First Car - so confused

Louise481

Hi all

I just passed my test and getting ready to buy my first car. But there is just so much stuff to know and so many ways to get a bad deal. Reading through some of the adds on donedeal and half of this stuff just doesn't make any sense at all to me.

Im a 23 year old woman. I have a budget of about €3000 (give or take) but would like to keep it as cheap as possible since its my first car.

I think petrol is what I need (70% urban, 20% rural, 10% motorways).

I need something that will be easy on the eye for work (accountant)

I spent ages researching and found a car I liked, a mazda 6 in petrol.

It seemed perfect, they're cheap, they're reliable, looks well for work, doesnt require much maintenance but it seems if anything does happen it will cost a fortune to get it fixed. Im not sure if it would be worth it in the long run.

Can anyone make any recommendations on what kind of car I should go for?

kupus

As your first car, maybe something smaller may do you till you gain more road experience... so if you doing mostly urban driving a little Fiat Panda or Fiat 500 is a lovely little car, Opel corsa, Suzuki swift or a little bigger Honda Jazz or Renault Modus are good run arounds and great storage if needed in the last two. All of those are cheap cheerful and easy to maintain but like everything else that you own the more care you put into it the longer it will last.

Louise481

I browsed through all those cars on adverts.ie and the only one that really caught my eye was the opel corsa. It seems to be a nice car.

Is there any others you (or anyone else) can recommend?

Also, is there any advice for a person, such as myself, wanting to buy a car privately but not knowing the first thing about them. Obviously I could ask a mechanic to check it over, but some of these cars are in the far end of the country and even if they were closer to home I cant really afford to pay a mechanic to inspect 5 or 6 cars and give me his opinion.

What about with garages? Is it at least safe to assume if I buy a car in a garage it wont have an underlying problem that they are trying to pass off.

colm_mcm

Can't really go wrong with a yaris.

dredg

Test drive lots of cars til you find something you like. Ignore the "you should get a small engine car first" bull****. Make a shortlist of the cars you like driving and select the one that best matches your budget and other criteria.

dgt

Louise481 wrote: »

I browsed through all those cars on adverts.ie and the only one that really caught my eye was the opel corsa. It seems to be a nice car.

It's anything but a nice car. A cement mixer would have more appeal as a car than a corsa

dredg wrote: »

Test drive lots of cars til you find something you like. Ignore the "you should get a small engine car first" bull****. Make a shortlist of the cars you like driving and select the one that best matches your budget and other criteria.

This

Don't simply go for the sub 1L car "cos it's cheap on tax" it might not suit your needs.

As said, get out there and test drive several different cars before you make your mind up

barura

Why not go for a Mazda 6 like you already have your eyes set on? It is a good car, and if you find one within your budget... All the better! I say go for it. You got your test so go get something nice!

eqwjewoiujqorj

Honda Civic
€3150

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3779492




Mazda 3
€3150

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3790898

K.Flyer

Whichever way you decide to go...
Golden rule no 1
Get a good mechanic or the AA ( http://www.aaireland.ie/AA/Vehicle-checks.aspx) to check it over, especially if you are buying it from a private seller.

Buying from a private seller means you will have little or no come back in the event of a problem, so its more important to have everything checked out by someone who knows what they are looking at.
However you may be able to haggle out a better deal with a private seller.

Best of Luck.

Chris_Heilong

eqwjewoiujqorj wrote: »

Honda Civic
€3150

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3779492




Mazda 3
€3150

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3790898

The guy selling the Mazda is always selling cars cheap, he also always takes photos in the same churchgrounds, anyway a little off topic there.

I started with a 1.4 Honda Civic and had no problems with it at all, I have never driven anything small and dont see a need for your first car to be small at all, just buy and enjoy.

Pdfile

dredg wrote: »

Test drive lots of cars til you find something you like. Ignore the "you should get a small engine car first" bull****. Make a shortlist of the cars you like driving and select the one that best matches your budget and other criteria.

i agree completely, nothing worse then getting a you hate driving or just isn't comfortable for you..

if i had 3k to blow on my first car, regardless of engine size it would be cheap and cheerful, knowing full well that i can curb the wheels, scrape it parking etc and not be too fussed about it so when i get something more up market i'm not only going to take care of it; my driving of it would be better too.

Imo meganes are a decent car ( 1.5 dci ? ) lovely looking and safe, but civics as a general benchmark are bulletproof mechanically speaking ( so long as its not built in england ) but with 2-3k to spend you have a good amount of choice, take your time.

Light Switch

Ford Ka or a Fiesta

corktina

No need to get a small car as your first car, unless you aren't a confident driver yet and would find parking a bit difficult. The only reason to consider a small car is cost to buy and cost to run will be cheaper the smaller you go (generally). Driving position might be important to you if you aren't very tall too.

I'd have a bias towards Ford (not least as I'm trying to sell a 2003 Fiesta on adverts.ie :-)) It would be worth considering a Focus or a Fiesta (especially mine, blatant ad, ban expected). Mazda 6 is more or less a Mondeo iirc, so worth looking at them too.

I'm sure someone on here would volunteer to have a quick look at any car that took your fancy, to eliminate the real lemons before you paid out on an inspection.

Yakuza

A Nissan Micra is a grand (if a little bland) for a first car - easy to park and very nimble around the city. We have one as a second car and more often than not I'll use it for errands rather than our main one.

advertsfox

I had and sold a Mazda 6, lovely reliable and comfortable car but the 1.8 petrol is very thirsty. For your first car, a 1.4 is plenty nippy enough for town driving so I do agree the likes of a Yaris / Golf or even a Mazda3 would be more suited for you - all of them look good too.

kona

If you dont know what your looking at, buy from a garage, get a nct and a warranty with the car. if you end up with a lemon you have a few safety nets.

Larbre34

A tidy Golf is an appropriate car in any circumstances, theyre simple, safe, good quality, reliable. The 1.4 is as slow as geology but thats no harm for novice driving and its Ok on petrol. The sister car SEAT Leon would be fine as well.

Im not going to plug any on sale but theres a good selection of 03/04 cars online a little over your budget but as you have no trade-in you should talk them down to your money, just get a decent service history, long NCT and a warranty of at least 6 months and youll be as assured as you can be with a car of that age. I wouldnt advise a private sale for your first go, I think you need a bit of comeback so not to hinder your first car experience!

best of luck with the search and enjoy

wendell borton

What wrong with a corsa. It's a little undepowered by the 1.2 but thats no big deal if it's mostly driven in town. The positives are that it is a reliable car and easy to service.