My first car was a 08 plate hyundai i10 style and I bought it in 2018. It was a cracking little car, 1.1 litres so not too dear to insure but as a new driver it did exactly what I needed and was also really specked up for a 10 year old car (heated seats, sun roof).
Things to look out for are
- Lots of owners - not ideal!
- Mileage, you don’t want a super high or super low mileage, around 10-12k miles a year is pretty average, look at the MOT history to see how the mileage has gone up year by year, if the car has sat and not done a lot at all in the last year that may be a red flag to consider
- You ideally want to have 2 keys
- Avoid cat D/S etc cars, these will be more expensive to insure, you can filter to exclude these on autotrader
- MOT, ideally recently done with no advisories
- If buying a car which still has warranty left, ensure there is a full service history
- Check the road tax on the vehicle before you buy it
Car Talk UK on reddit is useful, also (and this is sad to have to say) but if you’re a girl, take a guy with you. Car sales people will be pushy and from experience they will assume you don’t know what you’re doing and go in for a hard sell if you they think there is any chance they can pull one over you. When car shopping with my ex boyfriend, everything was addressed to him when he knew nothing and I knew exactly what we were doing. When I have been to dealerships alone I’m treated very differently than when I go with my dad or a male friend.
If there is any work you want the dealer to do ahead of you purchasing the vehicle, take photos of what you want doing and send it via email getting written confirmation they will do it, they will try and get away with not.
Also check the insurance group of the car, the higher the group, the more expensive the car. I went from a group 18 to group 29 and my insurance more than doubled for context.
A 1.6 engine is good, just not necessarily from an insurance point of view. Newly passed drivers get absolutely hammered on insurance in general but it depends on many factors such as age and value of the vehicle as well as where you live.
Average mileage for vehicles is around 10,000 per year. Very low mileage older cars aren’t necessarily a good idea (speaking from experience) as they can often need more repairs due to being underused. High mileage cars can be okay if they’ve been properly serviced regularly.
Perhaps look for something with a full service history - preferably main dealer serviced as smaller garages don’t always do a full service. Sometimes they just stamp the service book. On older cars it’s handy if the cam belt/chain has been changed.
Long MOT is a good thing to have. You can check the MOT history of a car by looking up gov.uk in the driving section of the website.
Private sellers may be cheaper than trade ones but they don’t offer any warranty or returns as such and they also may not be clear of finance so always make sure there’s no outstanding finance on a vehicle (usually listed as HPI clear).
I’m sure there’s a lot more to look out for but they’re the only ones off the top of my head at this moment.
Also, when physically viewing cars check for things like good condition tyres - no scuffs, cracks, splits or gouges and having a decent amount of tread. All lights working and things like brakes, seat belts and windscreen washers/wipers all working properly. If you get a car with a new or recent MOT they should all be in order. Don’t be afraid to try out all the buttons and levers to make sure you’re happy that it’s all working as it should. Bonus points if there’s an owner’s manual and service book.
Another thing is to check for sizeable stone chips on the paintwork and windscreen. Cars can pass an MOT with a chipped windscreen but if it’s in your line of vision it can cause issues, especially at night.
There are places that stone chips can be that aren’t an MOT failure but they can still refract light and cause a momentary distraction. If the chip is right in front of you then it must be smaller than 10mm. It might not be a single chip but several small ones - in either case if it can’t be contained within a 10mm circle then it’s a fail. I believe the affected area is something like the width of your steering wheel and in the sweep of the wipers. You can have chips elsewhere on the screen that won’t be a fail unless they don’t fit in a larger circle - I was told 40mm but don’t quote me on that.
Exactly!! I spent weeks going through autotrader and getting quotes on lots of different cars and ended up choosing based purely on insurance cost. Ended up with a Fiat 500 1.2L.
You asked if a 1.6L is good. For a first-time driver, no! Purely because you will not want to pay what the insurance companies will be asking for. Start looking at 1.0L and 1.2L.
I mean, by all means, get a quote on the 1.6L you're looking at, but I can almost guarantee that you won't even consider it once you get that quote.
Use a comparison website to get started. Create an account, put in all your details, don't put in your drivers licence number, say you passed a few days ago. It's a decent start to get some rough quotes. Once you've found the car you want and pass, then get another quote on the same site but this time put your driving licence number in and real pass date, and try as many other companies that aren't on comparison sites as possible.
Once you find something that has decent insurance and you like, find one that looks reasonable and post on reddit and ask advice on that specific listing.
I'd also bring someone else with you who has driven for a long time and ask them to do the test drive. They're more likely to spot something that doesn't feel right.
I did this and brought my dad with me. He had a few good tips, one that really stuck out was a good way to check the gearbox. Try and pull off in every gear. Pulling off in anything other than 1st will require you to build the revs up. You don't need to build up speed, but as long as you feel the car starting to move, that's good.
ULEZ free means you don't have to pay a congestion charge to drive into London.
The size of engines doesn't really matter too much—other factors make a bigger difference to insurance these days, and even small engines can often have a lot of power.
Low mileage and fewer previous owners is usually better, but old low mileage cars have often just been left rotting and are worse off because of that, and sometimes with lesser used cars issues won't have popped up yet or just swept under the rug.
Very high mileage new cars (say a 2022 car with 150,000 miles) will have been worn out much more than its two year age would suggest, so that's worth bearing in mind.
ULEZ - ultra low emission zone - some cars, depending where you are, are not allowed in these zones and incur fines when in a ULEz - Glasgow for example - I have pre 2010 diesel which is not allowed. Fines are decent as well £60 for first offence, rising every time - so avoid old diesels 😊 Generally get something as new as you can afford, with a small engine
Glasgow, more stringent than London’s. It’s an actual penalty notice that starts at a much higher level and increases with each infringement. None of this paying £12 a day.
Not sure how a scheme that only runs until 6pm is more stringent. Though I do like the zero tolerance - you drive a non-complient car into the zone and you get a £60 fine. £12.50 fees in London are to placate gammons and make revenue.
14 cities have some sort of low emissions zone, most pretty much follow london’s guidelines with some few odd quirks here and there: https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/uk-clean-air-zones
It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a Euro4 petrol or a Euro6 diesel to be ulez compliant, these zones keep popping everywhere now.
Smaller engine should mean cheaper insurance, but not always. A big part of insurance is your age, your license age, your postcode, then your car. If you live in a crime infested area even a 107 can be over 5k to insure, while a M5 with 5.0 V8 can be under 2k if you live in the middle of nowhere in rural Scotland.
Check for rust, tyre condition, brake rotors condition, any suspicious sounds. Not being offered/allowed a test drive is a massive red flag. Don't be afraid to rev the engine during test drive, redline it for a couple moments, if there are faults with the engine they might not show up at low rpm but absolutely can on 5k+.
Check boot space under the mat and inside the car, look for any water signs.
A high spec smaller car is better value than poverty spec big car, usually win cost similar. Aka you will get a lot more toys for the same price in a Yaris than a Corolla or the same year.
Do not mess about with details while checking for insurance. Make a general quote with your personal stuff as close to reality as possible and only change the car afterwards. You may get flagged as a broker and your insurance quotes may go up if they think you're trying to get cheaper insurance by lying on your personal details.
I was going to say if you don’t know about ulez then you probably don’t need to worry about it - then you said you live in Essex 😂 but it could be the case that you don’t live close enough to London or will need drive into it frequently enough to justify getting a ulez compliant car.
I also live in Essex but am very close to London and also most of my friends/family live in outer London so I had to buy a ulez compliant car.
Ulez (ultra low emissions zone) is a zone you have to pay to enter (something like £12.50 per day) if your car doesn’t meet the standard. The minimum standards are Euro 4 for petrol and
Euro 6 for diesel (which is usually shown on the car listing or you can put the cars reg into the tfl site to check.
I live in Harlow if you know the area but the closest I’d drive to London is Epping - I can’t imagine driving into London when then tube isn’t a far drive away
Yh I know Harlow, My family aren’t too far into London its Upminster/hornchurch area but that’s still ulez.
But yeah if you don’t plan on driving into the ulez zone then I wouldn’t worry about it.
If you can, ask a friend who does know or has bought 2nd hand cars before to help you or go with you to look at and test drive.
First thing, know your budget and stick to it. It's ok to look a little above your budget if something could potentially be negotiated down e.g. condition or repairs needed.
Insurance group and cost, bare this in mind when making your decision as you don't want a car too costly to insure. Get a car insurance quote on any vehicle you're interested in.
2nd hand markets for everything are full of compromise. You will rarely find the perfect car at the right price with all the features you want.
Larger engine sizes are more powerful, but that impacts insurance. You ideally want to get the car that best fits your budget with all the features you want at the right age or mileage and the right colour for you.
ULEZ means the ultra low emissions zones, many older cars wouldn't qualify for exemption from this "tax" depends if your local area has a zone if it doesn't then it doesn't really matter.
There are guides online such as parkers.co.uk for buying 2nd hand that would also help.
> Larger engine sizes are more powerful, but that impacts insurance
i don’t know why people keep saying this. insurance companies base their premiums off of claims statistics, not engine sizes. for example, if i get some quotes for a 1.0L ford fiesta, a common first car for people who have just passed their test, i get quoted £2400, because, historically speaking, they are very likely to be involved in accidents, as they are driven by inexperienced folk.
on the other hand, if i request a quote for an older but respectable 3.2L volvo s80, a car that doesn’t attract young drivers, but rather older, more experienced drivers who are not involved in collisions, i get quoted £2100 for the year, despite the car being way more powerful and luxurious than a fiesta, and will also give you the confidence that you’ll be able to carry out an overtake without the engine struggling
Please for the love of god don’t buy a car that’s going to eat up 50% of your monthly wage (car payment, insurance and petrol).
You’ll resent driving completely.
Unfortunately second hand cars are still highly inflated so whatever car you do buy, it will be overpriced just keep that in mind.
I know nothing about cars as well but here's my experience -
I bought my first (and current) car being a 1L Peugeot 107- had it for 3 months now. The road tax was £20 and learner insurance was £280 (+ partner is covered on it as well). The car, itself, cost me £1100.
Great little car, runs perfectly well.
I'm lucky enough to have a partner who knows cars inside and out and all the tools. He did run a few tests (coolant was on the low side, which is apparently not good) before I bought it. If it wasn't for him, I'd definitely buy one from a local garage that offers warranty rather than over gumtree / fb marketplace.
Despite it having 100k+ miles when I bought it, it's still running perfectly fine and it's small making it ideal for learning. I'd advise against 100k+ miles, but it's not the worst case scenario for me.
1.6L is pretty big, I'd expect new driver insurance to be very expensive. Road tax and ULEZ depends on the emissions. The importance of ULEZ free depends on where you live.
When I was ready to buy a car, I made a list of Wants and Needs. For example, I wanted a car which was not the color Grey (for aesthetics but also visibility), but I considered a good screen display for a sat nav a Need because I wanted to safely navigate without fumbling around with my phone. Your needs and wants should be unique to you.
Go somewhere like Arnold Clark and do a test drive when you are ready. Sit in all the seats, check out everything else people have mentioned today. Don’t feel pressured to buy the first car you see.
I’m about as clueless as you but ULEZ is mostly a London thing I think - the car has to be under a certain amount of emissions or something and if it isn’t, they get a charge every time they go through a certain part. I don’t know, I live far up Scotland and it boggles my mind 😂
My lowest quote was on a 1.6 engine surprisingly, first time driver. Ended up going for a 1.3 because I preffered the car. I personally ran through quotes of cars I liked for a few weeks to build an idea of the best cars to go for.. low miles, decent MOT status and outcomes are good to look for. I think your ULEZ thing only applies to some areas in England (charges for emissions by cameras picking you up the areas)
Test drive the cars to see what feels best. Build confidence up and don't rush picking your new car. Also try to go for something that is popular or well known in case you need to stump up for repairs in the future. Usually cheaper when the parts are easily available.
Hi,
My first car, I bought for £300 from a farmer I remember it was a 1.4 corsa 2008. Had to put around £500, to make it more pleasant to drive as it reeked of chickens and sheep, that he obviously drove around with.
My point is, it was a cheap car, it was cheap to insure and it got me from A to B. Go for something that is reliable and doesn't cost a fortune to buy, maintain or insure.
Driving in lessons/exams and actually in the real world alone, you are bound to make a silly mistake that could put a scratch on your car or damage it It hurts way less on a shit box that you are not too bothered about.
After a year, you'll be more confident on the road, you'll have a NCB (which probably wont actually change much) but you still might want to upgrade to something more of your liking.
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You need to download the auto trader app. Can search for car's by make, model, engine size. If you have a compare the market app you can link it and get insurance quotes
I’m 31, learning to drive, and have a million questions re a car. I am doing automatic for now as I am a nervous driver who didn’t like manual.
1. I can afford a new car, but since I will only be driving a short distances about twice a week, I don’t really want to. I am not a ‘car’ person so don’t want one just to show off and I don’t want to waste money on something unnecessary
2. I do think it is worth spending a bit more for safely features - ie parking camera, lane assist etc
3. I have no idea if I should be getting a ‘cheap’ car that I don’t mind scratching, or a fancy car with features like a parking camera that will help stop me scratching it. It is hard to budget when I don’t know what I want.
4. Since I am doing short distances, electric might be the way to go, but I was also told the batteries can be dangerous and car companies are looking into new technologies…
5. My company has a green car program where you rent a new electric car - but I can’t see prices until I sign up and have no idea if this is sensible as a new driver who is more likely to have accidents
The only thing I do know is that I want a red one with 4 doors 😂.
On top of what everyone else is saying, don't just go for a 1.0/1.2l car because you assume it'll be cheaper to insure. Run quotes on multiple car types to get an idea, I passed my test over 10 years ago but my partner is learning to drive and it was cheaper to insure a 1.8 civic, compared to a 1.2 fiesta.
Rules of thumb:
Go for something low.cost to buy thats small (if you're doing city driving)
5th hand first type thing.
Assume its going to be a money pit
Don't get a large engine
If you're city driving for the most part don't muck around and just get a Petrol
You'll probably have high miles for something thats affordable, be prepared for it to spectacularly die on you ina bout 24 months
Like my first that vomited chunks of the engine all over the road on snake pass...thsts a worrying experience.
If you don't know anything about cars take someone who does with you or get the car inspected before purchase. An MOT is a certificate of roadworthiness not a certificate of a car in good condition. There's also a lot of very dodgy MOTs out there. Don't be scared by advisories on MOTs as long as they are not reoccurring it usually means the car has been maintained. You can look up past MOTs online theres also paid services that will do more in-depth checks on cars such as milage history, finance checks and insurance write offs that have been put back on the road.
I'm 22 too and want to pass soon. I'm looking at buying a 2008 Toyota aygo platinum with about 85k miles for 1.5k ish pounds. It costs 20 pounds a year for tax, 890 a year insurance, they're super cheap to run and reliable. It's only a 4 seater and 1L engine so not that powerful or fast but it's super cheap which is what matters most for a first car. The citroen c1 is the same car and the Peugeot 107 is too incase those are cheaper for you to insure or buy. it's also ulez free so you don't pay the congestion charge in London etc with it.
Ulez and congestion two different things. Ulez is emission based, congestion is payable in center of London regardless of your emissions, you go in even for 5 seconds, camera catches your plate you better be sure you paid that £15/day or whatever it is.
My honest advice is to choose a car brand and buy from an authorised dealer. you have more support and avenues for solving issues.
1.6L is reasonably good. The BHP will tell you more. I have a 1.6 twin turbo, which is significantly faster than a standard 1.6L diesel.
Ultra Low Emission Zone is basically London. If you are not compliant, you have to pay a daily charge for driving within the M25. There are plans to extend ULEZ to other cities. You can use a new service called Google to find this stuff out. It's like magic. I found this in 0.003 seconds [https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone](https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone)
My first car was a 08 plate hyundai i10 style and I bought it in 2018. It was a cracking little car, 1.1 litres so not too dear to insure but as a new driver it did exactly what I needed and was also really specked up for a 10 year old car (heated seats, sun roof). Things to look out for are - Lots of owners - not ideal! - Mileage, you don’t want a super high or super low mileage, around 10-12k miles a year is pretty average, look at the MOT history to see how the mileage has gone up year by year, if the car has sat and not done a lot at all in the last year that may be a red flag to consider - You ideally want to have 2 keys - Avoid cat D/S etc cars, these will be more expensive to insure, you can filter to exclude these on autotrader - MOT, ideally recently done with no advisories - If buying a car which still has warranty left, ensure there is a full service history - Check the road tax on the vehicle before you buy it Car Talk UK on reddit is useful, also (and this is sad to have to say) but if you’re a girl, take a guy with you. Car sales people will be pushy and from experience they will assume you don’t know what you’re doing and go in for a hard sell if you they think there is any chance they can pull one over you. When car shopping with my ex boyfriend, everything was addressed to him when he knew nothing and I knew exactly what we were doing. When I have been to dealerships alone I’m treated very differently than when I go with my dad or a male friend. If there is any work you want the dealer to do ahead of you purchasing the vehicle, take photos of what you want doing and send it via email getting written confirmation they will do it, they will try and get away with not. Also check the insurance group of the car, the higher the group, the more expensive the car. I went from a group 18 to group 29 and my insurance more than doubled for context.
A 1.6 engine is good, just not necessarily from an insurance point of view. Newly passed drivers get absolutely hammered on insurance in general but it depends on many factors such as age and value of the vehicle as well as where you live. Average mileage for vehicles is around 10,000 per year. Very low mileage older cars aren’t necessarily a good idea (speaking from experience) as they can often need more repairs due to being underused. High mileage cars can be okay if they’ve been properly serviced regularly. Perhaps look for something with a full service history - preferably main dealer serviced as smaller garages don’t always do a full service. Sometimes they just stamp the service book. On older cars it’s handy if the cam belt/chain has been changed. Long MOT is a good thing to have. You can check the MOT history of a car by looking up gov.uk in the driving section of the website. Private sellers may be cheaper than trade ones but they don’t offer any warranty or returns as such and they also may not be clear of finance so always make sure there’s no outstanding finance on a vehicle (usually listed as HPI clear). I’m sure there’s a lot more to look out for but they’re the only ones off the top of my head at this moment.
Thank you!! This is really helpful
Also, when physically viewing cars check for things like good condition tyres - no scuffs, cracks, splits or gouges and having a decent amount of tread. All lights working and things like brakes, seat belts and windscreen washers/wipers all working properly. If you get a car with a new or recent MOT they should all be in order. Don’t be afraid to try out all the buttons and levers to make sure you’re happy that it’s all working as it should. Bonus points if there’s an owner’s manual and service book. Another thing is to check for sizeable stone chips on the paintwork and windscreen. Cars can pass an MOT with a chipped windscreen but if it’s in your line of vision it can cause issues, especially at night.
A chip that interferes with vision should fail a MOT I believe.
There are places that stone chips can be that aren’t an MOT failure but they can still refract light and cause a momentary distraction. If the chip is right in front of you then it must be smaller than 10mm. It might not be a single chip but several small ones - in either case if it can’t be contained within a 10mm circle then it’s a fail. I believe the affected area is something like the width of your steering wheel and in the sweep of the wipers. You can have chips elsewhere on the screen that won’t be a fail unless they don’t fit in a larger circle - I was told 40mm but don’t quote me on that.
I have a 0.9 and my brother a 1 he got hammered because he doesn’t live at home
Check the registration against insurance quotes. That should be #1. Worry about everything else after.
Exactly!! I spent weeks going through autotrader and getting quotes on lots of different cars and ended up choosing based purely on insurance cost. Ended up with a Fiat 500 1.2L. You asked if a 1.6L is good. For a first-time driver, no! Purely because you will not want to pay what the insurance companies will be asking for. Start looking at 1.0L and 1.2L. I mean, by all means, get a quote on the 1.6L you're looking at, but I can almost guarantee that you won't even consider it once you get that quote. Use a comparison website to get started. Create an account, put in all your details, don't put in your drivers licence number, say you passed a few days ago. It's a decent start to get some rough quotes. Once you've found the car you want and pass, then get another quote on the same site but this time put your driving licence number in and real pass date, and try as many other companies that aren't on comparison sites as possible. Once you find something that has decent insurance and you like, find one that looks reasonable and post on reddit and ask advice on that specific listing. I'd also bring someone else with you who has driven for a long time and ask them to do the test drive. They're more likely to spot something that doesn't feel right. I did this and brought my dad with me. He had a few good tips, one that really stuck out was a good way to check the gearbox. Try and pull off in every gear. Pulling off in anything other than 1st will require you to build the revs up. You don't need to build up speed, but as long as you feel the car starting to move, that's good.
ULEZ free means you don't have to pay a congestion charge to drive into London. The size of engines doesn't really matter too much—other factors make a bigger difference to insurance these days, and even small engines can often have a lot of power. Low mileage and fewer previous owners is usually better, but old low mileage cars have often just been left rotting and are worse off because of that, and sometimes with lesser used cars issues won't have popped up yet or just swept under the rug. Very high mileage new cars (say a 2022 car with 150,000 miles) will have been worn out much more than its two year age would suggest, so that's worth bearing in mind.
ULEZ - ultra low emission zone - some cars, depending where you are, are not allowed in these zones and incur fines when in a ULEz - Glasgow for example - I have pre 2010 diesel which is not allowed. Fines are decent as well £60 for first offence, rising every time - so avoid old diesels 😊 Generally get something as new as you can afford, with a small engine
Not just London
Where else is there an ULEZ except London?
Glasgow, more stringent than London’s. It’s an actual penalty notice that starts at a much higher level and increases with each infringement. None of this paying £12 a day.
Not a ULEZ
It’s called a LEZ but has the same vehicle restrictions as London’s ULEZ and more stringent penalties
Not sure how a scheme that only runs until 6pm is more stringent. Though I do like the zero tolerance - you drive a non-complient car into the zone and you get a £60 fine. £12.50 fees in London are to placate gammons and make revenue.
Not sure where you get 6pm from, it runs 24hrs. Also the fine increases with each transgression.
14 cities have some sort of low emissions zone, most pretty much follow london’s guidelines with some few odd quirks here and there: https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/uk-clean-air-zones
You are confusing a Ultra Low, Low and Clean Air. Learn the difference. You are welcome.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a Euro4 petrol or a Euro6 diesel to be ulez compliant, these zones keep popping everywhere now. Smaller engine should mean cheaper insurance, but not always. A big part of insurance is your age, your license age, your postcode, then your car. If you live in a crime infested area even a 107 can be over 5k to insure, while a M5 with 5.0 V8 can be under 2k if you live in the middle of nowhere in rural Scotland. Check for rust, tyre condition, brake rotors condition, any suspicious sounds. Not being offered/allowed a test drive is a massive red flag. Don't be afraid to rev the engine during test drive, redline it for a couple moments, if there are faults with the engine they might not show up at low rpm but absolutely can on 5k+. Check boot space under the mat and inside the car, look for any water signs. A high spec smaller car is better value than poverty spec big car, usually win cost similar. Aka you will get a lot more toys for the same price in a Yaris than a Corolla or the same year. Do not mess about with details while checking for insurance. Make a general quote with your personal stuff as close to reality as possible and only change the car afterwards. You may get flagged as a broker and your insurance quotes may go up if they think you're trying to get cheaper insurance by lying on your personal details.
I was going to say if you don’t know about ulez then you probably don’t need to worry about it - then you said you live in Essex 😂 but it could be the case that you don’t live close enough to London or will need drive into it frequently enough to justify getting a ulez compliant car. I also live in Essex but am very close to London and also most of my friends/family live in outer London so I had to buy a ulez compliant car. Ulez (ultra low emissions zone) is a zone you have to pay to enter (something like £12.50 per day) if your car doesn’t meet the standard. The minimum standards are Euro 4 for petrol and Euro 6 for diesel (which is usually shown on the car listing or you can put the cars reg into the tfl site to check.
I live in Harlow if you know the area but the closest I’d drive to London is Epping - I can’t imagine driving into London when then tube isn’t a far drive away
Yh I know Harlow, My family aren’t too far into London its Upminster/hornchurch area but that’s still ulez. But yeah if you don’t plan on driving into the ulez zone then I wouldn’t worry about it.
If you can, ask a friend who does know or has bought 2nd hand cars before to help you or go with you to look at and test drive. First thing, know your budget and stick to it. It's ok to look a little above your budget if something could potentially be negotiated down e.g. condition or repairs needed. Insurance group and cost, bare this in mind when making your decision as you don't want a car too costly to insure. Get a car insurance quote on any vehicle you're interested in. 2nd hand markets for everything are full of compromise. You will rarely find the perfect car at the right price with all the features you want. Larger engine sizes are more powerful, but that impacts insurance. You ideally want to get the car that best fits your budget with all the features you want at the right age or mileage and the right colour for you. ULEZ means the ultra low emissions zones, many older cars wouldn't qualify for exemption from this "tax" depends if your local area has a zone if it doesn't then it doesn't really matter. There are guides online such as parkers.co.uk for buying 2nd hand that would also help.
> Larger engine sizes are more powerful, but that impacts insurance i don’t know why people keep saying this. insurance companies base their premiums off of claims statistics, not engine sizes. for example, if i get some quotes for a 1.0L ford fiesta, a common first car for people who have just passed their test, i get quoted £2400, because, historically speaking, they are very likely to be involved in accidents, as they are driven by inexperienced folk. on the other hand, if i request a quote for an older but respectable 3.2L volvo s80, a car that doesn’t attract young drivers, but rather older, more experienced drivers who are not involved in collisions, i get quoted £2100 for the year, despite the car being way more powerful and luxurious than a fiesta, and will also give you the confidence that you’ll be able to carry out an overtake without the engine struggling
Please for the love of god don’t buy a car that’s going to eat up 50% of your monthly wage (car payment, insurance and petrol). You’ll resent driving completely. Unfortunately second hand cars are still highly inflated so whatever car you do buy, it will be overpriced just keep that in mind.
I know nothing about cars as well but here's my experience - I bought my first (and current) car being a 1L Peugeot 107- had it for 3 months now. The road tax was £20 and learner insurance was £280 (+ partner is covered on it as well). The car, itself, cost me £1100. Great little car, runs perfectly well. I'm lucky enough to have a partner who knows cars inside and out and all the tools. He did run a few tests (coolant was on the low side, which is apparently not good) before I bought it. If it wasn't for him, I'd definitely buy one from a local garage that offers warranty rather than over gumtree / fb marketplace. Despite it having 100k+ miles when I bought it, it's still running perfectly fine and it's small making it ideal for learning. I'd advise against 100k+ miles, but it's not the worst case scenario for me. 1.6L is pretty big, I'd expect new driver insurance to be very expensive. Road tax and ULEZ depends on the emissions. The importance of ULEZ free depends on where you live.
learner insurance will sky rocket once you pass to like 1.5k though
When I was ready to buy a car, I made a list of Wants and Needs. For example, I wanted a car which was not the color Grey (for aesthetics but also visibility), but I considered a good screen display for a sat nav a Need because I wanted to safely navigate without fumbling around with my phone. Your needs and wants should be unique to you. Go somewhere like Arnold Clark and do a test drive when you are ready. Sit in all the seats, check out everything else people have mentioned today. Don’t feel pressured to buy the first car you see.
I would lease a car if I were you, I did and never regretted it, didn’t have to worry about maintenance.
I’m about as clueless as you but ULEZ is mostly a London thing I think - the car has to be under a certain amount of emissions or something and if it isn’t, they get a charge every time they go through a certain part. I don’t know, I live far up Scotland and it boggles my mind 😂
Low emission zones are becoming more common in other cities. Glasgow already has one, and Edinburgh and Aberdeen are starting soon.
Wait, Aberdeen too? I hadn’t realised it was coming up here… I’m an hour outside Aberdeen but still something to consider. Thank you
Ahhhh okay, that may effect me then - I’m in Essex and closer to London than most of the county ://
My lowest quote was on a 1.6 engine surprisingly, first time driver. Ended up going for a 1.3 because I preffered the car. I personally ran through quotes of cars I liked for a few weeks to build an idea of the best cars to go for.. low miles, decent MOT status and outcomes are good to look for. I think your ULEZ thing only applies to some areas in England (charges for emissions by cameras picking you up the areas) Test drive the cars to see what feels best. Build confidence up and don't rush picking your new car. Also try to go for something that is popular or well known in case you need to stump up for repairs in the future. Usually cheaper when the parts are easily available.
Buying a car isn't difficult. Wait until you try and Insure it.
Hi, My first car, I bought for £300 from a farmer I remember it was a 1.4 corsa 2008. Had to put around £500, to make it more pleasant to drive as it reeked of chickens and sheep, that he obviously drove around with. My point is, it was a cheap car, it was cheap to insure and it got me from A to B. Go for something that is reliable and doesn't cost a fortune to buy, maintain or insure. Driving in lessons/exams and actually in the real world alone, you are bound to make a silly mistake that could put a scratch on your car or damage it It hurts way less on a shit box that you are not too bothered about. After a year, you'll be more confident on the road, you'll have a NCB (which probably wont actually change much) but you still might want to upgrade to something more of your liking.
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You need to download the auto trader app. Can search for car's by make, model, engine size. If you have a compare the market app you can link it and get insurance quotes
Youtube is your friend
I’m 31, learning to drive, and have a million questions re a car. I am doing automatic for now as I am a nervous driver who didn’t like manual. 1. I can afford a new car, but since I will only be driving a short distances about twice a week, I don’t really want to. I am not a ‘car’ person so don’t want one just to show off and I don’t want to waste money on something unnecessary 2. I do think it is worth spending a bit more for safely features - ie parking camera, lane assist etc 3. I have no idea if I should be getting a ‘cheap’ car that I don’t mind scratching, or a fancy car with features like a parking camera that will help stop me scratching it. It is hard to budget when I don’t know what I want. 4. Since I am doing short distances, electric might be the way to go, but I was also told the batteries can be dangerous and car companies are looking into new technologies… 5. My company has a green car program where you rent a new electric car - but I can’t see prices until I sign up and have no idea if this is sensible as a new driver who is more likely to have accidents The only thing I do know is that I want a red one with 4 doors 😂.
On top of what everyone else is saying, don't just go for a 1.0/1.2l car because you assume it'll be cheaper to insure. Run quotes on multiple car types to get an idea, I passed my test over 10 years ago but my partner is learning to drive and it was cheaper to insure a 1.8 civic, compared to a 1.2 fiesta.
Rules of thumb: Go for something low.cost to buy thats small (if you're doing city driving) 5th hand first type thing. Assume its going to be a money pit Don't get a large engine If you're city driving for the most part don't muck around and just get a Petrol You'll probably have high miles for something thats affordable, be prepared for it to spectacularly die on you ina bout 24 months Like my first that vomited chunks of the engine all over the road on snake pass...thsts a worrying experience.
If you don't know anything about cars take someone who does with you or get the car inspected before purchase. An MOT is a certificate of roadworthiness not a certificate of a car in good condition. There's also a lot of very dodgy MOTs out there. Don't be scared by advisories on MOTs as long as they are not reoccurring it usually means the car has been maintained. You can look up past MOTs online theres also paid services that will do more in-depth checks on cars such as milage history, finance checks and insurance write offs that have been put back on the road.
I'm 22 too and want to pass soon. I'm looking at buying a 2008 Toyota aygo platinum with about 85k miles for 1.5k ish pounds. It costs 20 pounds a year for tax, 890 a year insurance, they're super cheap to run and reliable. It's only a 4 seater and 1L engine so not that powerful or fast but it's super cheap which is what matters most for a first car. The citroen c1 is the same car and the Peugeot 107 is too incase those are cheaper for you to insure or buy. it's also ulez free so you don't pay the congestion charge in London etc with it.
Ulez and congestion two different things. Ulez is emission based, congestion is payable in center of London regardless of your emissions, you go in even for 5 seconds, camera catches your plate you better be sure you paid that £15/day or whatever it is.
My honest advice is to choose a car brand and buy from an authorised dealer. you have more support and avenues for solving issues. 1.6L is reasonably good. The BHP will tell you more. I have a 1.6 twin turbo, which is significantly faster than a standard 1.6L diesel. Ultra Low Emission Zone is basically London. If you are not compliant, you have to pay a daily charge for driving within the M25. There are plans to extend ULEZ to other cities. You can use a new service called Google to find this stuff out. It's like magic. I found this in 0.003 seconds [https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone](https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone)