After my first car

[Joe 90]

At the grand old age of 24 I'm finally finding myself in need of a car.

I thought I had one in the bag when my mum said someone she worked with was selling a Fiesta with 50k on it for 1200, but when we phoned tonight they'd already sold it

So, I'm looking at a 1.8d Fiesta with 60k on it - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ge/1?logcode=p

I'm hoping that its still available as I understand them to be great cars, but beyond that, and the obvious corsa alternative what do you think I should look out for? Only need it for a year or so, until the insurance companies finally look at me with some respect.
Got £1200ish so looking at these with that kind of list price in the hope I can get them for nearer 1k.

[divine]

At 24, don't be under the impression you need a total heap to get reasonable insurance.

I can get a 1.8T Golf GTi insured at 23 for £1000 with only 3 months experience. I'm not suggesting of course that you get one of those but just that at your age, you'd be surprised by the sort of cars that you can probably insure half reasonably. No need to suffer the delights of an old N/A 1.8 Ford Diesel when you can probably insure something with a nice 1.6 petrol engine for not a lot more money.

[Joe 90]

well I was getting quotes of £1400 for an S3 a few months ago, so was planning to save some money for about 6 months, and then get one of them. But now thats up to 2k+ and a 1.7 Puma in at £1400, so things are a bit up and down.

Although I'm looking at Fiestas etc because I've only been working for 2 months, so only managed to get together about £1500 to spend. Currently share a car with my brother and my mum, all of whom could do with it so thats the reason for the urgency.

[karbon]

i had a wee look at leasing a peugeot the other day. brand new 207 on their "just add fuel" thing, which is warranty, servicing and insurance for over 21's for about 200 quid a month for 2 years. works out similar price for me to insure and pay off the old 206 we have, or get a brand new 207.

[Joe 90]

that would be what I'd do if I hard a perm job. I'm 2 months in to contract work though and on a 3 month contract. So trying to avoid credit options because although I'm sure there will be more work, I can't be sure.

[Pickers]

Dont forget its not just insurance; its road tax and fuel economy too.
You would be daft to go for a mid to large petrol engine if you only really need a run about. When I bought my 1.2 clio, some scoffed as for similar money I could have bought a physically larger car with bigger engine - but i didnt need it. Not only cost of running would have been more, but harder to park where I live too!

Go with what you need, use quidco for insurance, and be confident you are paying out only what you need rather than "for a little bit more I can do this" as you do run the risk of setting yourself up for prolonged increased running costs.

[divine]

Originally Posted by Pickers

Dont forget its not just insurance; its road tax and fuel economy too.
You would be daft to go for a mid to large petrol engine if you only really need a run about. When I bought my 1.2 clio, some scoffed as for similar money I could have bought a physically larger car with bigger engine - but i didnt need it. Not only cost of running would have been more, but harder to park where I live too!

Go with what you need, use quidco for insurance, and be confident you are paying out only what you need rather than "for a little bit more I can do this" as you do run the risk of setting yourself up for prolonged increased running costs.

Take your Clio as an example (i'm assuming you have the 2001-2008 shape for this).

You have the 1.2, assuming this is the lower power version, the official figures are 47MPG with 60BHP. The 1.6 16V engine gets figures of 39MPG with 110BHP.

If the car is a runabout, lets say you do maybe 5000 miles a year? The difference in petrol costs would be about £10 a month. Road Tax? £30 a year.

That tiny extra outlay gets you the same fundamental car, except with an engine that doesn't take a quarter of a minute to reach NSL and won't feel sluggish and slow.

You make it sound as if getting a car with a slightly pokier engine is going to double the outgoings. In reality it wouldn't be noticeably more expensive at all and that was an extreme example with the top and bottom range engines, going for a middle of the road 1.4 or something would be even less extra.

Like I said, i'm not suggesting he jump into a 1.8T Golf GTi but you can easily insure and run something with a bit more poke than a 1980s Ford non turbo diesel engine for not a lot more money.

Del Lardo's suggestion is good, the 1.25 Zetec isn't a bad engine for the Fiesta.

What i'm driving at the moment is a 1.4 16v Polo, might be worth looking at, very happy with it as a first car. Cheap to insure, a decent amount of poke, doesn't seem to expensive on fuel...

Also, regarding the insurance, I take it you're trying the various tricks like adding your parents as named drivers, being creative with job titles and so on?

[Pickers]

Originally Posted by divine

You make it sound as if getting a car with a slightly pokier engine is going to double the outgoings. In reality it wouldn't be noticeably more expensive at all and that was an extreme example with the top and bottom range engines, going for a middle of the road 1.4 or something would be even less extra.

Maybe so mate. I was just pointing out that there are other things to consider and to be weary of going for a higher spec because the initial outgoings would be similar. I'm just a thrifty s.o.a.b to be honest

[divine]

Originally Posted by divine

What i'm driving at the moment is a 1.4 16v Polo, might be worth looking at, very happy with it as a first car. Cheap to insure, a decent amount of poke, doesn't seem to expensive on fuel...

(well, apart from the 16v bit but other than it's basically the same )

[Joe 90]

Well providing I keep to a smaller car, my expenses will cover any running costs incurred thankfully