First Car Suggestions - Planned Budget of €8k

Garzard

Hi folks, thought I'd ask this here as I've been planning my first car since March when I passed my driving test. I know there's plenty of similar threads on this but I figured I'd start one specifically for myself.

I don't plan on purchasing until next spring or even summer due to sudden dental expenses setting back the car savings lately. But as in the title, my budget should be roughly €8,000 by mid-spring.

I was discussing with my brother recently on importing a 3dr Renault Megane DCI Eco coupe for around the £3,500 mark; we'd found a few on Autotrader which had a reasonable VRT, and came with plenty of extras e.g. SatNav - it did seem to tick all the other boxes too in terms of economy and practicality but the insurance quotes, presumably because it's classed as a coupe are far higher than I can really justify, and being stuck for budget right now, I don't think it'd be possible for either of us at this stage to import anything before Brexit.

In terms of driving, at the moment I don't do a whole lot. I cycle to and from work, and either cycle or walk for local errands e.g. shopping. The bus services in my area are excellent too, so all these factors mostly remove my need to drive on weekdays; I have access to a 2nd Gen. Ford Focus saloon belonging to one of my parents which is usually available for when I do need it, but it's a big ask (and usually not possible) to borrow the car over an entire weekend for rural getaways - this is what I'm prioritising my requirements towards as I'd love to start doing these trips much more regularly. Also as owning my own car would mean it'll be readily available.

To summarise, I intend the car to be used mostly for long weekend trips so would appreciate the following qualities:

- Comfortable on both motorways and rural roads.
- Decent boot space.
- Fuel efficiency (very enthusiastic on a hybrid).
- An ability to carry a full load of passengers comfortably without putting too much strain on the vehicle would also be beneficial, though not essential as my social group mostly have access to their own cars.

Would much appreciate any suggestions, and apologies for the long post!

MorganIRL

Why invest your hard earned money into a bottomless pit, is there a reason u can't hire a car when you need it for long weekends?

If you have access to public transport and are close to work save your money for 2 months in Thailand or somewhere else exotic..

I bought my first car because I lived in a rural area with no public transport and I had to travel the country for work, otherwise I wouldn't have bought. (have 4 now and it's a habit that's more expensive than drugs)

Del2005

MorganIRL wrote: »

Why invest your hard earned money into a bottomless pit, is there a reason u can't hire a car when you need it for long weekends?

If you have access to public transport and are close to work save your money for 2 months in Thailand or somewhere else exotic..

+1 to this.

OP if you are over 25 you'd be better off signing up for GoCar for spinning around and hiring a car for weekend breaks, GoCar is expensive for this vs normal rentals. You're €8k would get a lot of nice weekend rentals vs driving a POS, as that's all you can afford to insure.