A friend is looking to get her first car.
She is 18, and has about £1500 to spend. Naturally reliability, running costs, and insurance are important.
Any suggestions of what to consider?
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£1500 for a car and more money in hand for insurance or £1500 for the lot - it makes a big difference! If £1500 is the whole sum you won't be looking for a car over £100 (IMHO)
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Sorry - typo! £1000 left over for the car!
Grovels!
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Quite right.
£1500 max for the car (not including insurance etc)
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Pete
Actually, Nick was probably right in the first place!
Key issue here isn't what she'd like, it's what she can insure. Check Parkers for insurance groups and avoid anything above about 3. Do lots of calling round for quotes BEFORE buying, and take no notice of what the seller says about insurance costs.
Insurance likely to be in four figures, depending on where she lives. IIRC Tesco, Co-op and Norwich Union Direct have been recommended here before for insurance.
Regards
John S
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And in case anyone missed it, I withdrew my recommendation of Hastings Direct after being charged £110+ to change the address on the three remaining months of my policy - bearing in mind that I moved to a lower risk area.
Once Again. Hastings Direct I absolutely do not recommend.
/Lee
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All good stuff, but lets take peteh at his word and try to give recommendations for a car for £1500;
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Honda Civic c. 1990 vintage? My sister in law had one, seemed bulletproof to me despite getting on for 100k miles. And comfortable, practical etc..
Shouldn't take more than half that budget at worst, I guess.
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Tell your friend to do the pass plus scheme if she hasnt done already. I did it and it cost me about 100 quid but knocked 300 off my insurance.
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Volvo 340/360? Ugly, heavy, and a bit thirsty. But solid, safe, quite cheap to fix with bits from Anyspares or similar, and if you're lucky you might just find a treasured 1990-ish vintage with one careful elderly owner. And they have those lovely heated seats to keep you warm while you wait for the AA. £350 should get a really good one, if you can find it.
Chris
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What sort of cars does she like?
If it is just going to be seen as a tool to get from A to B then I would have thought something Japanese. A Micra perhaps.
If she wants something interesting then she has problems with her budget. Perhaps an old classic car?
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What she wants and what she can afford to get are two different things!
She is very concious of image! What else can I say? So I doubt a Volvo will go down well. She has been offered a micra but "doesnt care for the micra". Her Ideal car would prob be a brand new Clio, or Yaris. - Now we just have to get her to reduce her sights, to consider and old car!
I was thinking along the lines of Old fiat punto or chinquecento, Citroen AX, Renault Clio (pre 98 version)
Kids these days! just not satisfied with four wheels and a engine!
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Having read here about the V/W Polo being the new Morris 1000 I cannot help (on my travels) but notice how many you see on the road of increasing and disproportinate vintage (to other cars) there might be something in this.
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Either an Uno or a Fiesta. I have three sons, two of whom had Unos as their first cars, while number three had a Fiesta. The Unos were remarkably reliable and v. economical. I can't recall any major problems, just the usual assorted oil leaks and they are prone to rust, so you need to locate one that has had some TLC - they are out there. Both the Unos covered big mileages over three years and, as you can imagine, they took a threshing. Neither of them ever failed to start or broke down on the road, other than with a blocked carb caused because the tank had been allowed to run dry and all the gunge had been sucked through the system. The Fiesta was similarly reliable and covered over 100k, seeming to thrive on neglect, of which it got lots! At that mileage it was still not using any measureable amount of oil. Again, rust can be a problem, especially sills, but these are cheap and easily replaced. Not as economical as the Unos, but not bad.
Try a small local broker for insurance quotes. The one I use is v. helpful and sympathetic where insuring young people is concerned and has never quoted silly money.
Hope this helps. Regards Ken A.>> A friend is looking to get her first car.She is 18, and has about £1500 to spend. Naturally reliability, running costs, and insurance are important. Any suggestions of what to consider?
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I\'d say Fiesta, Nova (maybe Corsa?) or Metro. Cars that have had lots of tlc from just one or two careful owners are there to be had - you just have to leave no stone unturned. Walk away from anything thats remotely tatty or shows signs of respraying.
My wifes 92 Metro was bought at 6 yrs old off an old boy of 82 who had put just 5000 miles on it. It\'s now 10 yrs old and in superb nick. Its also dead cheap to run, very easy to service and quite suitable for her needs as she only does about 6k a year.
I would suggest her main priority is cheap insurance, and yours is easy to maintain (will \'Dads Auto House\' be doing the servicing?). She should then concentrate on getting 3yrs ncb before moving to something a bit better when she\'s 21 and insurance rates are starting to fall.
I insure my Rover Vitesse at Tesco, the wifes Metro at www.directchoice.co.uk/index.asp?section=privateca...J
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Late model Citroen AX 1.1 with 5-speed box, sunroof and metallic paint should do nicely. Mk3 Fiestas at this price level can be very rotten, especially around the fuel filler and boot floor. £1500 is too much for a Nova, probably not enough for a decent Corsa, and you have the same problem with VW Polo Mk3/4 and Golf Mk2/3 (although a very late square headlight Mk3 Polo might just be worth paying this sort of price for). Rover Metros can rot just as badly as earlier Austin-badged ones, but sweet little things to drive.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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Hi,
I cant believe the pug 205 hasnt been mentioned, its a great first car, nice size, good running costs, very cheap to buy, parts are easy to get hold of, its a perfect car, i have a 205 1.1 XL G reg, just done over 90,000 without any problems!
My girlfriend has bought a 205 today, it is a GR, 1.4, electric windows, central locking, sunroof, 34,000 on the clock, J reg, (ULTRA low milage)Metallic grey paint, Car and engine is in perfect nick, it cost her just £1200. I serviced my car and replaced all filters and an oil change, i used GTX mangnatec, all together cost me £60, thats new oil, air and fuel filter, new oil, new spark plugs etc, its definatly worth a look
Hope that helps
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No doubt a VW Polo Coupe 1.3 Monotronic Injection or even the 1043cc makes a great first car. Well respected by the insurance comapnies and very reliable.
J/K plate 50,000 really good condition £1100/£1200
120,000 miles with ease
Good strong car, good surviver in an accident.
Two of my kids had them as first car. One taken to 131,000 and the second has done 60,000 commuting to Uni ober the last 4 years, bought car at 42,000 spent lass the £350 per year on it just had new clutch and front wheel bearings at 98,000.
Good Hunting
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As late a Fiesta or Panda as you can get.
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205: good car, and something like the 1.4GR would be nice. A comparable 309 would be lower insurance and a cheaper buy.
Fiestas: you can hear them coming up the road. Wouldn't be surprised if recon Fiesta engines are as cheap as changing the tires because the engines just don't last. Horrible cars, don't handle, don't do much except give good economy.
Fiats: unreliability!!
Polo: ditto the above if they're not looked after. Being German, once they start going wrong they're expensive.
Spent ages looking when I replaced the Polo and the 205/309 (or even an early 106) would be the best bet. On 205/309 watch out for driveshafts, have read that its a weak point. Otherwise great car.
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OK, meant to say Metros - look around and they're very cheap. A 114GTa is gp5 insurance and any 1.4 is great to drive. Mum's now got a 111 and the clutch is in poor condition at 36k, also a friend's is on 40k and has a bad clutch. Other than this, and front suspension (gas suspension sinks down,) they're good - uncle's GTi is on 125k now and still in good nick.
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Sorry,Dave, can't agree with what you say about either Fiestas or Unos. Ford engines are all very sturdy and provided that they are serviced regularly, with frequent oil changes, they will clock up big miles. My son's 1985 Fiesta went to in excess of 100K on the original engine without even having the head off and was still, as I mentioned, using very little oil. The car is still running well, having been lovingly restored by its new owner, a young man of about your age who bought himself some fun for £100! Alright, so Fiestas don't handle like Ferraris, but the handling is at least safe and predictable.
As for the Unos we have owned, I can only say that they were both virtually 100% reliable but again, although they were driven hard, seldom cleaned and were parked outdoors in all weathers, as with all our family cars, they did receive regular, meticulous maintenance. It does make a difference.
The only thoroughly unreliable car we've ever had was my wife's Renault 21, which was a real dog from Day One. She eventually sold it and is currently running a Volvo 240 Estate which is 17 years old, has been in the family for 13 years and at 181K has never, touch wood, let us down.
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Please dont let her have a metro.
If she crashes in one of those things she may loose her kneecaps. If you dont believe me have a sit in one and look how close the dash is to your knees.
I agree with the pug 205, but watch the camshafts and gearboxes in anything with the older overhead valve engine.
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How about Clios? My son and daughter have a 1400cc and a 1900 diesel between them (K and L reg with about 100,000 miles on each). Neither of them wanted a Fiesta (image??) or a Metro (horrible they said) and although i'm a Citroen fan I reckon Ax's are pretty tinny and very small and so did they. The Clios seem reliable - they both live away from home and I change the oil every 5000 miles and not much else has gone wrong in 3 years, excluding usuals, battery, brake pads, tyres etc (!) Both seem to go pretty well in terms of performance but I would definitely advise power steering on the diesel. I'm used to it and find my daughter's diesel very heavy to park, but then she reckons I'm an old git. And she's right!
PhilW
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Both seem to gopretty well in terms of performance but I would definitely advise power steering on the diesel. I'm used to it and find my daughter's diesel very heavy to park, but then she reckons I'm an old git. And she's right! PhilW
My mate has a 1.9 Diesel Clio, they look a very nice car, but the pedels are really heavy, after i drove that car i got in mine and did a huge wheel spin becuase of the difference in weight, very cramped inside as well, you feel pulled in, the 205 has a lot more room and is lighter on pedels, also lower insurance
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Something like the ebay item below could fit the bill - though I don't think the earlier AXs had the TU 1400 engine. With the TU engine they are extremely perky, as the weight of the AX is very low.
Most parts for the AX seem pretty cheap too.
1987 Citreon AX 1.4 TRS
Item # 1745017719
Late Pandas are good and might be funky enough if in metallics or a themed edition. If it's got to be more modern then the older-shape Punto is probably the best-looking - though I know nothing about them. Older Peugot 106s are getting pretty cheap now - and have always been cheap to insure. Most people seem to like driving the 1.5 diesels (and there's the same engine in a few late AXs as well, though I'd steer clear of the earlier 1.4 diesel). These seem to go forever on a tankful.
David M
You know Citroens make sense in an up-and-down world......
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Late Uno 1.0ie Start would come in at under £1000 for a well-cherished example (around 1993-1994 L reg), and the FIRE motor is a tough little unit.
Cinquecento 899cc version - fine, but only if well maintained. Read HJ's car by car breakdown on the 899cc Cinque S & SX.
The Sportings are much, much better and are coming down in price. If you are lucky you may be able to pick up an M-reg example privately about £1500. Generally reliable, but the interior trim is a little fragile. Bodywork is galvanised so lasts longer. The Punto is probably the best bet out of the Fiats. Should be able to get an M-reg 1.1 55SX (electric windows, central locking etc etc) for that. With these pre-1996 Fiats, there is also no red master key to worry about.
regards,
Paul
www.fiatbravo.org.uk
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The Clio is a nice car, but remember that even if it has a 'full service history' that can well mean that the coolant has never been changed and there is gravy circulating (maybe) in the engine.
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