18 year old looking to buy a car

DarraghF197

Well I'll start off by saying I'm quite the petrolhead (hence the name!), and have been putting an awful lot of thought into buying my first car. My budget would be around €5,000 for the car alone, and I'd obviously need a small engine car for insurance. The brother has a Golf 04, and while it's a fantastic car, I'm reluctant to have two Golfs fill the driveway!

I think the car I would really want is the Miata. They're really cheap and well in my budget, but the minimum engine size is 1.6 litre and I'm still not sure if people would mock me with a 'hairdresser's car'! I found a beautiful hard top one as well, but would the insurance be relatively expensive compared to a 1.4 litre hatchback? I've no way of telling.

The other options on my shortlist are a Clio, an A3, Suzuki swift, a Ford Fiesta, maybe even an Alfa Romeo (Although I realise they're very unreliable and I'm not a huge fan of their older models).

I'd ideally want an agile car, with looks being important, and preferably a hatchback or coupe. Sorry this is a long post! Any sort of feedback would be greatly appreciated!

GardeningGirl

Hi there. Have you gotten any quotes on cars yet?

Notch000

18yr old, RWD, convertible, sportcar, high theft risk.......... you have nothing going for you insurance wise, there a monumental difference between the Miata & a 1.4 L hatchback, id forget about it for another year or two. you will probably struggle to get decent insurance on a 1.4 l csar too with the way insurance is at the moment

Toyotafanboi

you'l need something obscure. mainstream stuff, jap stuff, german stuff, old stuff, fun stuff and alfa romeo stuff will all probably be fairly expensive.

if i was going at the whole thing again, i'd probably start in an Ignis Sport.
https://cars.donedeal.ie/modifiedcars-for-sale/2006-suzuki-ignis-sport-1-5-nct-till-july-2016/11171899

if you took off the poor attempt at headlight eyebrows, it's be a cool car. 1.5 so it might have a tiny bit of go in it, factory recaros and some other mildly sporty stuff like white dials, discs all round and a bit of a bodykit.

DarraghF197

GardeningGirl wrote: »

Hi there. Have you gotten any quotes on cars yet?

Hi, I haven't done that yet I did my Theory test last Autumn but am only getting round to getting my provisional licence at the end of the month.

Notch000 wrote: »

18yr old, RWD, convertible, sportcar, high theft risk.......... you have nothing going for you insurance wise, there a monumental difference between the Miata & a 1.4 L hatchback, id forget about it for another year or two. you will probably struggle to get decent insurance on a 1.4 l csar too with the way insurance is at the moment

Yeah I had a feeling it would be a bit too much! I was thinking of waiting for the Mazda world until I'm well into my twenties, with more of their cars affordable by then.

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

you'l need something obscure. mainstream stuff, jap stuff, german stuff, old stuff, fun stuff and alfa romeo stuff will all probably be fairly expensive.

if i was going at the whole thing again, i'd probably start in an Ignis Sport.
https://cars.donedeal.ie/modifiedcars-for-sale/2006-suzuki-ignis-sport-1-5-nct-till-july-2016/11171899

if you took off the poor attempt at headlight eyebrows, it's be a cool car. 1.5 so it might have a tiny bit of go in it, factory recaros and some other mildly sporty stuff like white dials, discs all round and a bit of a bodykit.

That's a very nice car, have never heard of it before! Would the 1.5 litre engine mean it would be too high for insurance (despite the text saying cheap insurance), bearing in mind Notch said it is getting more expensive for young adults recently? The headlights would have to be changed, definitely! I'll try to a bit more searching around for more obscure cars!

Thanks for all the swift replies, appreciate it!

Elemonator

I know it isn't what you want to hear but I'm so glad I didn't get a car at 18. Between people skiving for lifts, costs and everything it just wasn't worth it and I sold my car. I got crucified on insurance, somewhere close to 2,000 I think. I much prefer taking public transport now as no there is no risk, I can sleep and get pissed

Hope it works out for you.

GardeningGirl

Hi, I strongly recommend securing a quote before you purchase. I would also advise getting a full licence first. AFAIK there is a six month wait between learner permit application and full test, and a prescribed number of hours with approved driving instructor. Just a few things to consider. Also, anticipate that your insurance may increase as opposed to decreasing on renewal. Regards the car, I recommend your first one to be a banger, just to get on the road for the first few months then upgrade once you're used to the whole thing. Driving is easy, dealing with other drivers isn't

Toyotafanboi

DarraghF197 wrote: »

That's a very nice car, have never heard of it before! Would the 1.5 litre engine mean it would be too high for insurance (despite the text saying cheap insurance), bearing in mind Notch said it is getting more expensive for young adults recently? The headlights would have to be changed, definitely! I'll try to a bit more searching around for more obscure cars!

Thanks for all the swift replies, appreciate it!

here's another one that was just posted elsewhere. €1650

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2004-suzuki-ignis-sport-new-nct/11268979

wheels are a bit worse for wear but a cool little car. i'd say they are fairly insurance friendly for a young lad, definitely worth a getting a quote on.

DarraghF197

GardeningGirl wrote: »

Hi, I strongly recommend securing a quote before you purchase. I would also advise getting a full licence first. AFAIK there is a six month wait between learner permit application and full test, and a prescribed number of hours with approved driving instructor. Just a few things to consider. Also, anticipate that your insurance may increase as opposed to decreasing on renewal. Regards the car, I recommend your first one to be a banger, just to get on the road for the first few months then upgrade once you're used to the whole thing. Driving is easy, dealing with other drivers isn't

I'm in first year college now so I'd probably keep it for the next three plus years. I agree with your point on buying a banger, it would be nice to have a car I can be scruffy with without being over-protective. I think you're right about the size month wait, that part is a bit annoying. Thanks for the advice!

GardeningGirl

DarraghF197 wrote:

I'm in first year college now so I'd probably keep it for the next three plus years. I agree with your point on buying a banger, it would be nice to have a car I can be scruffy with without being over-protective. I think you're right about the size month wait, that part is a bit annoying. Thanks for the advice!

Haha, annoying is the polite way to put it :P Best wishes whatever you decide and many years of safe motoring

Gatling

Stay well clear of anything 10 years old or more car wise .
Likely won't get insurance

ironclaw

Gatling wrote: »

Stay well clear of anything 10 years old or more car wise .
Likely won't get insurance

You will get insurance, you just won't get comprehensive insurance. Price may be the same but to say you can't get coverage is false. Either way, the OP is in the high band so its going to be a paddling either way.

OP, I'd recommend the Yaris (Vitz) T-Sport. 1.5L engine, fairly sporty and a great car all round. They can be picked up within budget. You won't get the same reliability on the Clio (And the only one's worth considering are the 182 or 197 / 200) and the A3 is outside your budget for a decent one.

mimimcmc

Firstly, pick the type of car you want e.g. Golf 1.4 or whatever
Then find one on done deal and use the reg to get quotes off of as many insurers as possible.
I don't imagine you'll be going for anything more than a 1.4 being an 18 year old male