choosing first car. need help

[pheonixsingh]

hi basically ive got my driving test soon, and want to get some info on what car to get, ive been thinking about a

fiat punto
vauxhall corsa
volkswagen polo

ive got about £1500 to spend (may have a little more later on) this will also need to cover insurance (which is under my dads name and im named driver and ranges from 500-700)

i need to know what would be the best car to get, and what to look out for and also the best places to buy cheap cars, thanks

[Sanj[UK]]

forget the punto, corsa aint to bad imo but id go for the polo

[zelnik]

What Sanj said....

[e_gib]

Punto, No No No No, nothing but problems

Corsa's ok but can fuck up later on as they all been shagged and ragged unless you pay extra and fine a good example.

Polo, not as common as corsa's so you should find a nice example, VW's run forever, and will be cheap on insurance tax and petrol etc etc

[DJAd]

yeah Polo, or you can't go wrong with a Mini for a first car (as long as you avoid any high speed crashes!!!), and plus its cheaper to insure. Get your own policy ASAP mate as your save more in the long run by building up no claims.

[BM]

I agree with DJAd. I had a mini as my first car and it was brilliant. It broke down a few times as it was 1976 reg but fixing it was always pretty cheap. Also cheap insurance and fuel consumption was very good. Very easy to drive/park and fun too, you really can throw them about.

[TwoPlAnKs]

i own a polo and its the best car ever. everyone should have a polo

[Over Carl]

Not too keen on any of them image wise, but gotta say, would pick the polo by far over the other two, vw tend to be well built and last a while.

Fiats are [unprintable].
Corsas tends to be shite as well, only advantage of these two cars is an abundance of them in scrapyards for cheap parts.

I don't wanna be a spoilsport and not point you to the cheapest places I know to get cars, but you need a bit of knowledge before you approach most of the cheapest cars, as most shitters tend to go cheap, and anyone can get stung, and I don't want that on my head. I got my Alfa from auction, and despite getting it dirt cheap, as soon as I fixed one problem, another would definetely pop up in a weeks time. So far if I count my own labour/getting around stuff at garage prices, I have probably done more work to the car than it's even worth!!

[stevo25]

go for the polo as all others have mentioned i drove a brand new polo last month and was really impressed with it but have also driven the old bread van shaped one and it was impressive too

[Nzyme@Home]

when you said 1500, is this to cover insurance and car as i read it or am i being a spacker and reading it wrong at 3 in the morning....

Andy

[Unconected]

I personally think the VW is the best choice aswell. Just going from reputation. But, i'm looking to upgrade to another car too. Where do people reckon is the best place to get one from. AutoTrader? Or Auction? Or what?

[Over Carl]

Get the trader early like 5-6am on a thursday. Circle all the adverts and make your phone calls. Then wake up your mate who knows loads about cards and head out to check them.

If you do buy from auction, be ware, this is very risky, i knew a guy who bought a rover 2.0 coupe which died whilst half out of the auction gate - needed new engine! If i buy from auction, I always value the car, put a big chunk depending on car / likely problems / repair costs, and keep this repair chunk aside. So in the worst case scenario, you will probably just end up paying normal price for the car.

[Mario87]

Yup go for th Polo! I've got a Corsa, great little car, but it wont last you as long as a Polo, hence I got my car a year and a 1/2 ago, and now im trying to save some cash for a Golf! But thats mainly down to it being too slow for me now, and me wanting to drive between Reading and Aberdeen throughout the year...

[God is a DJ]

fiesta, loads of them knocking about so u shud be able to pick one up cheap, nd they arent too bad reliability wise

DJ