Would there be any reason not to buy a Mercedes Benz as a first car?

DAZP93

I was 16 when I bought my 3 year old bmw 116i..had a Good enough job at the time and decided to buy a BMW, logicaly it had to be a 1 series as its the smallest engined BM around. She was sitting in the driveway for 3 months till I turned 17 and on that day went on the quinn website and paid €1200 under my mothers name..no problem at all!

If you want to get a decent car for your first car just do it..you are always going to find insurance (even if it is a little pricey at first), and dont mind that nonsence about not being able to go under your mothers policy..I've been at it for years!!

whomitconcerns

And good luck making a claim if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident..you have given them a valid excuse to leave you out in the cold.

DAZP93 wrote: »

I was 16 when I bought my 3 year old bmw 116i..had a Good enough job at the time and decided to buy a BMW, logicaly it had to be a 1 series as its the smallest engined BM around. She was sitting in the driveway for 3 months till I turned 17 and on that day went on the quinn website and paid €1200 under my mothers name..no problem at all!

If you want to get a decent car for your first car just do it..you are always going to find insurance (even if it is a little pricey at first), and dont mind that nonsence about not being able to go under your mothers policy..I've been at it for years!!

T-Maxx

IBTL :D:D

Tea 1000

Buy what you like as a first car, just make sure you have gotten a quote from an insurance company first. No point in having a car you can't insure.
Insurance on a C180 won't be massive, but could be up to a grand more expensive than insuring a shítbox Micra.
The only problem with learning to drive in a manual Mercedes is their balls of a foot/handbrake combination thingy. You apply the handbrake via a small pedal to the left of the clutch and release it with a handle to the right of the steering wheel. But releasing it is a bit sudden, so hill starts are actually easier with heel-and-toe on the brake/accelerator while coming off the clutch, which is not something that will pass you your test or not something to start teaching a learner driver.
That'd be the only reason not to buy a Merc to learn in.
By the way, 1.7 in carzone is actually usually 1.8. There's no 1.7 in the C-Class.

DAZP93

whomitconcerns wrote: »

And good luck making a claim if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident..you have given them a valid excuse to leave you out in the cold.

How would I not be insured..Just down as a named driver on another policy??

68 lost souls

Because in reality you are the main driver when a named driver should be the second driver. If they find that out in anyway then your not covered. Which you have just posted in public.

Also if you have an accident your mothers NCB on her other policy is effected to.

Mr Benevolent

olcod wrote: »

Who's that with and what kinda policy is that ?? surely the higher value the car the more expensive the insurance ??

Why would a 3.2L engine be higher value?

And to those maligning driving as a learner without an accompanying driver... bah I say! They're no more dangerous then your average 70 year old plodding along in their Micra. I did it for nearly 2 years without damaging myself, the car or anyone else. Insurance companies are well aware that it happens. I know a high-up in the RSA who tells me the accidents stats aren't much different between L and licenced drivers. He certainly had no problem with me doing it other than to encourage me to get my test in a reasonable timeframe.

Finally, in the 2 years that I drove unaccompanied I was stopped 6 times for disc checks by Gardai. Not one of them commented on the big red & white L plates on my car.

furtzy

DAZP93 wrote: »

How would I not be insured..Just down as a named driver on another policy??

Who is the registered owner of the car you or your mother?

DAZP93

furtzy wrote: »

Who is the registered owner of the car you or your mother?

For obvious reasons I have her down as the owner on the log book..Should have made that clearer sorry

furtzy

DAZP93 wrote: »

For obvious reasons I have her down as the owner on the log book..Should have made that clearer sorry

So your mum has a 116i?

DAZP93

Technically speaking she is the owner..not that she paid a god damn cent..works out nicely though..Penalty points etc

Infact I dont think she has ever driven it..:rolleyes:

I know own an e46 BTW got rid of the 116i bout a year ago..

whomitconcerns

ok...so technically (well actually) speaking you are in breach of your insurance T&Cs..anyway wouldn't wish ill on anyone but be prepared for a nasty surprise if you ever need a claim..

Not good general advice to be giving...

witchgirl26

To the OP - I agree with what others have said about the insurance costs being really high. I started learning at 23 in a Ka & my policy was about 1.5k the first year. You could get a newer, better, smaller car that would be cheaper to run, maintain & insure. Ok it wouldn't be a Merc but does that really matter?

As for the driving by yourself as a learner argument. I won't lie - I did it a couple of times. Never felt completely comfortable doing it though and only did it if it was completely necessary. There's a reason the law is there & it's a good one. No where else in the world did they let learners away with driving by themselves. I just think it's asking for trouble. And to those who do it - do you realise if you have any form of accident, your insurance is null & void as you are breaking the law & breaking the terms of your insurance? It's a big risk really.

olcod

Confab wrote: »

Why would a 3.2L engine be higher value?

And to those maligning driving as a learner without an accompanying driver... bah I say! They're no more dangerous then your average 70 year old plodding along in their Micra. I did it for nearly 2 years without damaging myself, the car or anyone else. Insurance companies are well aware that it happens. I know a high-up in the RSA who tells me the accidents stats aren't much different between L and licenced drivers. He certainly had no problem with me doing it other than to encourage me to get my test in a reasonable timeframe.

Finally, in the 2 years that I drove unaccompanied I was stopped 6 times for disc checks by Gardai. Not one of them commented on the big red & white L plates on my car.

What I mean is insurance value, a 1998 1ltr micra is obviously cheaper to repair if crashed than a 1998 3.2 ltr jag hence the insurance premium will reflect this. I had a 98 1.2 clio and then bought a 1998 mitsubishi galant td, my insurance went up by 200 euro and im 38 a full licence holder for 21 yrs with full ncb and clean licence. Am just curious as to where you got that deal is all.

H3llR4iser

Confab wrote: »

...
And to those maligning driving as a learner without an accompanying driver... bah I say! They're no more dangerous then your average 70 year old plodding along in their Micra...

Oh but that's not the point at all, not even remotely. The problem is that while most learner drivers aren't worse than the 70 years old, if they get into the habit and "learn to drive" unaccompanied, they will hardly become any better.

Driving is dead easy; Anybody, even a 12 years old, left to fiddle a little bit with a car will get it moving and will probably not really hit anything. The devil is in the fold: what you learn at the very beginning is what is largely gonna stay for you forever; If you don't have an instructor quashing the inevitable little mistakes and bad habits, they'll stay with you forever...

Mr Benevolent

H3llR4iser wrote: »

If you don't have an instructor quashing the inevitable little mistakes and bad habits, they'll stay with you forever...

And that's why I got plenty of lessons.

Sobanek

I drive like this, and haven't caused a single accident in my two year driving history.
I'm the best driver in the world!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AG3MyFrs2g

Now, on a serious note: I learned to drive in a massive (at the time) Volvo V50 with a "very powerful" 2 litre diesel. It's great to have some power under your foot, but definitely not as a learner driver. I've actually recorded myself driving once and if possible, I'd smack my 17 year old self in the head. I thought I was a great driver, but that wasn't the case. I've certainly improved over the past two years and I'm now looking into buying a BMW 520i. Insurance isn't great though.

Get yourself a small car. Maybe not a 1.0 Polo since they're massively underpowered, and in my opinion a bit dangerous if you think about it (getting of roundabouts quickly etc.). Maybe try a 1.4 Polo or a 1.6 Golf. Insurance isn't that bad on them with www.4thelads.ie

Esel

Nolimits12 wrote: »

Even with the holding tractor on the hill examples, it was the hardest thing ever.

I hope it was predictive text that got the better of you there.

68 lost souls wrote: »

... if you couldn't control the clutch on a hill for example you could have ended up rolling into a parked car behind you...

Nolimits12 wrote: »

Would you drive like that? Balancing the clutch on a hill to stop you rolling?

Do you know anything about hill starts?

Nolimits12 wrote: »

For some reason I was imagining starting going downhill, as I was picturing were I drove back then. You have me there, I didnt have any uphill starts back then so I was fine.

Ah sure, you're grand so.

Nolimits12 wrote: »

The fact that I had to travel to kerry to take lessons was just too costly and impossible.

Are there really no driving schools / instructors in Kildare? Business opportunity!

@OP: Do a few trial quotes as 'John Murphy' aged 17 for a few different cars and see how you get on. Even if you do get a half-decent quote on a small-engined M-B, the running costs, motor tax and maintenance / repairs will probably break your heart.

mb1725

Solution to OP's problem:

dgt

I can't see why not.....