What car to buy? 17 years old. Budget- £3000
Discussion
Hi,
I'm Isaac. I'm 17 years old. I looovvee cars but I've come a little stuck. I would really like to own a car that I can modify and make my own however the only car I can find that I like is a BMW 2002-2006 kinda era 330I/CI. My budget is £3000 however I am just starting my own business so this could go up to as high as £5000/£6000 but that's not solid yet so £3000 for now. I'm looking for a car that's easy to work on, has widely available parts and accessories and looks good. It's not that I don't want a fast car but as of now I'm more cosmetically and audibly driven in what I like about the car right now not speed and acceleration.
I hope this is an okay formatted post. I would appreciate any feedback if I could do better.
Cheers Isaac,
I'm Isaac. I'm 17 years old. I looovvee cars but I've come a little stuck. I would really like to own a car that I can modify and make my own however the only car I can find that I like is a BMW 2002-2006 kinda era 330I/CI. My budget is £3000 however I am just starting my own business so this could go up to as high as £5000/£6000 but that's not solid yet so £3000 for now. I'm looking for a car that's easy to work on, has widely available parts and accessories and looks good. It's not that I don't want a fast car but as of now I'm more cosmetically and audibly driven in what I like about the car right now not speed and acceleration.
I hope this is an okay formatted post. I would appreciate any feedback if I could do better.
Cheers Isaac,
isaachilly said:
Hi,
I'm Isaac. I'm 17 years old. I looovvee cars but I've come a little stuck. I would really like to own a car that I can modify and make my own however the only car I can find that I like is a BMW 2002-2006 kinda era 330I/CI. My budget is £3000 however I am just starting my own business so this could go up to as high as £5000/£6000 but that's not solid yet so £3000 for now. I'm looking for a car that's easy to work on, has widely available parts and accessories and looks good. It's not that I don't want a fast car but as of now I'm more cosmetically and audibly driven in what I like about the car right now not speed and acceleration.
I hope this is an okay formatted post. I would appreciate any feedback if I could do better.
Cheers Isaac,
Have you checked the insurance on a 330 at your age? I'm Isaac. I'm 17 years old. I looovvee cars but I've come a little stuck. I would really like to own a car that I can modify and make my own however the only car I can find that I like is a BMW 2002-2006 kinda era 330I/CI. My budget is £3000 however I am just starting my own business so this could go up to as high as £5000/£6000 but that's not solid yet so £3000 for now. I'm looking for a car that's easy to work on, has widely available parts and accessories and looks good. It's not that I don't want a fast car but as of now I'm more cosmetically and audibly driven in what I like about the car right now not speed and acceleration.
I hope this is an okay formatted post. I would appreciate any feedback if I could do better.
Cheers Isaac,
I don’t wish to be a blocker but your insurance is likely to be sky high, even if you live in a low risk area, do 1 mile a year, and have no modifications.
Although sounds like these don’t apply......
I’ll get it in early... lying or not declaring information to insurers is not a good idea.
Although sounds like these don’t apply......
I’ll get it in early... lying or not declaring information to insurers is not a good idea.
Yes. Well... I can afford a £3000 car with my brother (twin) as of right now, but I'm waiting and seeing how starting the business goes and then I'll see if my circumstances change money wise. £3000 is a lot of money right now and I don't think I would spend it with nothing left but a kid has to have some dreams and something to keep him working hard to get them. This car is mine.. just which car is the question!
The business does not require any funds. Obviously, I'm only 17 but this is a business venture that I have acquired skills for, doing as a hobby and now I want to make some money out of having those skills. I don't like buying things that are overpriced and I don't like buying things I know I could've got cheaper and fixed up to make it my own. There are £1400 330i and then there's some double that and I go for the one lower because apart from some specs they are the same and I can fix them up. I'll learn. It's the fun of having a car that you really enjoy. You get to make your own mark on it.
Well it seems like you’ve made your mind up on the 330i so just go for it.
Although take our advice; it will be prohibitively expensive to insure, tax, and use.
A 17 year old in anything with over a 2 litre engine in it, with any mods will just be horrendous.
You say you may have access to £6k. I would spend £1.5k on the car and the £4.5k remaining to insure it, because that’s how much it will be, minimum.
Although take our advice; it will be prohibitively expensive to insure, tax, and use.
A 17 year old in anything with over a 2 litre engine in it, with any mods will just be horrendous.
You say you may have access to £6k. I would spend £1.5k on the car and the £4.5k remaining to insure it, because that’s how much it will be, minimum.
roadsmash said:
Well it seems like you’ve made your mind up on the 330i so just go for it.
Although take our advice; it will be prohibitively expensive to insure, tax, and use.
A 17 year old in anything with over a 2 litre engine in it, with any mods will just be horrendous.
You say you may have access to £6k. I would spend £1.5k on the car and the £4.5k remaining to insure it, because that’s how much it will be, minimum.
tbf, if might be a bit less if you black box it. But I'm not very sure if you'd even be able to get a black box on such a car.Although take our advice; it will be prohibitively expensive to insure, tax, and use.
A 17 year old in anything with over a 2 litre engine in it, with any mods will just be horrendous.
You say you may have access to £6k. I would spend £1.5k on the car and the £4.5k remaining to insure it, because that’s how much it will be, minimum.
Not what you want to hear, but i would be looking at the cheapest car to insure etc, for you to learn about driving, you only start to learn to drive once you have passed your test and get real world experience. A basic car will allow you to learn more than one that does it all for you.
If your hearts set on an E46 then why not take a look at the 320i as they'll be a bit more insurance friendly but it still has a 6 cylinder engine.
320ci
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
320ci
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Doesn't matter who you are, how much you have our what your hopes/dreams are...
Get a Peugeot 106 of any trim/engine/edition (as long as it's petrol). Run it for one year and don't claim on insurance unless absolutely necessary.
At 17 they are faster than a pagani and you haven't got a clue where you'll be in a year.
Get a Peugeot 106 of any trim/engine/edition (as long as it's petrol). Run it for one year and don't claim on insurance unless absolutely necessary.
At 17 they are faster than a pagani and you haven't got a clue where you'll be in a year.
Thanks guys for the comments. I think I will have to just build up my No Claims Bonus until the insurance is at a reasonable level. By theres always a way I was meaning that I dont want to be idealising a car for the insurance it gives rather than the car it is. I wanted to find a car like the 330i and wondered if there were any people who could help. Im just trying to see the options out there. I understand the insurance for me right now is sky high so the dream car is just that a dream right now but I like to have dreams and goals!
I would forget a BMW, wait until you have passed a test, then research a BMW, put vrn into a search engine like confused . whatever, and after you regain consciousness, go and look a sub 1.4 cc engined car.
Try to put an adult on your insurance as a second/3rd driver it could lower the premium.
Don't try to share a car with your brother....it will not work, believe me the arguments will result in punch ups over who can use it, when, how much fuel the other has not put in, who is paying for the tyres, service items etc..... bloody hell my kids argue over whose car can park where!
Say good bye to serious money on insurance, do NOT lie to them over anything, if god forbid you had to make a claim they will wriggle out of paying up if you have been "inventive" over your details provided
good luck
Try to put an adult on your insurance as a second/3rd driver it could lower the premium.
Don't try to share a car with your brother....it will not work, believe me the arguments will result in punch ups over who can use it, when, how much fuel the other has not put in, who is paying for the tyres, service items etc..... bloody hell my kids argue over whose car can park where!
Say good bye to serious money on insurance, do NOT lie to them over anything, if god forbid you had to make a claim they will wriggle out of paying up if you have been "inventive" over your details provided
good luck
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