Not driven for 3 years - second car advice

[Stallzy]

Hi PistonHeads people,


I have been a fan of the forum and the classified section of this site for many many years, and made an account back in 2019 but never made a post until now. Just made my first post/comment on another topic as the "start a new topic" button didn't appear for a bit some reason, but I wanted to ask for some advice regarding what to do in terms of my second car.

I'm 24 and a bit under 3 years ago, in March 2020 just before the first lockdown, my first car which was a 140PS Fiesta that I was fortunate to have from factory basically was written off by a rear end crash from a large delivery truck while I was passenger. The car actually seems to have been repaired and is back on the road under a different number plate as the original registration was on a personal plate of mine, but that's a whole different story maybe for another day, where I may be able to find out more the history since.

I haven't driven since a few months before that as I had been busy with my final year of University, but also I live at home and train commute was much better than driving to university etc, and so driving would be more for the weekends and holidays.

Anyway, I don't want to make this first post too long but I would like to get a second car sometime over the next few months, ideally so by May/June time when car show season etc is on along with the nice weather that I have a means of getting to them myself and maybe have some driving experience / confidence back by then.

Budget wise I'd probably be looking £12-15k at the very most, but it seems anything German has quite the premium even if it's several years old, like any Golf GTI from 2010 onwards still holds a pretty fair value compared to a 2016/17 Fiesta ST. (Maybe even finding something in the £3000-8000 area would be even better because of this next part below)

I had a chat with my parents after finding a pretty nice example Fiesta ST fairly local, but they suggested that knowing how I am, and the fact that I haven't driven for so many years, maybe getting something less powerful and perhaps under the radar makes sense at least for a year or two, and building my savings up for if I want to do modifications to something more sporty etc while I build my confidence. I do feel though that life is too short to drive a boring car, and my last car was great however I wasn't able to modify it for several reasons, and now I'm 24 and still don't feel like I've had much
experience.

(edited bit out here to keep it shorter)

I don't have a huge amount saved outright to just buy anything in cash right now, but finance is an option, or I think my folks may help with the cost of the car, but insurance and fuel and mods/repairs etc is all on me. Safety and also reliability is important in whatever I go for to be honest. I love the look of pre-2010s hatches etc because nowadays, cars are designed so big that it just doesn't seem fun, but I think I may have to compromise and get something newer at least until I have a fair bit more experience, and I guess the really solid examples will be mostly the only ones still standing because of rust etc.

Unfortunately, we don't really have any small size / low displacement engine cars unlike some families that I can just use so just looking for some advice on what to get given my circumstances. It may be slightly biased asking a petrolhead forum, but should I get something like a city car or Focus/Polo (which could cost up to £8-10k depending on spec), or just go straight for something more sporty, however that may be too overwhelming as I haven't driven for 3 years and need to build some experience back up? And any recommendations?

Edited by Stallzy on Monday 28th November 07:09

[Stallzy]

Didn't want to make the original post too long, even though I sort of have, but "something sporty" was thinking classed as 125-240 bhp range, and something more sensible to build confidence etc like 70-125bhp. My 140 Fiesta never really felt slow at least in my use, but I never really went above 60/70 and didn't use fifth gear outside of dual carriageways. Still not driven on a motorway before, but have been passenger when my dad drove us to a meet via the motorway and maybe there's not much acceleration power past 70, but I'm not really someone who speeds and most of my driving was on the twisty roads / quieter country roads in my area, or brief bit of dual carriageway that I was familiar with. I haven't had any points or driving bans etc, just not driven for basically three years.

[nordboy]

Quite a long post, buy what you want? But reading that, buy what you can afford, don't overstretch yourself financially too much. If you are paying a load out each month on finance then you may well be living at home for quite a few more years.

[Stallzy]

nordboy said:

Quite a long post, buy what you want? But reading that, buy what you can afford, don't overstretch yourself financially too much. If you are paying a load out each month on finance then you may well be living at home for quite a few more years.

Thanks for the reply. Wasn't sure whether to wait for more replies to come in hopefully before replying to them, or maybe this won't get much interest which is understandable. Maybe I went into quite a lot of detail for basically my first post on this forum, but I've probably already discussed bits and pieces of backstory all over the place.

I guess I'm not really sure what I want and that's why I'm asking I don't know whether a sort of boring city car (Toyota, Hyundai, maybe even French lol), or maybe something in between like a 1.0/1.2 Focus/Polo or getting something that I actually want to own by my later twenties straight away. I just worry about how much time we've got to enjoy it before things go electric and also noise cameras etc being installed in our area, but that's more in the town centres etc I believe, not on the back roads.

It's a difficult compromise situation between safety, peace of mind and something fun. I just really don't know where things will be in two or three years time. Anything much more than the 140hp I had before may be too much to handle, but it seems sort of painful to put off things for another 2-3 years after I've been car-less for basically three already as I'd like to maybe try track days or attending car shows and having a car that is actually showworthy, not just being a spectator if you know what I mean. Right now though, I have barely been out more than 5 times since first lockdown and so I'm basically permanently at home but there's only so much you can live vicariously

[sherman]

I would go for something with at least a 1.6 engine as that will give you enough power to startvwith and be ablecto take a few mods later on.
At 24 I would be wanting to build NCB for a couple of years before any serious modding though

Also anything will feel quick for a while if you havent driven in 3 years. A better chassis over power would be my aim for your new car just now.

Your whole bit about your job is meaningless to the purposes of your post if you want to cut post length down.

[Stallzy]

sherman said:

I would go for something with at least a 1.6 engine as that will give you enough power to startvwith and be ablecto take a few mods later on.
At 24 I would be wanting to build NCB for a couple of years before any serious modding though

Also anything will feel quick for a while if you havent driven in 3 years. A better chassis over power would be my aim for your new car just now.

Your whole bit about your job is meaningless to the purposes of your post if you want to cut post length down.

Thank you! Well, there's the old MK7 Fiesta which had a NA 1.6 at the top, but you can get the ecoboost 1.6 ST instead which is a better platform to modify. In terms of getting something maybe as an in between stage to build my confidence, a Fiesta S1600 or something could be a decent shout, or even an older MK6 but my last car was the MK7.5 so I know they can hold up decent if the worst happens.

I'm not sure if I still have my no claims from my previous insurance. I was looking at quotes across a few different cars and they were all under a grand, but then I realised it was on the basis that I had been accruing no claims over the last couple of years, which I haven't because my policy obviously finished when my car was written off. The other party admitted fault after apparently coming up with a false timeline of events and I had dashcam to prove otherwise, so maybe I've still got my no claims, but I'm not sure I'd be going with the same insurance company.

Trying to keep this reply short but happy to have a dialogue with people as just trying to figure out things, and maybe there's manufacturer/models of cars that are budget that I'm completely not thinking about. I even thought maybe an older IS200 could be decent I've cut down the original post as I did have the same thoughts myself. I guess I just feel like I haven't really found a job that benefits from doing my degree, but I would imagine the majority of PH userbase is probs 25+ and maybe it's not really relevant to mention, but just feels like my own progress car wise has been slower partially because of that and I haven't had much time driving whilst studying also.

[daqinggregg]

My stock answer to similar questions, is a Volvo C30, why? Insurance is reasonable, IMO they are cool, fairly dateless, and have decent safety rating.

5K should get you into a very reasonable example. I wouldn’t bother with modding, until you’re in a better place insurance wise.

[Stallzy]

daqinggregg said:

My stock answer to similar questions, is a Volvo C30, why? Insurance is reasonable, IMO they are cool, fairly dateless, and have decent safety rating.

5K should get you into a very reasonable example. I wouldn’t bother with modding, until you’re in a better place insurance wise.

Yeah the C30 is pretty cool. I used to like them a lot when they were pretty new tbh and the huge rear glass. Only thing is I may kinda have some gripes now after the windscreen on my last car smashed completely on impact and glass went everywhere.

Also just noticed this got moved into a Car Buying section. I guess that's fair enough and might get more dedicated feedback now.

Good shout though on the C30.

[smokey mow]

As a young (ish) driver, If you haven’t insured a car yourself for 3 years and have a accident on your driving record (whether your fault or not) then you might find that some of the cars you’re look at may not be that cheep to insure.

[cheesejunkie]

nordboy said:

Quite a long post, buy what you want? But reading that, buy what you can afford, don't overstretch yourself financially too much. If you are paying a load out each month on finance then you may well be living at home for quite a few more years.

I agree. We’ve all been 24 once and some of us might have made some silly decisions on cars. I’d be negligent reading the OP if I didn’t say stick to a budget. Regrets, I’ve had a few.

Thinking back, at that age, fastest you can afford that’s half decent was my perspective but wouldn’t be good advice on the purse strings.

But a fast ford, pug, Vauxhall etc are still good options for practical cars with a bit of go without paying the, in my view, silly premium for golfs etc in comparison.

Just noticed the C30 answer when typing. Not a bad shout.

[Olivergt]

I'm surprised no one else has already mentioned it.

Surely the answer is an MX5!

OP, it sounds like you really want a focus ST and you want PH to confirm you are making a good decision?

The way I look at buying a car is in this order...

I want car X
I have Y pounds to spend
How old do I have to go to get car X for my Y pounds?

There are amazing cars out there at good prices if you are willing to go a little older and look a little longer.

My lad just bought a 21 year old Nissan Micra, one owner, 37k miles, full service history. A good focus ST might be harder to find, but buy on condition, not age or mileage and you should be able to find something that suits you.

[bearman68]

Well I'm going to buck the trend here a bit and say spend as little as possible.

Citroen C1 can be a bit of a hoot to drive, the chassis is very good, and the handling is excellent, even if it is on bike tyres. Buy one for £1,000, keep it for a year, cheap as anything to insure and run, and then change it for something a bit more 'fun' (Doubt that) in a years time.
The only real problem with the C1 is the size of it if you were going on holiday in it, and possibly the banter from your mates.
In a year, you'll get most of your money back (if it isn't modified).

But for £1k, plus some small insurance and running costs, you're mobile, in a fun little machine, that's reliable and cheap. There's worst places to be.

[Stallzy]

Olivergt said:

I'm surprised no one else has already mentioned it.

Surely the answer is an MX5!

OP, it sounds like you really want a focus ST and you want PH to confirm you are making a good decision?

The way I look at buying a car is in this order...

I want car X
I have Y pounds to spend
How old do I have to go to get car X for my Y pounds?

There are amazing cars out there at good prices if you are willing to go a little older and look a little longer.

My lad just bought a 21 year old Nissan Micra, one owner, 37k miles, full service history. A good focus ST might be harder to find, but buy on condition, not age or mileage and you should be able to find something that suits you.

I mean not Focus ST, but Fiesta ST had been a thing I'd liked for like 3-4 years or so. It's very similar to my last car though and it's a bit cookie cutter car wise and I usually go for stuff that's not completely the normal spec.

Budget isn't super important as I think I will be able to get help with the car cost side of things, but insurance and fuel and reliability is on me. That being said, everyone wants a good deal, and also I'm more likely to go from a retail/trade seller than a private individual because there's not much recourse private. Not had any work tonight so just been browsing through. A decent C30 seems to be around the £5k mark, but for £9-11k I'm pretty sure you can get a pretty decent VW Polo/Focus from say 2016 ish or even newer in the city car kind of things

[CrgT16]

Something basic will do. As you said you haven’t driven much so perhaps better to get some miles in in something you don’t care too much and a few years down the line but something nicer.

You may well be a confident driver but from your post I don’t think you have many miles under your belt so to speak so a cheaper care free car is probably adequate for now.

[Stallzy]

bearman68 said:

Well I'm going to buck the trend here a bit and say spend as little as possible.

Citroen C1 can be a bit of a hoot to drive, the chassis is very good, and the handling is excellent, even if it is on bike tyres. Buy one for £1,000, keep it for a year, cheap as anything to insure and run, and then change it for something a bit more 'fun' (Doubt that) in a years time.
The only real problem with the C1 is the size of it if you were going on holiday in it, and possibly the banter from your mates.
In a year, you'll get most of your money back (if it isn't modified).

But for £1k, plus some small insurance and running costs, you're mobile, in a fun little machine, that's reliable and cheap. There's worst places to be.

Fair point. Not sure where you'll find one for £1k though, considering the first generation Ford KAs I was looking at just for fun are around £1500-2000 at the least. Seems a decent C1 would be in the £2000-3000 range. Found some pretty decent Volvo C30 examples but they're in the £4500-6000 area I think, and I'm not sure how I feel about lack of sat nav system or parking sensors etc. Was pretty fortunate with my first car to have those things, even if the Fiesta's SYNC system was nowhere near as good as the Sync 3 in the Focus/Mondeo/Transit etc. Not had any reversing camera experience though and to be honest, sensors probably aren't fully needed if visibility is good and I guess if the car is cheaper, then I shouldn't worry as much about small damages

[Stallzy]

CrgT16 said:

Something basic will do. As you said you haven’t driven much so perhaps better to get some miles in in something you don’t care too much and a few years down the line but something nicer.

You may well be a confident driver but from your post I don’t think you have many miles under your belt so to speak so a cheaper care free car is probably adequate for now.

Yeah, I'm agreeing with that, just sucks a bit that I feel behind compared to other people my age or even just being born later haha, but that's life I guess. Just hope that time won't run out to enjoy those cars if I have to wait longer. Hard to believe there's kids and teens younger than me probably feeling the same

[eleveneleven]

I'd be looking at a Honda CR-Z. it's a petrol (self charging) hybrid so costs peanuts to run (£30 Road tax.) best of all it's reliable and a fun drive. Handles well and it's nippy very nippy, but only if you want it to be. You can numb or sharpen the throttle response with a touch of a button.

Ngatives:
- There's not much you can do to it modding wise but like others have said I wouldn't be modding anything without any NCB.
- It's a 4 seater but rear space is st. It's a comfortable 2 seater.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022110213...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022100303...

Vauxhall Astra 1.4 Turbo is also worth a look along with a suzuki swift sport.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022091598...

Edited by eleveneleven on Monday 28th November 09:20

[bearman68]

Stallzy said:

Fair point. Not sure where you'll find one for £1k though, considering the first generation Ford KAs I was looking at just for fun are around £1500-2000 at the least. Seems a decent C1 would be in the £2000-3000 range. Found some pretty decent Volvo C30 examples but they're in the £4500-6000 area I think, and I'm not sure how I feel about lack of sat nav system or parking sensors etc. Was pretty fortunate with my first car to have those things, even if the Fiesta's SYNC system was nowhere near as good as the Sync 3 in the Focus/Mondeo/Transit etc. Not had any reversing camera experience though and to be honest, sensors probably aren't fully needed if visibility is good and I guess if the car is cheaper, then I shouldn't worry as much about small damages

Yeah, you'll find a C1 for a grand. I buy and run these all the time, and my target price is about £500, and I bought one last week for £350, so they are about. By privately, from Gumtree or Marketplace. It's not particularly risk free in either of these places, but the C1 is pretty robust and reliable, so you can afford to accept a bit more risk.
I wouldn't be too precious on either mileage or condition, as they can be quite rough around the edges at this price point, but in their favour, they are very tough little beasts, and I've seen them (got them) with 200k miles on without any issues. The one I drive, has 175k, a cracked windscreen, missing syncro on 3rd gear, and poor tyres. On a B road on the weekend, I had an absolute hoot. 30 miles of twisting, wet, and empty road through a forest, and it was the best fun driving I've had for ages.
Reversing is not difficult in these little things. Keep it simple, get some miles done, and confidence built, and when you know what you're looking for, buy what you fancy. You won't go far wrong with it.

[Stallzy]

bearman68 said:

Yeah, you'll find a C1 for a grand. I buy and run these all the time, and my target price is about £500, and I bought one last week for £350, so they are about. By privately, from Gumtree or Marketplace. It's not particularly risk free in either of these places, but the C1 is pretty robust and reliable, so you can afford to accept a bit more risk.
I wouldn't be too precious on either mileage or condition, as they can be quite rough around the edges at this price point, but in their favour, they are very tough little beasts, and I've seen them (got them) with 200k miles on without any issues. The one I drive, has 175k, a cracked windscreen, missing syncro on 3rd gear, and poor tyres. On a B road on the weekend, I had an absolute hoot. 30 miles of twisting, wet, and empty road through a forest, and it was the best fun driving I've had for ages.
Reversing is not difficult in these little things. Keep it simple, get some miles done, and confidence built, and when you know what you're looking for, buy what you fancy. You won't go far wrong with it.

Interesting, but the 175k, cracked windscreen, missing syncro part has me cringing quite a bit haha
I was sticking to just Autotrader and PistonHeads for the most part, however I found a site randomly which seems to collate several of the main platforms into one search engine, which can be pretty handy for really classic stuff

[bearman68]

Stallzy said:

Interesting, but the 175k, cracked windscreen, missing syncro part has me cringing quite a bit haha
I was sticking to just Autotrader and PistonHeads for the most part, however I found a site randomly which seems to collate several of the main platforms into one search engine, which can be pretty handy for really classic stuff

Interesting. But in fairness I bought it like that, for a few hundred £, intending to use it for spares. And I sort of fixed it, and am now using it. It still starts and drives fine, and I have no worries about taking it anywhere. I have several others too, and this is the worst of the lot, which is why it's with me. <shrug> It's OK, it runs fine, and has a good heater.
What's the collation website called? I'd like to have a look at that.