Absolutely no clue...

Musefan

Where to start!

I'm doing my test soon & I need to buy a car. Looking at getting a loan for 5-6k. I will have to commute quite a bit in the coming years, maybe up to 2 hrs per day.

I do have a mechanic in the family who recommends toyotas and volkswagens. I was going to buy their 2004 1.2l 3dr corolla but circumstances don't allow that for the moment!!

My question is what type & year of a car could I afford at that. I reckon it will have to last me 5 years and then I will most definitely be able to afford something a little better!

I do prefer driving diesel cars but I know I could get used to a petrol. Obviously a low power engine would be best so I don't roll myself into a ditch someday!

Anan1

I wouldn't advise spending that much when you're only starting to drive. Buy something cheap like a Fiesta to learn on, then change in a year.

Kimbot

As above go for a cheap fiesta/corolla/micra and use that for a year or two then upgrade

mickdw

jonny24ie wrote: »

As above go for a cheap fiesta/corolla/micra and use that for a year or two then upgrade

I don't agree with the advice of buying a heap for learning. I don't expect anybody on the road to be bouncing off other cars while they learn. I think having respect for their own car makes people respectful of others cars. I would say get a decent car that you would not wish to damage.
I think a corolla would be a reasonable place to start. A reasonable size, most are reliable and there will be one for all budgets.

Anan1

mickdw wrote: »

I don't agree with the advice of buying a heap for learning. I don't expect anybody on the road to be bouncing off other cars while they learn. I think having respect for their own car makes people respectful of others cars. I would say get a decent car that you would not wish to damage.
I think a corolla would be a reasonable place to start. A reasonable size, most are reliable and there will be one for all budgets.

That's all well and good in theory, but it won't be much help when the OP catches the sill on a kerb. Learning to drive is like any other kind of learning - a certain amount of trial & error comes with the territory.

djimi

mickdw wrote: »

I don't agree with the advice of buying a heap for learning. I don't expect anybody on the road to be bouncing off other cars while they learn. I think having respect for their own car makes people respectful of others cars. I would say get a decent car that you would not wish to damage.
I think a corolla would be a reasonable place to start. A reasonable size, most are reliable and there will be one for all budgets.

Nobody ever intends to damage their car. But as a learner its not unlikely to happen, no matter how careful you might be.

Nobody is suggesting buying a rust bucket for €200, but spending €5k on your first car is a bit mad, when you could spend half that on a decent Yaris or something and have more than enough left over to tax and insure it and buy yourself enough lessons to pass the test.

Cookie_Monster

djimi wrote: »

Nobody ever intends to damage their car. But as a learner its not unlikely to happen, no matter how careful you might be.

I (and I'm sure many many others) never damaged their car while learning. There's learning and there's simply being reckless and there is a difference.

I've damaged my current car far more because I don't care about it than my first because I liked it and it was still a special thing to me then.

Anan1

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I (and I'm sure many many others) never damaged their car while learning. There's learning and there's simply being reckless and there is a difference.

Many people don't, but many do. Regardless of how careful the driver, the fact is that inexperience makes accidents far more likely.

djimi

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I (and I'm sure many many others) never damaged their car while learning. There's learning and there's simply being reckless and there is a difference.

I've damaged my current car far more because I don't care about it than my first because I liked it and it was still a special thing to me then.

Fair play to you.

I rolled my father car into the garden gate when I was 15 and trying to learn how to reverse around a corner. These things happen (usually very minor things), to most people at some stage early on.

Ded_Zebra

mickdw wrote: »

I don't agree with the advice of buying a heap for learning. I don't expect anybody on the road to be bouncing off other cars while they learn. I think having respect for their own car makes people respectful of others cars. I would say get a decent car that you would not wish to damage.
I think a corolla would be a reasonable place to start. A reasonable size, most are reliable and there will be one for all budgets.

Ou mightn't be the one who damages it though. If you get your first car and let's say you spend 900 quid on it that you found down the back of the couch. You park it at tr supermarket and come back to find that someone crashed into it causing quite a bit of visual damage. Sure you are going to be upset but now imagine you took out a loan for 6k and the same thing happened. As you are recently qualified you probably can't afford fully comp insurance and definitely can't afford to make a claim! Which situation would you rather be in? When you have a few years experience and more money it's not as much as a problem.

biko

Buy a small car, it will be easier to navigate and to park.
Buy it cash, don't get a loan. There are plenty of cars in the bangers threads for sub 2k that will run just fine.

You're going to get a lot of opinions here OP. There is no right or wrong. At the end of the day you make the decision.

ironclaw

I'd agree with Biko. Don't even consider a loan if at all possible. The depreciation on the car plus the interest on the loan will cost you. I'd also drop the budget a little for no other reason than there are very decent cars out there to get started on for less than €3k.

I think your biggest hurdle will be insurance. With no experience you'll probably be putting a fair chunk of your €5k budget towards that so I'd try and minimise cost across the board to start with.

yop

As with Biko on this one, no loan, keep your spend low and cheap to run.
I bought my first car and spent 1500 pounds, drove weekly from Mayo to Limerick and 30 mins a day to work and same home. Put a load of miles on it, scrapped about 2 lamp posts trying to park it and scraped the skirts on a kerb, loved my car but my spacial awareness was shocking bad.

Good luck with your buying and keep it between the lines!

Tea 1000

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