Ultimate first car

googlefan

Well lads,

Finishing up in college fairly soon. I'm 22, not driving too long, but will probably get my first car at the end of the summer.

What would be the best option for a lad like me? I'd rate safety and reliability quite high, and money is obviously tight.

Considering getting a VW Bora. Decent bit of space, good brand, good value on used models around 2000-2001. Any views or advice?

Plastic Bari

Mine was a Colt with lamburgini doors!!!!

DJ Hafez

Golf 130bhp TDI. You're 22 so no bother with insurance you'd hope. They're quick, will go forever and have a good resale value!

You can get the Bora with the 130bhp engine too.

googlefan

Very tempted to get a diesel alright. I know it sounds boring but it'd be cheaper easier to drive and the engine would probably last longer?

googlefan

Plastic Bari wrote: »

Mine was a Colt with lamburgini doors!!!!

Thats just madness. How long did she last?

Plastic Bari

I sold it 2 years ago! It was a 95 had it for about 4 years it got broken into 6 times they could never get it started! Lovely car but they are to easy to rob so i changed it!!!

googlefan

Alas the new colts have turned into a girls car a bit haven't they. A lot of cars seem to be going that way.

Eoin

Mine was a classic mini. Learnt a bit about maintenance (more often than I would have liked), but brilliant fun to drive.

jozi

eoin wrote: »

Mine was a classic mini. Learnt a bit about maintenance (more often than I would have liked), but brilliant fun to drive.

Second the fun bit. Haven't owned one but drove my brothers one for a month, it nearly made me not get an E30 BMW as 1st car!

Biro

If you're going petrol, the 1.4 Bora really is ****. The 1.4 Civic saloon is a much better car.

mondeo

A Bora is the most boring car in the world, get somthing abit more interesting..

CianRyan

mondeo wrote: »

A Bora is the most boring car in the world, get somthing abit more interesting..

Took the words out of my mouth.
On line with the tiida imo.

A bora is definitely not an ultimate first car.
This on the other hand...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/MR2/Gti/200910192017616/advert

Eoin

CianRyan wrote: »

Took the words out of my mouth.
On line with the tiida imo.

A bora is definitely not an ultimate first car.
This on the other hand...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/MR2/Gti/200910192017616/advert

I've never driven one - would it really be a suitable first car?

DJ Hafez

No, not at all. He rates "safety and reliability quite high"... The amount of mr2s i've seen converted into twisted metal.. Plus, starting with a boy racery car? Why bother. If you want something off the beat and track, get a 147 diesel. Rare, Quick, Excellent engine, Comfortable, Safe, Cheap...

tossy

Yeah a 170bhp RWD rice rocket is the ideal first car :rolleyes:

The bora is a solid first car if you go for a TDI one as opposed to the 1.4,once you get a well maintained one it wont let you down and you will be able to shift it on relatively easily when you do decide to trade up.

Also not all Boras are boring

CianRyan

He said ultimate first car, not an ideal first car.
For sesibility i'd be after a Golf TDI.
A 147? Alfas have never been very reliable, really like.

Photojoe

VW Passat, TDI 130BHP.

DJ Hafez

CianRyan wrote: »

He said ultimate first car, not an ideal first car.
For sesibility i'd be after a Golf TDI.
A 147? Alfas have never been very reliable, really like.

Petrol alfas haven't. The diesel engine is very strong. And even though Alfa's electrics are a bit iffy now and then they're very fixable and in the newer models they suffer from much less faults

vectra

Plastic Bari wrote: »

Mine was a Colt with lamburgini doors!!!!

What a waste of Lambo doors :rolleyes:

Also
the OP did not ask what cars people bought first..
He was asking for proposals of what to buy

@ OP

You mentioned a Bora

You know the Octavia is a first cousing to the Bora only would be cheaper?

Also
you could pick up a nice SEAT leon as well
both available in diesel
what was your budget?

Biro

The OP asked what's the ultimate first car. The answer is a Veyron.

towel401

Biro wrote: »

The OP asked what's the ultimate first car. The answer is a Veyron.

surely the convertible version. so its easier to see if you're not crashing into people

DaMonk

My first car was a 2001 Bora sport 115hp tdi but was remapped to close on 150hp. Very nice car. Would say one thing, if you're getting one with around the 100k mark up on it and its had or will have alot of country roads, the suspension in general can start to have a few noises. Presumably from bouncing a big diesel engine around a medium sized chassy.

Lex Luthor

from knowing 1 or 2 people who have had circa 00 1.4 petrol Boras, they have all had gearbox problems and apparently is common on them

googlefan

Nice info lads. The title of the thread may have been a bit misleading. As one poster pointed out, I'd prefer not to wrap myself off a wall some night.

Would like a bit of power and safety for the open road without guzzling too much fuel in town-1.4 would be about right I'd say. The TDI is probably too big an engine for me to get insured on I'd say.

I'm not too snobby at this stage of my life to rule out a Skoda and possibly a Seat. I wonder if I can get a steal on a Skoda?

googlefan

vectra wrote: »

What a waste of Lambo doors :rolleyes:

Also
the OP did not ask what cars people bought first..
He was asking for proposals of what to buy

@ OP

You mentioned a Bora

You know the Octavia is a first cousing to the Bora only would be cheaper?

Also
you could pick up a nice SEAT leon as well
both available in diesel
what was your budget?

Max €3,500 I reckon.

vectra

googlefan wrote: »

Max €3,500 I reckon.

Nice 02 Renault Megane Coupe??
I know this guy and could probably persuade him to knock a few quid off?
Megane Coupe

where abouts are you anyway?

BlackWizard

googlefan wrote: »

Would like a bit of power and safety for the open road without guzzling too much fuel in town-1.4 would be about right I'd say. The TDI is probably too big an engine for me to get insured on I'd say.

There is very little difference in fuel usage on a 1.4 and 1.6 volkswagen golf. But the insurance and tax might be higher.

Try get a quote for a 1.9 TDI and see what you get. Because when I was 22 I got a decent quote (1400) for my 1.9 TDI. Before that I had a 1.8 litre and it was 1560.

Have you looked at any Ford Focus at all? For an ultimate first car I would go for one that you will be comfortable driving in knowing this is all an experience. Like cracking your wing mirror or parking a bit too close to that lamp post etc. It's about learning I guess. And if you choose a fairly cheap car and save your monies for things that will go wrong or maintenance like radiator, brakes, oil, filters, light bulbs and take what you learned from it and treat yourself to the "ultimate first car" after a year or so. Because right now you sound like you're looking for the "ultimate beginners car".

BlackWizard

vectra wrote: »

Nice 02 Renault Megane Coupe??
I know this guy and could probably persuade him to knock a few quid off?
Megane Coupe

Now that would be one hell of a learning experience for the chap

jimmyskank

My first car was a gold 98 citroen xsara vts 170 bhp. It would'nt win any beauty competitions but it was a serious solid fast car. They are pretty scarce but very very cheap and alot cheaper to insure than 'gti's etc...

googlefan

That Megane decent alright. I'd definitely be expecting to get a few hundred off any list price considering the economic situation and it'd be a cash purchase. Currently based in Cork but heading to Dubin. I won't be investing until the end of the summer anyway so just doing my homework.

Anyway, yeah I like the look of the Focus alright. I've seen a few decent motors knocking around for around the 2k mark, all under 90k of mileage, which would allow for the things that could go wrong as you point out.

I had a friend before who got a Punto as his first motor and it went up in flames after 2 months! At least it was a good story.

Johnny Utah

googlefan wrote: »

Well lads,

What would be the best option for a lad like me?

Any views or advice?

Google Camera Car.....

Biro

If you get a Civic you won't have to worry about things going wrong!

googlefan

Yeah just the Gardai on my back.

Sqaull20

googlefan wrote: »

Yeah just the Gardai on my back.

Mitsu Mirage are nice and give off an ok vibe.

1.6 Mivec in them feel seriously quick when pushed ( about 160bhp ), good on fuel too and insurance is fine.

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1386188

macroman

I drive a 04 1.4 Focus myself (first car), and I can't wait to see the back of it - gearbox troubles, MAF problems, window motors dying, blows tail light bulbs quite frequently, and build quality leaves a lot to be desired.

1.4 Skoda Fabia are a bit dull to drive, but most have had a good life - being a favourite with OAPs, means good deals are to be had for low mileage well cared for pristine examples. Rock solid and reliable - but a bit mundane and characterless.

Avoid the 1.4 Seat Ibiza - as to change the exhaust systems will cost a fortune as the subframe has to be dropped. The 1.0 is pretty decent - good build quality, reliable, cheap to insure & maintain. Great first car IMO.

B00MSTICK

googlefan wrote:

Yeah just the Gardai on my back.

Young lads don't get trouble off guards because they drive Civics.
They do if they drive like muppets of course, but that's it.

If i see a horrible green 1.4 Civic saloon, I think "older driver"

Biro

googlefan wrote: »

Yeah just the Gardai on my back.

You won't have any trouble from the Guards with a Civic.