The cost of your first car

[anonymous-user]

I'm helping a 18 year old I know buy their first car. Gees they are expensive. Even a 10 year old Fiesta is £5000.

It got me thinking how much I spent on my first car. It's over 40 years ago now and I think it was £700 for a Rover SD1 3500 (insurance was not such a restrictor then). That would apparently be about £3500 in todays money.

[Jawls]

I paid £850 for a Y reg Corsa back in 2015.

And yes, crackers how much more typical first car budgets have to be these days.

[superlightr]

£2500 in 1994 Toyota Corolla 1.3 Auto in gold. OMG was it a slug. But I loved it Until I opened the hatchback and stood up and banged my head into the downward pointing locking mech. Jeezzz that bought an unearthly cry to the Cornish landscape that had not been heard before or since.......

[GAjon]

£75.00 off our kid, no deposit down £5.00 a week instalments.
Mk1 Cortina, before I bought it outright me and Bill Tarmey who played Jack Duckworth on Coronation street would share use through the week.

[DannyScene]

£800 for a 53 plate Celica 1.8 in 2014

The same car (spec/mileage) is closer to 2/3 grand now

[georgeyboy12345]

In 2007 I bought my first car, a 2000 Honda Civic 1.4i hatch with 54k on the clock and 1 previous owner who was a vicar and was registered disabled (back when you could get the previous owners details on the v5). It cost me £2700

[TheGroover]

£500 for a Chrysler Avenger in 1988. Apparently equivalent to £1700 now.

[JerryEXE]

£700 for an R reg Fiesta in 1987, £200 to insure if I remember correctly.

[500TORQUES]

£800 for an old MK2 Escort in 1984, i was earning £3000/year before tax and i lost a days pay from that when i went to day release at technical college.

So a huge chunk of my take home income went on buying and running that first car. I basically worked for free after paying my bills. That's what you had to do when young and starting out in the world of work back in high unemployment Manchester in the mid 80's.

£5K on a relatively modern car that is likely very reliable and safe compared to the st boxes we were driving is nothing like as tough in real terms.

[Nomme de Plum]

Berkeley T60 1970 £60

Triumph Herald 1971/1972 £110

Mini Van 1973 £150

Still at school for the first two.

[carlove]

My first car was a 2007 Ka in 2014, so 7 years old, it cost £1,800 from a local dealer. Insurance was £650,, though I was 20 rather than 17.

[Eyersey1234]

I was given a M reg Fiesta 1.3 by my gran when she gave up driving in 2006, insurance was about £1000 TPF&T

[Muzzer79]

1986, Mk2 Vauxhall Cavalier. Bought early 1997

£500 as an MOT failure. I didn't have a lot of choices.

£900 in today's money.

An equivalent 11 year old Vauxhall Insignia is around £3000 today. But a lot nicer and probably not carrying rusted rear wheelarches.

[StuE39]

I was very fortunate to have my first car bought for me in 2002.

It was a mk4 Astra SRi 1.8 3 door with Irmscher parts fitted - cost, approximately £15,000.

[anonymous-user]

£800 C reg Ford Escort MK 3 (un)popular in 1992, the scary thing is that car was only 7 years old at the time and was pretty much end of life. I used to spend quite a lot of time scrapping off the rust blisters and covering them with Hammerite.

The gearbox linkage was so vague you didn't know if the (4 speed) gearbox was in First or reverse. The amount of times I would be late for work after being stuck on the M25 at Junction 10 before driving on the M4 as fast as the car would go before it started to shake itself to pieces (about 80)

I now drive an 11 year old car, which shows no sign of it's age and is still lovely and smooth to drive. Just goes to show how much better modern cars are compared to those in the 80s.

[smithyithy]

£400 VW Polo in 2007

[Trif]

£2200 for a 9 year old Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec back in 2009.

[BoRED S2upid]

Peugeot 205 17 years old and under £1000. Insurance was over £1000!

[Emanresuwen]

A '96 Peugeot 106 1.0 (4 speed!) in 2013 for £375 if I remember rightly, insurance was about four times as much. Loved that car, super basic but great fun on the back lanes, even with just 54hp.

[williamp]

£800 to buy this babe magnet in 1994
[url=https://flic.kr/p/QWmy43]

£800 to insure, and tax became free during my ownership as its a classic car