Reliable cheap first car

stevek93

Right I'm applying for the theory test in a few months and want a good idea of what car i should buy,

Id like something thats safe enough reliable good handling roomy and nothing over a 1.3 as i will be 18 as the insurance is going to be mad, budget would be up to €2500

Mary28

Toyota Yaris 1lt fantastic car, really reliable, tiny boot but you'd be surprised what you'd fit into it.
Honda Jazz 1.3 supposed to handle well for it's size, really reliable too.

They are the two that'd get my vote anyway.
If you are not going over 1.3 I'm not sure how roomy a car you're likely to get to be honest. Think the Jazz is bigger than the Yaris anyhow.

Mary28

Skoda Fabia is another one, bigger car than the Yaris & Jazz, think it might be 1.3. Supposed to be very reliable too.

colm_mcm

Buy something for under €1000 to make your first mistakes on.
Suzuki swift, toyota starlet, daihatsu sirion etc

stevek93

Mary28 wrote: »

Skoda Fabia is another one, bigger car than the Yaris & Jazz, think it might be 1.3. Supposed to be very reliable too.

the yaris and jazz is more of a womens car i think lol, ill look into the fabia so looks spaceage and cheap to insure

colm_mcm

The early fabia had a 1.4 engine, then around 03 I think they added the 1.2 3 cylinder htp engine.

stevek93

1.2 decent enough mileage seems good to me http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Fabia/SALOON-1/201125202965606/advert?channel=CARS

shannon_tek

I recommend a polo or a 306. its in your frame 1L > 1.4L

Both roomy
Cheap
and a sturdy car.
The pug my fav its a built car i think i have one. love it. plus has automatic wipers so when your doing your test and its raining dont need to worry.
Handles great IMO. I push it to its limits by nearly breaking the wheels and its still going strong. All electrics too.

The polo is another great car. I cant Say much i only had a 96 model without power steering. and no electrics
My friend has a polo . Its a nice car. roomyish and handles nicely.

Note 1.4L is just out but its worth looking into

stevek93

heard there not the best when it comes to reliability, hyundai accent is the best ive seen so far for the insurance

Graham_B18C

stevek93 wrote: »

1.2 decent enough mileage seems good to me http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Fabia/SALOON-1/201125202965606/advert?channel=CARS

That looks like it'd be a great car to start in.

I was the same getting my first car 5 years ago, had 2k and all I could get was a 98 Ibiza with no power steering! 2k can get a lot more car for the money now!

I wouldn't keep it at 1.3 limit though. If you pushed to a 1.4 it'd open up a lot more cars. When I got the Ibiza, a 1.4 Civic was the same price to insure. (19, 0 NCB, prov. Licence)

Graham_B18C

Graham_B18C wrote: »

.........

I was the same getting my first car 5 years ago, had 2k and all I could get was a 98 Ibiza with no power steering! 2k can get a lot more car for the money now!

...............

Ah stop, 5 years ago €2000 was plenty of cash to get better than an Ibiza.

jeffk

Is 1.4 etc not going to be crazy on insurance? I had to pay €3,800 on a 1.2 Punto when I was around 22 starting out driving.


Also €2K on the first car can be a gamble if you’re a crap driver and have a few knocks etc. I’d start out on a cheap but safe micro/punto type car and work up from there as your experience and hopefully no claims builds up.

Graham_B18C

RoverJames wrote: »

Ah stop, 5 years ago €2000 was plenty of cash to get better than an Ibiza.

Not really, at the time the year of the car mattered (my first car, didn't want anything ancient!) Yaris's at the time were way outta budget, EK Civics were starting at 3k, kinda wanted to avoid Puntos, so it left Polos, Ibizas, Micras so the Ibiza was a 98 and the rest would of been 97 or less!!

Graham_B18C

jeffk wrote: »

Is 1.4 etc not going to be crazy on insurance? I had to pay €3,800 on a 1.2 Punto when I was around 22 starting out

Jesus! How long ago was that, I paid 2200 my first year and most cars were around the same price (all starter type cars Micras, Polos etc) and I was 19!

Raskolnikov

stevek93 wrote: »

1.2 decent enough mileage seems good to me http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Fabia/SALOON-1/201125202965606/advert?channel=CARS

+1

The Skoda Fabia is a very solid little car, decent build quality (considering the price) and the insurance will be reasonable enough (assuming you're going with the less powerful engine). Also worth considering the VW Polo and the Seat Ibiza (they're all basically the same car).

The Toyota Yaris is definitely worthy of consideration as well. You wouldn't go too far wrong with an Opel Corsa either.

Graham_B18C

Graham_B18C wrote: »

Not really, at the time the year of the car mattered ............

Well if you were limiting yourself to insurance friendly 8 year olds than you were making it tough for yourself. I'd have taken a 94 Civic over a 98 Ibiza tbh honest though

Graham_B18C

RoverJames wrote: »

Well if you were limiting yourself to insurance friendly 8 year olds than you were making it tough for yourself. I'd have taken a 94 Civic over a 98 Ibiza tbh honest though

I wish that I knew what I know now...when I was younger!

If I could go back I'd deffo be going for an EG!

stevek93

got a quote of €2,651 third party for the fabia 1.3 on insure.ie, prob the best considering its a descent enough car

Raskolnikov

Graham_B18C wrote: »

When I got the Ibiza, a 1.4 Civic was the same price to insure. (19, 0 NCB, prov. Licence)

I find that very hard to believe. I had a fleeting thought of going with a Civic for my first car a few years back. The quotes were insane, the cheapest was about €3k. In the end, I went with a Peugeot 106 and got a quote of a about €1.2k.

Like I keep saying when people create these threads regarding insurance. Engine size has nothing to do with how expensive a quote will be. What matters is the HP in the engine and the vehicle profile. For example, I drive a 1.9 litre Skoda Fabia SDI and it is actually cheaper to insurance than a 1.1 litre Peugeot 106 that I used to own.

Raskolnikov

stevek93 wrote: »

got a quote of €2,651 third party for the fabia 1.3 on insure.ie, prob the best considering its a descent enough car

Throw in a 1 litre Yaris and see what quote you get. It wouldn't surprise me if the quote came up at nearly half that.

Graham_B18C

Absolutely positive, it was almost 5 years ago so maybe insurance rates were lower but all the cars I looked at were coming in between 1900-2200 ranging from Micras to Civics.

jeffk

Graham_B18C wrote: »

Jesus! How long ago was that, I paid 2200 my first year and most cars were around the same price (all starter type cars Micras, Polos etc) and I was 19!

That was seven years ago with Allianz as no one else would insure me.

stevek93

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Throw in a 1 litre Yaris and see what quote you get. It wouldn't surprise me if the quote came up at nearly half that.

if i was going with a 1 litre would have to be a seat, but with the fabia it looks like you get more value for your money

http://www.carzone.ie/search/SEAT/Ibiza/1.0-SELE/201113201817139/advert?channel=CARS

Vicxas

Id go with a Polo or even a Seat Ibiza, good cheap cars to run.

stevek93

Vicxas wrote: »

Id go with a Polo or even a Seat Ibiza, good cheap cars to run.

not the best when it comes to reliability

http://www.cbg.ie/user/ReviewList.aspx?makeid=823&modelid=255&derivativeid=-1&year=-1&page=1

Vicxas

Id agree, but they're cheap as chips if you're on a tight budget.

stevek93

yep, sure a polo or seat would be the same price if not dearer than a fabia

200motels

Go with a Honda Jazz.

Conor_M1990

Get a jazz cool little cars Id take one over a yaris anyday