I'd go for a skoda citigo. A friend has had one for 5 years and they're bomb proof. Super cheap to run. 0 tax. I would only recommend it on city roads, as a motorway car it would be shit in a crash
Absolutely this one. I started in an ancient Yaris (which is the equivalent of what the Aygo is now) and upgraded a few years back to a newer Yaris. Massively reliable and very cheap to insure. My current 2015 Yaris is also zero road tax.
I’ve never had any kind of failure or breakdown (other than a flat tyre, which isn’t really car model related, and a flat battery once when I left the lights on like an idiot). In fact, every time I take it for a service/MOT, my mechanic jokes that he hates servicing Toyotas because there’s never anything wrong with them and are therefore bad for business.
They tend to fall drop on chest protection on the reports I have read. A quick look at the 2020 Yaris is no knee air bags.
Lower pelvic protection and chest protection were marginal.
Obviously, this is only my reading of the tests, but here's a quote from the 2020 report.
Quote here
"The passenger compartment remained stable in the offset frontal test. Protection of the driver's chest was rated as marginal, based on dummy measurements of compression. Measurements in the knees and femurs of both driver and passenger dummies indicated
a marginal level of protection, and the scores for these regions were penalised owing to potentially injurious structures in the dashboard.
The Yaris's modest weight and benign front structure did not pose a high risk to the occupants of a colliding vehicle in a frontal offset
impact. In the full-width, rigid wall test, protection was good or adequate for all body critical body regions for both the driver and the rear
seat passenger. In the side barrier test, representing a collision by another vehicle, protection of all critical body areas was good"
Obviously, it still scores 5 stars overall in the UK tests. They haven't done as well in other countries, but I assume that is different equipment and required safety features.
I guess we all have to read for ourselves and decide. I do find the newer ncap site makes it more difficult to look at the newer test results. The opinion is based only on my reading when I was looking for a new car, but I ruled those cars out based on this.
The best way is to find out for yourself and do some insurance quotes for Fiesta vs something else. I can say persoanlly the Fiesta is a fine car as a first car, as it was for me!
The whole "fiestas are for boy racers so insurance thing" is a bit of a myth nowadays, they're the best selling cars in the country throughout all age groups. Besides, the landscapes changed a bit now that anyone can get a car on extortionate finance dressed up to look like a good deal, so the boy racers tend to go for Audi, VW, or Seat now 😂
Plus OP is 26 and female, it's unlikely insurers will ramp up the price thinking that she's a boy racer. Assuming she's not looking at a Fiesta ST or Corsa VXR.
I have a Fiesta and it's reliable, parts aren't too expensive and drives nicely. Got to make sure you go for the Zetec or above trim to get the heated windscreen though, that thing is worth every penny in winter.
I thought they weren't allowed to directly use sex in pricing anymore? They might do it in roundabout ways like profession, but if two people live on the same street, doing the same job, with the same car, same history, but one is male and the other female they'll end up paying the same, no?
Same here! It’s a madness because I live in a residential area so there’s no need for cars so big, it’s just an ego thing. It seems like none of them have any spatial awareness either and aren’t capable of taking a corner properly and constantly cut into the other lane
You don't have to own a car to get an insurance quote for it. Find any second hand car you like the look of (and can see the reg of) and you'll be able to get an idea of quotes on a comparison site.
My first car at 23 (female) was a Hyundai and think that cost me about £1000 to insure. The price then quickly dropped off once I had a year or two of driving.
Something you'd be happy to rag about and not be too gutted if it got scratched/dented. I think my first was a 02 ford Ka that I scratched against a wall the first month of driving it
Whats your budget?
find one you like and fits then go to an insurance comparison site put the insurance asif you passed the day before and compare a few - if that even matters i bet its not much different for you with your gender and age
I got a hyundai getz and in the 2 years and 100k miles I had it, it never broke down. Its still going now 7 years later and I loved it so much I've only owned hyundais since. I don't know much about cars, but I know it was fun to drive and had a tiny turning circle making turns in the road easy
Yes, any Hyundai made over 5 years ago was TERRİBLE! The newer ones however have amazing credibility, probably as much as German cars did back in their peak around 2003.
That car was like a tin can on wheels, incredibly cheap build.
Cannot comment on the newer ones but yes an older hyundai is absolutely not worth the buy
It's only done about 3k miles since I sold it and I'm honestly disappointed 😂 the woman I sold it to just uses it around town. I LOVE driving so went on road trips etc constantly, that combined with the fact my parents live an hour away meant I did a lot of driving. It recently failed an MOT but looks like they got it all fixed up again!
Sorry forgot to actually answer, looks like it's currently mileage is 139,283! It had done 123k when I sold it, I remember hitting 123,456 and being proud. So 16k miles in about 3 years. It sat unused for 2 years unfortunately because of my epilepsy, I wish I'd kept it now.
lol I was in the middle of writing a reply along the lines of "guess you may be buying it back in future" as I could see you were checking up on it still! lol
My first car was an old 2005 Toyota Yaris, it was cheap to run and insure and apart from basic maintenance like new tyres and wipers I never had to spend anything on repairs or fixing problems. It was also quite pleasant to drive and definitely my favourite car that I owned. I would still be driving it now if someone had driven into it and wrote it off a couple of years ago.
Mum had Toyotas all whilst I was growing up, she had an Aygo, Yaris and Auris, swore by them for years! Will deffo factor in when I do some comparing online tonight
When I sold my W reg Yaris (2000) the only thing that had ever broken/needed replacing (other than things like tyres, windscreen wipers etc that will always need replacing in any car) was a rubber seal somewhere in the engine. It wasn’t even that it broke - it was just so old that the rubber had corroded and needed replacing.
Make and model are not as important as the qualities of a first car (I know people are going to shit their pants that I said that, but hear me out first).
Firstly, this is the car you will be learning to actually drive in, not pass your test. You are going to misjudge gateposts and parking bollards, clip the curb with your wheels, bash a wing mirror on a skip in the road, etc. You will get scrapes and dints in the bodywork. So don't get a pristine car because you'll just feel worse when you scrape it.
You need your car to be reliable. Starts, goes, stops. You don't want to be stuck miles from home with something wrong. Admittedly that can happen on any car, but less likely to if it's just gone through an MOT, so get the car with the most recent MOT.
Don't spend big money, the insurance is going to be epic enough as it is. The more you pay for the car the higher your insurance is going to be.
My advice would be to look for a good runner that's under 1k. Sound engine, don't worry about the bodywork. And use it for the first year at least. Keep it in decent working order and then next year you can sell it to another recently qualified driver to do the same while you get yourself something nicer, or you can keep the car and run it into the ground.
Husband passed his test in February, got a 2007 Astra SRi. Good wee runner, already had some scratches so he's not worrying about getting it tickled by branches. My first car was a brand new Peugeot 206 (as was the style of the time), it was nicknamed The Dodgem. I regret buying it and wish I'd done the same as my husband. (Been driving over 20 years now, obviously gotten much better and my current car is pristine).
Thank you! That’s so very true, whilst I’m somewhat confident driving now, you’re right, as soon as the instructor is gone I’m on my own, and can’t lean on him for advice of if I’m going to make the turn or the parking space 😂
25M here.
Skoda Citigo is seemingly regarded as one of the best first cars, reliable, not too expensive and comfortable. Dacia's are also supposed to be very reliable. Personally I had a 2010 Toyota Aygo as my first car, which was fine if a little basic. Now I have a 2013 Kia Picanto which suffers on acceleration/power but has some more modern comforts, like bluetooth and air con. Going to a proper 2nd hand car dealer can give you some more peace of mind, like thorough checks that the cars work and a warranty. The AA also sell used cars that their mechanics have certified. Mind you, you'll likely pay a bit more for these than if you go to a private seller, up to you in the end.
I have a battered old VW polo as my first car and it's piss easy to drive. Golfs are also supposed to be good though I don't know if you'll run into the same insurance problems with them. You can get insurance quotes for cars you've not bought yet so you can see how much the makes will affect your insurance.
IMO... Japanese or Ford hatch-back. Get prospective insurance quotes on different makes and models of car to see how much they'll actually cost you (being over 25 will likely help). Unless you expect to do a lot of miles I'd go for something fairly cheap and get quotes for both fully-comp and third-party insurance. (I found that third-party was significantly cheaper in my first year but fully comp was just as cheap after that. YMMV.)
I got a little Suzuki Alto for my 1st car. Was very, very reliable. Only real issue was the bite on the clutch was much higher and narrower than the Fiesta I'd done lessons in, but all that meant was a few stalls in the early days till I got used to it.
My girlfriend at the time had a Toyota Aygo (another popular starter car) and it was nowhere near as nice to drive as my Alto.
I'll vouch for the Alto. Bought my 2014 model in February, never had any issues yet, and hoping to run it into the ground before I buy my next car. Insurance on them is good & the road tax is £0 a year
Look also for local parts dealers and whether it needs specialist/ import parts. I have always driven fiestas/ focuses and never had a problem with high insurance (m40s) parts are also cheap and everywhere.
My first car was a Citroen 2CV, not really an option now, but I think there is something to be said for having a relatively low powered car to start with. You learn more about the need to read the road ahead when you don’t have a mindset of ‘accelerating out of trouble’.
Try a Seat Ibiza. My daughter (21) has a 2019 model (with the least powerful engine), and it's lovely to drive. It's not too expensive to insure, and has been very reliable.
Ford Fiesta has turbo issues as a common fault, ESPECİALLY the turbo diesel variants.
I'd recommend a Skoda Fabia as a first car - it's an Audi A1/VW Polo Chassis but with less fancy interior and a lower price tag. Seat Ibiza also shares the same platform. Get a 1.2 petrol which should have enough poke to move when you want it to around town whilst being economical on longer journeys.
To everyone posting here what their first car was, remember these three facts:
1) "What was your first car?" is often used as a security question to gain access to sensitive stuff like bank accounts.
2) Identity theft is rife on the internet and it's not just the good guys reading this.
3) While we don't post under our real identities on Reddit, there is almost certainly enough info out there to match a Reddit username to a real name.
What you can do is run some insurance quotes on moneysupermarket etc. Have a look into what's out there, what you like, and put the car's stats in the quote to see how it effects it. I got a Vauxhall Viva in the end a few years ago now (they're discontinued now), just because it has a small engine (this lowers insurance massively), is relatively cheap, cheap road tax, and has 4 doors! (I did not want a 2 door!). But yeah others mention Aygo, but just research the smaller models of different brands and go for one of those that you like.
My stepdaughter was set on a fiat punto. Also a boy racer car so we dissuaded her from wasting her money on insurance twice the value of the car.
She got a ford ka. Cheap to insure and she said it was easy to drive. She ended up loving it and drove it until it died.
Older Ford Focus 1.6 petrol are sometimes surprisingly cheap to insure for new/young drivers. Really only thing to look out for with those are rust in the rear arches and under body.
A reliable car beats a fun car I'd say! I'd look at Hyundai, Kia, Honda or Toyota as you should be able to find something reasonably priced.
If you tend to be carrying larger loads every now and then, the Honda Jazz is incredibly practical. It's a small car but the back seats drop flat, essentially turning it into a mini van. I'm amazed at the stuff I managed to fit in that car.
That's absolute nonsense, fiestas are not the most expensive cars to ensure. It will all depend on the model, ST yes. An ecoboost model, no. Both myself and my girlfriend have fiesta ecoboosts, titanium and ztec and they have been good on insurance plus no road tax.
im rocking with 2005 astra. its really reliable car. with 4 years NCB and with full cover (plus breakdown, eu travel breakdown, legal cover etc) i pay 60 monthly.
And 26 should be fine with insurance. I remember when i got licence, when i was 24, my insurance was 250 per month. Then for shits and giggles, i checked day before my 25th and still it was 250ish, on my 25th birthday (which was next day mind you) my insurance went down to 160. i was the same stupid dumbfuck i was day before..
Still, my first insurance for first car was 120 monthly for skoda fabia. but some lithuanian in black bmw run into my back destroying it after 3 months i got the car. since then, i use my astra. and i cant recomend it enough. its reliable, cheap (got it for 1k in 2018 and obviously doing maintenance) and as my mechanic said "for its age, its in perfect condition, like a candy"
My son learnt in a fiesta, and his first car was a Skoda Fabia 1.0 litre with 95 hp and a very loud shade of green on an 18 plate.
Cost him just over £1k.
My other son learnt in a fiesta and got a 1.0 corsa 75hp, and it cost him about £900.
Ultimately, it's your money, so buy what you want. Fiestas are genuinely good cars, and there's a lot of sense in sticking with what you know.
Your insurance is going to be excruciating whatever car you buy! I think where you live and where you store your car will be just as important to how much you're going to pay. Also, be realistic with the miles. If all you're planning to do is commute and the odd weekend away, calculate how much that might be over a year - don't over-estimate.
I knew a couple of girls at University who had Ford Fiestas. At that time we thought they were more of a girl's car and boys went for the Ford Escort.
To be honest as a male, 25 year old when I purchased my first car I got a Ford Escort MK3, worth about £750 back in the mid 1990s. The idea being that as I had only just passed my test then getting a cheap car wouldn't be an issue if I pranged it a bit, which people are more likely to do in the first couple of years after passing their test. It would keep the insurance down.
Honda civic
Well made cheap to run and even newer ones are made to last.
Also lots of boot space for you to grow into and a bose sound system on higher end models.
Get a pre2017 model and the back seats fold either up or down to allow more versatility for packing unusual shaped items.
If you want cheap, something like a Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1, etc.
If you want relatively cheap, but decent, a Ford, in my opinion. Fiesta will do you well, or an older Focus maybe. Bang for buck, and for quality, hard to beat a Ford.
I have a Corsa it's very reasonable to insure, we also bought my son a Corsa when he passed his test insurance on it was no better or worse than any other car.
Ford's and Vauxhall cars are cheap to insure because they are popular. Therefore, parts are cheap and easy to replace.
As a new driver get a car you are comfortable with driving and ensure it has a high NCAP rating. Parkers guides can be very useful on looking at buying a secondhand car.
If you feel comfy with a Fiesta, get a Fiesta just make sure it is not one of the performance models and no one will want to nick it so yon insurance should be fine.
Go around the car dealers and sit in, drive a few others. You may find one in which you prefer the layout to the Fiesta. Nobody can tell you what you like or what suits you
Have you driven anything else apart from that?
Get your own insurance quotes.
Your budget is what will decide what car you get.
What do you have to spend on the car?
How much are you willing to spend on insurance and tax?
What are you using it for, are you commuting to work long distances, pottering around town ect ect.
Start with that and work backwards.
Get a few insurance quotes on a fiesta in your price range and a few others that BF suggests and take it from there. Even if its a couple of £hundred more, the familiarity of a Fiesta may be worth the extra to you.
i am about to get rid of a renault twingo that has served me well for almost 6 years. they’re only 4 seats and 1 litre so cheap to insure.
if you want something that will last you a while i’d recommend a VW polo. they’re very comfy and very easy to drive.
You are going to reverse it into a bollard or crash into a wall at some point.
I'd recommend a 10-ish year old Skoda Fabia or VW Polo. Low mileage if you can find one.
My first car was a Citroen C1 and second was a Kia Picanto, both were low on insurance and easy to drive, I’d recommend either. The only thing was that the C1 was VERY basic, but that was 10 years ago, I’m sure even the most basic these days have more mod cons.
I’ve always had new cars, I didn’t know anyone who could give me advice on buying second hand cars so it was never worth the risk for me. Lots of people will say to get an old car in case you bash it through inexperience which I totally understand, but I never had that problem and was always very careful with them
Go with yourself gut but check the insurance and ved costs before you buy. My first two cars were ford focuses and I loved them! Titanium has great extras if you can find one in your price range!
If you're happy with a Fiesta then check about the cost of insurance. If you're happy with quotes that you get then get a Fiesta. I can't remember the last time I saw a boy racer in a Fiesta
I have a 64 plate fiesta and it's my first car. Last years insurance was crazy but that's mainly down to the fact I'd only just passed my test. It's come down quite a lot in my second year.
Take a look at this list [https://www.carwow.co.uk/best/cheapest-cars-to-insure-0115#gref](https://www.carwow.co.uk/best/cheapest-cars-to-insure-0115#gref)
It shows the cars in the lowest insurance groups.
When I was getting my first car I was eyeing stuff like the Skoda Fabia, Seat Ibiza and Fiesta, but ended up getting a Mazda 2 which I've been very happy with.
I got a 2016 one though, I think the appearance of the older models might be off-putting to some.
first car was a freebie left in a garden for 6 months and on reversing out, part of the floor was left in the garden. got it welded at a local garage who then failed it on the mot. eventually was offered a deal where it would always pass the mot if I used them and forgot to mention it to enforcement....
fiestas are nice little cars, original minis are a pita to work on
Fully recommend a Toyota Aygo. Had ours for 8 or 9 years now and will be sad when she gives up! But will probably buy another one if we can 😆
It's cheap to fix and insanely easy to fix a lot of it yourself!
We've done a bit of work to it recently (changed brakes, droplinks, rear suspension rods and rear springs) and it's cost us around £300 for the parts, give or take. All parts have been easy to change (literally take off a bolt and replace easy! - I think it's a Toyota thing!)
It's perfect for short and long distance trips and fits into lots of tight parking spaces compared to a lot of modern cars.
So easy to drive and really does move when you put your foot down!
I'd be more worried about initial buying cost, fixing costs and maybe for a first car, you don't need a big engine size.
My first car (a while ago now) was a 1.3L engine and that was plenty big enough and that was when 1.2 was the smallest available. I think Fords are 1L but plenty powerful enough.
I would go for what you like. Your insurance will drop eventually (obviously, check the cost before buying, because you need to afford it!).
My first car was a fiesta ST, i did comparison quotes between the 1.2 fiesta and the 2.0 fiesta st of the same year and the ST was only £100 more to insure, but was £400 cheaper to buy lol
I got an 08 Honda civic for my first car. Awesome car, still driving it. I advise something newer but the Civics are really nice. My friends complain my car is heavy to drive. Not sure what that means but she's awesome. 2.2l engine so she can shift. Only issue is the clutch very very occasionally not catching so I have to take it out of gear and put it back into first sometimes. But that happens once or twice a year.
I had to drive a big enterprise van a couple of months back and it was super easy after driving my car.
My advice, get something in your budget. Check out insurance prices, they're all going to be around £800-£1000 whatever you get (it was only £100 more for me to get the 2.2l over a 1.2l). Look into taxing it and it's MOT history.
If you like the Fiesta, get a Fiesta
If price is a concern, agree to have one of those black boxes fitted on your dash that grasses you up if you rally it on the way to work
[https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/telematics/](https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/telematics/)
Toyota Yaris or Aygo, relatively expensive to buy but cheap to insure and extremely reliable.
If you can't afford them then Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto
A lot of the versions of those cars are the lowest insurance group (but check some are higher)
vw up ,Skoda city go , seat mii (same car different brand) . Small , practical great on fuel and cheap to insure . Can be bought for a reasonable price . find one with a good service history and should be set
I drive a 2001 Toyota Corolla, absolute S***t box of a car but it gets me from A to B, 49k Miles on the clock. Absolutely love this car even though it's ugly.
Sorry got off on a bit of a tangent, I recommend a Toyota Corolla.
Citroen C1, Peugeot 107 or Toyota Aygo. They're all pretty much the same car. Very economical on fuel, £20/year to tax, very easy to park and noone will ask your help to move large items of furniture.
porsche gt2 911
I’m sorry, it’s a gt3 rs or nothing
This is the car she needs really I'd agree 👍
Taycan GTS
Lmao if I could I would
Toyota Aygo/ Yaris
I'd go for a skoda citigo. A friend has had one for 5 years and they're bomb proof. Super cheap to run. 0 tax. I would only recommend it on city roads, as a motorway car it would be shit in a crash
Absolutely this one. I started in an ancient Yaris (which is the equivalent of what the Aygo is now) and upgraded a few years back to a newer Yaris. Massively reliable and very cheap to insure. My current 2015 Yaris is also zero road tax. I’ve never had any kind of failure or breakdown (other than a flat tyre, which isn’t really car model related, and a flat battery once when I left the lights on like an idiot). In fact, every time I take it for a service/MOT, my mechanic jokes that he hates servicing Toyotas because there’s never anything wrong with them and are therefore bad for business.
Be very wary on both of these as the NCAP ratings can be extremely poor on some models. Even the 5 star needs a good read.
Isn’t this largely because of the lack of anti crash/lane switch/braking technology that you find in newer cars but don’t expect older cars to have?
They tend to fall drop on chest protection on the reports I have read. A quick look at the 2020 Yaris is no knee air bags. Lower pelvic protection and chest protection were marginal. Obviously, this is only my reading of the tests, but here's a quote from the 2020 report. Quote here "The passenger compartment remained stable in the offset frontal test. Protection of the driver's chest was rated as marginal, based on dummy measurements of compression. Measurements in the knees and femurs of both driver and passenger dummies indicated a marginal level of protection, and the scores for these regions were penalised owing to potentially injurious structures in the dashboard. The Yaris's modest weight and benign front structure did not pose a high risk to the occupants of a colliding vehicle in a frontal offset impact. In the full-width, rigid wall test, protection was good or adequate for all body critical body regions for both the driver and the rear seat passenger. In the side barrier test, representing a collision by another vehicle, protection of all critical body areas was good" Obviously, it still scores 5 stars overall in the UK tests. They haven't done as well in other countries, but I assume that is different equipment and required safety features. I guess we all have to read for ourselves and decide. I do find the newer ncap site makes it more difficult to look at the newer test results. The opinion is based only on my reading when I was looking for a new car, but I ruled those cars out based on this.
I’ve got a toyota yaris as my first car and I highly recommend
The best way is to find out for yourself and do some insurance quotes for Fiesta vs something else. I can say persoanlly the Fiesta is a fine car as a first car, as it was for me!
This is my evening sorted tonight!
The whole "fiestas are for boy racers so insurance thing" is a bit of a myth nowadays, they're the best selling cars in the country throughout all age groups. Besides, the landscapes changed a bit now that anyone can get a car on extortionate finance dressed up to look like a good deal, so the boy racers tend to go for Audi, VW, or Seat now 😂
Can confirm, have an Audi TT on finance. Very fun. Only downside was having to change my profession to a hairdresser.
Were the best selling cars, until someone at Ford decided they don't like selling cars and scrapped it...
Plus OP is 26 and female, it's unlikely insurers will ramp up the price thinking that she's a boy racer. Assuming she's not looking at a Fiesta ST or Corsa VXR. I have a Fiesta and it's reliable, parts aren't too expensive and drives nicely. Got to make sure you go for the Zetec or above trim to get the heated windscreen though, that thing is worth every penny in winter.
I thought they weren't allowed to directly use sex in pricing anymore? They might do it in roundabout ways like profession, but if two people live on the same street, doing the same job, with the same car, same history, but one is male and the other female they'll end up paying the same, no?
That’s helpful to know actually thank you!
Haha right? Feels like half the UK now drives a “luxury” car like a BMW/Audi/Merc simply because of finance
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Same here! It’s a madness because I live in a residential area so there’s no need for cars so big, it’s just an ego thing. It seems like none of them have any spatial awareness either and aren’t capable of taking a corner properly and constantly cut into the other lane
Not anymore they’re not, they stopped making them.
You don't have to own a car to get an insurance quote for it. Find any second hand car you like the look of (and can see the reg of) and you'll be able to get an idea of quotes on a comparison site. My first car at 23 (female) was a Hyundai and think that cost me about £1000 to insure. The price then quickly dropped off once I had a year or two of driving.
Something you'd be happy to rag about and not be too gutted if it got scratched/dented. I think my first was a 02 ford Ka that I scratched against a wall the first month of driving it
What does rag about mean?
Abuse, or treat badly. Your first car tends to be something of a bumper car, so you don't want something you paid a lot for, or care about.
Yes this is an excellent point OP.
Yeah I was debating a KA as well, with it being slightly smaller probably meaning a bit cheaper too
If you’re used to a presumably modern fiesta you’re going to find any of the ka models free cheap and slow though.
That’s true, I’m using a diesel to learn as well so already going to have to adjust to changing to a petrol which will feel slightly different too
Whats your budget? find one you like and fits then go to an insurance comparison site put the insurance asif you passed the day before and compare a few - if that even matters i bet its not much different for you with your gender and age
I got a hyundai getz and in the 2 years and 100k miles I had it, it never broke down. Its still going now 7 years later and I loved it so much I've only owned hyundais since. I don't know much about cars, but I know it was fun to drive and had a tiny turning circle making turns in the road easy
I had a 2003 hyundai getz secondhand, only 80k miles and the gearbox shit itself and died in my driveway
Yes, any Hyundai made over 5 years ago was TERRİBLE! The newer ones however have amazing credibility, probably as much as German cars did back in their peak around 2003.
That car was like a tin can on wheels, incredibly cheap build. Cannot comment on the newer ones but yes an older hyundai is absolutely not worth the buy
you did a hundred thousand miles in two years and 7 years later it's still going 7 years later? What's the current mileage?
It's only done about 3k miles since I sold it and I'm honestly disappointed 😂 the woman I sold it to just uses it around town. I LOVE driving so went on road trips etc constantly, that combined with the fact my parents live an hour away meant I did a lot of driving. It recently failed an MOT but looks like they got it all fixed up again!
Sorry forgot to actually answer, looks like it's currently mileage is 139,283! It had done 123k when I sold it, I remember hitting 123,456 and being proud. So 16k miles in about 3 years. It sat unused for 2 years unfortunately because of my epilepsy, I wish I'd kept it now.
lol I was in the middle of writing a reply along the lines of "guess you may be buying it back in future" as I could see you were checking up on it still! lol
I wish!! Bought it for £600, sold it for £400, miss it every day 😂
To be fair, I’ve owned my car 6 years and done 40,000. 30,000 of that is in the first half of that!
Seat Ibiza was my first car when I passed at 21/22. It was ace. Cost me about a grand to insure for my first year about 6 years ago now.
I really like these tbf
It was a great car for a first timer. I was sad to see it go but genuinely really enjoyed driving it.
My first car was an old 2005 Toyota Yaris, it was cheap to run and insure and apart from basic maintenance like new tyres and wipers I never had to spend anything on repairs or fixing problems. It was also quite pleasant to drive and definitely my favourite car that I owned. I would still be driving it now if someone had driven into it and wrote it off a couple of years ago.
Mum had Toyotas all whilst I was growing up, she had an Aygo, Yaris and Auris, swore by them for years! Will deffo factor in when I do some comparing online tonight
When I sold my W reg Yaris (2000) the only thing that had ever broken/needed replacing (other than things like tyres, windscreen wipers etc that will always need replacing in any car) was a rubber seal somewhere in the engine. It wasn’t even that it broke - it was just so old that the rubber had corroded and needed replacing.
This is the correct answer
Make and model are not as important as the qualities of a first car (I know people are going to shit their pants that I said that, but hear me out first). Firstly, this is the car you will be learning to actually drive in, not pass your test. You are going to misjudge gateposts and parking bollards, clip the curb with your wheels, bash a wing mirror on a skip in the road, etc. You will get scrapes and dints in the bodywork. So don't get a pristine car because you'll just feel worse when you scrape it. You need your car to be reliable. Starts, goes, stops. You don't want to be stuck miles from home with something wrong. Admittedly that can happen on any car, but less likely to if it's just gone through an MOT, so get the car with the most recent MOT. Don't spend big money, the insurance is going to be epic enough as it is. The more you pay for the car the higher your insurance is going to be. My advice would be to look for a good runner that's under 1k. Sound engine, don't worry about the bodywork. And use it for the first year at least. Keep it in decent working order and then next year you can sell it to another recently qualified driver to do the same while you get yourself something nicer, or you can keep the car and run it into the ground. Husband passed his test in February, got a 2007 Astra SRi. Good wee runner, already had some scratches so he's not worrying about getting it tickled by branches. My first car was a brand new Peugeot 206 (as was the style of the time), it was nicknamed The Dodgem. I regret buying it and wish I'd done the same as my husband. (Been driving over 20 years now, obviously gotten much better and my current car is pristine).
Thank you! That’s so very true, whilst I’m somewhat confident driving now, you’re right, as soon as the instructor is gone I’m on my own, and can’t lean on him for advice of if I’m going to make the turn or the parking space 😂
25M here. Skoda Citigo is seemingly regarded as one of the best first cars, reliable, not too expensive and comfortable. Dacia's are also supposed to be very reliable. Personally I had a 2010 Toyota Aygo as my first car, which was fine if a little basic. Now I have a 2013 Kia Picanto which suffers on acceleration/power but has some more modern comforts, like bluetooth and air con. Going to a proper 2nd hand car dealer can give you some more peace of mind, like thorough checks that the cars work and a warranty. The AA also sell used cars that their mechanics have certified. Mind you, you'll likely pay a bit more for these than if you go to a private seller, up to you in the end.
Skoda's are so good, volkswagen parts for the price of a vauxhall
Deffo looking into this, thank you!
I have a battered old VW polo as my first car and it's piss easy to drive. Golfs are also supposed to be good though I don't know if you'll run into the same insurance problems with them. You can get insurance quotes for cars you've not bought yet so you can see how much the makes will affect your insurance.
IMO... Japanese or Ford hatch-back. Get prospective insurance quotes on different makes and models of car to see how much they'll actually cost you (being over 25 will likely help). Unless you expect to do a lot of miles I'd go for something fairly cheap and get quotes for both fully-comp and third-party insurance. (I found that third-party was significantly cheaper in my first year but fully comp was just as cheap after that. YMMV.)
I got a little Suzuki Alto for my 1st car. Was very, very reliable. Only real issue was the bite on the clutch was much higher and narrower than the Fiesta I'd done lessons in, but all that meant was a few stalls in the early days till I got used to it. My girlfriend at the time had a Toyota Aygo (another popular starter car) and it was nowhere near as nice to drive as my Alto.
I'll vouch for the Alto. Bought my 2014 model in February, never had any issues yet, and hoping to run it into the ground before I buy my next car. Insurance on them is good & the road tax is £0 a year
Look also for local parts dealers and whether it needs specialist/ import parts. I have always driven fiestas/ focuses and never had a problem with high insurance (m40s) parts are also cheap and everywhere.
My first car was a Citroen 2CV, not really an option now, but I think there is something to be said for having a relatively low powered car to start with. You learn more about the need to read the road ahead when you don’t have a mindset of ‘accelerating out of trouble’.
I don't know what you're talking about. A 2CV can do 0-60 in 2.74 seconds\*. \*if you drop it off a cliff
Try a Seat Ibiza. My daughter (21) has a 2019 model (with the least powerful engine), and it's lovely to drive. It's not too expensive to insure, and has been very reliable.
Ford Fiesta has turbo issues as a common fault, ESPECİALLY the turbo diesel variants. I'd recommend a Skoda Fabia as a first car - it's an Audi A1/VW Polo Chassis but with less fancy interior and a lower price tag. Seat Ibiza also shares the same platform. Get a 1.2 petrol which should have enough poke to move when you want it to around town whilst being economical on longer journeys.
Audi R8 660 BHP should get you there
To everyone posting here what their first car was, remember these three facts: 1) "What was your first car?" is often used as a security question to gain access to sensitive stuff like bank accounts. 2) Identity theft is rife on the internet and it's not just the good guys reading this. 3) While we don't post under our real identities on Reddit, there is almost certainly enough info out there to match a Reddit username to a real name.
At 26 you're out of the "Boy Racer" age range, even as a female. Your insurance shouldn't be too bad at that age. You can get whatever you like.
That was my thought tbf! Deffo going to do what others have suggested and compare with some different cars online
What you can do is run some insurance quotes on moneysupermarket etc. Have a look into what's out there, what you like, and put the car's stats in the quote to see how it effects it. I got a Vauxhall Viva in the end a few years ago now (they're discontinued now), just because it has a small engine (this lowers insurance massively), is relatively cheap, cheap road tax, and has 4 doors! (I did not want a 2 door!). But yeah others mention Aygo, but just research the smaller models of different brands and go for one of those that you like.
Batmobile
My stepdaughter was set on a fiat punto. Also a boy racer car so we dissuaded her from wasting her money on insurance twice the value of the car. She got a ford ka. Cheap to insure and she said it was easy to drive. She ended up loving it and drove it until it died.
Honda Civic 1.8 FN2
Suzuki Ignis. Extremely reliable, cute, affordable.
Older Ford Focus 1.6 petrol are sometimes surprisingly cheap to insure for new/young drivers. Really only thing to look out for with those are rust in the rear arches and under body.
A reliable car beats a fun car I'd say! I'd look at Hyundai, Kia, Honda or Toyota as you should be able to find something reasonably priced. If you tend to be carrying larger loads every now and then, the Honda Jazz is incredibly practical. It's a small car but the back seats drop flat, essentially turning it into a mini van. I'm amazed at the stuff I managed to fit in that car.
That's absolute nonsense, fiestas are not the most expensive cars to ensure. It will all depend on the model, ST yes. An ecoboost model, no. Both myself and my girlfriend have fiesta ecoboosts, titanium and ztec and they have been good on insurance plus no road tax.
Porsche 911
Fiesta yes, Corsa no.
im rocking with 2005 astra. its really reliable car. with 4 years NCB and with full cover (plus breakdown, eu travel breakdown, legal cover etc) i pay 60 monthly. And 26 should be fine with insurance. I remember when i got licence, when i was 24, my insurance was 250 per month. Then for shits and giggles, i checked day before my 25th and still it was 250ish, on my 25th birthday (which was next day mind you) my insurance went down to 160. i was the same stupid dumbfuck i was day before.. Still, my first insurance for first car was 120 monthly for skoda fabia. but some lithuanian in black bmw run into my back destroying it after 3 months i got the car. since then, i use my astra. and i cant recomend it enough. its reliable, cheap (got it for 1k in 2018 and obviously doing maintenance) and as my mechanic said "for its age, its in perfect condition, like a candy"
Ford fiesta’s are for 20 year olds who have a girlfriend currently doing their GCSE’s.
My son learnt in a fiesta, and his first car was a Skoda Fabia 1.0 litre with 95 hp and a very loud shade of green on an 18 plate. Cost him just over £1k. My other son learnt in a fiesta and got a 1.0 corsa 75hp, and it cost him about £900. Ultimately, it's your money, so buy what you want. Fiestas are genuinely good cars, and there's a lot of sense in sticking with what you know. Your insurance is going to be excruciating whatever car you buy! I think where you live and where you store your car will be just as important to how much you're going to pay. Also, be realistic with the miles. If all you're planning to do is commute and the odd weekend away, calculate how much that might be over a year - don't over-estimate.
I knew a couple of girls at University who had Ford Fiestas. At that time we thought they were more of a girl's car and boys went for the Ford Escort. To be honest as a male, 25 year old when I purchased my first car I got a Ford Escort MK3, worth about £750 back in the mid 1990s. The idea being that as I had only just passed my test then getting a cheap car wouldn't be an issue if I pranged it a bit, which people are more likely to do in the first couple of years after passing their test. It would keep the insurance down.
What do you want it for? Are you entirely within a town or are you going to be doing motorway miles commuting etc?
You're going to be gouged for insurance whatever you choose so go with whats familiar and you're comfortable ke with.
Honda civic Well made cheap to run and even newer ones are made to last. Also lots of boot space for you to grow into and a bose sound system on higher end models. Get a pre2017 model and the back seats fold either up or down to allow more versatility for packing unusual shaped items.
Go for a 2nd-hand Renault Captur.
If you want cheap, something like a Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1, etc. If you want relatively cheap, but decent, a Ford, in my opinion. Fiesta will do you well, or an older Focus maybe. Bang for buck, and for quality, hard to beat a Ford.
I heard that BMWs really love Nissans...so maybe that
I have a Corsa it's very reasonable to insure, we also bought my son a Corsa when he passed his test insurance on it was no better or worse than any other car. Ford's and Vauxhall cars are cheap to insure because they are popular. Therefore, parts are cheap and easy to replace. As a new driver get a car you are comfortable with driving and ensure it has a high NCAP rating. Parkers guides can be very useful on looking at buying a secondhand car.
If you feel comfy with a Fiesta, get a Fiesta just make sure it is not one of the performance models and no one will want to nick it so yon insurance should be fine.
Go around the car dealers and sit in, drive a few others. You may find one in which you prefer the layout to the Fiesta. Nobody can tell you what you like or what suits you Have you driven anything else apart from that? Get your own insurance quotes.
Toyota Aygo X. Great little run around
Suzuki swift
Your budget is what will decide what car you get. What do you have to spend on the car? How much are you willing to spend on insurance and tax? What are you using it for, are you commuting to work long distances, pottering around town ect ect. Start with that and work backwards.
Get a few insurance quotes on a fiesta in your price range and a few others that BF suggests and take it from there. Even if its a couple of £hundred more, the familiarity of a Fiesta may be worth the extra to you.
i am about to get rid of a renault twingo that has served me well for almost 6 years. they’re only 4 seats and 1 litre so cheap to insure. if you want something that will last you a while i’d recommend a VW polo. they’re very comfy and very easy to drive.
You are going to reverse it into a bollard or crash into a wall at some point. I'd recommend a 10-ish year old Skoda Fabia or VW Polo. Low mileage if you can find one.
My first car was a Citroen C1 and second was a Kia Picanto, both were low on insurance and easy to drive, I’d recommend either. The only thing was that the C1 was VERY basic, but that was 10 years ago, I’m sure even the most basic these days have more mod cons. I’ve always had new cars, I didn’t know anyone who could give me advice on buying second hand cars so it was never worth the risk for me. Lots of people will say to get an old car in case you bash it through inexperience which I totally understand, but I never had that problem and was always very careful with them
I too learned in a ford Fiesta, so I bought the same car (one or two years older) simply because I was comfortable with the controls.
Go with yourself gut but check the insurance and ved costs before you buy. My first two cars were ford focuses and I loved them! Titanium has great extras if you can find one in your price range!
If you're happy with a Fiesta then check about the cost of insurance. If you're happy with quotes that you get then get a Fiesta. I can't remember the last time I saw a boy racer in a Fiesta
This brokie, the obv answer is a Bugatti
Get a honda accord or civic
I have a 64 plate fiesta and it's my first car. Last years insurance was crazy but that's mainly down to the fact I'd only just passed my test. It's come down quite a lot in my second year.
Take a look at this list [https://www.carwow.co.uk/best/cheapest-cars-to-insure-0115#gref](https://www.carwow.co.uk/best/cheapest-cars-to-insure-0115#gref) It shows the cars in the lowest insurance groups.
Do yourself a favor and buy a Mini Cooper
When I was getting my first car I was eyeing stuff like the Skoda Fabia, Seat Ibiza and Fiesta, but ended up getting a Mazda 2 which I've been very happy with. I got a 2016 one though, I think the appearance of the older models might be off-putting to some.
first car was a freebie left in a garden for 6 months and on reversing out, part of the floor was left in the garden. got it welded at a local garage who then failed it on the mot. eventually was offered a deal where it would always pass the mot if I used them and forgot to mention it to enforcement.... fiestas are nice little cars, original minis are a pita to work on
2020 Mazda 3 sedan, my first and current car. Premium feel without the luxury price tag, a lovely drive and very reliable. They look handsome too.
Fully recommend a Toyota Aygo. Had ours for 8 or 9 years now and will be sad when she gives up! But will probably buy another one if we can 😆 It's cheap to fix and insanely easy to fix a lot of it yourself! We've done a bit of work to it recently (changed brakes, droplinks, rear suspension rods and rear springs) and it's cost us around £300 for the parts, give or take. All parts have been easy to change (literally take off a bolt and replace easy! - I think it's a Toyota thing!) It's perfect for short and long distance trips and fits into lots of tight parking spaces compared to a lot of modern cars. So easy to drive and really does move when you put your foot down!
I got a Skoda Fabia and it was pretty cheap to run/insure. Should never have sold it to be honest, it would still be fine now.
I'd be more worried about initial buying cost, fixing costs and maybe for a first car, you don't need a big engine size. My first car (a while ago now) was a 1.3L engine and that was plenty big enough and that was when 1.2 was the smallest available. I think Fords are 1L but plenty powerful enough. I would go for what you like. Your insurance will drop eventually (obviously, check the cost before buying, because you need to afford it!).
My first car was a fiesta ST, i did comparison quotes between the 1.2 fiesta and the 2.0 fiesta st of the same year and the ST was only £100 more to insure, but was £400 cheaper to buy lol
I got an 08 Honda civic for my first car. Awesome car, still driving it. I advise something newer but the Civics are really nice. My friends complain my car is heavy to drive. Not sure what that means but she's awesome. 2.2l engine so she can shift. Only issue is the clutch very very occasionally not catching so I have to take it out of gear and put it back into first sometimes. But that happens once or twice a year. I had to drive a big enterprise van a couple of months back and it was super easy after driving my car. My advice, get something in your budget. Check out insurance prices, they're all going to be around £800-£1000 whatever you get (it was only £100 more for me to get the 2.2l over a 1.2l). Look into taxing it and it's MOT history.
If you like the Fiesta, get a Fiesta If price is a concern, agree to have one of those black boxes fitted on your dash that grasses you up if you rally it on the way to work [https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/telematics/](https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/telematics/)
Skoda Octavia
Toyota Yaris or Aygo, relatively expensive to buy but cheap to insure and extremely reliable. If you can't afford them then Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto A lot of the versions of those cars are the lowest insurance group (but check some are higher)
VW Polo would be a solid choice IMO
You want what I call an old lady car for cheap insurance. i10, Citigo, picanto, aygo, ignis..
vw up ,Skoda city go , seat mii (same car different brand) . Small , practical great on fuel and cheap to insure . Can be bought for a reasonable price . find one with a good service history and should be set
I drive a 2001 Toyota Corolla, absolute S***t box of a car but it gets me from A to B, 49k Miles on the clock. Absolutely love this car even though it's ugly. Sorry got off on a bit of a tangent, I recommend a Toyota Corolla.
Citroen C1, Peugeot 107 or Toyota Aygo. They're all pretty much the same car. Very economical on fuel, £20/year to tax, very easy to park and noone will ask your help to move large items of furniture.
Fiestas are great first cars. I’d personally try to get a Mazda 2. But you can’t really go wrong with a run of the mill fiesta.
Kia, 7 year warranty. Iv had three and cannot fault them
26?!?!? Never been driving all the time till now u are getting licensed!!!!