retired_srujanach

Forgot about mods, although you can check before you do them how they would affect insurance cost. Chances are they will bump it up to much to make the worthwhile until you move onto the better car with your couple of years no claims behind you.

retired_angeliwuoma

Forget the mods it wil cripple you financially unless you want to deal with a company that will only answer sales calls.

What you need to show insurers is that you're a sensible lad who isn't going to be screaming around the one-way sytem all evening (any mods & you'll get that tag) or not being able to appreiciate that the shopping trolley you bought was not designed to take corners at racing speeds.

Sorry to put a downer on you but for the first few years you need stick to a car that your mates will laugh at, but remember you still have your own car & they won't mind what it looks like when they want a lift somewhere.

I started in a powder blue B reg 1.1 fiesta but because I'd not spent much money & gained some no claims bonus 2 years later I had a 205 GTi followed by a Lancia Delta Intergrale & my mates we're still paying off the loans for the first cars they no longer had.

retired_DonWon

Mark II Ford Escort

retired_vini

fiesta's from about 2001 are usually good for about a grand and not too bad on the old insurance,as a tip when you pass its worth spending £150 on the pass plus course 6 hours extra training in motorway driving and other guff they dont teach you on your driving lessons = cheaper insurance :cool:

retired_barbie34

Think I'm going to get a Corsa just beause that's what I'm learning in.

retired_angeliwuoma

As far as I remember only Provident & Zurich offer a pass plus discount for male drivers & Provident stopped insuring under 21's last year.

Get prices with & without pass plus before you dish out another £150 to your driving instructor.

retired_broennum

First car was a Nova 1.2i. Great little runner, never broke down on me, great mileage.

Insurance for the first year was £1,250 third party only. I did the pass plus but it didn't really seem to make a difference to the prices online, as some sites don't ask whereas some do, probably best to ring up and tell them and ask for some knocked off.

retired_salemcobol

As nearly everyone has said. Get something small, with low insurance. IT means looking at a 1lt to 1.2, which are usually cheaper on road tax pre 2002.

Please don`t put a big exhaust on a 1.1l car, you will only look like a spanner, as it makes next to no difference on performance and anyone who knows about cars will laugh. If you do feel the need to do something get a decent panel filter, but even then its not really worth it and will only put a dent in your pocket for fuel bills. Also loads of insurance companies will not accept any mods on a car, any that do accept mods will near double the premium.

Buy the car that your head says "my granny would drive that" and use it for getting no claims down for the first few years. Cars like corsa, clio, punto, Ibiza, Fiesta, yaris are all good bases to start.

My first car was a B-Reg Nova 1 litre. It was a sh|t brown colour and had dents in every panel (when i bought it) I kept it for 3yrs and never had a moments problem. Insurance was £480 3rd party/fire/theft at the time.

If you have up to £2000/£3000 I`d recommend either the Seat Arosa or VW Lupo. They are basically one in the same, cheap motoring and brilliantly built. the 1ltr are ideal first cars. I`ve got a 1.4tdi arosa and road tax is £35 a year, insurance £150 fully comp and it does 65mpg, its one of the cheapest things you can drive, but its still quick. and easy to mod, if you are really into that sort of thing.

retired_jnc021

dont look just at the price of the car - look at how much the car will cost, how much the insurance will cost, how much the insurance will cost after a year. you find in a lot of places that small cars are more expensive to buy than a slightly bigger one, as there is more demand for them second-hand (usually as a first car).

you might find that an 8 y/o megane/escort/astra etc could cost you about £500 less to buy than a 10y/o clio/fiesta/corsa etc with more miles on it. you then have to balance out which option is cheapest for you when you take into account the insurance (the bigger car might sometimes only be £50-£200 more, depending on the engine (1.4 in particular, even compared to a 1.0) with some insurance companies), so it could work out cheaper to get the slightly bigger car - which you also might be happier to keep for an extra couple of years.

basically, look around, get a lot of quotes on a lot of cars, and add up the prices for each option. however, if you find a car that looks like it should be more expensive than it is, and you are seriously considering it, then it would be worth getting it checked by a third-party - it could be cheap due to being a reconstructed write-off or something similar.

i also wouldnt recommend learning to drive in your own car straight away - take lessons in an instructors car to get used to using the clutch properly; in your own car, you havent got someone else on a second set of pedals to make sure you dont stall every time you pull away.

retired_salemcobol

Bigger cars = more insurance, more fuel & more road tax. Even after factoring in the slightly higher price for a smaller car (often not the case anyway) a larger car will always cost you more. Anything pre-2001 and over a 1.6ltr will cost you near £200 a year in road tax alone.