Best first car for young driver

bigboy123

Will be getting the full licence this year and will want to buy a good car (pretty fast etc.) for cheap money and fairly easily insured. I was thinking of getting an MG ZR. I definitely don't want a Honda civic / Toyota glanza as a I don't want to be seen as a boy racer,

Any ideas anybody???:)

x in the city

a 1.25 fiesta zetec, nippy enough for a learner and solid all round buy

colm1234

mg zr are cheap for a very good reason they break down a lot. if you dont have much cash you cant go wrong with a jap car just dont get one with a stupid body kit and you should be fine.

-Corkie-

VW Polo 1.0 are cheap to insure and are still a nippy little car..

johnos1984

colm1234 wrote: »

mg zr are cheap for a very good reason they break down a lot.

Rubbish.

MGZR is a good car however I'd say the insurance would be high on them but its worth checking out OP

Once you keep it serviced well and keep an eye on the coolant level it will be a great car

Crasp

Budget? Specs? help us out, like.



If it's your own policy, w/o NCB and young male you can forget about insuring anything over 1.6 petrol.



any aul thing is good to learn in, you will lamp it off kerbs and walls and parked cars for the first 2 years anyway.


IMHO the bigger the better, if you learn to drive in an estate car you will learn how to park properly (parallel and perpendicular) and you will learn how to navigate through streets/cities properly.

**Timbuk2**

I started out with a 1.3L Toyota Starlet - great runner, good engine size in terms of insurance, fast enough for the motorway yet perfect for just nipping around town - easy to learn in, and you can park it anywhere!

To put it into perspective, I'm 18, male, full licence, and it costs €999 for one year named driver insurance, which isn't too bad considering the loaded premiums that young males get.

colm1234

johnos1984 wrote: »

Rubbish.

MGZR is a good car however I'd say the insurance would be high on them but its worth checking out OP

Once you keep it serviced well and keep an eye on the coolant level it will be a great car

rubish

jap cars far better

bigboy123

Crasp wrote: »

Budget? Specs? help us out,.

was thinking around the 5000 Mark, petrol and a hatch

johnos1984

colm1234 wrote: »

rubish

jap cars far better

Aye any young lad would be proud to drive a nice yaris or micra :rolleyes:

Nothing wrong with the MG ZR only all the guys who love TopGear and NO everything about motaz and pumpin tunes

johnos1984

bigboy123 wrote: »

was thinking around the 5000 Mark, petrol and a hatch

I assume that includes insurance and the purchase and taxing of the car?

Trhiggy83

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I started out with a 1.3L Toyota Starlet - great runner, good engine size in terms of insurance, fast enough for the motorway yet perfect for just nipping around town - easy to learn in, and you can park it anywhere!

To put it into perspective, I'm 18, male, full licence, and it costs €999 for one year named driver insurance, which isn't too bad considering the loaded premiums that young males get.

i have a 98 starlet for sale in dublin- PM me if interested and ill give ya the details

colm1234

johnos1984 wrote: »

Aye any young lad would be proud to drive a nice yaris or micra :rolleyes:

Nothing wrong with the MG ZR only all the guys who love TopGear and NO everything about motaz and pumpin tunes

wow look at that for rubbish I did not understand one bit, anyways good night all im too tired to listen to this ignorance :cool:

Jimbob 83

Skoda Fabia

bigboy123

johnos1984 wrote: »

Nothing wrong with the MG ZR only all the guys who love TopGear and NO everything about motaz and pumpin tunes

The reason I kinda said the MG was to get away somewhat from the pump in tunes image which goes with civics etc,

Ya the 5000 would include tax and insurance for a year swell as the car

Crasp

bigboy123 wrote: »

The reason I kinda said the MG was to get away somewhat from the pump in tunes image which goes with civics etc,

Ya the 5000 would include tax and insurance for a year swell as the car

what about servicing, tyres etc? Just wondering if you're budgeting for these? Obviouslythey don't need to be included in the €5000 unless you buy a car needing a service or tyres.



you can take about 2000-3000 for insurance and tax out of that €5000.

johnos1984

bigboy123 wrote: »

The reason I kinda said the MG was to get away somewhat from the pump in tunes image which goes with civics etc,

Ya the 5000 would include tax and insurance for a year swell as the car

I was being very tongue in cheek with that comment about the tunes.

The MGZR is a great driving car with plenty of power for the engine size. Head gasket failure is its biggest problem but its down to lack of maintenance by owners more than anything else.

After that it no worse than any other car on the road. Tyres are expensive mind for the larger alloys but for the price its hard to get a better handling car which is affordable to run.

I'd have one if I wasn't doing as many miles. Sadly I need a diesel

Ignore the know it alls who says Rover/MG are rubbish, chances are they drive a heap of a 1.4l Golf Mk4 baseline Golf

Jimbob 83

Crasp wrote: »

what about servicing, tyres etc? Just wondering if you're budgeting for these? Obviouslythey don't need to be included in the €5000 unless you buy a car needing a service or tyres.



you can take about 2000-3000 for insurance and tax out of that €5000.

Should be enough left over for a nice bicycle

bmw535d

-Corkie- wrote: »

VW Polo 1.0 are cheap to insure and are still a nippy little car..

define nippy?? 49bhp:p

EDIT: 1000th post,,,wahooo

johnos1984

bmw535d wrote: »

define nippy?? 49bhp:p

EDIT: 1000th post,,,wahooo

Maybe it bites?

Come on Corkie you can do better than that

Bosco boy

Whatever car you get be careful about the nut behind the steering wheel, there's one in every car, best of luck!

x in the city

hellooooooooooo

fiesta 1.25

plenty of poke, 5grand would get you one and insurance.

MGs are fine if you have a garage

bigboy123

Seeing as MGs are so prone to breaking down, what's the availability of parts like, even though they have stopped making cars

michael2121

1.25ltr Fiesta great starter car

johnos1984

bigboy123 wrote: »

Seeing as MGs are so prone to breaking down, what's the availability of parts like, even though they have stopped making cars

No issues with parts, contact rimmerbrother.co.uk or xpart.co.uk

The only issue is with mechanics who say they aren't available

-Corkie-

johnos1984 wrote: »

Maybe it bites?

Come on Corkie you can do better than that

They are a quick little car. I didnt realise OP had a larger budget. Shur get a 320d so...;)

I bought a 98 318 TDS for 350 euro 2 weeks ago.

colm1234

-Corkie- wrote: »

They are a quick little car. I didnt realise OP had a larger budget. Shur get a 320d so...;)

I bought a 98 318 TDS for 350 euro 2 weeks ago.

did it have an engine ? lol only jokin

Shane732

If you pushed your budget then you could go for a Mini Cooper S

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mini/Cooper-S/Trade-in/201048200443791/advert?channel=CARS

Speaking from personal experience they are absolutely amazing cars to drive.

Insurance is expensive on them but worth very cent of it.

All you mates will probably be driving their Golfs thinking they're unstoppable, you'd clean them out in a Cooper S. Plus the majority of girls love Mini Coopers so it has plenty of other benefits as well.... Hmmm... I missed that car!!

Shi* sorry only after seeing your budget includes tax and insurance.

MagicMarker

Shane732 wrote: »

If you pushed your budget then you could go for a Mini Cooper S

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mini/Cooper-S/Trade-in/201048200443791/advert?channel=CARS

Speaking from personal experience they are absolutely amazing cars to drive.

Insurance is expensive on them but worth very cent of it.

All you mates will probably be driving their Golfs thinking they're unstoppable, you'd clean them out in a Cooper S.

That's some stretch of the budget, considering his budget includes insurance and tax!

Besides, he's not a hairdresser.

Compton

I have a fiesta and find its a great drive, really easy to drive and Im just starting out.

Shane732

MagicMarker wrote: »

That's some stretch of the budget, considering his budget includes insurance and tax!

Besides, he's not a hairdresser.

Sorry I only noticed the budget included tax and insurance after I'd written the post.

I used to love having little sh*ts in their golfs and GTI's pull up beside me at lights and then blowing them away....

J77

You wont get anything 'fast' for your budget that's also insurable. MGs are pretty poor in my opinion, not to mention they do nothing to get away from the boy racer image you don't want to be associated with! My advice would be to get an old 5 series or something similar and go on your parents insurance. They're nice to drive and I think you're better off learning to drive in something big.

x in the city

J77 wrote: »

You wont get anything 'fast' for your budget that's also insurable. MGs are pretty poor in my opinion, not to mention they do nothing to get away from the boy racer image you don't want to be associated with! My advice would be to get an old 5 series or something similar and go on your parents insurance. They're nice to drive and I think you're better off learning to drive in something big.

wtf

most ridiculous post i seen here for a bit, learn in a 5 series

riiiiiiight!

J77

Shane732 wrote: »

All you mates will probably be driving their Golfs thinking they're unstoppable, you'd clean them out in a Cooper S.

Never found the cooper s that quick.

Shane732 wrote: »

Plus the majority of girls love Mini Coopers so it has plenty of other benefits as well.... Hmmm... I missed that car!!

Yeah, that's why the majority of cooper s drivers are girls!

J77

x in the city wrote: »

wtf

most ridiculous post i seen here for a bit, learn in a 5 series

riiiiiiight!

Please do tell why. I'm talking about a 00/01 E39 here not an E60 M5.

Shane732

J77 wrote: »

Never found the cooper s that quick.



Yeah, that's why the majority of cooper s drivers are girls!

See it's those two comments that I used to love.

The Cooper S JCW I had was 210bhp and was a little rocket of a thing. Being honest though it wasn't the straight line speed that I loved it was the cornering. You could pretty much throw it at anything and I'd just stick to the road.

And of course any time there was a few people driving somewhere you'd almost have the girls fighting with each other to go in the Cooper which was always a serious bonus!

I had a normal Cooper for a while too and it was also a lovely car.

J77

Shane732 wrote: »

See it's those two comments that I used to love.

The Cooper S JCW I had was 210bhp and was a little rocket of a thing. Being honest though it wasn't the straight line speed that I loved it was the cornering. You could pretty much throw it at anything and I'd just stick to the road.

And of course any time there was a few people driving somewhere you'd almost have the girls fighting with each other to go in the Cooper which was always a serious bonus!

I had a normal Cooper for a while too and it was also a lovely car.

I've only experienced the regular cooper s. I'd imagine the JCW would be a bit quicker!

If it got girls fighting to be in it then it's cool!

noel1717

Personally I think the best vehicle for a young driver, is the wheel barrow as I have never heard of anybody coming to the attention of the Guards whilst driving one.

Alanstrainor

noel1717 wrote: »

Personally I think the best vehicle for a young driver, is the wheel barrow as I have never heard of anybody coming to the attention of the Guards whilst driving one.

I think you'd be more at home in After Hours.

bmw535d

-Corkie- wrote: »

They are a quick little car. I didnt realise OP had a larger budget. Shur get a 320d so...;)

I bought a 98 318 TDS for 350 euro 2 weeks ago.

define quick?

a car around 900kg with 45bhp when it was new?

Donkeygonads

Nippy !!! ... that 1.0 litre Polo would'nt pull the socks off a dead soldier !!! Fiesta Ghia with the 1.25 engine is the right job

Max Power1

x in the city wrote: »

wtf

most ridiculous post i seen here for a bit, learn in a 5 series

riiiiiiight!

Well thats a worthwhile contribution to the thread :rolleyes:

I think its better to learn in a bigger car, it improves your spatial awareness. I learned in a Rover 75, and I would reccomend anyone learning to do the same/similar. An E39 is no bad car to learn in. Plus, it doesnt have the boy racer image so you may get cheapish insurance.

bmw535d

Max Power1 wrote: »

Well thats a worthwhile contribution to the thread :rolleyes:

I think its better to learn in a bigger car, it improves your spatial awareness. I learned in a Rover 75, and I would reccomend anyone learning to do the same/similar. An E39 is no bad car to learn in. Plus, it doesnt have the boy racer image so you may get cheapish insurance.

the insurance won't be cheap and how is he supposed to tax it?

Shane732

J77 wrote: »

I've only experienced the regular cooper s. I'd imagine the JCW would be a bit quicker!

If it got girls fighting to be in it then it's cool!

Normal S is about 170 vs. JCW and you can buy a stage two that's 230 or so I think.

For the OP a Cooper S isn't a runner.

The tax and insurance on a 5 series means it isn't really a runner either.

OP are you looking for something with, shall we say, "street cred" or does it matter to you what the car is once it's decent for a learner?

-Corkie-

Donkeygonads wrote: »

Nippy !!! ... that 1.0 litre Polo would'nt pull the socks off a dead soldier !!! Fiesta Ghia with the 1.25 engine is the right job

Depends who is driving it. I have heard such an amount of tripe here. He is a learner driver looking for a cheap car thats cheap to insure and run. His budget for a car is about 3K at the very most. Why are people telling him to buy big or souped up cars.

I always thought there was educated people on this forum but most of ye are school kids that havent a clue.

Max Power1

bmw535d wrote: »

the insurance won't be cheap and how is he supposed to tax it?

Insurance? AFAIR mine on the rover was 1200-1400 or so on a provisional with no NCB. Sometimes bigger car doesnt equal more expensive insurance.

Tax? An E39 520i would only be €600-700 odd to tax. Compared with €350 or so for say a 1.3 fiesta from the same era. 250 over 12 months isnt that big a difference imo, to drive something a little more fun than a fiesta.

Jimbob 83

Lol at people saying to get a 210bhp Cooper S as a 1st car , get a Diesel Skoda Fabia tbh , plenty of low down poke/economical/good solid safe car and within your budget

hairyman

Fiesta 1.25l Zetec.
Get it in the right color, with the right trim/wheels and you will have a good looking car with an absolute cracker of an engine and an even better chassis.
And it can be taxed and insured by the mere mortals.

Donkeygonads

-Corkie- wrote: »

Depends who is driving it. I have heard such an amount of tripe here. He is a learner driver looking for a cheap car thats cheap to insure and run. His budget for a car is about 3K at the very most. Why are people telling him to buy big or souped up cars.

I always thought there was educated people on this forum but most of ye are school kids that havent a clue.

its getting the best car for his money and the fiesta will tick those boxes......we may have low standards but the Polo 1.0 is awfully low !!

-Corkie-

Donkeygonads wrote: »

its getting the best car for his money and the fiesta will tick those boxes......we may have low standards but the Polo 1.0 is awfully low !!

Well the Fiesta is fine and cheap to run. What my point was that the Polo is a nippy car for a 1.0l.

Shane732

Jimbob 83 wrote: »

Lol at people saying to get a 210bhp Cooper S as a 1st car , get a Diesel Skoda Fabia tbh , plenty of low down poke/economical/good solid safe car and within your budget

Sorry it was my second car - I had a Punto for a couple of months first of all.

You had to bring a Skoda into the thread didn't you!!!