First Car Help

[choness2004]

Hi all (first post so bare with me!),

I passed my test last month and have yet to get my first car (I only live round the corner from college and work so I have no need to have one yet). I will be 18 in a few weeks and have decided then that I will get my first car, on my insurance.

I was looking at spending around £750 on my first car as I'm sure I'll knock it about!

Any help on what to get that is very good on insurance and where to look for insurance that is cheap (for a young driver anyway) would be great!

Thanks in advance.

[itsnotarace]

Congrats on passing your test, the day I got out on the roads for the first time (unaccompanied) was one of the best days of my life

Usual french clutter suspects, Peugeot 106, Renault Clio or Citroen Saxo with smaller engines

http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1716937.htm - these were always quite fun to drive (but not the diesel 1.5's)
http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1706130.htm - these old Golf Drivers were pretty good as well, but finding a low mileage one that has not been modified might be tricky

Insurance quotes will vary a lot depending on your postcode, just add a few mature (parents etc) named drivers to your policy and that will help. You can limit your annual mileage as much as possible which will also help bring down your premium.

Elephant and Tesco are pretty competitive for people your age

[Jayho]

Tesco and direct line were always the cheapest for me since passing my test, (now 20), so i've always got quotes from both of them and pit them against each another "oh yes, i'll think i'll call you back as i think XXX is £XXX cheaper" as well as checking comparison sights.

Dont know if you can actually afford it, but if you dont need it that much maybe get a MG Midget or MGB?

Maybe a Ford KA? they're fun!

[choness2004]

Thanks for the reply guys!

I was looking into a mileage limit, as I would only ever use it when I went out with mates at weekends.

There is a nice sliver Ka down my way going, might have another look at it

[petrolsniffer]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1758990.htm might be being a little bias

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1993-PEUGEOT-205-GTX-BLUE-/3...

Very cheap to run,insure,comfortable! and quite fun to drive

Try co-op for insurance

[choness2004]

I like the look of the 205, it reminds me of my uncle who told me his would run forever (had done around 150,000 miles) before it refused to work a few weeks later.

[choness2004]

petrolsniffer said:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1758990.htm might be being a little bias

Mind me asking why it is being bias? Not you selling it is it?

[Lunja]

Congrats on passing your test!

A few quick tips on insurance that have been discussed on here in the past:

1. 1.0l Saxos, Clios etc aren't neccessarily the cheapest to insure. Sure they are a low insurance group, but because every young driver thinks they'll be cheaper to insure and therefore buys and then crashes them, the proportion of claims coming from smaller cars is higher than average. Insurers then begin to see smaller cars as a higher risk and charge you a higher premium. When I was looking at cars aged 17, a 1.0l Fiesta worth £200 was £1300 to insure, but a £1000 diesel Escort estate was £750... Think of cars that less young people drive and you may find cheaper insurance quotes.

2. Play around with the mileage allowance. Someone on here recently did a great write-up on their experiences on shopping for insurance, and found that quotes for the lowest possible mileages (usually around 5k) were not always cheapest. Try higher mileages and you might be surprised.

3. Play around with where the car is parked. The same person as mentioned above also found that their quotes for parking on the street were LESS than if they parked in a garage. I have no idea why this would be the case, but if it saves a hundred quid, who cares?!

4. Get on the phone. Personally I have never had a competitive quote online, and only get reasonable premiums by phone. In general, insurers seem to be increasing the amount they charge for insurance, but people on here have had success when they get on the phone and haggle hard. You could perhaps use comparison sites to find the top ten cheapest insurers (MoneySavingExpert.com has a good guide for using comparison sites that will help you get quotes from most of the UK's insurers), but then jump on the phone, haggle them down then go to the next cheapest and tell them what the last insurer said etc until there are only two insurers left. It may take the best part of a day on the phone, but the potential savings are huge.

I hope that helps!

[choness2004]

Thanks for that, will look into all that. I was thinking about calling around after I had a few quotes, as it seems to lower it a fair bit.

Thanks to everyone who has replied, has been a great help!

[petrolsniffer]

choness2004 said:

petrolsniffer said:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1758990.htm might be being a little bias

Mind me asking why it is being bias? Not you selling it is it?

Nope I own one myself only been driving/it a month don't think i'll let it go anytime soon

[AshVX220]

Firstly (again) congratulations,
As someone else mentioned it may be worth while looking at classics, like an MG of some sort, as you may be able to get classic insurance on it. Maybe someone else on here knows more, but maybe worth a try.

[choness2004]

Thanks guys, before what year would you class as classic?

[choness2004]

petrolsniffer said:

choness2004 said:

petrolsniffer said:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1758990.htm might be being a little bias

Mind me asking why it is being bias? Not you selling it is it?

Nope I own one myself only been driving/it a month don't think i'll let it go anytime soon

A good a reason as any How do you find it drives?