Heey everyone,

You most likely don't know me (don't post here much) but well I'm thinking of buying my first car when I turn 18(my parents want to buy me the new vw up! But I'd rather buy my own car with my own money).

well I live in the uk so im working in pounds. I have saved up £3000 but I'd rather only spent £1500 (will go over if I get a suggestion for a nice car that's cheap) and I would need To buy the car and insure it (again will go over if something nice comes up), I don't mind getting them black boxes(usually cheaper) as I don't speed and I dont do motorway/night driving.

I have found a ford ka that I can buy and get insuranced for around £1250, but I'm a big lad ( 6' 5") so I'd rather a larger car like a estate (I also have a dog and soon to be moving house)

If the car is not 100% ugly and cheap enough to run then I will consider it. Thanks

Focus, Mondeo, 307, 206, Astra. Plenty of cars out there to choose from, but insurance is going to be a stinger. Always good to check autotrader, give you an insight to what you can get for your money.

Quote from Xaid0n :

Focus, Mondeo, 307, 206, Astra. Plenty of cars out there to choose from, but insurance is going to be a stinger. Always good to check autotrader, give you an insight to what you can get for your money.

Thanks, had a look before and as you said the insurance is the killer. I had a list of cars that I could actually afford to get insurance for and it was really horrible: old ford ka , Chevy matiz ... You get the idea


Just hoping someone else found something somewhat nice that I missed

Get an old classic, or something a bit unusual, that drops insurance price most times.... something like an old vauxhall omega or ford capri or a series 1/2 land rover. Think out of the box!

My capri was £1500 to insure the first year of driving, cost me £750 to buy. 2.0 2 door classic sports car for your budget aint bad.

Quote from robt :

Get an old classic, or something a bit unusual, that drops insurance price most times.... something like an old vauxhall omega or ford capri or a series 1/2 land rover. Think out of the box!

My capri was £1500 to insure the first year of driving, cost me £750 to buy. 2.0 2 door classic sports car for your budget aint bad.

A lot of classic insurance won't touch anyone under 25. Landies cost a shit tonne to insure for young people too, it is not uncommon to see 5k banded about. Some of the lads who come on the owners forum (18/19) have been getting quotes upwards of 15k. Insurers don't seem keen to have young folks in Landies.

But that all said, when I was 21 I got a quote for a Defender 110 of £900 with The AA, which was a lot less than anything else I'd come across. About 1,800 cheaper than a Ford Mondeo. But things have changed since then.

[edit: Although Fifth Gear did a segment on cars for 18 year olds some years ago and they came up with things like the Capri 1.6 Laser and a Mk2 Golf as they could be purchased and insured for less than 2.5k. Again this was before massive price increases for youths so probably isn't possible now.]

I'd buy a Fiesta MK3 diesel. Costs cents to run, and you don't have to worry about breaking down, as you could just buy another one for like 100 pounds.


Why not Up? It's funny!

I'd buy an E30 316. It's a classic, rwd, and you won't kill yourself with 90hp

Quote from robt :

Get an old classic, or something a bit unusual, that drops insurance price most times.... something like an old vauxhall omega or ford capri or a series 1/2 land rover. Think out of the box!

My capri was £1500 to insure the first year of driving, cost me £750 to buy. 2.0 2 door classic sports car for your budget aint bad.

I will look at the Capri as I know the garage has about 5 sitting in there yard (drive past them every day) ,I will see if any would actually pass its mot. I love the Capri because when I was younger my dad had a 75 mustang and the Capri reminds me of it.

Quote from KiRmelius :

I'd buy a Fiesta MK3 diesel. Costs cents to run, and you don't have to worry about breaking down, as you could just buy another one for like 100 pounds.

I never looked into the older fiestas (maybe because all 3 math teachers at my school have one and it put me off) but they are half decent cars

Quote from Nadeo4441 :

I'd buy an E30 316. It's a classic, rwd, and you won't kill yourself with 90hp

Good luck insuring a BMW in the UK.

Quote from PoVo :

Good luck insuring a BMW in the UK.

Ha , I just looked and I'm pretty sure the insurance website just gave me a virtual kick in the balls for even asking! No chance apparently



On another note I looked up a fiesta (older ones are actually more expensive for insurance) and I can buy a 02 for around £1500 and insurance is around £1000 (yo yeah over budget but a idea)

if you're in britain, buy a vauxhall nova or a citroen saxo. then start doing handbrake pulling near a local McD/KFC drive-in. you'll get all the mad respect from the drifters there and get instant women.

Maybe an escort estate? They seem to be cheap, fuel efficient and roomy enough inside. I'm not sure about the insurance tho, in my country situation is normal, so I considered getting one, as they are really cheap. Then finish it and throw it out.

Quote from nikopdr :

if you're in britain, buy a vauxhall nova or a citroen saxo. then start doing handbrake pulling near a local McD/KFC drive-in. you'll get all the mad respect from the drifters there and get instant women.

Ha, well I just looked at a faux hall corsa 1.0 as it seems cheap for insurance (£800) but I'm not really a boy racer so I will pass on that part.

Anyone watch that top-gear episode when they looked at cars for teens and Jeremy got that super sexy Volvo? I want that(I have always like it but don't know why)

Quote from PoVo :

Good luck insuring a BMW in the UK.

Sorry, I didn't know it's so hard(expensive) to insure cars in the UK.

I'm 19 years old and I could insure a BMW 535i for about 200€/year here

Quote from Nadeo4441 :

Sorry, I didn't know it's so hard(expensive) to insure cars in the UK.

I'm 19 years old and I could insure a BMW 535i for about 200€/year here

thats dirt cheap...it costs me (pretty much any car) 1500€ to insure a car.
well that dropped to 1100€ now that ive passed my 2 years of probation time.
im 30 btw...age doesnt really matter in that case here.


and tbo u should really look at something small for a start...most important is that it drives or?
i started out with a pug 205...no powersteering, just 60 hp but a fun little car.

Quote from [RCG]Boosted :

thats dirt cheap...it costs me (pretty much any car) 1500€ to insure a car.
well that dropped to 1100€ now that ive passed my 2 years of probation time.
im 30 btw...age doesnt really matter in that case here.


and tbo u should really look at something small for a start...most important is that it drives or?
i started out with a pug 205...no powersteering, just 60 hp but a fun little car.

Yeah got that right, the guy who lives near me has a old 205 and it's not half bad. Atleast with a old car like that I could actually learn how to fix it as modern boxes have everything hidden away under a mile of plastic

Quote from Nadeo4441 :

Sorry, I didn't know it's so hard(expensive) to insure cars in the UK.

I'm 19 years old and I could insure a BMW 535i for about 200€/year here

I wish that was the case, I need to win the lotto if I want a car even half as nice

Volkswagen lupo? Group 1 insurance so its cheap, and goes up to a 1.6 16v GTi, good fuel economy too

Quote from [RCG]Boosted :

thats dirt cheap...it costs me (pretty much any car) 1500€ to insure a car.
well that dropped to 1100€ now that ive passed my 2 years of probation time.
im 30 btw...age doesnt really matter in that case here.


and tbo u should really look at something small for a start...most important is that it drives or?
i started out with a pug 205...no powersteering, just 60 hp but a fun little car.

Aw yeah, I owned a 205 for a week. Really fun thing to bash around, only that 1.1 engine was too weak. If I'd buy another I'd save up and get a 1.6Gti or 1.9Gti (pocket rocket). I wonder if they are reliable, but they don't get good fuel economy for a car that size at all!

Audi A4 1995/1997, 1.9 TDi

Quote from KiRmelius :

Aw yeah, I owned a 205 for a week. Really fun thing to bash around, only that 1.1 engine was too weak. If I'd buy another I'd save up and get a 1.6Gti or 1.9Gti (pocket rocket). I wonder if they are reliable, but they don't get good fuel economy for a car that size at all!

well the the 205 i had, had a blown head gasket, a not working fan and some other problems...but that was due to failure to check the car properly before buying.
the car never let me down even tho i didnt always treat it nicely (redlining, throwing around bends, gravelroads ect).
not to mention, i never fixed any of those issues...no money :P
ran fine till i sold it.
so imo its quite reliable.

Quote from [RCG]Boosted :

well the the 205 i had, had a blown head gasket, a not working fan and some other problems...but that was due to failure to check the car properly before buying.
the car never let me down even tho i didnt always treat it nicely (redlining, throwing around bends, gravelroads ect).
not to meantion, i never fixed any of those issues...no money :P
ran fine till i sold it.
so imo its quite reliable.

Mine had a manual choke (with a broken lever lol) and carb was a bit broken, so it was a bit tricky to start and drive it, but once I figured that out the car was a blast. When I sold it, the guy who bought it couldn't even drive it, so I started the car for him and spent half an hour explaining stuff. He still stalled 5 times on his way out of my yard. Two hours later I received a call from him, he brought a car home, and couldn't start it anymore .

Quote from tbofram :

Ha, well I just looked at a faux hall corsa 1.0 as it seems cheap for insurance (£800) but I'm not really a boy racer so I will pass on that part.

Anyone watch that top-gear episode when they looked at cars for teens and Jeremy got that super sexy Volvo? I want that(I have always like it but don't know why)

a 740 estate. a fun winter toy, but it doesn't do much MPG.

but on a more serious note i would say i'd rather look for a MK3-MK4 golf, or if you're into older cars(like that 740), try a MK1 golf. MK1 golf's 1.6 diesel is one of the slowest cars i've ever seen, but it gets more than enough MPG. my friend's mk1 caddy gets 55mpg with me onboard aswell, it's so stunning

if you're not a fan of front wheeled shitboxes, then i'd guess a ford sierra is one choice, altough i don't know how the insurance rates go in britain for that car.

Quote from nikopdr :

a 740 estate. a fun winter toy, but it doesn't do much MPG.

but on a more serious note i would say i'd rather look for a MK3-MK4 golf, or if you're into older cars(like that 740), try a MK1 golf. MK1 golf's 1.6 diesel is one of the slowest cars i've ever seen, but it gets more than enough MPG. my friend's mk1 caddy gets 55mpg with me onboard aswell, it's so stunning

if you're not a fan of front wheeled shitboxes, then i'd guess a ford sierra is one choice, altough i don't know how the insurance rates go in britain for that car.

Ha yeah the 740 , I'm not actually a huge fan of older cars just a few I like (including that Volvo). I've got a lot of serious thinking ahead of me and I'm still wondering if I should buy a car now or wait untill winter is done with(lol not even started yet) as I'd rather get some experience driving in general before adding in snow (yes I am Canadian so Im used to the snow, but still!)


Thanks for the advise and I will post any updates in my car buying adventures (most likely see some crappy car in my sig around 3 months from now)

Better just buy it during the winter. that way you can learn more about the car how it handles in different conditions.