What is a good car for a beginner?

pinky 06

Hi guys, my little sister is starting to drive and we were wondering what cars would be suitable for her as we haven't a clue about them. Would anyone have any suggestions? Cheers

Alanstrainor

Thread moved to the main motors forum.


What kind of budget do you have?

Faith+1

Something small around 1-1.2 litre. Nissan Micras, Ford Fiestas, Fiat Puntos, VW Polo's are all ideal for beginners. Cheap to run, Easy to handle and very good value to purchase.

challengemaster

Being a female, kinda negates the usual insurance issues surrounding learner cars, ie. small engine, etc. :rolleyes:

Budget would be helpful alright....

pinky 06

Her budget is 1,000 euro tops at the min and she doesn't want a car older than 1999...

challengemaster

I wouldn't expect anything spectacular for that amount.... also, not wanting anything older than a 99 is just silly.

vectra

pinky 06 wrote: »

Hi guys, my little sister is starting to drive and we were wondering what cars would be suitable for her as we haven't a clue about them. Would anyone have any suggestions? Cheers

pinky 06

Haha love it! She just didnt want it older than 99 cos then the car's over 10 years old and we thought...well... maybe thats a bit too old and it wouldn't have power steering...

challengemaster

pinky 06 wrote: »

Haha love it! She just didnt want it older than 99 cos then the car's over 10 years old and we thought...well... maybe thats a bit too old and it wouldn't have power steering...

Think you'd have to go back a good bit further to find cars without power steering...

I wouldn't rule out any 90's cars, especially on that budget. Being 10 years old doesn't make it crap. Infact, most of what you'll find are better than the current stuff.

NewApproach

Pics???

maidhc

challengemaster wrote: »

Being a female, kinda negates the usual insurance issues surrounding learner cars, ie. small engine, etc. :rolleyes:

Budget would be helpful alright....

Completely agree. My two sisters got an Octavia and Mondeo respectively as their first cars and insure them for nominal amounts even with small NCBs.

The Mondeo is 1996, immaculate, 46k miles when bought in Mid 2010!, 1.6 petrol, 2x airbags, ABS, new tyres, drives like a new car and weighed in at well under €1,000. It obviously has power steering, electric windows, sunroof, and even nice things like lit footwells. It has clocked 5k miles so far with no hiccups.

Small cars up to and including Golf/Focus sized are completely overpriced.

fonecrusher1

Does she want a little super-mini like a yaris, fiesta, punto, polo? or something medium sized like a corolla, focus, civic, astra, mazda 323???

vectra

Late 90's Civic 1.3 / 1.4
basically bulletproof
and cheap to insure
especially for a female driver

challengemaster

vectra wrote: »

Late 90's Civic 1.3 / 1.4
basically bulletproof
and cheap to insure
especially for a female driver

Not a hope of finding one for under 1k though. There's a lot of dreamers out there...

Alanstrainor

NewApproach wrote: »

Pics???

This isn't after hours. Leave out the rubbish please.

bazz26

Something like a Ford Ka is a good starters car:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1829212

Stheno

pinky 06 wrote: »

Haha love it! She just didnt want it older than 99 cos then the car's over 10 years old and we thought...well... maybe thats a bit too old and it wouldn't have power steering...

a 99 car is actually 12 years old, so does she not want something older then 01?

Anyway back ot, it depends on what she wants, a small car is good to learn in, such as those suggested like the Punto, Micra, Fiesta, Polo etc.

I learned to drive initially in a 1980 VW Passat with no power steering, then graduated to a 1990 Daihatsu Charade, learning to drive in the bigger car gave me a lot of confidence in different areas like parking, overtaking etc.

pinky 06

She's after a small car just to nip around the place. That's great we'll have a look at some of the older ones. What mileage would be acceptable-as in what would be the limit? Would anything over 100,000 miles be any good or is that too much?

pinky 06

I started off in a wee opel corsa myself with no power steering and I had some muscles after a few months!

Stheno

pinky 06 wrote: »

She's after a small car just to nip around the place. That's great we'll have a look at some of the older ones. What mileage would be acceptable-as in what would be the limit? Would anything over 100,000 miles be any good or is that too much?

A good service history would be important in a high mileage car, but I't not be worried about mileage over 100k miles if it had a good history. Find a car, know what should have been done, check that it has and you should be ok.
Ask on here if you find a particular car and want opinions. It's no substitute for a proper check but will give you pointers.

pinky 06 wrote: »

I started off in a wee opel corsa myself with no power steering and I had some muscles after a few months!

Snap lol!

psycho-hope

challengemaster wrote: »

Being a female, kinda negates the usual insurance issues surrounding learner cars, ie. small engine, etc. :rolleyes:

Budget would be helpful alright....

i wouldnt bet on that, i paid 980euro for my first years insurance on an 00 1.2 punto 2 years ago on a learners permit, it was 880euro last august on the same car

challengemaster

psycho-hope wrote: »

i wouldnt bet on that, i paid 980euro for my first years insurance on an 00 1.2 punto 2 years ago on a learners permit, it was 880euro last august on the same car

Yeah, I paid €2000 2 years ago on a 00 1.2 punto for TPFT, so I would bet on it.

Stheno

challengemaster wrote: »

Yeah, I paid €2000 2 years ago on a 00 1.2 punto for TPFT, so I would bet on it.

I agree even as a 24 year old female learner driver I never paid anything more than €1000 a year, think the first year was about €900 tbh, massive difference in weighting on gender for young drivers.

challengemaster

I'm just about getting to the point of reaching <1000 on a 1.4l car, and that'll be with 3 years NCB and a full license.

Laisurg

Micra, ford ka or polo, u cant go wrong.

pinky 06

Thanks I'll be busy searching tomorrow!

dr.fuzzenstein

keithclancy

Something Cheap that you can afford to get a few dings and scratches on.
Power steering at the least.

I wouldnt say that a small car like a Micra or Punto is necessarily needed though, small car doesnt automatically mean cheap insurance.

I started out driving in a Saloon and find it fierce difficult parking a car with no ar*e on it now

af_thefragile

Micra or a Toyota starlet are good cars for that price.

Could also check out the bangernomics thread for cheap big cars. As for a female driver the insurance shouldn't be too much on big cars (bah!)...

af_thefragile

challengemaster wrote: »

Yeah, I paid €2000 2 years ago on a 00 1.2 punto for TPFT, so I would bet on it.

I paid bloody 2500eur TPFT for my 1.4l puma last year!
Though I did get about 500eur back after I got my full license. Still its more expensive than the price of the car itself!! Girls got it so easy!!

af_thefragile

challengemaster wrote: »

I'm just about getting to the point of reaching <1000 on a 1.4l car, and that'll be with 3 years NCB and a full license.

Try FBD. Online it shows only around 600eur for my puma and I'll only have 1yr NCB when getting my next insurance...

bobsoice23

Bought my first car last month...1000 euro 98 vw polo..perfect starter.Insurance is the real killer for me though.Wouldn't be a problem for your daughter.

starlit

A nissan micra, yaris, ford focus, polo or a golf, opel corsa, peugeot 206, toyota starlet might be a good one if they still around! Might be worth buying a second hand car from someone or from a reputable motor store.

booksale

opel corsa 1.0 is a good starter car, and it suits gals.

easy to park as it's relatively small with big back window.

pajor

booksale wrote: »

opel corsa 1.0 is a good starter car, and it suits gals.

easy to park as it's relatively small with big back window.

Was about to say tell her not to get a Corsa. But it would seem that I was the only one to have many a problem with my 98 Corsa

booksale

pajor wrote: »

Was about to say tell her not to get a Corsa. But it would seem that I was the only one to have many a problem with my 98 Corsa

what's wrong with your Corsa?

i took my corsa to garage three times since last May. two times to do the exhaust (as it's old : 1999. there were no big problems. and i bought it cheap on gumtree for 750E, so would expect to spend a little on this and that). and one for a full service (just changed the tyres and plugs and oil) . i think then it's not too bad.

pajor

^^^Got it last April and scrapped it in August:

• Rear suspension collapsed
• It was leaking water, which I've read a few people having problems with.
• And finally the fuel pump went so it would only start when it felt like it.

And many other small niggles such as leaky roof and dodgy driver seatbelt *ahem*
Guy who scrapped it for me also said NEVER buy a car with only 3 cylinders, as apparently it will break on you, just give it time
In college in Dublin now so don't need car. Mind you only cost 750 as well so can't complain TOO much. It was good while it lasted.

Word of advice: always ask how many previous owners. Turned out mine had 6. Was first time buying my own car, so now a lot wiser on the whole deal with buying a banger. If your gut feeling says this is a piece of sh1t, listen to your gut!!

booksale

pajor wrote: »

If your gut feeling says this is a piece of sh1t, listen to your gut!!

i agreed.


i personally know nothing about cars so i got a friend with me to check the car. and the seller said the previous owner is a mechanic so he checked the car often. so far, i quite like my car, and my friends who sit in it or drive it like it too. they said the gear is smooth and the car is easy to drive and park. but one problem with my car is you need to press harder on the accelerater or it would cut out easily, i guess it's because the engine size is small? not even 1L.

but yes, i've heard Ford Fiesta 1.25 is a nice choice, just i did not have that money to buy one so i got this opel corsa.

pajor

booksale wrote: »

i personally know nothing about cars so i got a friend with me to check the car. and the seller said the previous owner is a mechanic so he checked the car often. so far, i quite like my car, and my friends who sit in it or drive it like it too. they said the gear is smooth and the car is easy to drive and park.

Wise move getting it checked out. Bought it from a second hand dealer so thought nothing can be at all wrong with it :rolleyes: and it had just passed the NCT.
There was something wrong with second gear so the gears weren't great. It was easy to park though. Always fitted into smaller spaces than I thought it would.

J77

challengemaster wrote: »

Yeah, I paid €2000 2 years ago on a 00 1.2 punto for TPFT, so I would bet on it.

Going on your own insurance as a teenager with a provisional is just ridiculous these days! I realise alot of people have no other choice, but if at all possible you should always go on someones insurance such as a parent or older sibling. Once you get step back cover there's no real issue.