New drivers and their first car

Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2005
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22,947
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Glasgow
I too still have my first car (2002 Astra 1.6 SXi), had it just a few weeks shy of 5 years now. Bought it for just under £2k, first year's insurance cost me almost the same but even a smaller, older car wouldn't have cost me much less and I'd been saving money with the intention of getting the car I got. Made sense for me at the time and it's been pretty reliable over the years and only let me down once on a drive to Bristol.

The fact I haven't felt compelled to change cars until now also suggests that it's probably been more economical in the long run too, I'd have probably wanted to change up from something smaller, slower and older quite a while ago if I'd gone that route.

That being said, I was 21 when I bought it, if I'd been 17 or 18 I'd no doubt have had no other choice than to go for something cheaper.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Dec 2002
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2,661
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Barton upon Humber
My first car was in 2003 a G reg faded red (aka pink) fiesta that was £500, im glad it was as i ended up being forced off the road by a lorry and hit a post on the docks, next car was an R reg Fiesta that a french woman in a rental car smashed into me going the wrong way at a junction.

next was my best car an was an 02 focus chic with full leather interior and it was ace, made the mistake of downgrading when i moved out and never had a better car since... well that i liked as much anyway.

i dont see the need for an expensive first car you can get a lot of nice older cars for a few hundred £ that look the part and are far nicer to drive then my G reg fiesta was
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Jul 2003
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3,678
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Somewhere far.
"Back in my day we didn't give a hoot about the car we had.

Now everyone wants a white 2.0 TDi Audi"

wot

LOL. Pretty much sums up everyone in my area.

Oh and 24/7 fog lights. Twenty. Four. Seven. Sunny outside? Fog lights! Cloudy outside? FOG LIGHTS. Pitch black outside? Side lights and FOG LIGHTS!!!!

:p
 
Associate
Joined
11 Jun 2004
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1,332
Location
Aotearoa
And for those saying you'll buy your kids a better car for 'safety and reliability', I find this wrong on so many levels...
Different countries, different culture. I have 4 kids, I will be buying 1 car between them. I will not buy a 20+ year old car like I did when I was that age. Our roads are inundated with cheap Japanese imports with half a service history. I will buy something newer with a satisfactory safety record.

Our populous is a little more reliant on their own mode of transport than say in the UK. As such, road fatalities for under 25's in NZ is high. Both my wife and I have witnessed fatal accidents in the 5 years since we moved to NZ. Safety is paramount in our minds.
 

Adz

Adz

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
10,277
Location
Berkshire
My first car was over a decade ago and I'm fairly certain I posted on here the day I got it.

My criteria were unusual. I didn't want a car that was cool. I wasn't too worried about running costs, or practicality. I just wanted the biggest engine I could legally insure (not actually looking at performance, just CC) so I ended up with a Mk2 Mondeo 2.0. By complete chance, having bought before passing my test with no ability to test drive and no family members to advise me on whether or not it was a lemon, I actually ended up with a fantastic car.

It really wasn't cool. I'd had my license about a week when I took a girl out for the first time. She got in and said "nice car Adam, my mum has one of these". :o

After lots of shopping around I discovered that Norwich Union would give me a 48% discount for that BS "Pass Plus" course which meant I paid £1200 for my first year of insurance, aged 17. I think the Eastbourne postcode played a part too.

10 years on my engine size has grown by a few litres and my insurance cost has scarcely fallen.

When my brother bought his first car he was gifted my grandad's Rover 25 so again no style concerns.
 

rjk

rjk

Caporegime
Joined
8 Aug 2007
Posts
25,381
I got a tatty N reg 1.1 fiesta after realising quickly I would kill myself in the vehicle i purchased originally.

i then rear ended someone in said fiesta. they took one look at my car. laughed and drove off. didnt even ask for my insurance details. his car was fine.

i got home, tied a rope around the slam panel, tied it around a tree and reversed until it was straight again.

rubber mallet on the bonnet.

good as new. parents didn't suspect a thing...

:cool:
 
Associate
Joined
9 Nov 2009
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1,310
Location
The Shire
I got my first car recently at the ripe old age of 28, a 21 year old Mx5 Mk1 (Eunos) for a grand & half... not sure if that counts as sensible or not.... :)

Sensible in summer, be careful in winter/wet !

With lots of "New driver, which car?" threads popping up, I'm just curious to know why new drivers appear more critical than they used to be.

OK, I got my first car back in 1998 and at the time, I, along with friends passing their tests were chuffed just to be driving literally anything with wheels and an engine and a stereo for not a great deal of money.
Don't think people ever spent much more than an afternoon deciding and buying their first car.

Now many new drivers appear super-critical over their first car and just can't make a decision. I'd hazard a guess that if the internet wasn't around, most on here would just look at a dealers or Auto trader and pick a car and be done with it.

I know "times change," and people always want value for money but is it about confusion over advice given? Image? Too much choice? Afraid of getting a car and being blasted on a forum as it is the "wrong car?" Or other?


Yarp, i passed 5th aug 98 and bought myself a nova sr, was the fastest thing i could afford to insure etc ! I fitted a stereo myself and didnt bother doing anything else to it, just to have some wheels to nip around in that was fine. Kids these days are so precious and expect the moon on a stick!
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2004
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26,494
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....
My first car cost £100 and toke about a year to make it road worthy! So much angle grinding, so much putty and paint!

It looked awful, but to me it was literally the best thing on the road. It was awful too, old S/S exhausts a K&N induction kit that I found and re-designed to fit.

Messed it up pretty shortly though.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Jan 2007
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15,428
Location
PA, USA (Orig UK)
At 17 I got an Austin Mini 850. Cost me about £550 and was a total shed. Insurance was £330 TPF&T. The only car cheaper to insure was a Dolly (2CV).

Taught me basic mechanics (and a lot more) as I ended up rebuilding the thing from the ground up. Totally replacing the entire front end (Literally drilled all the spot welds out), the floor pans, new subframes, wheels (Wellers :D ), and had 3 engines in it's life time of me owning it.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Sep 2011
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10,575
Location
Portsmouth (Southsea)
Taught me basic mechanics (and a lot more) as I ended up rebuilding the thing from the ground up. Totally replacing the entire front end (Literally drilled all the spot welds out), the floor pans, new subframes, wheels (Wellers :D ), and had 3 engines in it's life time of me owning it.
That's one thing I love about getting an old car for a first, means you can really get your hands dirty with some DIY repair work & learn how it works.

I wouldn't want to play around with a brand new/newish car, but something 20 years+ old is great to learn with.

Will be replacing the front discs/pads & clearing/checking over the callipers this weekend if I get time, along with getting the stuff to sort out my alloys!.

Already know how to wire most of the electronics, replace all the light fixtures along with a load of other things - something which many people may miss if they start expensive for a first car.

Sensible in summer, be careful in winter/wet !
Haha, I think I'll be careful in any weather for a while as a new driver - due to no roof, air-bags or ABS! :D.
 
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Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2003
Posts
14,476
Renault 5 campus, cost me £1100 and kept it for two years before selling it for.. £1100 :D Only needed new spark plugs in that entire time.

Insurance was about £900 fully comp from what I remember, was relatively cheap compared to my mates though.
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Jul 2003
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3,678
Location
Somewhere far.
From what I've seen, a lot of these new drivers have more money than sense (whether the money was their own or not).

From the people around here that I see with brand spanking new cars after seeing them in a learner car, definitely not their own money :p

I bought my first car (e36 318is) for the princely sum of £1000. Spent the next year fixing it up and solving various mechanical issues like a horrible misfire, refreshed it's suspension, retrofitted the 18 button OBC and installed a better audio system.

Sold it after the window stopped working for the 3rd time and have regretted it since. My 330i is a nicer place to be but you don't have to work it to get the best out of the car.

Wish I hadn't sold that E36 now :(
 
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