Ideal first time car

MsBojangles

My friend has her provisional license and wonders what would be the ideal first time car apart from a Nissan Micra
any suggestions?

softmee

I have this type of fiesta :

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2247345

and for me it's perfect.
If not fiesta I would buy Opel Corsa.

SunnyLucy

I would recommend a Toyota Yaris, small enough, easy to handle and easy on petrol & insurance.

mal1

I second the ford Fiesta suggestion. Reliable, cheap (to run and maintain) and not a bad drive.

softmee

SunnyLucy wrote: »

I would recommend a Toyota Yaris, small enough, easy to handle and easy on petrol & insurance.

Looks awfull inside IMO. Wheel is huge and this funny shape of dashboard...(but its just matter of taste of course)

(my fiesta has a 1.4 engine and its very good on petrol, plus is really spacious inside for car this size)

SunnyLucy

softmee wrote: »

Looks awfull inside IMO. Wheel is huge and this funny shape of dashboard...

(my fiesta has a 1.4 engine and its very good on petrol, plus is really spacious inside for car this size)

Different strokes for different folks I guess. You wouldn't drive a Fiesta if you didnt like it, I wouldnt have driven a Yaris if I didnt like it. I've since upgraded to an Auris, but always found the Yaris to be spacious anyways, the back seats could be adjusted to make the boot bigger if necessary, not that I needed it though not having a clatter of kids/dogs/golf clubs to accommodate Never had an issue with the interior, loved the digital speedometer in it too, its the one thing I wish the Auris had.

Presumably insurance would be cheaper on a 1litre though, esp for a learner driver?

MsBojangles

See she doesnt want a Nissan because all learners have them

she wants a 1L that doesnt go to town on petrol and Is easy to Insure , but something that looks small neat and compact

random.stranger

+1 Yaris.

Although, I think a micra is better value for a first time car for a learner. As she is more likely to have the odd knock or bump while she is learning, maybe her not being mad about the car would be a good thing.
All learners have them because they are cheap and reliable.

hth

Compton

fiesta/yaris/micra can't go wrong.

sarahd19

Toyota Aygo's are pretty good , got one myself 3 months ago

1L costing me about 30-40 euro every month or so, to fill and the tax is 172 euro a year happy days!

MsBojangles

sarahd19 wrote: »

Toyota Aygo's are pretty good , got one myself 3 months ago

you a learner?

sarahd19

yeah i am ! its grand for getting about its small but actually quiet roomy in the back i prefered it to the yaris

DazMarz

Mad as it may sound, I started learning to drive (and am still driving) a Toyota Corolla hatchback from 2005. Easily one of the best cars on the road. But perhaps a bit too big for a beginner (I'm a big, lanky yoke, so I needed a bigger car!:o)

But I cannot stress how good a car Toyotas are. Excellent and reliable.

MsBojangles

so would a Opel Corsa or Astra be a bad move ?

paulmclaughlin

MsBojangles wrote: »

so would a Opel Corsa or Astra be a bad move ?

Although Opel Corsa have a bad rep in term of engine, I'm going for one.

Astra = 1.4L min

dev100

DazMarz wrote: »

Mad as it may sound, I started learning to drive (and am still driving) a Toyota Corolla hatchback from 2005. Easily one of the best cars on the road. But perhaps a bit too big for a beginner (I'm a big, lanky yoke, so I needed a bigger car!:o)

But I cannot stress how good a car Toyotas are. Excellent and reliable.

Apart from the odd braking systems going wrong and their feck ups on cutting costs on production lines.:D

As a wise old mechanic once said to me, when i asked about a particular brand of car and how good was that particular type. His gem of wisdom was, All cars are fantastic until they go wrong then they become the worst cars in the world.

Compton

buy a toyota, buy the best, get a rope and tow the rest

Dweezel

Learned to drive, still driving and passed my test yesterday in a Volkswagen Polo. Its a 1.4 and absolutely love it!! Would definately reccommend it!!!

MsBojangles

Dweezel wrote: »

Learned to drive, still driving and passed my test yesterday in a Volkswagen Polo. Its a 1.4 and absolutely love it!!!

Congrats !
unless its a 1L though she has no interest

MonaghanPenguin

If she wants a 1L I'd deffo say Aygo. I got one myself a couple of months ago. Can't recommend it high enough, it's a great little machine. Got it exactly one week before my test and passed in it.

dambarude

Don't want to hijack the thread, but...

Should the difference between petrol and diesel cars be taken into account for beginners? I'm not talking about the fuel cost difference or initial price difference, but rather differences in how they drive.

The car I'm learning to drive in is petrol, while my instructor's car is a diesel, and I have to say I notice a fairly big difference between the two. As expected, I find I come much closer to conking (or actually conking) when driving the petrol, on hill starts or even on flat ground. It never happens in the diesel. I've been considering using my instructor's diesel car for the test for that reason.

Compton

its because diesel engines are quite different to petrol.. they have more torque so its easier to take off without adding gas etc,,

SIBERIA

hyundai getz

dambarude

shblob wrote: »

its because diesel engines are quite different to petrol.. they have more torque so its easier to take off without adding gas etc,,

Yup, I know that. Do you think though that a learner should attempt to get a diesel over a petrol for that reason?

matt70iu

dambarude wrote: »

Yup, I know that. Do you think though that a learner should attempt to get a diesel over a petrol for that reason?

Don't think it makes much odds TBH. Though diesel engines need to be larger to attain the same overall power as a patrol. You might find your insurance a great deal more expensive as a result.

I had a 1.9 01 non turbo diesel renault as my first car at 21. I got a quote on a 1.0 lit patrol nissan micra which was over 300e cheaper than the renault. Have never liked small cars though, all down to preference I guess.

Have a 1.8 patrol golf now, and would still drive a diesel, I'm not pushed either way. Basically you should go with whatever you feel most at ease with. If that's a diesel, then so be it:)

Bsst of luck with the driving!!

HENVEY89

matt70iu wrote: »

Have never liked small cars though, all down to preference I guess.

yeah I hate the small cars meself, ive been looking at the 1.9 octavia and passat don't no what to chose but! and im 22

matt70iu

HENVEY89 wrote: »

matt70iu wrote: »

Have never liked small cars though, all down to preference I guess.

yeah I hate the small cars meself, ive been looking at the 1.9 octavia and passat don't no what to chose but! and im 22

Um well they're very similar cars with an almost identical engine with different badges. Prefer the look of the passat but Both are equal in terms of build quality and reliability.

Just make sure ya get some insurance quotes first! The problem is that a lot of companies don't count for the fact it's a diesel and all they see is the 1.9 engine size. Some may not even quote!

Quinn direct or xe direct might be a good place to start. Although xe have a 4000e excess!!!! So you would want to be careful when choosing price over quality of policy:)

Printemps93

matt70iu wrote: »

xe direct might be a good place to start.

never heard of them meself an I'm a learner

matt70iu

Printemps93 wrote: »

never heard of them meself an I'm a learner

Probably cuse they don't exist:) I meant a crowd called xs direct:) Apologies! They're great if you want a reasonable premium starting out but you really don't want to make a claim!

Basically they allow you to be insured and build up a NCB till your premium with a mainstream insurer Axa, quinn, Aviva etc is more affordable.

Pixywish

I love my lil Opel Corsa to bits. It's a '96 and still tough as old boots! Never had any probs with it. Good luck with your car shopping!

star106

Toyota Yaris, its my first car, easy to drive, I love the shape of it aswell.

DarrenCroker

A daewoo matiz ain't a bad little car;) only 800cc engine cheap tax and insurance,a good car to drive too:)

Tauriel

What about a Peugeot 206? I'm learning to drive at the moment and I'm just having a look around. Would the tax and the cost of running a 1.1 petrol be much?

Compton

no, but they can be very unreliable and make sure to check all of the electrics as they can be dodgy,

Id go with one of these

Ford fiesta
Nissan Micra
Toyota Yaris

johnayo

How about this http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2466404


Sorry, no good, It's automatic.

coffeelover

Got a peugeot 206 myself. Have at no problems so far

Chavways

What do people think of an old Mini as a first car? I think they have .8 or 1 litre engine. I'm very tempted to get one.

Compton

if your handy enough with a few bits n bobs and the car not starting a few times its grand..