Which First Car?

[CarlP]

Hello all.

Daughter number one is after her first car. Budget is approx £2000. Yaris likely to be out of Budget but can anyone recommend anything else? I think she quite likes Corsas and Clios but when you take into account insurance the choice can be limited.

Any recommendations, good and bad experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Demonic Angel]

I can categorically testify that you should NOT buy a Corsa or a Punto.... dire dire dire cars!

You could pick up an early Yaris for 2k nowadays.... little 1.0 will do her just fine as a first car... like these.....

Or a Starlet perhaps?

[Kev Mc]

I can categorically testify that you should NOT buy a Corsa or a Punto.... dire dire dire cars!

You could pick up an early Yaris for 2k nowadays.... little 1.0 will do her just fine as a first car... like these.....

Or a Starlet perhaps?

What she said :P

I'd highly recommend a 1.0 Yaris, I had 1 for my 1st car for 2 years & it was absolutely perfect. The petrol & insurance was cheap & I literally didn't have 1 problem maintenance-wise for those 2 years. It's also got a 4* Euro NCap rating (out of 5) meaning that if the worst happens she'll be in a car capable of protecting her. I compared absolutely loads of cars from before I even started lessons (bare in mind it took me the best part of 2 years to pass) & the Yaris absolutely hammered the others in my book.

Good luck with the decision

[jay dh]

i recommend a clio, mk2 if you can find one at that price. i had one as my first car and did me well.

a ford ka is also a good car

puegeot 206 seem ok too.

i know two of those are french but they seem the better end of french cars

[JappyBeast]

I rate Corsa's, I passed my test in one and they have everything a 1st car needs, cheap to insure and cheap to run. I also used to own a Cavalier, Vauxhall's are good cheap cars in my opinion.

Parts are very cheap on Vauxhall and they are easy to work on.

[Jamesb4uk]

Yaris or Paseo

J

[Gnome]

Corsa's and Punto's are fine, and it's only snobbery that seems to make people dislike them...

Just follow the obvious advice and get one that's been looked after and with a service history.

Jap cars will usually fair better, but you should be able to get something quite suitable for your budget.

Corsa, Punto, or how about a Ford Ka?

[Demonic Angel]

Corsa's and Punto's are fine, and it's only snobbery that seems to make people dislike them...

No John Boy.... its because they're awful in comparison to driving a Yaris! Talking Mk2 Corsa/Mk2 Punto's here btw, got no experience of the Mk1's or the newer ones....

And Peugeot 206.... awful driving position!

I know I'm a snob, but I'm an honest snob....

[Gnome]

No John Boy.... its because they're awful in comparison to driving a Yaris! Talking Mk2 Corsa/Mk2 Punto's here btw, got no experience of the Mk1's or the newer ones....

And Peugeot 206.... awful driving position!

I know I'm a snob, but I'm an honest snob....

Never called YOU a snob...

You must have back problems then, as I've driven those particular cars and they were fine for me. :P

I actually found the Yaris too cramp, but then my style of driving differs from others.

Possibly my only criticism of the Mk1 corsa, is I found the pedals too close together (then again, I've got wider than average feet).

Ford Ka's were easy to drive too, and there's plenty about.

Nissan Micra's the same, although early MK2's didn't have a lot in the way of creature comforts. My old '93 model for example came with nothing in the way of electrics, and the only feature was the rear wash/ wipe!

Still, great base for a first car. Reliable, started first time, economical, and cheap to insure.

Plenty around, and parts are relatively cheap too.

Also, consider a Lupo or Polo. Again, excellant little cars.

[Jinxed]

I possibly have diferent views on first cars to many... my first car was a 1 litre fiesta.... was about 5th hand, wasnt nice in any regards but i loved it. then I found out i could get a family saloon for less insurance with an engine almost twice as large.

I'd say go off what you know about her driving, if shes sensible and a decent driver then get her something she wants thats within budget and as nice as possible hot hatch, or saloon if she wants larger engine and a potentially safer car(for 2 comparitively good nick examples).

If shes a bit dangerous, like I was ... then I'd opt for a decent family saloon as my reckoning is bigger car, bigger road presence, better safety, less chance someone will challenge her on manouvers(eg. both going for same gap and neither stops). you can likely get an 1800 family saloon for the same insurance as a 1 litre hothatch.

Plus theres more room for friends :)

just dont torture the poor girl by getting her a 2 series volvo lmao... been driving one waiting to get mi own car back for the last 3 months and although nobody screws with it its living hell

[Kev Mc]

I couldn't live with something unreliable as a 1st car so in that respect anything French & Puntos were right out of the question, I know 1 person who had a Punto & another who still has & they've both had no end of problems & have both said they'll never buy another. I know loads of people who've had French cars (Clios & Saxos included) & they've said the same thing. Reputations don't develop for no reason & it's got nothing to do with snobbery, it's about the quality of cars. There are exceptions to every rule, there will be a load that are fine but I wouldn't even think about buying a car that a high %age of people wouldn't recommend.

[Demonic Angel]

No John Boy.... its because they're awful in comparison to driving a Yaris! Talking Mk2 Corsa/Mk2 Punto's here btw, got no experience of the Mk1's or the newer ones....

And Peugeot 206.... awful driving position!

I know I'm a snob, but I'm an honest snob....

Never called YOU a snob...

You must have back problems then, as I've driven those particular cars and they were fine for me. :P

I know you didnt, I just like to give my snobbish opinions whenever I possibly can! lol ;)

And I do actually have back problems.... you're a better physician than my current one - took him ages to diagnose that! lol It actually pained me to drive both of them, maybe the circumstances werent great for a test (just after accidents) however it totally put me off and I couldnt wait to get back in the Yaris!

Jinxed (as always) has a good point though.... a slightly larger car will be cheaper to buy (as they retain less value than a small car) and you normally get a few more mod cons plus more space for mates (which helps!) - something like a Focus, although common as hell, are really cheap to buy and run and insure - you could pick up a 1.4 Focus for a reasonable price and it's not fast enough for a new driver to be unable to control....

I've only driven a Focus ST, which wasn't too bad, but I can't compare driving that to a bog standard Focus but I hear they're quite good to drive - 99% of UK motorists can't be wrong surely? Although the 206 was popular and that's awful... so who knows! lol

[Gnome]

True, but then I had more problems in the Yaris than any other car I've owned (all 2 others!)...

You still can't justify French cars or whatever cars are all crap though.

Take our company salesteam's cars. All 406's. Just being replaced now with Passats, but 8 out of 9 were still without fault after between 80-140,000 miles.

Passats are brand new, and 1 of them has already had to go back with a fault with the handbrake.

As I said earlier, just make sure the car has a good history, and it's fine. Don't justify not buying a car because your mates said theirs were crap...

[JappyBeast]

My mate bought a Lada for £100 and didnt spend a penny on it in 2 years and then scrapped it, thats what you call cheap motoring.

[Johndcfc]

I had a mk2 punto for my first car it was 2 years old, immaculate condition - cost 5k. Had to fork out for a new gearbox, clutch and exhaust.

Nice first car, but it will cost a bomb to run.

[The Red Man]

You could get a nice corsa with one lady owner for 2k, My Mrs has one and it has not gone wrong in 4 years, so from a owners point of view its been as reliable as my Toyota. Your money would go further so she could get a better spec than any yaris, and in my opiniuon thats the only other option for the money you have to spend.

I drive most of the cars on the market and can catergorically state that Puntos are bad, stay away, well away!

[JappyBeast]

Yes, girlfriends last car was an R Reg Punto and loads went wrong, the back n/s window dropped down (was a 5 door), there was a strange rattle that no one could cure and when you put your foot on the brakes the heater controls used to drop off! (I'm not kidding)..