first car questions

j4vier

hi
im thinking of getting my first car soon,i just got my full license but i only had driving lessons , never drove with a provisional by myself..
so i was wondering would any of u suggest a new car or a used one?

im asking because i see some used models who cost only 2k less than the new one and could have 40 thousand km already!

im considering a 1.2 or 1.4 , and id be inclined towards either a polo,a opel corsa or a citroen c2?
would anyone have some opinions on these?

and if you could mention to me some recommendable dealer who offers insurance on used cars would be good, im a real newby!

thanks

Barr

For first time insurance you should consider cars under 1 litre eg Micra or Yaris

It makes a big difference with insurance especially starting off with no bonus.

I've never heard of a dealer offering free insurance with second hand cars.As for new ones I think it was Fiat that offered it a few years ago but doubt if its still going.

HungryJoey

Didn't make much difference for me between 1L up to 1.4L

Im insured on a 1.4 (My first Car) and there was feck all in the difference between it and a 1.2 and I am glad I went for a 1.4. Sure if you want to save 100 euro on your annual premium fire away, go for the smaller. I know I wouldn't have.

Again, if you are happy driving a 1.2 then go ahead, but I wouldn't personally go lower then a 1.2, most modern 1.2's are quite capable especially for city driving, but on open roads they will show their weakness.

Oh, and congratulations on getting your pink card!

Alanstrainor

Do you have a budget? And i would agree with what HungryJoey said about there being very little between insurance on 1 and 1.4 litre engines. And as for new versus old, a new car can lose somewhere in the region of 20% of its value just driving it 20yrds out of the dealership.
And as for the example you gave of certain model having 40000km on the clock and being only 2000 grand cheaper, there could be any number of extras on the car versus the base price, and plus 80% of people will put ridiculous asking prices on motors, I saw someone trying to sell a 98 polo 1ltr for 5500!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that was last week

cantdecide

Barr wrote: »

For first time insurance you should consider cars under 1 litre eg Micra or Yaris. It makes a big difference with insurance especially starting off with no bonus

Not necessarily. This was the case when I started driving back in 2000 but things have changed but this attitude remains. But don't take my word for it- do your own research (don't be put off by another 10-20% it's really not that much in real terms). Full license will be half the battle and even in a years time your insurance will be significantly less.

This is basically my standard rant for those who aren't big into cars but need one, so before you accept the guidance of others....

I can't see why you are looking specifically at small cars if you have the price of a new car. Most people in ireland have useage that demands a more substancial car but they doom themselves to discomfort over a misguided and false sense of economy.

Look at depreciation alone on a new or newish car- does another couple of hundred in road tax per year save that much?? You are obviously not that hard-up so why not get a top spec 3 year old car car that suits your requirements where the depreciation is tailing off. Why not just get it for the hell of it? Why not go first class- you're worth it an dyou have the cash afterall.

(PS, Yaris drivers will reccommend the Yaris, ditto the corsa drivers etc etc Your Da, the fellas down the pub and the drunk on the bus will tell you a supermini is ideal for you. The guys who have their wives driving the superminis will reccommend them, too out of will to avoid being shown up but how many of those guys would stoop to driving one themselves, so why should you??)

j4vier

thank u all
i appreciate ur replies

i already checked the insurance for a 1.4 wouldnt be too bad by putting my dad as a first driver

my budget would be set to about 8 k, and for that budget something like this
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Citroen/C2/1.4-VTR/987793/

is what appeals me the most
would u say that price is set, are you allowed to bargain with a dealer?

so ur sayin used cars dont come with insurance, but what if after a week it breaks down? is he just not gonna bother?
also do u recommend bringin with me some expert to check it? i dont know someone personally but would someone from AA do it ?

colm_mcm

C2 VTR is pretty poxy, they're quite small, and not particularly nippy for a 1.4.
I traded one in back in 2005 when they were quite recent. I liked the look of them but the sporty illusion was shattered once I drove it. I presumed the VTR badge would make it more decent to drive than a 1.1 model. It wasn't.

In the 1.4 class, I'd be looking at a Ford Puma. If you really want French, a 206 would be a much better option than the C2

j4vier

thanks colm
thats not good news, i like the look of it alright as u say but i suppose i really have to test drive it

ye i also saw the 206 is a possibility, but i tought the c2 would have been smaller and easier to handly since im just starting

i also found a polo which didnt look too bad but with 90k km and its a 2002 , while the c2 is a 2005

the puma looks good, but the used ones all have huge mileage!

colm_mcm

From the C2's I've seen, they don't exactly soak up the mileage, interiors get worn out very quickly. a 206 or Puma aren't exactly big, it's not gona be too hard to manouver either car. SEAT Ibizas are quite smart and can be had for smaller money than Polos.

what is your budget?

bangersandmash

j4vier wrote: »

thank u all
i appreciate ur replies

i already checked the insurance for a 1.4 wouldnt be too bad by putting my dad as a first driver

my budget would be set to about 8 k, and for that budget something like this
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Citroen/C2/1.4-VTR/987793/

is what appeals me the most
would u say that price is set, are you allowed to bargain with a dealer?

so ur sayin used cars dont come with insurance, but what if after a week it breaks down? is he just not gonna bother?
also do u recommend bringin with me some expert to check it? i dont know someone personally but would someone from AA do it ?

How much more is the insurace on a 1.4 in your own name? - named driver's won't get their own NCB

I also think you are confusing insurance with warranty - most second hand cars from a dealer would have one - ask about it (maybe even use it as a point for haggling on i.e. lower price w/ no waranty or a warranty thrown in for free). You would probably only be getting TP/TPFT insurance so it wouldn't cover break-downs anyways.

Of course you can haggle with a dealer - it is built into their prices.

I'd strongly advise you bring somebody with you when looking at/buying cars - even someone who isn't much of an expert on cars because as you said yourself you are a newbie and a dealer would probably try to take you for a ride

leeroybrown

I wouldn't suggest going down the line of putting your dad as the first driver if possible. You have a full licence and should be looking to build up your own no claims bonus now. Also, technically you'd be breaching the terms of his policy if you were driving the car all the time.

Dues Bellator

by all means go for the new car you can retrade it have peace of mind with an extended warrenty,citron in uk do some amazing deals i dont see why irish dealers will be any different and if its your first car you can still go for a car thats a year or two old an still get extended warrenty,car dealers a basicly feeling the pinch at the moment and its a good time to buy,go shop around insult them with low offers and walk away i garrentee you do this for a few days and you will find garages will be callin you at end of week taking your hand off,please use this stratagy as it will work 100 percent,i work in the motor trade,ive bidded between 5 and 10 grand below asking price,when no one wants it after e week or so they ring me,garages are greedy they put massive mark up on prices,its about time they got bitten,go get your self a cheap car and let me know how you got on,dont forget dont be afraid to bid a very low price,if he laughs walk away ,dont foeget to leave him/her your number,they WILL ring you,

S.I.R

imo go for a easy to drive car , such as a peugeot 106/ citreon xsara or a toyta corrolla , the xsara is the easist and looks the best ( imo )

biko

3 suggestions

Hibernian Ignition course
Get a small car - size and engine wise
Get a car you can pay cash for <1000E

After a year or two you will have better experience/skills to drive bigger car and also some No Claims Bonus. You can then invest in a nicer car without having to worry about getting rid of your first for a large sum.

Alice Junge

The car that mister Bean drives??? very dependable

cj2007

I got my first car 2 years ago a 00 1 litre polo with very low mileage.I wouldnt reccommend buying a brand new car as even if you have a full licence with no experiance on the roads your sure to have a full small accidents like everyone does ie hitting the gate etc...Iv never had a problem with my car selling it now to buy a newer car now that i thrust myself not to crash ha...

j4vier

with my dad as a first driver i would save about 500 e, but ye i suppose its time to start working on my own no claim bonus , but what does this no claim bonus actually mean?? how much do u get to save after a few years driving?

im still so tempted by the c2 though.. i ll probably ask for a test drive and c how it feels, but ye i think im gonna get a used one , just afraid of doin too much damage to it.. also citroen doesnt mention any particular good deals on their website , but still it might be worth to go to them directly

ye i was actually confusin warranty with insurance! sorry about that, so most of them come with warranty ye?

Dues Bellator

ye by all means go 4 a citron as theres no such thing as a bad car any more,[well there are a few exceptions ie chevrolet kalos eg]but generally citron make very good small cars,if you live in or near dublin i can give you the name of a few dealers that are doing a few good deals,id still advise gettin an aa man to cheak it out even if its a reputable dealer,theres no such thing as an honest car dealer,there all out for profit,so its worth the 50 to 80 euro they charge,its your first car,the last thing you want is a horror story,as soon as you can afford getting your own insurance go for it as your not reconized by insure companys as a name driver,its steep to start with,but after about 3 4 years your in the low risk bracket,and your insure will reflect this,good luck and safe driving,,,,,,,,ps dont be worryin about the odd scrape its your first car its bound to happen,the more you stress about it the more likely you are to have a bad smack,god bless almanu

christophicus

Hey j4vier?? Did you get your full license with your only driving expeariences being those in an instructors car?? If you don't mind me asking. How many lessons did you take? I have been told by many people that you really need to get your own car and get used to driving around before you take the test, but if its not too hard to get the full license after having only taken lessons then I might go that route.

j4vier

yep, i did 30 hrs , first 20 spread over 4 months, then i did 10 in the last 2 weeks before my test, it worked for me got only 6 grade 2 , and 3 of them were for the same problem so altought i wasnt brilliant i did pretty well!

i couldnt get my own car cos driving with someone experienced was not possible,so didnt really have a choice

its just harder if u dont have ur own car, but doesnt mean it cant be done

BaRcOe

Get a Maserati Mc12!!

:cool:

j4vier

hi folks sorry to bring this thread back to life!

just i have bein looking at a few cars , i intend to buy privately possibly so i was wondering what are the best steps to take to be safe!

the car is fairly new, a 06, low mileage and looked ok
no weird noises or anything but still i cant be too safe since im dealiing with quite a bit of money!

so what would you do?

still bring a mechanic with you to check it? i saw aa want 300 quid , is it possible to get it done cheaper?

would u check the whole history of the car on motorcheck.ie?

and finally how does the change of property occur? do i have to go to a solicitor?

cj2007

You really should get it checked by a mechanic...im sure u could find one in the golden pages for less than 300..also i checked my car on motorcheck and to be honest there was no point it didnt really tell me anything just a waste of money...im not really sure how it changes property when i bought my car privatly the seller did it for me..i think you have to contact some place with the government registration office maybe?

Dues Bellator

600 euros is hiway robbery, but still be cautious bring a mecanhic with you, the motor trade is a small small world, if your buying a car in lets say tallaght DONT bring a mechanic from tallaght, he,ll either know the dealer or have someting against him, either way you wont get an honest reveiw, the motor trade is a cut throat biz, unfortunatly the public are the victims, if you do a bit of recearch you can get an ex aa man to do it for you for 120 euro,s, just make sure he,s who he says he is, best of luck i hope this helped