What general advice do you give to a new driver buying a car
Discussion
I tend to forget that some people know nothing about cars ... yet they still need to buy one!
A friend's teenager had just passed his test and somehow I was there when he talked about buying his first car.
Not in a position to suggest specific brands or makes, but this is a summary of what I said, what advice do you give?
1. Check the insurance group. Low numbers are best for new drivers. Probably means a popular car with a small engine.
2. Make sure it's not a scam! Does the car actually exist - see it before you pay. Don't send money by bank transfer to someone you've never met.
3. Take someone with you to view the car, never go on your own.
A friend's teenager had just passed his test and somehow I was there when he talked about buying his first car.
Not in a position to suggest specific brands or makes, but this is a summary of what I said, what advice do you give?
1. Check the insurance group. Low numbers are best for new drivers. Probably means a popular car with a small engine.
2. Make sure it's not a scam! Does the car actually exist - see it before you pay. Don't send money by bank transfer to someone you've never met.
3. Take someone with you to view the car, never go on your own.
Don't get hung up on insurance group numbers, run quotes on specific cars on comparison websites, a Mondeo for example would likely come up cheaper yhan a Corsa.
Do your own V-Check on a car, dont trust a dealer on what they tell you about a cars history.
Check MOT history on the government website.
Do your own V-Check on a car, dont trust a dealer on what they tell you about a cars history.
Check MOT history on the government website.
Jamescrs said:
Don't get hung up on insurance group numbers, run quotes on specific cars on comparison websites, a Mondeo for example would likely come up cheaper yhan a Corsa.
Do your own V-Check on a car, dont trust a dealer on what they tell you about a cars history.
Check MOT history on the government website.
Agree with all of that. I had a VW Bora 2.0 at 17. Had the same engine as the Golf GTI 2.0 of the time, but I couldn’t get insurance - at all - on the Golf, because of the GTI badge, no doubt, while the Bora was particularly cheap to insure.Do your own V-Check on a car, dont trust a dealer on what they tell you about a cars history.
Check MOT history on the government website.
I’d personally select a handful of obvious first cars - Citigo, Fiesta, Corsa etc - plus some left-field (for a 17-year-old, anyway) choices - Yeti, Baleno (actually really fun to drive in 1.0-litre turbo form), Tigra - and get quotes for all of them. A good way to cut premiums is to get quotes three weeks ahead. Typically you’ll get lower premiums this way, as insurers can’t exploit the fact you have little time to shop around and need to buy ASAP…Can make a big difference to the cost.
I'd certainly agree some of the better deals (car & insurance) are away from what would generally be considered mainstream for first time cars. When no1 son was looking for his we almost bought an old style Suzuki Ignis (insurance was really good value) and ended up with an old style Civic.
Don't worry too much about cosmetics either. A new driver will have a few scrapes/dings anyway. I'd be looking at something like a Toyota Auris or Corolla, or even a Honda Jazz....something that, in the main, is likely to be reliable. I'd be buying from a dealer (poss some warranty?), I'd definitely pay for a HPI check, look at MOT history on gvmt web-site and I'd get someone with some mechanical knowledge to give it a once over. Finally, they should do a decent test drive and pay using a card.
Don't worry too much about cosmetics either. A new driver will have a few scrapes/dings anyway. I'd be looking at something like a Toyota Auris or Corolla, or even a Honda Jazz....something that, in the main, is likely to be reliable. I'd be buying from a dealer (poss some warranty?), I'd definitely pay for a HPI check, look at MOT history on gvmt web-site and I'd get someone with some mechanical knowledge to give it a once over. Finally, they should do a decent test drive and pay using a card.
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