It's a big transition, from bicycle to car...

Eoin

I paid IR£500 for mine - an 89 mini. Spent multiples of that on life support equipment for it, but it only kept it going for 6-7 months

JackieChan

I bought my first car in 1997,it was a 1988 Renault 5 and cost £1300. First year insurance was £1450-I was 22 at the time!

Caused me nothing but heartache towards the end,head gasket went,clutch,wheel bearings,both driveshafts,exhaust,alternator,...- Got to know a mechanic up the road from me quite well in the end-handily his name was Mike!
I used the scappage scheme(got 1000 quid off new punto) that was running in 1999 to finally get rid of it

Saab Ed

JackieChan wrote: »

I bought my first car in 1997,it was a 1988 Renault 5 and cost £1300. First year insurance was £1450-I was 22 at the time!

Caused me nothing but heartache towards the end,head gasket went,clutch,wheel bearings,both driveshafts,exhaust,alternator,...- Got to know a mechanic up the road from me quite well in the end-handily his name was Mike!
I used the scappage scheme(got 1000 quid off new punto) that was running in 1999 to finally get rid of it

A friend of mine has a 1988 R5 in good condition , free to a good home if you fancy re-living your youth

ztoical

Paid around 900 euro for a 97 Micra two years ago [bang on two years as it was xmas 2006] planned to get newer car after I passed my test the following year but car is still going strong so haven't bother to change yet.

JackFrosty

i paid £100 pounds for my first car, a hillman hunter in 1989!

it was built like a tank which was just as well at the time, cos it met many a ditch and a few walls until i got the hang of it!!!

I used to call it a hillman grunter, have to say it was a good car to learn in, cos it wasnt easy to drive and i learnt alot from it

Got a mark 2 escort after that which was great fun!!!

Wish i still had them now, they are both collectors cars these days

Dont think anyone should spend more than 1000euro on a first car

JackieChan

Saab Ed wrote: »

A friend of mine has a 1988 R5 in good condition , free to a good home if you fancy re-living your youth

Thanks, but it might not be a good idea.It's only in recent years that I have recovered from the mental trauma it caused!

Saab Ed

JackieChan wrote: »

Thanks, but it might not be a good idea.It's only in recent years that I have recovered from the mental trauma it caused!

I feel your pain. I still own a 1982 one for my troubles

biko

My first car was a free hand-me-down. But there's no way I'd pay more that 1000-15000 for a first car.

The Real B-man

€4k 01 Seat Ibiza

boredatwork82

My first car was a 1.6 opel vectra 1998. Bought it in 2006 for €1850 sold it a year later for €1200. Fine car, big spacious and alright to drive.
Couldn't be arsed dealing with people so priced to sell. it did straight away. Only changed it because I got a bargain on a 00 octavia diesel, which i took because I do loads of mileage.

My recommendation is buy an ugly car. Then she will not be trying to impress her mates in a flash sporty looking car, and she will drive learn to properly and safely.

Also 12k on a car is ridiculous in this market. There are many fantastic cars that can be picked up for 4-5 grand.

Flesh Gorden

97'Ford Escort Cabaret - €1000

State Blue Pearlescent Every with extra available ( except ABS and Traction control )

great deal - love it - parts are dirt cheap even when new

I had one big advantage starting off though - driving forklifts, scissorlifts and a few other machines for 2 years prior - gives great spacial awareness, judgement and calmness; especially when things come close to going b*llox up

and apart from a 15 year old k****er in a Hiace scraping the paint off the right corner of the back bumper have had no issues or accidents

and 12K!! - tell her get an Opel Tigra and a money management course!

BTW what age is she?

murphym7

€1,600 on a 1998 Renault Meganne in 2004. Even signed a waiver waiving my right to a warranty (dope) You live and learn!

12k on a first car sounds a bit mad unless she ha sbeen driving your car for the last few years and has a full license and isn't 18.

Holsten

Too much.

The tax man

Mid 80's less then £500 on 2 minis.
1st mini upon further inspection after purchase was a lost cause to rust.
Went and bought another one and between both created one good car.
Great little car that lasted me a few years.:D

HashSlinging

I paid 16,000 punts for my first car, it was the best thing ever. In hindsight it was one of the stupidest things ever also, I crashed into a shopping centre bin the first week I bought it put a little mark on the front that stayed with the car till I sold it 6 years later....just an example of the stuff that can happen...

Do yourself a favour and get a car for her, as a christmas pressie and that it'll be it, you can pickup some bargains right now.. the worst condition the better. Also say to her there will be a nicer Hyundai Coupe out there for less this time next year.