Any suggestions on 1st Cars???

  • Thread starter Thread starter AD27
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We get neither the Chevy Cavalier nor the Sentra here.

AD27
It needs to be sporty, nippy and rear wheel drive(for the odd bit of drifting, when theres some clear road) oh yer and needs to be a low!! insurance group.I'm also not having a banger either. Maximum age would probably be 10 years old.
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If you have to have RWD, Smart's your only answer; it's the only car that fits all your criteria. Remember, aside from the silliness of it, you won't be able to drift anything you can easily insure.

Have you looked at an Aygo/C1/107? Got all the iPod connectogadgetry, Group 1 insurance, partially designed by Toyota so should last forever.
 
Ugh, I feel like V8 power just set back my validity back to zero. Just cause I come from the same country as that ****er.

On behalf of my people, to all of you who don't reside state side, my appologies (for his attitude and my spelling)
 
Well, I'm sure theres some under 10 year old RWD Lada's. Oh wait, you said you wanted 'reliable.'
 
jeez just get a cheap car, wont be as painful to the wallet when you crash it "drifting" :p and you may have to put your just-for-looks opinion aside and get a cheap run around. you shouldnt aim high immediately, most of your mistakes will be made the first few years your let loose on the roads, and im sure youd rather it wasnt some flashy pride and joy.
 
@The whole V8 Power thing: internet drama lol.

@AD27 driving a Smart: I don't think the ForTwo could even drift in the snow -- not because of lack of power, but just because of the way the car is shaped (I'm not sure how well the car could hold a drift with such a small wheelbase). Scaff could tell you how good of a drift machine it is in the dry, too. :lol:

As for other Smart models, would those be out of your price/insurance range? The Smart Roadster is actually supposed to be a pretty decent car.

Aside from that second option, my point is that the ForTwo might as well be a FWD car as far as what AD27 is looking for, so he might as well get an older FWD car that offers more space/refinement/what-have-you for his money.
 
He requested RWD, I gave it too him. I didn't say it was a car worth having RWD, or you could do anything entertaining with it :D
 
OK just repling to what V8 power said and what i said about europian cars being better than the US, thats if the troll hasn't left yet.

OK big wop the Mustang won. i've got one word for you "Nurburgring" who would win there ey? straights aren't everything.You have to turn the streering wheel some time.

And ok i may have been a bit cocky saying europian cars are better than the US but as shwon in Clarkson's lastest vid (i think u get top gear over there) a mid ranged europian sports car had a dead heat with the Viper SRT10 (an american super car). Now thats saying something right?

Lets not even start thinging about adding Porsche's and Ferrari's in it. The only decent handeling car in the US is the Ford GT and that was desigened by the europians.
 
lol yer a smart for two would be a bit tricky drifting. Snappy comes to mind. Yer from what everyones saying i think i might just get something easy on the wallet and wait until my no claims bonus is good and then get something a tag more interesting OR i could always get something funky but slow, then pep the engine up with some birthday money lol

Can i have a HKS camshaft please mum :) lol
 
We can conclude the discussion of =V8 power= and return to our regularly scheduled thread.

voice over It seems AD27 has come to a conclusion, folks. Lets get back to teh action and see whats gonna happen. [/voice over]
 
AD27
lol yer a smart for two would be a bit tricky drifting. Snappy comes to mind. Yer from what everyones saying i think i might just get something easy on the wallet and wait until my no claims bonus is good and then get something a tag more interesting OR i could always get something funky but slow, then pep the engine up with some birthday money lol

Can i have a HKS camshaft please mum :) lol
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A little tip on the old insurance... Small hatchbacks + Teenagers = ££££££££. Why? Because the typical teenage driver has a small hatchback and all teenagers have a crash, so a small hatchback and, more to the point, a teenager with a small hatchback is a higher risk for insurers.

Go for a saloon car (or saloon-type hatchback) instead - saloon cars are typically driven by reps on motorways, and motorways have fewer accidents than any other road. So reps drive down the cost of insuring saloon cars - and the depreciation is massive, so you get a lot of car for not a lot of money. You'll probably find that you can insure a 1.8 Mondeo fully comprehensive for less than it'd cost you to insure a 1.2 Corsa TPFT.


Focus is good, Mondeo is better.
 
Good luck, whats your budget? Insurance is gonna kill you.
 
Wolfe
@AD27 driving a Smart: I don't think the ForTwo could even drift in the snow -- not because of lack of power, but just because of the way the car is shaped (I'm not sure how well the car could hold a drift with such a small wheelbase). Scaff could tell you how good of a drift machine it is in the dry, too. :lol:
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The smart ForTwo is a great city car, but that's about it. As a drivers car its hopeless. It may well be rear wheel drive, but with a far narrower track at the
front than the rear it will understeer far more than almost any half competent FWD car. Then you get to the centre of gravity, which as soon as a driver gets in is rather high, the end result is body roll that a 2CV would be proud of.

If you want a fairly funky car that's a doodle to park and nice an cheap, the get a Toyota Aygo (worth the premium over the Citroen and Pug on the grounds that you get to use Toyota dealers - trust me this difference is huge - Toyota dealers will treat you like a person - Pug & Citroen dealers will consider you some strange form of pond scum), a far better bet than the ForTwo.



Wolfe
As for other Smart models, would those be out of your price/insurance range? The Smart Roadster is actually supposed to be a pretty decent car.
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True the roadster is a much better drive and does actually qualify as a drivers car, just a pity (as you say) about the cost and also the bloody awful gearbox. Still at least the AC version (project Kimber) that is hopefully coming soon will get around that with a manual 'box.

ac.jpg


Source - http://www.projectkimber.com/


Famine
A little tip on the old insurance... Small hatchbacks + Teenagers = ££££££££. Why? Because the typical teenage driver has a small hatchback and all teenagers have a crash, so a small hatchback and, more to the point, a teenager with a small hatchback is a higher risk for insurers.

Go for a saloon car (or saloon-type hatchback) instead - saloon cars are typically driven by reps on motorways, and motorways have fewer accidents than any other road. So reps drive down the cost of insuring saloon cars - and the depreciation is massive, so you get a lot of car for not a lot of money. You'll probably find that you can insure a 1.8 Mondeo fully comprehensive for less than it'd cost you to insure a 1.2 Corsa TPFT.
Focus is good, Mondeo is better.
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Famine is on the money here, my early cars were large saloon's and the like, cheap and if you get the right one a lot of fun.

An ex-fleet high mileage Mondeo will not only be very cheap, but as the miles will mainly be motorway, so low stress on the car as a whole. They are serviced on the button and any work needed is always done. At the end of life the lease companies are just looking to get rid of them quickly, so you end up with loads on the market at stupidly low prices.

Well worth a look as the Modeo is a fine handling car. Be very careful with an approach that all RWD cars are better than FWD cars, at the age you are looking you will struggle to find a descent RWD car that you can afford to buy and/or insure. Keep in mind that you can have plenty of fun and learn a lot about driving in a FWD car, and a good FWD car will still beat a bad RWD one in the right circumstances.

Regards

Scaff
 
Fingers crossed the new ACs will be built less than 10 minutes from me. :D


And thanks for reinforcing the fact that a Mondeo will be an ideal first car. I'm mainly looking at 1.6s but even abit at the slightly newer 1.8, but that may be a bit much.
 
Another point about driving a saloon - your friends will love you for having proper back seats. Or, in the case of the Smart, any back seats at all.
 
ExigeExcel
Fingers crossed the new ACs will be built less than 10 minutes from me. :D


And thanks for reinforcing the fact that a Mondeo will be an ideal first car. I'm mainly looking at 1.6s but even abit at the slightly newer 1.8, but that may be a bit much.
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Have you done any quotes for it yet?

Accroding to statistics, city boys like me are safer than suburban youngsters. Every other week in kent theres a fatl smash up with a youngster, which does affect my premium sadly :grumpy:
 
i had plenty enough to pay with a 1.4 rover :crazy: while its good having four seats for ya mates, it means your always the one to drive em places!
 
My '98 Altima was a great first car. Check those out :) 93-97 might be better on a budget though.
 
Thirdeye
My '98 Altima was a great first car. Check those out :) 93-97 might be better on a budget though.
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We don't get the Altima.

Would any future non-UK poster please check that the car is available in the UK before you suggest it. Thanks.
 
hhmm like the thinking about salons.A little whole in the insurance game ey:)

ok this is probably out of the question but can anyone think of a salon with a nice noise? 6 cylinders? PLEASE INSUARNCE COMPANIES PLEASE lol

old BM? RWD and you can get the 323 version with 6 cylinders for not that much these days, but i bet the insurance will hammer me:ouch: . Well i'll probably have £5000 in my bank account when i come to the time of buying something and my perants said they would match what i will pay so thats 10k so maybe a BM
 
Like I said before, I've seen quite a few people under 20 driving old 316/318, but it all depends on if your parents would want you under the insurance, who owns the car and if you can afford it.
 
AD27
ok this is probably out of the question but can anyone think of a salon with a nice noise? 6 cylinders? PLEASE INSUARNCE COMPANIES PLEASE lol
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Laguna & 406 are available with a V6, although they're FWD. Insurance can be high for the 406 Coupe (mine is OK, but I'm ancient...), but I would think the saloons will be lower.

EDIT: Alfa Romeo's V6 sounds great, and the 156 looks great too. You could get one relatively cheaply.
 
I'm sure you could get an early Primera.
 
if you want cheap RWD, Volvo 360 is obvious choice. looks like 80's nightmare, but goes and handles like champ.
 
Why not consider an IS200? Lust looked on the AutoTrader, plenty pretty cheap - or at least cheaper than the German alternatives.

💡 OR, if you're considering a Volvo, get a V70/S60 T5. Awesome noise.
 
=V8 Power=
O I'm sorry that the Cobra owns everything (including the M3)
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Ooh, and I think we as a collective whole missed something: isn't a Cobra essentially British? (for argument's sake)
 
he was talking about mustang cobra

most classic american cars are going for under 10k :p lookin in latest CC mag, rather tasty '32 Rod, a 9 second ford pop ooh and a pink caddy limo :lol:
 
AD27
hhmm like the thinking about salons.A little whole in the insurance game ey:)

ok this is probably out of the question but can anyone think of a salon with a nice noise? 6 cylinders? PLEASE INSUARNCE COMPANIES PLEASE lol

old BM? RWD and you can get the 323 version with 6 cylinders for not that much these days, but i bet the insurance will hammer me:ouch: . Well i'll probably have £5000 in my bank account when i come to the time of buying something and my perants said they would match what i will pay so thats 10k so maybe a BM
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I'd count on spending £5-6000 on the car and the rest on your first couple of years insurance. The Alfa 156 1.8 twin-spark would be my choice for your needs. Forget RWD, your choices are very limited in the UK. Like others have pointed out - a good FWD chassis is every bit as much fun as most RWD cars. I've extensively driven both the 1.8 and the 2.5 V6 Alfas. To be honest they both sound great but the 1.8 probably handles better due to having less weight at the front and therefore a little less understeer. The V6 will also kill you on insurance.

As for insurance companies - try any of the online companies that 'shop around' for you like:

http://confused.com/
 
Thanks for all the ideas people. i haven't been able to comment for a while due to excessive business course work :banghead: but yer all sound brill. Alfas sound interesting and as everyone says ur not a true car enthusiast without owning an Alfa lol, but yer thanks alot and i'll definatly look into saloons. a loop hole in the insurance game lol.

Ta everyone :)
 
AD27
ur not a true car enthusiast without owning an Alfa
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Been watching TopGear. The thing with Alfas is they can have poor electronics, repairs and servicing can be expensive as well.
 
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