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UK drivers: Buying a first car (second hand)

AppleMatt

AppleMatt

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 17, 2003
1,787
33
UK
So I want a car. Lots of questions.

1) Insurance groups - anywhere that lists these, so I can for example look down for Lamborghini Diablo and see that it's group 34535879 and I can't afford it, but the Peugeot 206 fits juts right in group whatever.

2) Liters. I don't know the insurance/tax cutoff. Is it 1.1? Anywhere that this is listed in a table or whathaveyou.

3) Insurance. Bastards want loads from me (but I've only checked two). Any recommendations on a good insurer, or a comparison site like uswitch.com but for car insurance?

4) Cars. Open to suggestions. I'm thinking of buying it from a car supermarket, so basically a nice motor under 3 years old. Obviously things like a smaller engine for lower tax/insurance etc would be nice. A friend has a recent 206 which is quite nice, so perhaps something like that.

Thanks guys.

AppleMatt
 
1.6 litre - 1.8 litre
Manual (cheaper and uses less petrol)
Not too old
Relatively compact yet from a brand with a long history in the UK so that sourcing parts is cheap and easy.

206 if you can afford it would be superb.

Be prepared to get slugged by the insurance companies, 18-25 pay the highest premiums of all.
 
You want something 1.2-1.4 litre. Big engines are just a waste in my opinion (for cars anyway :p ), ridiculous if you're in the city, insurance price goes up etc. I have an '04 Ford Zetec 1.4L which has done plenty of motorway journeys so it'll sit comfortably at 70 and push more if you want to. Great little car really although Ford messed me about when I was buying it so I'm biased against them ... and it's finished terribly to be honest. :p

Definitely go and visit a car supermarket/showroom and see what catches your eye. Also check out the auto trader either online or pick one up at your local newsagents. There's always good deals in that.
 
Good stuff guys, thanks.

I've bought an Auto Trader and also What Car? Price Guide. I'll take a look at a car supermarket either today or tomorrow. Saw a Clio that looked ok, and a good price too.

Rokem, it's not discrimination it's statistics. Men have more accidents than women, therefore they're considered higher risk, therefore they pay more. Just like people with heart conditions pay more for life insurance - there's a greater chance they're going to die early.

AppleMatt
 
Try the RAC for insurance. They're pretty reasonable. Admiral/Elephant quoted me less but they have a interesting reputation about being difficult to claim from.

Small car-wise the 207, Clio and Suzuki Swift get good reviews from What Car.
 
I quite like my 1.9L beamer. Big engines do have a place :)

Personally i'd buy a Clio. Lovely car and i've owned one. Fiesta if you want cheap and cheerful, the parts are plentiful. The 206 is good too but i hear it doesn't hold the road as well as other cars in it's class. The corsa is nice enough too.

Unless you are older i'd say stick with a 1.2 or lower or else you'll be paying through the nose for insurance. My first car was 1.2 and at 24 i was still paying a premium (although i'm in rip off ireland_. A bigger car would have been a lot more.

Also why only 3 years old? My clio was 5 years old when i bought it and i never had a problem with it and saved myself about half the price i would have paid for a younger model. Very useful to pay for the insurance.
 
I'd look for something like a Seat Ibiza 1.2 (or 1.4). I'm not a fan of french cars because of the reliability. After a few french cars I'm not going back.

Failing a Seat maybe a VW Polo or something like that (any VAG group car basically).

You didn't mention budget.
 
Thanks for the ideas, I'll take a look at all of these. Not a fan of Vauxhalls but the corsa does look interesting. I was looking at the Ford Focus but it's really pushing it price wise. I'll take a look at the Fiesta then.

As for budget, I initially thought around £3000 from private seller, but depending on the car I'm willing to goto £4500-5000 (obviously though cheaper is better!)

AppleMatt
 
Sesshi said:
Skoda? A Fabia is certainly within your budget. Not great for street cred but not a bad car. Insurance is low too.
Click to expand...


Or the similar Seat Ibiza (all VWs underneath). Or, for even cheaper, an Arosa.

I didn't really get along with the Ford Fiesta we had.
 
AppleMatt said:
Not a fan of Vauxhalls but the corsa does look interesting.
Click to expand...

Watch out on the Corsas. Lots of driving schools use them so you might want to check the previous ownership out to avoid getting one where the clutch might be mostly worn down!

I know a few people who have older Golfs though and have had very few problems.
 
emotion said:
I didn't really get along with the Ford Fiesta we had.
Click to expand...

Why not?

Thanks for the further tips, I'll watch out for the corsas then. I'd like a Golf but we used to have a Gti and it was constantly vandalised, also there's the insurance issue with them - might look at a polo.

It's annoying, they all have their up sides and down sides. When buying smaller items it's easy to get top of the range. When buying cars/houses, it's hard to get just above low end!

AppleMatt
 
platebreaker website...

Might be worth checking the reg number on this site when it's database is massive before byying a car, to see if the owner is a speek freak or summat!! And if the sites doing stuff for a car accident charity then respect ;)
 
Take someone who knows about cars with you when you go to look at one, preferably a mechanic. Don't blindly trust the person who is selling you the car. Personally, I'd stay away from Peugeot/Citroen. I've always found them to be extremely vague to drive, the gears feel like stirring a pot of fondue. Fords are good cars, but they can be overpriced. The new shape Vauxhall Corsa is probably the easiest car in the world to drive, but as said before, check it's not been a driving school car.

As for insurance, I found the RAC to be a very good price, especially if you include breakdown cover in the policy.

AppleMatt said:
Rokem, it's not discrimination it's statistics. Men have more accidents than women, therefore they're considered higher risk, therefore they pay more. Just like people with heart conditions pay more for life insurance - there's a greater chance they're going to die early.

AppleMatt
Click to expand...

Not true. Women have more accidents, but they tend to be cheaper. Women normally crash into walls/poles/signs/trees/parked cars when they park, men are more likely to crash at high speed, which is a lot more expensive for the insurance company.
 
For a good company for Insurance I'd go for Direct Line. Especially if you've just passed your test. I looked for ages after id just passed my test and everywhere wanted £1000+ (For a 1.1 Pug 106) and I went to direct line and got it for £150 fully comp. Deffo worth checking out.
 
Cheapest car insurance = strictist claims policy. You get what you pay for, mostly. And in general, men drive more than women accounts for most (not all) of the difference there.
 
Rokem said:
and guys pay more that girls for insurance... yah it sucks and i dont know how its legal. isnt that like discrimination or something.
Click to expand...
same with colleges accepting more of one sex/race than another so that they have a more culturally diverse campus.
 
I just got a Clio. 53 plate and 1.2 L engine. My insurance, third party was 1100 for 10 months (it's a bonus accelerator thing- after 10 months you get 1 years no claims). The Clio's are excellent, I love mine.
 
I have a banged up old Grey 1.2 Vauxhall Nova with a blue driver side door, on an F plate, cost me £270, 3 years ago. I've spent about £30 on parts in that 3 years, not including new tyres.

Buy an old car!

New cars are built to crap out, so you have to take it to over-priced dealers and get screwed on a part that costs more than my car.

Rich.
 
Don't buy an old car!

I had a 1.0L Vauxhall Corsa 6 years old, and had it 4 months and in the first month parts came to around £700. I got it serviced, needed a new clutch, EGR valve, 5 new tyres, an off-side rear spring, new handbreak stuff. I have sold it because I did not enjoy driving it.

I now have the Clio and love it.
 
FearFactor47 said:
Don't buy an old car!

I had a 1.0L Vauxhall Corsa 6 years old, and had it 4 months and in the first month parts came to around £700. I got it serviced, needed a new clutch, EGR valve, 5 new tyres, an off-side rear spring, new handbreak stuff. I have sold it because I did not enjoy driving it.

I now have the Clio and love it.
Click to expand...

6 years is certainly not OLD!!!

There are ways of avoiding buying a car about to die, and all cars need their tyres changed, so you can't really bring that into it.

A long M.O.T is one, inspecting the car thoroughly is another, whatever the value.

There is not a single part on my car that costs more than £100.

I would never buy a new car, or a car younger than 15 years for that matter.

Rich.
 
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