Good first car? 17 yrs old in UK

[Electricblue]

Hi guys, I'm learning to drive at the moment and I'm looking for a car. I hopefully should pass before my 18th birthday in July 2013. I want to pass before I insure it etc.

I'm looking at medium sized hatchbacks mainly, but not too small. A Citroen Saxo or Ford Fiesta would be too small (and chavvy).

I don't like the cars coming out nowadays, they all look like a bloated ankle. Maybe late 90's or early 2000's would be better, I like cars around that period. I like good reliability, cheap to insure, cheap to run and reasonable chunkyness all round. And of course, space for a rig I'm running a 4x10 and 1x15 but will soon be changing it to another 4x10.

I'm thinking of these so far:

Vauxhall Astra



Peugeot 306



Mercedes E190



and

BMW 318



Ok, maybe the last two are a bit ambitious, but you get the idea

I'm not one of these idiots who think it's Tokyo Drift or treat the road like a rally course. I just need to get to work and back (about 10 miles each way) by car instead of the bus, and maybe some long roadtrips in the summer

Any help would be great!

[9mmMike]

Fiesta.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Insurance is a biggie at your age.

Newer style Ford Fiesta or Focus models are fairly decent in size. KIA also have some nice offerings. A great deal of my friends had 206s and 306s, one had an Astra (nice car!). I'll also say the Fiesta is a lot less chavvy than a 306 ;-)

I'll also say I've never had issue getting my 810 into a hatchback with one of the back seats down.

[Downunderwonder]

Toyota.

[Dr. Cheese]

Unless you are very well off or a mechanic, I would leave the BMW and Benz alone because they will be old and very expensive to repair.

[8_finger]

There is a great Top Gear episode that answers that question.

[bassybill]

Buy whatever you can afford, and can afford to insure. Fords are alway a good bet here in the UK, in terms of running costs. Unless you're rich, you're not in a position to be too choosy.

[Tractorr]

Originally Posted by 8_finger

There is a great Top Gear episode that answers that question.

Damn you beat me to it.

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Unless you are very well off or a mechanic, I would leave the BMW and Benz alone because they will be old and very expensive to repair.

I am a mechanic and still wouldn't buy either one of those heaps.

[Nahguavkire]

BMW E46 316 Touring. Insurance will be a little higher but they've plenty of space and they're comfortable and pretty decent reliability.

[Ripper]

Avoid E30's unless you have a large budget for parts and like working on your car.

From experience (at least in the US)

[Solarmist]