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Wed 5 Jul 2017 16:04
New Driver - Steven Spencer

Hi All I am new here come here hoping to get some answers/suggestions Many thanks in advanced I appreciate any form of help.

Anyways I have just passed my driving test (I am 29 years old) a bit late I know but finally got round to it - so now the time has come to look for a first car

I am not looking for anything top of the range just a basic motor for a first time car to last me a year or 2 to help get the cost down on the insurence for no claims

My preferences are: not a small boot(trunk) and adiqute space in the back as me andm y partener have two children Oh and also nothing too steep to insure

Thank you all for viewing my post.

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 16:13
New Driver - gordonbennet

As you're past the first flush of youth, i suspect your insurance quotes won't be too horrendous, you won't be limited to the stuff the typical self financing 18 year old would.

I'd test the waters on one of the comparison sites with a few random samples of something you fancy.

Not enough to go on to make any real car suggestions, town/country/motorway use, school runs, auto/manual preference etc, are you mechanically DiY minded, oh and your budget.

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 16:25
New Driver - RobJP

As GB says, a lot more information needed for people to hopefully advise you on something good, and suitable for your needs.

How many miles per annum ? Lots of town/city driving, school runs ? What's your budget ? Where do you live ? (This is important, because lots of cities are going to be clobbering various diesels in the next few years).

We're really lucky on here to have a trader who will happily nose through sites like autotrader and throw out recommendations - we can all (and we'll happily share with you too) look up MOT histories, and translate what they really mean - and hopefully you'll end up with something that suits you and is reliable.

But the more information you can put into the process, the better the recommendations will be.

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 17:42
New Driver - skidpan

Ford Focus.

Available from a few hundred to the mind boggles.

Plenty of 1.6 petrols but the 1.8 is much better.

Cheap to fix, reliable and comfortable with a decent boot.

Skoda Octavia.

As above but its 1.6 or 2 litres and an even bigger boot.

VW Golf.

As above but costs more.

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 17:58
New Driver - Falkirk Bairn

Reliability ?

Yaris/ Auris /Jazz / Mazda2 - petrol

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 19:07
New Driver - Steven Spencer

Been advised alot about ford focus and got told it was cheap to put things right I was looking at fiesta but think the boot and back aren't great on space I was also looking at skoda fabia obviously not as big as a focus but i was told mixed reviews about skoda that there aint no good and they are expensive fo parts but on the other end some other people said skoda did used to have a bad name but they are alot more reliable now than they were a few years back

Anybody know if they are expensive to put right say did something did go wrong

Thanks again all

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 19:06
New Driver - Avant

Welcome to the forum Steven. We're happy to give advice on here but we do need to know what your budget is.

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 19:10
New Driver - Steven Spencer

Yes sorry forgot to include that information I have £1000 saved up now I was hoping to buy a car say £700 and pay the first months insurance/road tax off but say i had to spend more than 700 i could always save more

I just dont want to be spending too much on a first car as people said it will probly end up with a few scrapes/bumps etc.

Thanks

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Wed 5 Jul 2017 19:55
New Driver - badbusdriver

The bumps and scrapes is more a younger driver thing. As a 29yr old, you'd probably be a bit less reckless with regards to parking, fitting through gaps, etc!.

There are certainly nice cars out there under a grand, but finding one could be tricky.

But, as you have two kids, I'd have thought paying a bit more for something more up to date with regards to safety should be higher up your list of requirements than whether or not it may get a parking bump or two?

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Thu 6 Jul 2017 01:45
New Driver - Avant

The best advice we can give you at this budget level is to look for condition - and if possible some evidence that the car has been looked after properly - rather than make or model.

That said, as suggested above, a Ford Focus is a good idea as there are lots of them around to choose from: otherwise I'd look at a Toyota or Honda. Don't buy a diesel whatever you do: old ones can go very expensively wrong, negating any advantage in fuel consumption.

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