Be Excellent To Each Other

I passed my driving test first time! Yay! Didn't expect that. Though it did take me 60 lessons.

I'm hoping to get something with a size comparable to a VW golf. Maybe a Seat Leon/ibiza (I learned in an Ibiza).

I don't want to spend lots of money so I'll go second hand, obv.

Any suggestions?

A VW Golf?

I don't know if they're a good car or not so thought I'd ask.

I have no idea about cars, but congratulations on passing your test!!

Thanks mimi. Can't you knit me a car?

I'd always go Japanese mate - Honda Jazz, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla etc. Generally very reliable and well made.

As a minimum, VW Golf hideously overrated imo and, depending on the specific version you're looking at, potentially properly rubbish. All bar the really old ones are pretty horrible to drive as well.

Your best bet is probably to read the Gas Guzzling Money Pits thread and then do the exact opposite of what everyone in there is doing.

Cars I have loved:

Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris, Renault Clio, Ford Focus.

Cars I have not got on with:

Hyundai Getz, Peugeot 206.

I've got the same car since I passed my drivers test in 2001, a 1998 Volkswagen polo. That car is made to last I tell you. I thought about buying a new one this year, but what for?

Is a Vauxhall Astra any good? There's one in my town on ebay for £650 that is from 2002.

Your first car shouldn't be any good, IMO. You'll smack it about and abuse it and when it dies you'll be sad and then get another.

So a £650 Astra would be a pretty good choice (but get some AA cover to go with it!). It depends on what else is available in your area for that money, I guess.

with an Astra, you are gambling. It will either go wrong in a few months and need an egr valve or lambda sensor or, that will happen right away. Not nice cars to drive either, especially with all that wear in the suspension. Cavey makes a good point about the reliability of japs but i would add that anything from the Audi a3 / golf / skoda fabia range will make a nice first car. Or do what i do and just buy the most convenient/closest thing in budget!

You will get a lot of conflicting advice from everyone in threads like this. My advice is to find a car you like the look of, then check any enthusiast forums for common things that go wrong. If they're not that expensive, then go for it. If they have anything fatal, then try again with a different car.

You will never get a consensus from here on what is a good make or model, as everyone will have their own horror stories.

Having said all that, here's my experience:

1986 Renault 5 TC Rio: absolute shitbox. Had to hit starter motor with hammer every now and again to get it to work.
1992 Vauxhall Astra GLE: slightly less of a shitbox, but still terrible. Not great cars, and totally gutless.
2005 Renault Clio Dynamique 1.6: a great little car, handled well and nothing ever went wrong. Regretted selling it, but was skint.
1988 Volkswagen Golf GTI 16v: absolutely loved this, despite having incredibly heavy steering. I destroyed the engine by forgetting to replace the oil filler cap one day.
2005 Honda Civic Sport: absolutely nothing wrong with it apart from the fact I spent every moment driving it wishing it was a Type R.
2004 RenaultSport Clio 182: my current car - basically a slightly souped up version of my old Clio. It's getting on a bit now and things are starting to rot, but I completely adore it.

So there you go, my best cars have been French. However, you'll find people that hate French cars, and love Japanese cars. I am incredibly 'meh' about them, personally. Find something that is right for you.

How much is not much? And what do you need to use it for?

Mk1 mx5 or ford puma's are both great fun little cars, and available for under a grand. If you can get insured on them.

What's your budget?
Assuming £1k, I'd do a search on Ebay and Autotrader for cars near you in that price range with a good long MOT and then go and look for one that doesn't appear to be shit.

Your best bet for minimum hassle is something utterly dull and Japanese - a Nissan Almera perhaps

If you're getting an old car (like over ten years old) one factor to consider is how close the nearest garage for that car is IF it's not that common.

Just for availability of parts basically.

Like your sentiments mate but the reason why kids don't do this is hideous insurance costs. No chance, basically.

I had to do that with one of my Astra's



I managed to not replace the oil filter cap on my Picasso but it survived (drove it about 70 miles and the lights and everything turned into a christmas tree on the dash at the end but nothing during the rest of the trip)

My cars

Renault 9 - cheap but worked , had problems with the heater (driving on the M8 one morning into work and water started pouring out of the bottom of the console next to the pedals !) , it got patched up a few times but at least it worked

Astra 1.4 - again cheapish and worked fine - went through a battery and an alternator , and a starter motor i think (this is the one i had to hit with a hammer every so often) , someone ran into the back of me at a roundabout one night then did a runner , the damage to the rear was enough to total it :-(

Rover 400 - really nice comfortable car - however my long commute into and out of work killed it (about 130k on the dash when it died)

Volvo 440 1.8 - had to pick this up quickly when the rover died , again a reasonably comfortable car to drive (and the heated seats were nice on a cold morning) but it was expensive to run and again i killed the engine (it was still running but only on 3 cylinders) when i moved on (and about 160k)

Astra 1.4 LPG - bought because at the time LPG was cheap and I liked my old Astra and it worked out fine for me , got it to about 190k before it started to have engine problems and it had to go

Picasso 1.8 LPG - LPG on this was flakey as it was an aftermarket kit and the LPG part eventually packed in but i did get it up to 230k before the engine on it started to go - had to replace gearbox and various other bits n bobs but i did have it for quite a long time - also I miss the high up view you'd get from the drivers seat in this.

Renault Megane 1.6 diesel - only lasted me about a year then broke down and 'could not be fixed' by the garage and they wanted me to pay for all the random stuff they replaced on it while trying to troubleshoot it (although they decided at the end the engine had had it)

Currently I have a Skoda Fabia diesel , again for the cheapness of fuel (60mpg) had it about a year , its not flashy , its okay size wise but its reasonably cheap to run and does what i need of a car

I agree with everyone else's "pick up something cheap" and see how you get on with it and for your first car dont get something you really love because your going to ding it and have little bumps and scratches on it.

Oh and congrats on passing !

I'm pretty certain DerekFME isn't a kid

... Or newly qualified driver either

Bottom line? If this was realistically on the cards, quite a few people would be choosing well made, reliable, stylish, fun sub £1000 Jap roadsters over mundane hatchbacks to run as their first cars.
Sadly though, it isn't, so they don't.

My first car was a ford ka and my first ever passengers were myp and Ange, the day I passed. If I remember correctly, I mounted a kerb driving round a corner? Loved that car. Moved onto a new shape corsa and it felt like a tank compared to the ka

Ford ka's are brilliant! Would you like to buy mine? I just spent 600 sticking a new clutch in and tbe brake lines have just been checked. Make ne an offer. 56 plate, some service history, MOT in may I think.

We were very honoured. I don't remember the kerb, but you were pretty confident for a new driver.

Get a black one.

They go forever with the minimum of hassle. Parts are generally quite cheap (for car parts, that is).

Get something with a small-ish engine - the insurance is going to be a crippler to begin with anyway, without trying to get something sporty insured.

Worst advice ever. Hardest colour to keep clean.

A hoary black car would be perfect for him.

Make sure the stereo has an aux in.

If you want to see me go a bit white, ask me how that nearly killed me once when we're at Cott4ge.

My 2001 sxi Astra still going. 120000 miles. Egr values are the worst part of owning it though but found they can be capped for the grand total of 20 quid if you do it your self (which is easy) . Not the greatest car mind but way better than a pergeot 206 but then most cars are.

Japs cars however do tend to be good. However as i think grim said its better to having something cheap you dont mind denting and pranging for you first car.

The thing that is at least tempting with the Astra is that my uncle would be able to do any maintenance required at probably a cheap price. So there is that...

Oh and what do I want it for? Mainly just for general average usage but I want it to be big enough to fit loads of synthesisers (about 8 ) in flight cases into the back of it. A VW Golf just about manages this.

That makes any cheap car immediately more attractive. Unless you buy a fucking shed.

You want cheap? I can give you cheap.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 9248939121

I can't say I'd trust a car that old. I was thinking around the 500-1000 mark might get me something which may be a bit newer and less likely to break down.