Clueless lad buying first car... Opinions on some makes/models to go for?

mynameispaul wrote: »

So I'm looking to buy my first car. I'm in my early 20s, so I'm a bit late getting to this...but at least that means I've got a few extra quid to play with. My priorities look like this:

-Price: I'm looking to spend €3000, give or take €500.
-Insurance friendly: Young, Male, provisional, inexperienced driver alone on a policy - so obviously insurance-friendly makes/models/engines are better.
-Reliability/maintenance costs: A car I won't have to sink loads of money into is preferable, obviously.
-Look/feel: Any car is better than none, but I'd also like a car that I like the look of too.

Given that, I've looked at donedeal to see what commonly available cars fit the bill, and I've come up with some makes/models I like the look of:

-VW Polo 05 1.2
-seat ibiza 05 1.2
-skoda fabia 06 1.2
-Seat Cordoba 03 1.2
-Opal Corsa Club 07 1.2

Which of these would you guys prefer? Know what they're like to drive? Any common problems to watch out for? Which would you avoid/go for in my place?
Also, any alternative, similar cars you guys think I've missed?

Cheers!

Skoda and VW are the same basically and skoda parts should be easier/cheaper to find. Have you priced any low size engine diesals? More mileage... people tend to rack up miles when they start driving. I'd go with Skoda from that bunch but for €3,000 you can get more reliable cars but I see your problem. Being a houng lad. My insurance was 3,000 for a couple years but on bigger engines

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/suzuki-swift-1-3-litre-petrol/7601614

great little car, reliable, nippy, esay drive and not bad mpg.
all in all an ideal starter car.
ive enjoyed driving them in the past.

4 out of the 5 you listed share the same 1.2 3 cylinder engine, which isn't great.

if it were me, i'd get a punto. cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to insure, stylish, reliable, modern etc etc.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2006-fiat-grande-punto/8297906

ok this is where money management comes into play.
You should spend about 2000 euro leaving yourself with the rest to cover tax and insurance. and any other problems that occur when buying a car. eg changing tires, servicing the car, changing belts, water pumps, gaskets, and seals etc.

after saying all that I found a nice little charade for cheap again in mayo, are cars cheap in mayo or what?
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/daihatsu-charade-1-0-2004-price-drop-bargain/7733369

Like the suzuki its a reliable little machine, but just doesnt have the same street cred as a vw or yaris.
(even though there is something in the back of my mind thats telling me toyota is the engine supplier for the charade I cant remember, and cant be arsed to look it up)

Disclaimer: Ive never drove this one, but I have the older model and its a fine ride.

Dont let the badge of a car put you off. there is more to reliability than VW.

I'd be looking at something like this:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/suzuki-swift-2006/8298134

Keep an eye on Bangernomics you might just get lucky

personally yaris 100%

mynameispaul wrote: »

I like the look of it, and it looks cheap enough to buy... you're definitely on the right track! but the 1.4 bumps the insurance quote by just shy of €700... Do they do it in a smaller engine size?

sorry, they are primarily 1.2 like this one http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2006-fiat-punto-nct-tested/7847585

that said, get an insurance quote on some 1.3/ 1.4 cars you are considering, there is much more to an insurance risk assessment than just the size of the engine alone, i could be wrong but i can't see 0.2 of a litre adding €700 to the price of a quote on a 1.4 punto instead of a 1.2 for example..

mynameispaul wrote: »

I'd be willing to, but no one seems to be able to explain to me the advantage of doing so?

I mean, it seems to me that the value of the cars isn't significantly affecting the insurance quotes I'm getting (€100 97 Micra 1 liter gets me basically the same quote as a €1500 Yaris 1 liter)

What's the benefit of buying a banger now, if I already have the capitol to spend more?

What's the benefit of spending €500 now on a banger and €3000 later on a decent (but still very small) car, versus just spending €3000 on a decent small car now?

I mean, the only thing I can think of is that people think I might ding my first car, and devalue it a lot? Obviously it'd be better to write off a €500 car versus a €3000 car, but I'm expecting to keep this car for a few years yet...

the "benefits" of buying a banger would be something like:

a banger is finished depreciating so if you paid €500 for it, you could drive it for say 12 months and sell it for €500 and get all your money back, where as the average €3k hatchback today will probably lose around €1k in depreciation over the next 12 months.

a "bangernomics" car will also have a reasonable amount of valid NCT still left which suggests that the car is in a condition that will last the next 12 months (but in reality this is nothing more than roulette) and is also one motoring bill (NCT test + repairs) you are guaranteed not to have to pay.

i guess the only really noteworthy perk is you to avoid depreciation, which is a big cost that nobody ever considers. but it is somewhat a game of roulette. personally i think to get away with bangernomics you would have to have some background knowledge of cars and for that reason i'd tread very carefully if you chose to opt for it.

Ford Fiesta or Peugeot 206? Im sure a lot of people here had a Fiesta at some stage starting out!

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-125-zetec/8293894

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-1-25l-zetec-steel-3-door/8260089 (Personally I am not sure about red paint, can be inclined to go cloudy over time etc)

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/cars-for-sale/2006-ford-fiesta/7124093

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

i agree with your fiesta idea they are quite nice, particularly in steel spec.

the first two you linked i'd be pretty confident have been in some form of collision and the the third doesn't look like it's led too easy of a life either.

How could you tell that from those pictures? Genuinely curious.

Skoda vw and seat all have similar parts.

As someone who recently got a small car I will share my experiences.

I personally dont like the look of the seat.

Polo and fabia are nice. I would say go get a test drive. that said, you will not see many fabias. there will be more polos out there. the difference you will find between fabia and polo is you may get a better specd fabia for the same price.

Fiesta is another option.

Diesel is not cost effective unless you will do a fair bit of driving. like 1 hour + commute per day total.

I have a 2012 polo 1.2. the engine is essentially the same as older one. Great efficiency unless you are permanently on motorway doing 110 kmph+

I chose polo over fiesta because it seemed better to drive. Fiesta is nippier at low speed but loses it as you go faster. Polo is consistent throughout. although this is 2010+ models, not sure about older.

Yaris looks garbage, for me at least.

I've never liked the drive in Opel's.

VW has a better reputation than reality. I think they actually score worse than some brands for reliability. That said, in a 1.2 there isn't too much under the hood that can go wrong like in turbo diesels.

I'd say go test a polo at a main dealer. Fabia wouldn't be much different, just maybe harder to find.

As previously said, your first car should just be about getting your no claims bonus for as cheap as possible. I would say try and get your insurance tax and car for 3-3.5k total.