Ideas for my first car.

Gti

Gti

Gti

Associate
Joined
16 Aug 2009
Posts
265
I'm thinking of a hatchback right now. I want the rear passenger doors as I've always felt it's safer than having people get out to let others out.
Preferably no "lady" cars like the KA, i've been in them and they don't feel like they'd offer much protection.

Would I be able to get a decent Golf or similar for under 5k?
 

cheesyboy

cheesyboy

cheesyboy

Soldato
Joined
7 Dec 2012
Posts
17,507
Location
Gloucestershire
Your name is Gti, it's your first car and you want.... something safe. Bleh.

How old are you (for insurance consideration), what's your expected annual mileage, how many people do you need to carry, and how regularly?
 

TheVoice

TheVoice

TheVoice

Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2005
Posts
22,976
Location
Glasgow
5k is a great budget for a first car. Have a look at the Focus, Seat Leon and Mazda3 too, you'll probably find you can get a better spec for your money with those than with the VW.
 

LupoLover

LupoLover

LupoLover

Associate
Joined
15 Jul 2008
Posts
1,225
My advice would be is try and buy something "Girly" as it will give you lower insurance premiums! This is why I had a 1.4 Lupo as a first car, it was less to insure then a 1.2 Corsa or 1.1 Saxo, more reliable, faster and generally better! £5k gives you a nice budget to do the same sort of thing.
 

Gti

Gti

Gti

Associate
OP
Joined
16 Aug 2009
Posts
265
cheesyboy said:
Your name is Gti, it's your first car and you want.... something safe. Bleh.

How old are you (for insurance consideration), what's your expected annual mileage, how many people do you need to carry, and how regularly?
Click to expand...

The name isn't a reference to the car.
I use to have a 600cc sportsbike, I've been through my 'tear it everywhere' stage. Will save the sporty car for my mid-life crisis.

29.
I'd say around 6k per year.
I would often but sporadically (due to shift work) give workmates a lift. Usually 1 but up to 3. On rare occasions I'd have a car of kids to deal with.

5k is the max i'm looking to spend as i'll also be buying a house next year so the less i spend, the bigger deposit i have.
 

LupoLover

LupoLover

LupoLover

Associate
Joined
15 Jul 2008
Posts
1,225
Tear aware stage and only had a 600cc? At 23 I had a 1300cc!
Insurance wont be insane really, the usual Hatchback Civic, Golf etc.... Id go Civic with a £5k budget tho
 

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Soldato
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
12,957
I'll help you out:

1. You want a car that's not girly.
2. £5,000 maximum because you're buying a house next year. It's safe to assume you want reliability and cost savings over something fun that has potential for big bills.
3. You're 29 years old.
4. You expect to do around 6,000 miles. Let's round that up to 10,000 miles annually.
5. You want a 5 door hatchback.

I recommend you spend £4,000 on a car. Keep the £1,000 in the bank for repairs for when things do go wrong. It means when you've bought a house next year, you wouldn't have to worry too much about car costs.

Go for something sensible. You can buy a decent 2005 facelift Mk3 Mondeo for around £4,000.

Beware, Mondeo's are workhorses. People often sell them with more than 100k miles on the clock. Don't be put off by this as long as it has the correct paperwork and has been looked after.

If you want something "smaller" then go for the Mondoe's smaller brother, the Focus.
 
Last edited:

Darryl_1983

Darryl_1983

Darryl_1983

Associate
Joined
20 Dec 2007
Posts
1,319
Location
Nottingham
About 8 years ago i brought a mk2 fiat punto 1.2 16v sporting with 50k on it for £1000. kept it for over 5 years (and 65k miles) and it proved to be cheap to run and maintain, and never failed me once.

If you'd be happy with a smaller car, I'm sure the fiat panda 100hp would be a good start, for a cheap and fun first car with 5 doors, though a squeeze to fit adults in the back i'm guessing.

Looking at about £2.5k - £3k last time i looked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom