A decent first car

Sobanek

Hey lads, so my birthday is coming up and I think it's about time to get my OWN first car.
I've over a year's experience driving a Volvo V50 2.0D so size up to that class is OK.
I'm looking for a car under €1000 with the engine being max. 1.6L.
No Japanese cars since insurance is massive on those.

Preferably something with a nice spec like electric windows :P

I don't want anything with a 1.0-1.2 since they're just sluggish as hell.

EPM

Focus, Fiesta are plentiful so finding a good one is easy. I started on my own in a 99 1.25 fiesta. Great little cars.

Cuddlesworth

Are you going to start one of these threads every two months?

Either way, have you even looked at insurance quotes for cars for a 18 year male with 1 years NCB as a named driver? Keeping in mind that if you register a car in your name and you continue to drive on your parents policy you will be nailed to the wall in a crash by your insurance company. You would be lucky to get a 1.0 let alone a 1.6.

Sobanek

Mwahahaha, done my homework and the insurance doesn't go over 1.8k on almost all 1.6s.
1 years named driver experience, full license, 18 years of age!
And if it helps, I will since the answers are always the same

"get a punto"
"get a yaris"
"get a micra"

Hell no.

patwicklow

A 1.0 -1.2 sluggish? they will still get you from A to B its still fours wheels.
easy on petrol,tax,insurance there the things you have to think about before rushing to buy a 1.6 -2.0 do your sums first.

Big Nasty

Basically you want something interesting under 1.6 but not Jap? Why not Jap due to insurance? You talking about Civic's and Glanza's? How about an MX-5? Fun little RWD car and don't have the 'boy racer' rep. No idea what insurance would be like on one of them for you though.

Failing that something like a 306 maybe?

barura

Sobanek wrote: »

Mwahahaha, done my homework and the insurance doesn't go over 1.8k on almost all 1.6s.
1 years named driver experience, full license, 18 years of age!
And if it helps, I will since the answers are always the same

"get a punto"
"get a yaris"
"get a micra"

Hell no.

If you know what you don't want, why not stick around the bangernomics thread? I would suggest Alfa's that have all that spec as well as the bmw316's.

I'm really glad that you learned how to drive on a Volvo V50 and that you're 18 and think that you're the dogs genitals since you have a drivers licence and one whole years named driving experience to your name, but just remember why most people drive puntos, micra's and cars of that size at your age; it's cause they're cheap to run, cheap to fix, cheap to fuel and cheap to insure.

Cuddlesworth

Sobanek wrote: »

Mwahahaha, done my homework and the insurance doesn't go over 1.8k on almost all 1.6s.
1 years named driver experience, full license, 18 years of age!
And if it helps, I will since the answers are always the same

"get a punto"
"get a yaris"
"get a micra"

Hell no.

Would it not be worth your while buying a 1 litre, paying the small insurance, tax and maintenance costs and saving the money to buy something decent when you could afford it. That's why I did. I ended driving a five year old 1.8 litre Mondeo after three years while my friends were still struggling with their old expensive junkers.

Sobanek

Cuddlesworth: Thanks for the suggestion but I can afford the insurance tax and maintenance. Otherwise I'd state I'm looking for a blender-engined car.
It's the same logic as if you had €30k. You can buy a Mercedes S Class from 2007 or you can buy a new Golf TDI. Both have 4 wheels, both have engines and both have steering wheels.

I'm really glad that you learned how to drive on a Volvo V50 and that you're 18 and think that you're the dogs genitals since you have a drivers licence

How's that anything to do with buying a car? I'm not a boy racer, I'd be looking for a Civic/Glanza or an Integra...

bimble

Stay away from Opel Astras, especially the diesel, Ford Fester or a (Ford Ka bit of a girls car tho) is the best bet, and I would also say recommend a Punto all cheap to fix and plenty in the scrapers for parts. Had Fester and Punto never went wrong, had Astra and it cost me a fortune.

TestTransmission

Sobanek wrote: »

Mwahahaha, done my homework and the insurance doesn't go over 1.8k on almost all 1.6s.
1 years named driver experience, full license, 18 years of age!
And if it helps, I will since the answers are always the same

"get a punto"
"get a yaris"
"get a micra"

Hell no.

Just get a fiesta

commited

What sort of running costs can you afford? Cars aren't cheap to run.

This might be worth a look:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2620444
If you want something that's a bit more showy:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2620989
If running costs aren't a concern:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2602933

Cuddlesworth

Puma 1.7? Bit of a hairdressers car but a really nice drive. Pretty cheap to insure as well.

barura

Sobanek wrote: »

How's that anything to do with buying a car? I'm not a boy racer, I'd be looking for a Civic/Glanza or an Integra...

I'm not saying that at all! When I was learning how to drive, I had to pay it all on my own. Car, insurance, tax, petrol. It turned out that I was pretty broke afterwards! If you get a 1.6, 1.8 etc. The running costs will be higher as a general rule of thumb, more oil when it needs an oil change, less mpg and stuff of the like. If I was you, I'd buy a cheap car and get your no claims bonus down for another two years, then look into a bigger car. Having said all that, if your family has a V50 at it's disposal, if you ever needed to do something long distance, I'm sure they would let you use it still.

If you're not a boy racer, why are you looking at boy racer cars btw?

My opinion on the subject aside, if I had 1k to spend on a car, I'd get a Ford Focus or Seat Coradoba (sp?).

Jimmy Bottlehead

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Puma 1.7? Bit of a hairdressers car but a really nice drive. Pretty cheap to insure as well.

I really do hate that term. Which hairdressers? I don't even know any hairdressers.

And from looking into the Puma (Girlfriend wants one. SHE'S NOT A HAIRDRESSER) they're not only meant to be a cracking drivers car, but the 1.7 is meant to be a fookin' riot to drive.
I haven't tested one yet so can't say, but a Puma would seem to be a lovely comprimise between reliablity, drivability, and decent running costs.

Cuddlesworth

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I really do hate that term. Which hairdressers? I don't even know any hairdressers.

I know four. They are currently driving a 1.4 puma, a celica, a 206 cabriolet and Rav4. But I meant that it doesn't look very masculine and tends to put off males when buying.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I know four.

Then hook a brother up

Sobanek

barura wrote: »

I'm not saying that at all! When I was learning how to drive, I had to pay it all on my own. Car, insurance, tax, petrol. It turned out that I was pretty broke afterwards! If you get a 1.6, 1.8 etc. The running costs will be higher as a general rule of thumb, more oil when it needs an oil change, less mpg and stuff of the like. If I was you, I'd buy a cheap car and get your no claims bonus down for another two years, then look into a bigger car. Having said all that, if your family has a V50 at it's disposal, if you ever needed to do something long distance, I'm sure they would let you use it still.

If you're not a boy racer, why are you looking at boy racer cars btw?

My opinion on the subject aside, if I had 1k to spend on a car, I'd get a Ford Focus or Seat Coradoba (sp?).

I'll be going most probably with the Fiesta then. Seen some reviews, got opinions from my friends and the 1.25 seems to be a decent engine.
Thanks for your help, perfectly understandable opinion.
I do long distances every day ~35km to school one way - my mother's not working at the moment since she had a complicated knee surgery so I still drive the V50 to school, however she will have to go back to work before March, and that's why I want to buy a car.

barura

Well in that case, I'd go for the fiesta. I've driven one and my only complaint is that I couldn't see the speedo properly due to my height combined with short legs.

Maybe you should wait til you need to buy a car, but it's your own choice. You can pick a fiesta up for 600-700 with nct and tax pretty handy. Some have stuck clutches that are quite an easy fix in some cases. Keep your eyes peeled!

dgt

What about one of these?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2614136

Its predecessor was an even better car all round, sadly most were abused and a good example is impossible to find. But can't argue with 5 doors

barura

5 doors is always handy for getting into the back of a car, OP. Who knows what you might need to get in there.

I am of course referring to your relatives as you drive them to the airport.