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Posted:
Sat Jul 11, 2009 7:49 pmby tubby
Madmax sorry to hear that mate. Hope you are not hurt.
Nice advice there wollyback cheers mate. I did wonder about what effect Rover going into administration would have. I really want a nice coupe car, not really into hatchbacks. I think I will just save up and then get a Merc. C180 Coupe or something.
Wolly when I am checking insurance quotes online and they ask how much the car is worth I have just been entering the asking value whatever it says on autotrader. Is that right or is the value something else? Lower that the listing price perhaps? Surley not higher right?
Posted:
Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:56 pmby Lando_Griffin
bavlondon wrote:Madmax sorry to hear that mate. Hope you are not hurt.
Nice advice there wollyback cheers mate. I did wonder about what effect Rover going into administration would have. I really want a nice coupe car, not really into hatchbacks. I think I will just save up and then get a Merc. C180 Coupe or something.
Wolly when I am checking insurance quotes online and they ask how much the car is worth I have just been entering the asking value whatever it says on autotrader. Is that right or is the value something else? Lower that the listing price perhaps? Surley not higher right?
The value you put on the car is irrelevant in the case of a crash as they'll only ever pay you what THEY think the car's worth. (As an aside - refuse their offers twice, then accept the 3rd as it tends to be the best and last.)
For the thieving bar stewards, state the purchase price as they won't offer you over the amount you stipulate.
MGTF's cost an absolute packet when they go wrong. A girl I know spent £400 on a motor for the electric window on the driver's side. As Woolly said - the K-series engine is about as solid and hard wearing as an ice cream, and the interior build quality is very poor for a car of this ilk.
That said, there's good and bad ones in every model.
As far as your insurance is concerned, you will always pay more in your first year. Should you progress without any claims, you accrue a "No Claims Discount", which usually goes up to 5 years and about 60% of the cost.
Shop around. Try every company you can and you will be shocked at the price differences. Privilege always seem competitive, as do elephant - the latter especially if you're a new driver.
How old are you? That makes a MASSIVE difference to insurance.
Posted:
Sat Jul 11, 2009 9:12 pmby tubby
Thanks Lando. I am 26. A bit old for my first car I know but as I said I have always commuted and never really needed a car but for some reason now I want one and a nice one!!! But based on what you are saying regarding insurance in the 1st year and after I would probably be better off getting a car that doesn't cost alot to insure, at least until my premium comes down anyway. Dammit I had my heart set on a nice car for my first one. 
But I guess I should be sensible about it.
Posted:
Sat Jul 11, 2009 9:41 pmby GYBS
Girls car - 
Get yourself an Rx 8 - i got one for sale
Posted:
Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:33 pmby Woollyback
bav mate, the insurance will be a killer on any half decent car as you have no no-claims discount and you're still (relatively) young. the biggest factors in insuring your car are your age, if you have any no-claims discount, and where you live. another massive factor is the car's insurance group. they go from 1 to 20. a little city car will be 1 or 2, a bog standard focus/astra something like 6, a merc 180/200 probably 13 or 14. mine's a group 16 hence why i still get nailed for the thick end of £450 even though i'm an old fart with a clean license and no-claims discount coming out my a.rse. if i were you i'd consider getting a cheap runaround for 12 months (a fiesta, clio or whatever) and suddenly the quotes you'll get for a nice car will plummet.
what's your budget for a car btw? might be able to give you some suggestions! 
Posted:
Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:20 pmby tubby
I don't want to spend more than £4000 as it's a first car. I could probably get a decent 206 or Polo for that much and they should still be in the lower bands for insurance I think.
Posted:
Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:19 pmby Woollyback
yeah £4k will get you an absolute mint 206/polo. polos will be a little bit dearer but will hold their value better than most cars so the extra you spend on purchase, you'll get back when you sell on
insurance when you haven't got any NCD is insane. i was in company cars for years so when i went self employed and needed my own car, i obviously had no NCD oif my own. i was about 32 and got a quote on a focus st170 and the cheapest i found was about £1200 a year 
ended up getting a standard 2.0 focus instead and still it was over £500 in the first year
i would definitely get something like a 1.2 litre polo/206 type car, or maybe even a diesel one as they'll hold their value a little better than a petrol. get a year or two's claim-free motoring under your belt and you'll be laughing 
Posted:
Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:50 pmby Kharhaz
bavlondon wrote:I don't want to spend more than £4000 as it's a first car. I could probably get a decent 206 or Polo for that much and they should still be in the lower bands for insurance I think.
Bloody hell, I wish I had £4000 for my first car ! My first car was a beat up old renault, blue and rusty. It cost me £200 and I was robbed, within a week the wishbone snapped through rust and the passenger wheel did a 180 degree turn. I was very lucky to be driving down a quite street when that happened.
My second car was a beat up Escort. My brother sold me it for £100, that conked out within a week. The engine was flooded and it would have cost me more to repair than it did to buy the bugger.
My 3rd was a 3.5 Litre Vauxhaull Senator. Now that was a good car, bought a second hand one for £500. That lasted more than a year. A rusted petrol tank and the constant fuse blowing tested my patience.
My 4th was a Sierra automatic 2 litre. A good car that one, cost me £300. Had to get rid of it when I came out of work. Sold it for £20 !
So based on my experience, go for a cheaper car and then spend the rest of your budget to ensure its roadworthy and wont let you down. A £2000 motor will see you fine, a £2000 budget will see you through any mishaps.
Posted:
Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:09 amby NANNY RED
My daughter drives a polo Bav we bought it for her 21st , the insurance is really good on it an all , Shes just paid 600 last month , shes only got a years no claims bonus though, cracking little car though
Posted:
Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:46 amby Judge
the astra range is nice bav.
you could probably pick up a new shape astra for £4500 grand with dealer warranty etc
Posted:
Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:41 amby Roger Red Hat
Hey Bav, I decided a month ago I needed an estate car and I have a love for Ford's (since the days of mk2 escorts !!). so a Focus estate was my choice of motor, however, I went to the Ford dealer and just happened to try a Focus C-Max. Well, after the missus saw it I bought it. It's the best car I've owned mate. Ford has seriousley got their sh1t together in the last 4 years or so. Their engines are reliable (especially the diesels) and the build quality has improved 100% since the rattly days of the 1990's Escort.
Performance hasn't been forgotten either, the 1.8 TDCi will do 0-60 in around 9 seconds which with a MPG of 50+ isn't bad at all. So don't rule a Ford out mate. You can pick a Focus up reasonable nowadays. However, if your not wanting a hatchback then thats obviousley not much use to ya, as for the MGF I know someone who owns one and it's not screwed together very well, the engine sounds like a dustbin full of nuts and bolts and it's been on the back of a recovery truck more times than the lad admits to. However, he loves the fact he can whip the roof down in sunshine and go for a ride.
My mrs has an MR2 roadster. It's the new shape one (mk3) and it's the dogs nuts. Been a Toyota it's reliable and its performance is great too. The Mazda MX-5 is a quality motor too, no problems there with engine trouble. I'm afraid the Japanese just make better 2 seater roadsters than anyone else.
Posted:
Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:42 amby tubby
Thanks for the replies all. I will check out some polos and 206's on autotrader.
Posted:
Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:49 pmby Paul C
NANNY RED wrote:My daughter drives a polo Bav we bought it for her 21st , the insurance is really good on it an all , Shes just paid 600 last month.
£600 a month, thats some expensive insurance!!! 
Posted:
Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:14 pmby tubby
I think she means 600 a year right?
Anyway I just got a quote for a 2006 VOLKSWAGEN Golf 2.0 GT TDi. The best deal I found was with again with Admiral and it was £1200 for the premium and £600 excess. I spoke to one of their advisors online so I could find out how much that same quote would be after with 1 years NCB and they said £1135. That's hardley any difference at all I thought it was mean't to lessen the premium by like 50% or more....? Am I missing something here?
