Yeah I don’t like Fiat 500s - they’re not very powerful. I’d love a Mini but the parts are expensive if anything goes wrong. Also heard the same about Renaults.
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Op - do you have a budget for buying a car outright? Because if you've only got a temporary contract that would be the most sensible option as you won't be paying out for something you can't afford when circumstances change.
I pay for my insurance and tax outright but my most expensive policy of three is only £300 a year.
I pay for my insurance and tax outright but my most expensive policy of three is only £300 a year.
Definitely r3commend test driving if you can - I test drove a Fiat 500 but found them too small and for the price, didn’t have a lot of features. I then went for a 2 year old 2014 Citroen c1 - I LOVED this car! Speedy, nippy, yes it was small but it was all I needed.
i paid a £300 deposit, it was around £120 a month and just over £2000 final payment. Paying it monthly worked better for me as I needed a car for work but didn’t have the deposit. Yes you will spend more money in the long term, but it was a price I was willing to pay. Also included were clauses if I lost my job etc so I’d recommend asking dealerships about how you’re covered if that happens!
I didn’t pay the final payment, instead I gave it back and went for a different car from a totally different company - I loved Citroen but needed A bigger boot, 5 doors etc and I didn’t like the look of the Citroen c3.
ive only ever paid for insurance monthly, again it works out more expensive but I’ve never been able to afford the lump sum. i just renewed my insurance (different car) and there was only £50 difference between the monthly amounts added up and the lump sum, so I just went for monthly again.
like people have mentioned above I really recommend getting a second hand, relatively new car. They’re safer, cheaper to run, more reliable and you may not have to worry about the MOT for a year or two depending on how old it is. I’d rather pay more money for a newer car that I don’t have to worry about a lot compared to buying an older car and I’m constantly worrying if something is going to break. Also look into tax groups (the c1 is £0 tax) and insurance groups!
i paid a £300 deposit, it was around £120 a month and just over £2000 final payment. Paying it monthly worked better for me as I needed a car for work but didn’t have the deposit. Yes you will spend more money in the long term, but it was a price I was willing to pay. Also included were clauses if I lost my job etc so I’d recommend asking dealerships about how you’re covered if that happens!
I didn’t pay the final payment, instead I gave it back and went for a different car from a totally different company - I loved Citroen but needed A bigger boot, 5 doors etc and I didn’t like the look of the Citroen c3.
ive only ever paid for insurance monthly, again it works out more expensive but I’ve never been able to afford the lump sum. i just renewed my insurance (different car) and there was only £50 difference between the monthly amounts added up and the lump sum, so I just went for monthly again.
like people have mentioned above I really recommend getting a second hand, relatively new car. They’re safer, cheaper to run, more reliable and you may not have to worry about the MOT for a year or two depending on how old it is. I’d rather pay more money for a newer car that I don’t have to worry about a lot compared to buying an older car and I’m constantly worrying if something is going to break. Also look into tax groups (the c1 is £0 tax) and insurance groups!
My budget is up to £2000 for buying outright, but I'm worried this won't be enough for a good car!
You can get plenty of good second hand cars for 2k. It's difficult for me to advise you without going on a tangent as I'm a huge car enthusiasts and my newest car of three is a 21 years old honda and I can honestly say I'll probably never own anything newer because I'm not interested in paying someone to plug in a computer. I've had zero problems with as it's well maintained and looked after compared to my boyfriends 10 year old car. The only thing that doesn't work is the air con which doesn't bother me as its not something I've ever had in a car so don't miss it for the 2 days a year we actually need to use it haha.My budget is up to £2000 for buying outright, but I'm worried this won't be enough for a good car!
What do you like the look of atm? How many miles are you going to be doing in it a day? Diesels aren't really suited to do a lot of short trips all the time but depending on the age you may be able to get something with zero or £30 a year road tax.
Honestly, I'd love for you to go off on a tangent as I am completely clueless about cars! When I eventually get driving to the office, I'll be doing 85 miles a day (that's to work and back, not just one way!) I'm thinking about these cars:
Volkswagen Polo
Toyota Auris
Mazda 3
Honda Jazz's seem to be cheap and pretty good too, from what I've read so far. So much choice it's a bit overwhelming though.. What do you think of the above list?
My first car was a peugeot 107. It was an 18th birthday present so I’m unsure on the costs. But, my mum did a lot of research. It was a brilliant first car, very cheap to run. Petrol a full tank would last 3-4weeks, road tax was next to nothing. Insurance was dear but, I went on my own and not as a named driver etc. I paid my insurance in full as it was much cheaper. Back then in 2014 it was £2200 to pay it in full, I’m not sure if it’s still that high for first time drivers. My car was a 1.0 engine as my mum didn’t want me to have a powerful one and it was really nippy and fine on the motorway. I wouldn’t recommend financing a car unless you can’t find a good used one. A lot of the time you get trapped into renewing it due to deposits and final payments etc.
Sorry for my off-topic, but it's Jimin on your photo, right? I think I saw him on my kid's laptopHi Tattlers, I've been doing a bit of Googling on this subject but thought I'd come here instead for some straight forward advice.
I got a new job a few weeks ago where I will need a car to get to the head office when the lockdown in the UK is lifted. I passed my test and Pass Plus course about 9 years ago but never needed to buy a car as I always lived in city centers, so I haven't driven in ages. My questions are:
1) What are everyone's recommendations for a first car, and is there anything I should look out for when buying a second-hand car?
2) Is it best to pay for the car itself all in one go or in monthly installments? This new role is mat leave cover, with the potential to maybe get made permanent. I'm worried
that if I pay for the car in monthly installments but don't get kept on for the job, I'll be paying monthly for a car I don't need. However, paying all in one go is very expensive.
3) Is it best to pay for car insurance all in one go, or monthly? I've read it's cheaper if you pay all in one go annuallybut again, this is pretty expensive.
4) Does anyone have any experience on doing refresher driving courses after not driving for a long amount of time? Did you found it came back to you fairly quickly?
Thank you in advance for any help! Much appreciated
Haha, yes it's Jimin! Love me some BTS
My first car 7 years ago was a Toyota Yaris and I LOVED it. Such a fantastic car, cheap to run with no issues ever, low tax (£30) very fuel effective and good on longer journeys. I have upgraded to a newer Yaris as I love them so much. I went for the Yaris over the Aygo as it’s got a bit more power behind them so getting on the motorways isn’t an issue.
My own piece of advice would be not taking a brand new car with massive monthly payments as well.
My own piece of advice would be not taking a brand new car with massive monthly payments as well.
What’s your budget?
My budget is up to £2000
I second this, my first car (& I still have) is a 2004 Nissan Micra. Cost £900 and have it still almost 3 years. Super cheap and reliable. My last MOT got £75 including the price of the MOT itself. Around £25 for a full tank and pre-covid it got me to uni and back everyday which was over an hour.