First car.advice needed.

gooner99

Hi. My 19 year old nephew is doing his test shortly and if he passes he plans to drive to work. 60k each way 5 days a week over mix of a and b roads. I guess this question is also budget related which is not yet decided.But I guess he'd probably need to look at a diesel, but would probably also need to be careful on engine size for insurance purposes. He'd also need something pretty reliable. Was thinking of something like a corolla hatch 1.4 d4d. Any other suggestions or advice on car choice and insurance would be most welcome?

acronym Chilli

gooner99 wrote: »

Hi. My 19 year old nephew is doing his test shortly and if he passes he plans to drive to work. 60k each way 5 days a week over mix of a and b roads. I guess this question is also budget related which is not yet decided.But I guess he'd probably need to look at a diesel, but would probably also need to be careful on engine size for insurance purposes. He'd also need something pretty reliable. Was thinking of something like a corolla hatch 1.4 d4d. Any other suggestions or advice on car choice and insurance would be most welcome?

Diesel probably is the ideal here. However, if in bamgernomics territory then total cost of ownership for a very cheap petrol could be better than buying a dearer diesel or a diesel that incurs pricy repairs.

gooner99

Thanks for the reply. Yes diesel sounds ideal, but as you say would need to be reliable. But yeah I guess a fairly economical petrol might also work out pretty good. I guess he's probably best to look at mid sized (corolla, focus) rather than supermini class due to the distance being covered daily. I'd imagine they also fair better in general in strength and safety terms. The 02-07 corolla spang to mind as they are quite a reliable hatch and both the 1.4 petrol and diesel also seem to be pretty reliable and capable of big miles. We're open to all suggestions and advice.

bazz26

What sort of budget has he? A Corolla 1.4 d-4d is ideal but good ones cost good money even with high mileage on them. 1.4 d-4d has no dual mass flywheel so one less thing to worry about on a modern diesel. Hyundai i30/Kia Ceed diesels are good too but being 1.6 litre could mean higher insurance.

Megane diesel might be worth considering, issues with keycards etc are easily (ish) sorted and electrical gremlins not as bad as you'd think.

If you got one with everything working they're a decent car imo for your requirement.. more comfy & wafty than a Corolla

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/o6-diesel-renault-megane/13036320

duffman3833

Augeo wrote: »

Megane diesel might be worth considering, issues with keycards etc are easily (ish) sorted and electrical gremlins not as bad as you'd think.

If you got one with everything working they're a decent car imo for your requirement.. more comfy & wafty than a Corolla

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/o6-diesel-renault-megane/13036320

they gave issues with window regs as i owned one and i had it back to the garage (under warranty) to replace both of them, not sure on cost

gooner99

Thanks guys. Budget not decided yet, but as its his first car it won't be that new. I'd say a 1.6 would hammer him on insurance. Might be worth looking in the uk for a clean 1.4 d4d.

duffman3833

duffman3833 wrote: »

they gave issues with window regs as i owned one and i had it back to the garage (under warranty) to replace both of them, not sure on cost

Probably either done on a 10 year old example, easy check pre purchase. If they work some rubber & nylon lubricant on the window rubbers makes life easier for the window regs and helps prevent them failing

ironclaw

duffman3833 wrote: »

they gave issues with window regs as i owned one and i had it back to the garage (under warranty) to replace both of them, not sure on cost

That era Megan is littered with electronic faults. I considered a RS225 but couldn't stand over the possibility for costly repairs. Overall build quality takes a fair rattle at higher mileage. A through pre-inspection by a Renault specialist is a must.

colm_mcm

You'd want to be off your game buying an early mk2 Megane.

gooner99

Hes not gone on the megane in any case.

Boom_Bap

As a previous owner of a Megane I would stay away. Comfy as bejaysus, but it's like getting a tank around a corner, the coils going, the threat of the window reg and trying to change the bulb in the headlight.
If he's not looking for anything flash but reliable, Corolla is the way forward.

Kings Inns or bust

I drove a megan once. It's fine as long as you don't need to go around any corners. In fact I actually quite liked it, apart from there may aswell not have been a steering wheel in the thing.

Shint0

Boom_Bap wrote: »

As a previous owner of a Megane I would stay away. Comfy as bejaysus, but it's like getting a tank around a corner, the coils going, the threat of the window reg and trying to change the bulb in the headlight.
If he's not looking for anything flash but reliable, Corolla is the way forward.

Megane is definitely not economical either. The doors alone are a ton weight.

ishotjr2

Same scenario, my first car was an Hyundai accent petrol I drove from Dungarvan to Cork everyday. Did that for two years then left the country gave the car to my mother who drove the car for another 7 years and it was A1! Only reason she stopped driving it; was it robbed and burnt out. Maybe we were just lucky with that one... but I have another Hyundai now and that has been great for my family.

Mcveeno

Volkswagen polo is also a good option. One of the lowest rated vehicles insurance wise and considering how high insurance has increased at the moment I'd get indicative quotes before buying!

bazz26

I wouldn't be doing 120 km per day x 5 days a week in a car the size of a Polo. You would need something with a bit of comfort so that your not shattered after that sort of journey and small cars are not designed for those sort of commutes. Also the 1.2 litre engine in the 2002 to 2009 Polo is not exactly a pinnacle of motor engineering or reliability.

If insurance is a problem for the OP's nephew then house sharing or staying in digs closer to the job might be a cheaper alternative.

Kings Inns or bust

bazz26 wrote: »

I wouldn't be doing 120 km per day x 5 days a week in a car the size of a Polo. You would need something with a bit of comfort so that your not shattered after that sort of journey and small cars are not designed for those sort of commutes. Also the 1.2 litre engine in the 2002 to 2009 Polo is not exactly a pinnacle of motor engineering or reliability.

I'd disagree with the above to be honest. Yes the car has to be comfortable but size doesn't really enter into it. Some small cars are perfectly comfortable, some larger cars are back breakingly uncomfortable.

bazz26

Small cars are designed for mainly city driving with occasional long journeys. They are designed that way for ease of parking and negotiating narrow urban streets. On the open road they are not as refined as even cars from the next class up. Try driving one on long open road commutes everyday, with a strong crosswind or large vehicle passing you and feel how the light body begins to shake in the crosswind. Small engines also are not very efficient at constant motorway speeds. Bigger cars are more refined and generally have more sophisticated suspension setups along with soundproofing, interior room, etc.

I'm not saying small cars are poor, I'm saying they are not designed for commuting long distances.

Kings Inns or bust

I understand where you're coming from, I'm just saying don't equate larger cars to always be more comfortable/better on long journeys for the benefit of the OP. Personally I drive a Fiat 500 and have done Dublin to Kerry and back again in a single night on a few occasions and drive it every day, other than wishing for a bit more acceleration it's grand in fact it's darn comfy. I'm personally looking at the i10 at the moment as that's what I drive in the UK. Cruise control, very efficient even at 120KPH and actually has something left at the top end. The problem is it's nowhere near as comfortable as the 500 and has zero personality but I suppose that's not really on the OPs radar at the moment.

Now I have to admit I've had my eye of the Fiesta and Focus but they're still pretty small. I'm not for one second suggesting you're saying this but there is a contingent of people out there that won't go further than a mile in anything smaller than a Five Series.

gooner99

My first thoughts were that the corolla 1.4 d4d would be a good mix of being affordable, possibly not too bad to insure and tax due to engine size, pretty reliable, efficient, relatively safe and comfortable. It would seeem to tick the boxes for a commute like this.

I'm not aware of other diesels that would fall into this criteria?

Probably a few petrols around the same size as the 1.4 vvti, but again not many that could match or beat it for relativity, efficiency and hp.

gooner99

Well he passed the test. From an insurance point of view he's probably going to have to go with something 10 years or under. Given that its half way through 2016, it would be wise to go with a 07 or newer. That's probably going to mean he's looking at a smaller car. 2 cars that have been mentioned to him are the fiesta 1.25 or the polo 1.2.

Any thoughts on those two?

gooner99

Forgot to add he got a quote of 1600 tpf+t on a 07 1.2 polo. First quote he's gotten.

colm_mcm

I think that generation polo is hugely overrated. The fiesta is superior.

Lia_lia

I have a 05 Fiesta 1.25 and love it. No issues ever. Mostly used for city driving though. Comfortable for longer drives also. It's also great on petrol. Insurance shouldn't be too bad.

James Bond Junior

Citroen c4 hdi. Comfy and cheap.

bazz26

Fiesta is way superior to the Polo of that vintage. Sister has a 2008 for last 5 or 6 years and hasn't given a day's trouble despite only getting minimum servicing. Fiesta 1.25 litre engine is way more nippier, refined and reliable than the 1.2 litre Polo too. It's a no brainer for me.

gooner99

Thanks for the replies.

Corsa 1.2, What are they like?

bazz26

Nowhere near as good as the Fiesta imo.

colm_mcm

Nowhere near as good as the Polo even