First car, need help/advice.

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 15:16

Hi.

I'm looking to buy a first car, and was just wondering if you guys had any tips/advice?

I've been looking around on auto trader (other big sites?) at cars like the Ford Ka (1999-2002) because they are reasonably cheap to insure (age 20 male here), but are there others that I should look into as well?

My budget is probably £1000 or so, because I'd rather pay more than buy a really cheap car and have to worry about repairs, MOT etc. A lot of sub-£500 car deals seem too good to be true. My dad has been helping me look and he said to try and find one with a year's MOT and tax, otherwise that has to be factored into the cost. What about mileage?

I've not been through the whole 'buy a car' process before, so what actually happens? Is it better to buy from a used car dealer than a private seller? Do I need insurance to test drive cars? What sort of questions should I be asking/what should I be looking for? Do I pay there and then, and drive it away, or pick it up at a later date (due to insurance)?

Any cars that should be avoided, and if so why? Any general tips for a new driver (did intensive course and passed first time, also completed Pass Plus) that I should take onboard would be appreciated too.

Cheers.

Disco Boy · 28 Oct 2012 at 15:17

Ford fiesta 1.25. Ford focus 1.6

Avoid the Ka, it has a horrible, ancient boat anchor of an engine.

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 15:38

Both of those seem to be a lot more expensive to insure.

Buchanan0204 · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:04

apeZ said:
Both of those seem to be a lot more expensive to insure.

How much more expensive is the focus to insure over the KA?

vail3r · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:23

The Ford Ka is really terrible, but I found it was the cheapest to insure so I had one for a year when I first passed my test!

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:27

Buchanan0204 said:
How much more expensive is the focus to insure over the KA?

Examples:

2000 Ford KA2 £1313
2003 Ford KA £1414
2002 Ford Focus 1.6 ZETEC 3dr £1973
2001 Ford Focus 1.6 ZETEC 5dr £1757
1999 Ford Focus 1.6 LX 5dr £1672

Some more:

2000 Ford Fiesta 1.3 5dr £1425
1999 Ford Fiesta 1.25 LX 5dr £1431
1998 Ford Fiesta 1.25 ZETEC 5dr £1649
2001 Ford Fiesta 1.25 FREESTYLE 3dr £1730

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:29

vail3r said:
The Ford Ka is really terrible, but I found it was the cheapest to insure so I had one for a year when I first passed my test!

Is it REALLY that bad? Why? Enough to shell out an extra few hundred £ on insurance?

Isn't a 1.6L quite big for a new driver?

vail3r · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:40

apeZ said:
Is it REALLY that bad? Why? Enough to shell out an extra few hundred £ on insurance?

Isn't a 1.6L quite big for a new driver?

Yes it was the worst thing I ever had the displeasure of driving. Had quite a few rubbish cars in my first few years of driving and it was the worst!

Everything about it.. The seating position, steering, road noise, handling and the engine is just gutless for it's size. Maybe some people could live with it, but I couldn't and after the first year I traded it in for a 1L saxo that I loved very much in comparison and even that was a shed!

Personally for the sake of a few hundred quid on insurance I would stay well clear!!

Kenai · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:42

Make sure you're tryinggg the usual tricks to reduce insurance such as adding your parents as named drivers for example.

£2000 to insure a 1.6 Focus at 20 for someone living in Kent seems somewhat on the steep side to me.

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 17:50

Kenai said:
Make sure you're tryinggg the usual tricks to reduce insurance such as adding your parents as named drivers for example.

£2000 to insure a 1.6 Focus at 20 for someone living in Kent seems somewhat on the steep side to me.

I've done everything I can to get the insurance reduced. Bear in mind that I only passed my test last month, and that specific 1.6 Focus is from 2002, so maybe that's why it's a bit higher. I'll have a look around though.

neoboy · 28 Oct 2012 at 18:35

I am not image conscious but definitely would not want to be seen in a Ford Ka being a young-ish male! Excluding work vans at work my first car was a Ford Focus which is most definitely a step above the usual crap that you get for a first car like Clio, Saxo etc. Very comfortable and spacious and sits really well on carriageways and motorways compared to the small cars. Insurance wise 1.6 engine gets good insurance quotes too even for a young driver.

Saying that Fiesta is still a decent choice and was one of he cars I looked at as well but being a sizeable chap I decided to go for a bigger car.

Haggisman · 28 Oct 2012 at 18:45

apeZ said:
Examples:

2000 Ford KA2 £1313
2003 Ford KA £1414
2002 Ford Focus 1.6 ZETEC 3dr £1973
2001 Ford Focus 1.6 ZETEC 5dr £1757
1999 Ford Focus 1.6 LX 5dr £1672

Some more:

2000 Ford Fiesta 1.3 5dr £1425
1999 Ford Fiesta 1.25 LX 5dr £1431
1998 Ford Fiesta 1.25 ZETEC 5dr £1649
2001 Ford Fiesta 1.25 FREESTYLE 3dr £1730

that 2000 Fiesta is only £100 more than the KA! For that difference I wouldn't touch the KA

Have you looked at ~1999-2002 Astras? Was recently looking for a new car, and there were plenty of those under £1k and the insurance was dirt cheap for me.

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 19:00

Haggisman said:
that 2000 Fiesta is only £100 more than the KA! For that difference I wouldn't touch the KA

Have you looked at ~1999-2002 Astras? Was recently looking for a new car, and there were plenty of those under £1k and the insurance was dirt cheap for me.

Insurance seems to be in the £1700+ range for 1.4 and 1.6 1999 Astras

TS7 · 28 Oct 2012 at 19:07

Ford Ka's are terrific fun to drive but I would certainly never want to own one / drive one for a pro-longed period of time.

Ford Fiesta 1.25 is the way to go. Certainly worth the extra 100 in insurance. The engine is far superior than the unrefined 1.3 in the KA. The Fiesta is also a nicer placer to be inside.

apeZ · 28 Oct 2012 at 19:36

Is there much of a difference between the Fiesta 1.25 and Fiesta 1.3 FINESSE? Very similar insurance costs. I really like those cars so might just have to keep my eyes open for a deal that has what I want.

Edit: I see the 1.25 has 15 more bhp, higher top speed and faster 1-60.

TS7 · 28 Oct 2012 at 20:06

Yep, 1.25 is a superior engine to the 1.3.

ncncore · 28 Oct 2012 at 20:14

Ford KA's suffer with rust really badly as well from what I have seen.

What about a Clio 1/1.2 ltr that was my first car and did me well enough for a couple of years!

apeZ · 29 Oct 2012 at 00:05

Going to keep my eyes open for (ideally) a 2002 Fiesta 1.25 that is under £1k. I can insure that for around £1.2k after some fiddling around, which I'm pretty happy with!

Is there much of a difference between the different models? Freestyle, Zetec, LX etc?

-westy- · 29 Oct 2012 at 00:35

Try to find a Ghia if you can, if not, there should be plenty of Zetecs about. Avoid the 1.3 like the plague, awfully engine.

act smiley · 29 Oct 2012 at 03:10

apeZ said:
My budget is probably £1000 or so, because I'd rather pay more than buy a really cheap car and have to worry about repairs, MOT etc. A lot of sub-£500 car deals seem too good to be true. My dad has been helping me look and he said to try and find one with a year's MOT and tax, otherwise that has to be factored into the cost. What about mileage?

I've not been through the whole 'buy a car' process before, so what actually happens? Is it better to buy from a used car dealer than a private seller? Do I need insurance to test drive cars? What sort of questions should I be asking/what should I be looking for? Do I pay there and then, and drive it away, or pick it up at a later date (due to insurance)?

You need insurance for test driving private cars - dealers should have insurance that will cover you but its worth checking in case their insurers give them age limits etc.

At this price, personally I'd not be worried about whether its a private sale or a dealer. Its a bit of a gamble buying privately, but a lot of the garages that deal in <£1k cars will often be a nightmare to deal with if something does go wrong so you can't win unfortunately.