Learning to Drive

[Rock-climby-Dave]

So, the time has come for me to learn to drive.

I want a car to learn in and I want a petrol.

Has to be:

Cheap to insure

not a ford KA

not french

a bit more powerful than my mates mini (austin)

Would like:

something a bit different/quirky/fun

not much over £2000 for the car

can anyone think of something off the top of their head?

any help is awesome on this one.

EDIT: just to add a few quick things

some off-roading ability would be awesome, not looking at defender 110 performance here, just some ground clearance.

carrying space, I am fairly outdoors-y, so room for gear is a must

cheers

 

[M_P]

Haha, your like me, the only reason I don't have a car is becausec I don't want it French or a ka or a vauxhall.

An old alfa interest me, but they're so unreliable, maybe an old audi or merc, don't know how expensive they are though

Might be with looking at Japanese cars, they tend to be reliable, so look at toyota and Nissan etc.

 

[Nutster]

BMW m3?

Suprisingly cheap

Insurance will be more than the car.

Or anything from the vag range.

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

can't help but feel there is a difference between 'surprisingly cheap' and 'actually cheap' :lol:

 

[Wølf]

suzuki vitara - reliable, cheap (just bought one for the missus at £450), pretty nippy, comfortable, good offroad.

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

Insurance group 8 at a minimum. I'm 18, I would guess insurance is a lot for it

 

[Wølf]

Shes 24 and pays £400 fully comp so unsure what it would be for an 18yr old male

 

[sarni307]

Forget the offroad bit and just get a normal car, what u want and what u can insure are two different things. My brother had a punto 1.1 and it cost £1970 to insure, and I had a 1.8 escort and it cost me £1300 to insure and that was 6 years ago insurance has gone up massively since then.

 

[M_P]

group 8 as a minimum or maximum?

 

[sarni307]

If u are set on of road get a 1l sj should be ok on the insurence aswell

 

[M_P]

I think the top gear suzuki vitara is the car for you Dave :lol:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2754/411549..._027cfdc2c3.jpg

 

[Cyrax]

Im selling a Ford Fiesta LX, Black 1.25, £1250. 75,00 miles and an X plate (2000). Cheap to insure and run. Ill send pictures and more info if you are interested mate.

Not really off road ready but its reliable, and small (getting to grips with parallel and bay parking). Great qualities for a first car.

Wolf, for an under 21 male? Insurance for anything over a 1.4 is usually insane. Apparently we are "at risk" drivers. Been driving 5 years and not so much as a speed ticket.

 

[Deva]

At least you've disregarded French cars - that is a good start.

I wouldn't worry about engine sizes too much, it is the insurance group you need to be most interested in. I wouldn't worry about getting solely petrol either. If you are new to driving and also the chance of off-roading then diesels are great as they are easy to drive (harder to stall, you can be pretty rubbish on your clutch control) and pack loads of torque. In gear acceleration is better and so is your MPG generally.

You will be looking at near £2000 for the insurance if you have just passed your test, assuming you aren't going to front your parents on the policy, which is harder to do these days and also illegal.

If you're set on off-roading ish stuff then as mentioned Suzuki do good small 4x4's. You may be able to find a Jimny in your price range and they came with fairly small engines as far as I'm aware so would be cheaper to insure than a Vitara.

Otherwise you are really just looking at Autotrader putting in your criteria, and finding something decent which gets a low quote. You're going to spend a lot of time looking at insurance quotes.

 

[Wølf]

If u are set on of road get a 1l sj

unless you like good road manners, powersteering and a roof that doesnt leak

 

[SheriffHD]

well my mate got himself a 1991 VW polo. first car and his insurance is 800 and thats by him self not on his parents policy. cheap tax and cheap to run.

plus being an old VW its got character and who doesnt love a good old VW any way.