Suggestions for a first car (budget, automatic)

vlunited

Hi all,
I am looking for your suggestions what car I should buy.
My situation: 35yrs old, currently passed driving test 2 weeks ago.
Looking for a budget car up to €3500 with an automatic transmission.
First option what comes to my mind is Toyota Yaris 1.0L but the thing is I am tall guy 6ft4" and really have doubts if I'll drive comfy in it.
Other option is Toyota Prius 1.5L but not sure if my insurance quote won't go through the roof.
I am not scared of the Road Taxes but Insurance thing scares me a lot.
I would really appreciate if you could advice me on what car to look at.
TIA

Buttros

I cant advise you on the car really but re the insurance. I'm 38 just passed my test earlier this year. I had been insured for 15 months ish on the family car. I bought a 171 focus 1.0 and my insurance is 707 eur. I looked at a 161 lexus ct200 as well. Same engine as a Prius. Was 1.6 auto and quote was 1300.

I was budgeting 3k for insurance and was pleasantly surprised. The named driver exp made a big difference. Getting someone else named on your own insurance could bring down the cost too. At least with liberty

grogi

Prius mk2

colm_mcm

Just to point out that the Lexus CT200h is 1.8 and a €3500 Prius will be 1.5

vlunited

thanks all for your replies. I'll probably stick to Yaris because of the engine size. it's gonna be over 10 years old car.. hopefully insurance thing won't hit me very hard

colm_mcm

Yaris automatic is a dreadful gearbox though. I’d avoid.

vlunited

oh really? didn't know that.. what about Micra or Honda Fit(JAZZ) both automatic?

colm_mcm

Much better.
Keep in mind Honda Fit is a Japanese import model so you may have insurance issues.
The Micra is a bit of a pox of a yoke though. Nothing particularly wrong with them mechanically but they’re just not nice.
Suzuki Swift worth a look as Hyundai i20, and Mazda 2/Demio (Demio is another Japanese market car) Nissan Note worth considering too.

boombang

How about a Yaris hybrid if the regular automatic isn't good?

Fiat Panda might suit a tall fellow (decent for headroom, though I'm not sure about your knees). Though they're getting very long in the tooth now and most will be manual.

colm_mcm

boombang wrote: »

How about a Yaris hybrid if the regular automatic isn't good?

For €3500 though.

boombang

colm_mcm wrote: »

For €3500 though.

Good point. Even imported from the UK or Japan could be difficult on that budget.

colm_mcm

They only got the Yaris hybrid in 2012 in the uk so even cheapest early ones will easily get £5000 Sterling. Lower mileage ones making more again. Add exchange rate, travel and VRT to that and you’re a bit over €6k minimum.

vlunited

Thanks everyone for replies. So it seems I should get a car with as small size engine as possible and to avoid import from Japan.
Probably I will go with Micra automatic despite it's such an ugly designed.
Cheapest Insurance quite is the priority at the moment.

marklazarcovic

Honda insight is similar size to Prius,auto,1.3 .. is also 1.3 auto civic saloon's.. forget a 1 ltr auto if you can

colm_mcm

vlunited wrote: »

Thanks everyone for replies. So it seems I should get a car with as small size engine as possible and to avoid import from Japan.
Probably I will go with Micra automatic despite it's such an ugly designed.
Cheapest Insurance quite is the priority at the moment.

Get quotes on other cars

vlunited

marklazarcovic wrote: »

Honda insight is similar size to Prius,auto,1.3 .. is also 1.3 auto civic saloon's.. forget a 1 ltr auto if you can

well I will check Honda Insight..
are they good cars mechanically?
I mean automatic gearbox..

vlunited

So in general is it a big difference in insurance price if I start to drive 1.3 over 1.0 ?
I know you can't say exact figures but approximately

vlunited

colm_mcm wrote: »

Get quotes on other cars

Can I get quotes when I don't own a car?
Cause I saw they are asking for car plate numbers to receive quote in some insurance websites

Alanstrainor

vlunited wrote: »

Can I get quotes when I don't own a car?
Cause I saw they are asking for car plate numbers to receive quote in some insurance websites

No, you should be able to enter the details manually. It would be fairly common for people to do as you are, and get quotes ahead of purchase.

Don't get too hung up on engine size. Larger engine size does not necessarily mean larger insurance premium, it's a common misconception.

marklazarcovic

vlunited wrote: »

well I will check Honda Insight..
are they good cars mechanically?
I mean automatic gearbox..

Insight is a good car,Prius is better imo.. no gearbox issues I know of,I've had a Prius and neighbor had insight,honda was slower.