My first car, Male 18

Mr.Havoc

Hey,
I know this probably was asked before, and probably not even once...
Anyway, I am 18 male and I am looking to buy my first car. I am going to insure it under my mom's name and by the second driver for first year or so.
I did a lot of research beforehand and came up with 3 cars:
Volkswagen Polo 1.0l 2000-2002, Opel Corsa 1.2l or Ford Fiesta not sure about the engine yet. Any advice or any other car suggestion? Not being di*k but no to micra.
I can spend up to 1000-1900eur on the car. Any suggestions on cars or different cars? Please help with the engines as well. Thank you.

Henry Ford III

1.0 Yaris?

L-M

Aim for a Fiesta Ghia, should just about scrape a 02 for that money.

Good car, decent engine and plenty of spec.

Zubeneschamali

Fiesta 1.25 is the best of those.

Mr.Havoc

Should I buy the new model fiesta or the old?

Vicxas

Yep that Fiesta is pokey for that engine, the rest would be quite heavy.

Quick glance on Donedeal found this

Colour is not great, but low enough mileage and just passed NCT.

Mr.Havoc

Vicxas wrote: »

Yep that Fiesta is pokey for that engine, the rest would be quite heavy.

So are you saying I should buy the old model or new? Didn't quite get you

Vicxas

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

So are you saying I should buy the old model or new? Didn't quite get you

Sorry that was posted before i seen your post


I would aim for the lower model, any newer one would be a stretch and probably not in great nick for that price.

Mr.Havoc

Vicxas wrote: »

Sorry that was posted before i seen your post


I would aim for the lower model, any newer one would be a stretch and probably not in great nick for that price.

It's ok
But Fiesta, is 200 eur more expensive to insurance, and 200 eur more in road tax. Should I still buy it? I am just comparing it to Polo.

cml387

Have a read of this

djimi

cml387 wrote: »

Have a read of this

Apparently its not a problem, provided you are upfront with the insurance company about who the primary driver will be. I was skeptical, but made a call to Liberty who confirmed.

In any case, they will, by the sounds of it, base the premium on the highest risk driver (be it policy holder or named driver) so Im not sure that the savings are as great as they once were.

djimi

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

It's ok
But Fiesta, is 200 eur more expensive to insurance, and 200 eur more in road tax. Should I still buy it? I am just comparing it to Polo.

Id probably spend the extra couple of hundred quid on the Fiesta over a 1.0 Polo, but then again Im not 18 and just starting out! Fiesta would feel a bit nippier than the Polo.

Saucy McKetchup

cml387 wrote: »

Have a read of this

Yeah, make sure the car is in the policy holders name

Mr.Havoc

cml387 wrote: »

Have a read of this

Saucy McKetchup wrote: »

Yeah, make sure the car is in the policy holders name

Thanks a lot guys! Great help!

djimi wrote: »

Id probably spend the extra couple of hundred quid on the Fiesta over a 1.0 Polo, but then again Im not 18 and just starting out! Fiesta would feel a bit nippier than the Polo.

Would you advise on the newer model of fiesta or older? And would you explain why Fiesta is better then Polo, besides the engine? Thank you for help!

h3000

The Fiesta is a great choice but get someone who has an idea of cars to go with you. Some Fiestas suffer from awful rust problems.

mathepac

cml387 wrote: »

Have a read of this

What's the relevance of a 3 year old article in a British newspaper?

Henry Ford III

djimi wrote: »

Apparently its not a problem, provided you are upfront with the insurance company about who the primary driver will be. I was skeptical, but made a call to Liberty who confirmed.

In any case, they will, by the sounds of it, base the premium on the highest risk driver (be it policy holder or named driver) so Im not sure that the savings are as great as they once were.

If the premium was based on the highest risk and main driver there'd be no need to have the parents involved.

It's at best a grey area.

Henry Ford III

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

It's ok
But Fiesta, is 200 eur more expensive to insurance, and 200 eur more in road tax. Should I still buy it? I am just comparing it to Polo.

It's well worth the difference. 1.25 16v engine is sweet and willing.

Henry Ford III

mathepac wrote: »

What's the relevance of a 3 year old article in a British newspaper?

If your insurance claim is rejected its possibly highly relevant.

djimi

Henry Ford III wrote: »

If the premium was based on the highest risk and main driver there'd be no need to have the parents involved.

It's at best a grey area.

From what I took from my conversation with Liberty, its not a grey area at all. Provided you are upfront about your intentions (ie you tell them that the policy holder will not be the primary driver) then its perfectly fine with them for the named driver to be the primary user of the car.

The issue will only arise where the insurer finds out that you have lied to them.

Henry Ford III

djimi wrote: »

From what I took from my conversation with Liberty, its not a grey area at all. Provided you are upfront about your intentions (ie you tell them that the policy holder will not be the primary driver) then its perfectly fine with them for the named driver to be the primary user of the car.

The issue will only arise where the insurer finds out that you have lied to them.

Relying on a phone call as a basis for cover isn't a great idea.

As I said earlier if the premium is based on the highest risk why would the parents need to be mentioned?

djimi

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Relying on a phone call as a basis for cover isn't a great idea.

As I said earlier if the premium is based on the highest risk why would the parents need to be mentioned?

It was a general enquiry more than something I plan on doing, but if I cant ask these questions of the insurer then who do you expect I should talk to to find the answer?

Im not saying that its going to make it any cheaper; Im simply stating that a named driver can be the primary driver of the vehicle, and its not necessarily going to be fronting, as many will suggest and as I had previously thought. Provided you are upfront about who is going to be the primary driver, it does not necessarily have to be the policy holder.

Henry Ford III

djimi wrote: »

It was a general enquiry more than something I plan on doing, but if I cant ask these questions of the insurer then who do you expect I should talk to to find the answer?

Im not saying that its going to make it any cheaper; Im simply stating that a named driver can be the primary driver of the vehicle, and its not necessarily going to be fronting, as many will suggest and as I had previously thought. Provided you are upfront about who is going to be the primary driver, it does not necessarily have to be the policy holder.

You ring random insurers with purely theoretical questions? That's a bit odd. Any clarification relating to insurance should always be documented.

The named driver route is much cheaper and that's why so many take that option. That being the case what you're saying simply doesn't hold water I'm afraid.

Mr.Havoc

Henry Ford III wrote: »

It's well worth the difference. 1.25 16v engine is sweet and willing.

What are the other +'s of the car?

djimi

Henry Ford III wrote: »

You ring random insurers with purely theoretical questions? That's a bit odd. Any clarification relating to insurance should always be documented.

The named driver route is much cheaper and that's why so many take that option. That being the case what you're saying simply doesn't hold water I'm afraid.

It came up in a thread on here on the subject a few weeks ago. I rang for confirmation (turned out that I was in the wrong at the time).

If I was taking out such a policy then I would have it documented that the named driver was noted as being the primary driver.

The named driver option is much cheaper where it is based on the policy holder being the primary driver. In this case the named driver being the primary driver would be fronting and would be illegal.

What Im saying is that you can avoid fronting in this situation by informing the insurance company that the named driver will be the primary driver. It may have the consequence that the policy does not work out any cheaper than if the named driver were to take out their own policy, but my point is that its not just a black and white case that it is automatically fronting in a situation like this where a named driver is the primary driver.

tin79

Henry Ford III wrote: »

You ring random insurers with purely theoretical questions? That's a bit odd. Any clarification relating to insurance should always be documented.

The named driver route is much cheaper and that's why so many take that option. That being the case what you're saying simply doesn't hold water I'm afraid.

I cant see the problem you have with it. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. You call up, discuss the matter and follow up by email if needed.


If you are up front with your company and get it confirmed then its their call how they play it.

h3000

Lets try to get back to the OP's question.

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

What are the other +'s of the car?

The 1.25 is quite reliable too. They are also a lovely car to drive for a small car.

Mr.Havoc

h3000 wrote: »

Lets try to get back to the OP's question.



The 1.25 is quite reliable too. They are also a lovely car to drive for a small car.

Thank you But is it worth it? Is there a big difference? Like I mean 200(insurance) +200 (road) +300 (more on the fuel per year, I did the calculation) So that is 700 eur more than a Polo per year. I mean if it's worth it I don't mind but if there is just a slight difference. Btw I will be travelling around 500 km per week. From Waterford to Kilkenny to college.

jimgoose

Henry Ford III wrote: »

You ring random insurers with purely theoretical questions?...

Oh yes, keeps 'em on their toes so it does. I think of it as little random micro-audits.

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

Thank you But is it worth it? Is there a big difference? Like I mean 200(insurance) +200 (road) +300 (more on the fuel per year, I did the calculation) So that is 700 eur more than a Polo per year. I mean if it's worth it I don't mind but if there is just a slight difference. Btw I will be travelling around 500 km per week. From Waterford to Kilkenny to college.

That's hefty enough mileage. In general, you'll want the biggest engine you can insure, anything too small will definitely annoy you after a while.

Mr.Havoc

jimgoose wrote: »

That's hefty enough mileage. In general, you'll want the biggest engine you can insure, anything too small will definitely annoy you after a while.

So I should buy the Fiesta then?

jimgoose

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

So I should buy the Fiesta then?

I personally would, yes. Solid little yoke.

richj

If it was me & I was 18 again I would be looking at something like this;

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/stunning-punto-sport-new-nct/6058830

knucklehead6

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

So I should buy the Fiesta then?

I would. My favourite car was my '99 Fiesta, with the 1.25l engine. Man I loved that car.

If i could find a decent one (and had the pocket money to spare) I'd probably buy another, just for fun.

djimi

500km a week is a long time to be spending in a 1.0 car in fairness. A car that small is fine for pottering around a town and doing short journeys, but I wouldnt want to be doing any kind of significant mileage in one.

If Im being perfectly honest, for that sort of mileage Id probably want to be looking at getting something a little bigger (in terms of body size) than a Fiesta even. But again thats me. You might actually find that a 1.4 works out more economical on longer journeys than a 1.0 or even a 1.2 that is going to have to work harder on motorway/dual carraigeway speeds.

ironclaw

djimi wrote: »

From what I took from my conversation with Liberty, its not a grey area at all. Provided you are upfront about your intentions (ie you tell them that the policy holder will not be the primary driver) then its perfectly fine with them for the named driver to be the primary user of the car.

The issue will only arise where the insurer finds out that you have lied to them.

I had the opposite experience with FBD. I was a named driver and the primary driver (and owner) of the car emigrated. Rang to keep everything kosher and asked to transfer the primary driver title and insurance to myself.

Can't be done because 1) You have to own the car to be the primary driver and 2) They do not like the idea of a named driver being the primary driver. It was categorically told it could affect a claim. A named driver is only for 'occasional driving'

Long story short, they made a temporary contract for the remainder of the policy with myself and clarified the position. I'm not saying that is the case with every insurer, but that was my experience. In any situation, do not rely on a phone call. At the very least get anything of this nature in writing. A phone call will not hold up in court.

@OP, personally I would consider getting your own policy. Currently the math works out that 5 years named driving experience is equal to 1 years of your own. So if you can at all, I'd say go the whole way and insure yourself. Your premium will drop considerably even after 1 year.

djimi

ironclaw wrote: »

I had the opposite experience with FBD. I was a named driver and the primary driver (and owner) of the car emigrated. Rang to keep everything kosher and asked to transfer the primary driver title and insurance to myself.

Can't be done because 1) You have to own the car to be the primary driver and 2) They do not like the idea of a named driver being the primary driver. It was categorically told it could affect a claim. A named driver is only for 'occasional driving'

Long story short, they made a temporary contract for the remainder of the policy with myself and clarified the position. I'm not saying that is the case with every insurer, but that was my experience. In any situation, do not rely on a phone call. At the very least get anything of this nature in writing. A phone call will not hold up in court.

You need to be the owner of the car to be the policy holder, but there is no reason that they could not denote a named driver of the car as the primary driver if they so desired. Im guessing it was their own internal policy that prevented this.

Tbh this is what I was originally arguing against in the other thread; there was a time where if you rang an insurer and told them that the named driver was going to be the primary driver then they would simply not give you a policy. Nowadays they seem to be taking a different approach, in that they will now issue the policy but price it on the basis of the risk of the primary driver. So it would now be legal for a named driver to be the primary driver (assuming the insurer is happy to go with such an arrangement), but it most likely wouldnt work out any cheaper.

Henry Ford III

tin79 wrote: »

I cant see the problem you have with it. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. You call up, discuss the matter and follow up by email if needed.


If you are up front with your company and get it confirmed then its their call how they play it.

I don't have any problem only that it's unwise at best to rely on the opinion of someone possibly junior and/or inexperienced from a call centre.

You really should have any such opinion documented incase it's ever called upon.

h3000

@OP

If I personally was doing 500k a week I'd try to go for a slightly larger car. Something like a Focus would be a great buy. It would be a little more to Tax (€30 i think) and a little more to insure too but a lot nicer to drive on a long trip.

bazz26

It should be noted that that old shape Fiesta is prone to a lot of rust around the sills and arches. I'd try and aim for the newer model which is more modern in the area of design, safety and packaging.

h3000

bazz26 wrote: »

It should be noted that that old shape Fiesta is prone to a lot of rust around the sills and arches. I'd try and aim for the newer model which is more modern in the area of design, safety and packaging.

Definitely something to watch out for.

Mr.Havoc

I just looked up the insurance and is nearly the same Fiesta and all 1.4 l cars, difference is like 50-90 eur same with road tax. So now a new question: What kind of car should I buy up to 1.4 l for trips 500km per week! Thank you!

h3000

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

I just looked up the insurance and is nearly the same Fiesta and all 1.4 l cars, difference is like 50-90 eur same with road tax. So now a new question: What kind of car should I buy up to 1.4 l for trips 500km per week! Thank you!

For your budget I'd definitely go for a Focus.

oldyouth

Focus is a great little car

ba_barabus

I'd go with a Corolla.

A 1.4l Focus which is probably what you'll end up in isn't a particularly nice car. I've found the Corolla to be a nice place to start. It has a nice willing engine, cheap to run, cheap to repair and very easy to drive.

knucklehead6

500 KM per week is only 50km each way on 10 trips (i assume you are using the car for work?)

I'd still go with the fiesta, rather than stretching myself and buying an older, slightly bigger car in the same price range

Mr.Havoc

ba_barabus wrote: »

I'd go with a Corolla.

A 1.4l Focus which is probably what you'll end up in isn't a particularly nice car. I've found the Corolla to be a nice place to start. It has a nice willing engine, cheap to run, cheap to repair and very easy to drive.

Witch Corolla do you have in mind, the liftback or the hatchback?

knucklehead6 wrote: »

500 KM per week is only 50km each way on 10 trips (i assume you are using the car for work?)

I'd still go with the fiesta, rather than stretching myself and buying an older, slightly bigger car in the same price range

I will be using this car to go to college, but yeah it's 50 km each way.

knucklehead6

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

Witch Corolla do you have in mind, the liftback or the hatchback?

I will be using this car to go to college, but yeah it's 50 km each way.

bigger car will end up costing more to run.

ba_barabus

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

Witch Corolla do you have in mind, the liftback or the hatchback?

I had the saloon and found it fine but it's personal taste really.

The 1.3l is very cheap to run and very reliable. I had a 1.4VVTI which I found great.

It was more economical than the Clio which preceeded it.

ba_barabus

knucklehead6 wrote: »

bigger car will end up costing more to run.

That's not always the case. I'd certainly say a Corolla is very cheap to run despite being from a class above a supermini.

djimi

knucklehead6 wrote: »

500 KM per week is only 50km each way on 10 trips (i assume you are using the car for work?)

I'd still go with the fiesta, rather than stretching myself and buying an older, slightly bigger car in the same price range

I used to drive from Naas to Carlow in a Punto a couple of times a week when I was in college, and while it was grand for the relatively occasional drive that I was doing, if I was doing it over and back five times a week I dont think I would have stuck it for long. Each to their own, but it would make for a much more pleasant drive to make the step up to even a Focus or Corolla, which wont cost a huge amount more to run.

Mr.Havoc

I just quickly went through donedeal.ie and found this: http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2001-ford-fiesta-1-2-petrol-ghia-model/6165979
Which is from a dealer so probably will come with an warranty of some sort and it looks decent. Asking price is only 1.100 is this a a good deal?
And with corollas I couldn't find decent deal, they're all either a lot older than I expected or ntc is almost out, etc.