Celica for a first car??

CarMe

Hiya,
I'm a 23yr old female with just a provisional licence and no driving experiance whatsoever, I'm eager to learn and will get lots of lessons.

In my search for a car, I've come across the Toyota Celica which I now have my heart set on but friends and my boyfriend etc think it's crazy to get a car like this as a first car, although I've found some as cheap as €800.

Can anyone give me any reasons why I should or shouldn't get one?
All answers much appreciated.

tallaghtmick

Your insurance will be massive,its waaaay to powerful for a learner.

CarMe

Thanks for the reply, any positives at all? Clutching at straws here

tallaghtmick

CarMe wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, any positives at all? Clutching at straws here

Its a nice car

Im sorry ive no positives,I had a mivec a few years ago and cost me 360 a month on insurance.

patwicklow

iv had the celica gt4 insurance was high, tax was high, also with the price of fuel will cost you thousands more a year to run compared to a punto/fiesta ect,
my honest advice stay well away i got rid of mine pure money pit believe me,

-Corkie-

tallaghtmick wrote: »

Its a nice car

Im sorry ive no positives,I had a mivec a few years ago and cost me 360 a month on insurance.

OP is a female so it should be much less imo.

tallaghtmick

-Corkie- wrote: »

OP is a female so it should be much less imo.

Yeh I figured that aswell but for a first car and no full license?

Mr Benevolent

A Celica for €800 will be crap. You're always better off not buying the cheapest car. Also it's probably too powerful for a learner driver no matter how good you think you are at driving.

Oh yeah, and insurance will be huge. Think about tax and 35mpg fuel consumption too. They don't run on air.

CarMe

The quotes I was getting don't seem too bad to be honest, I'm more worried about being a danger as I'm so inexperienced?

tallaghtmick

Whats the quote?

If you can get your hands on a 1.8 celica it shouldnt be too bad either.

CarMe

Ok well thanks for your replies, any ideas of a car I could get that would be even the tiniest bit similar but a lot less ridiculous?

tallaghtmick

CarMe wrote: »

Ok well thanks for your replies, any ideas of a car I could get that would be even the tiniest bit similar but a lot less ridiculous?

Hyundai coupe 1.6 would be a similar looking alternative.

patwicklow

Confab wrote: »

A Celica for €800 will be crap. You're always better off not buying the cheapest car. Also it's probably too powerful for a learner driver no matter how good you think you are at driving.

Oh yeah, and insurance will be huge. Think about tax and 35mpg fuel consumption too. They don't run on air.

your dead right there 800? you will have nothing but problems with it for 800-1000 you would get a great bargain run about 1.1 - 1.4 car for that, and a celica would not be for learning in. look on adverts.ie great genuine bargain cars there for learners

alastair

Aside from the insurance issue (which would probably stop most people in their tracks - but as a woman, it might not be so bad for you?) I'd not see any real problems with a Celica as a first car. It's about as powerful as a Carina - and I doubt anyone would throw their hands up at the madness of someone learning in a Carina. The usual warning of 'you're likely to prang it' as a leaner applies all the same - regardless of what you opt for.

h3000

A lot of cars like the Celica (i.e coupes) can be quite hard to see out of which really is not a good idea for a leaner (parking in particular) there could be a lot of trips to the panel beater. You really should go down the smaller hatchback route.

CarMe

tallaghtmick wrote: »

Whats the quote?

If you can get your hands on a 1.8 celica it shouldnt be too bad either.

I was quoted 1400 on a 1.8

tallaghtmick

CarMe wrote: »

I was quoted 1400 on a 1.8

Thats not bad I paid similar for 1.5 lancer with 5 years ncb poxy male and being from Tallaght bias:pac:

tvercetti

Confab wrote: »

A Celica for €800 will be crap.

Thats a bit harsh, any standard celica prior to the 1999 shape arent making much money, I have an st202 which passed the nct this week, tidy car and I wouldn't get any more than that 800.

As for the OP, not a great first car, wide compared to alot of cars and quite a blind front due to the low seating position, tax and insurance are too expensive, power shouldn't be much of an issue as the power hits at very high revs, its easy keep below 4000rpms and have a smooth powered drive.

CarMe

tallaghtmick wrote: »

Hyundai coupe 1.6 would be a similar looking alternative.

Just looked at it there, it's beautiful! Thanks a mill for the help

CarMe

http://www.carsireland.ie/make/hyundai/coupe/detail.php?ad_id=691359&r=s.php%3Fm%3D34%26o%3D302%26g%3D0

Im viewing this tonight, what do yous think?

tallaghtmick

tallaghtmick wrote: »

Your insurance will be massive,its waaaay to powerful for a learner.

The ST202 Celica has 140bhp 3EFE, 170ish bhp 3SGE and also a 1.8, the ST205 was the turbo version, the 1.8 and 140bhp 2.0 are far from too powerful for a learner. In fairness if the learner is inclined to drive on they'll do it in whatever they get

patwicklow wrote: »

iv had the celica gt4 insurance was high, tax was high, also with the price of fuel will cost you thousands more a year to run compared to a punto/fiesta ect,
my honest advice stay well away i got rid of mine pure money pit believe me,

A GT4 is a totally different proposition to the ST202 models, my 3SGE was a very cheap to run car.

Confab wrote: »

A Celica for €800 will be crap. ..........

You disappoint me :P

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2331852



That's in the €800 ballpark.


OP, you'll be sitting low in it and there is a long bonnet in front of you which you won't be seeing the front of, rear visibility is good though, nice big back window and the rear isn't too far off overhang wise. They are a wide car though, many of them have rear quarter panel damage from scratching off pillars and the like entering the drive.

I wouldn't discount one to learn in to be honest, but just be aware of the width and the length :pac:

CarMe wrote: »

http://www.carsireland.ie/make/hyundai/coupe/detail.php?ad_id=691359&r=s.php%3Fm%3D34%26o%3D302%26g%3D0

Im viewing this tonight, what do yous think?

I'd get a Celica over one of them, same long bonnet, not as wide though in fairness. Celica is a much better car. Still, I wouldn't discourage you from buying the Hyundai if it tickles your fancy.

vectra

I may be wrong but I am sure I am sure a friend told me he and several others he knew got a lot of trouble with those hyundai's on the electrical end.
I could be wrong.

Buy a civic.
Reliable as a rock

Big Nasty

vectra wrote: »

I may be wrong but I am sure I am sure a friend told me he and several others he knew got a lot of trouble with those hyundai's on the electrical end.
I could be wrong.

Buy a civic.
Reliable as a rock

Insurance would more likely be cheaper in the Celica TBH.

Big Nasty

CarMe wrote: »

http://www.carsireland.ie/make/hyundai/coupe/detail.php?ad_id=691359&r=s.php%3Fm%3D34%26o%3D302%26g%3D0

Im viewing this tonight, what do yous think?

The Hyundai Coupe isn't a bad looking car but I don't like that particular model. The facelift model is a far better looking car IMO. I like the 6th gen Celica too - there's some nice examples to be found out there.

If you can afford it go for it - life is too short.

ottostreet

If you can afford a Celica, sure why not?

Its road-handling, braking, and overall feel will be much better than any crappy Punto or Fiesta, and any car can break the speed limit if the driver wants to.

Might as well start your driving career as you mean to go on...in a good car.

Anan1

h3000 wrote: »

A lot of cars like the Celica (i.e coupes) can be quite hard to see out of which really is not a good idea for a leaner (parking in particular) there could be a lot of trips to the panel beater. You really should go down the smaller hatchback route.

+1, visibility was the first think I thought of. OP would be safer in an Impreza turbo.;)

krank

Can't give you advise on that car but since I get the impression that your budget stretches to the higher end of insurance, tax, fuel and servicing, why not go through the more current pages of the bangernomics thread? You'll be able to get something quite nice that will be cheap enough to let you shrug off any dings and dents that may be a consequence of gaining driving experience. It's what I'd do if I was in your shoes.

kirving

Best just to go with a Fiesta or similar, learning in an €800 would be awful I'd imagine!

Also, don't just buy the cheapest car you can find thinking youi've got a brilliant deal, buy the best car you can afford. Think reliability, tax, insurance, fuel, safety.

Big Nasty

krank wrote: »

Can't give you advise on that car but since I get the impression that your budget stretches to the higher end of insurance, tax, fuel and servicing, why not go through the more current pages of the bangernomics thread? You'll be able to get something quite nice that will be cheap enough to let you shrug off any dings and dents that may be a consequence of gaining driving experience. It's what I'd do if I was in your shoes.

Meh,

The girl wants something exciting not a Micra or Polo, not to say there isn't exciting stuff on the bangernomics thread. Also small cars are more in demand now and hold their value better so she will probably pick up a nice Celica / Coupe for similar money or maybe even less than a Micra of same year. Insurance looks ok for her, repairs on jap / korean stuff is low and if she can afford the tax then she should go for it IMO.

krank

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Meh,

The girl wants something exciting not a Micra or Polo, not to say there isn't exciting stuff on the bangernomics thread. Also small cars are more in demand now and hold their value better so she will probably pick up a nice Celica / Coupe for similar money or maybe even less than a Micra of same year. Insurance looks ok for her, repairs on jap / korean stuff is low and if she can afford the tax then she should go for it IMO.

Which is exactly why I mentioned the bangernomics thread It's not all Micra's or Polo's. She'll get ideas of what's out there beyond the world of Micra's and Polo's and possibly something that peaks her interest more than a Celica.

Eric Cartman

yet again we find myself and ottostreet the only ones battling this side, no matter what you get go and get it inspected by a mechanic as your budget seems to put you into a catagory of no matter what the car is at that price you have to check everything .

1400 for insurance is great, id say go for it, your far better off than in some shít hatchback , driving should be fun

i wouldnt listen to the nay sayers, youd be more likely to look after a car thats decent than you would a punto etc..

and a celica is by no means 'big' in any way by anyones standards, its a 1.8 not a 3 litre V6 here lads