First Car Buyers Guide

Buying your first car can be a daunting experience, trying to work out what car will be in your budget, you can actually insure, tax and cover all the running costs. It’s tough, so in this video I want to run through some good options, run you through the costs associated here in the UK at least, and give you some general tips.

First, what kind of car? While us boy racer’s all wanted Nissan GTRs, Toyota Supra and Celicas, even MX-5’s as our first cars, unless your parents are loaded, they aren’t gonna be yours. Even 100,000+ mile BMW 3 series probably aren’t the best first car either. What you are looking for is something small, cheap and economical. Ideally a manual here in the UK as if you are buying it before you get your license and using it to practise or take your test in you will want a full manual license instead of the more limited automatic only.

My first car was a mark 2 Renault Clio, the 8 valve 1.2L 59hp engine and it was amazing. Like, don’t get me wrong, it was a naff car, they decided the clutch pedal should be linked to the clutch cable with a nylon ball and metal socket that when cold would slip off causing it to, well dump the clutch. Oh and the head gasket blew costing like £650 to repair. But, my god I had so much fun in that. It was quite possibly the perfect first car.

Cars like the Clio, or now the Twingo. A fiesta or KA – although the KA is just god awful to drive, an R50 mini, toyota aygo, seat ibiza, even honda jazz or an older civic could be decent, depending on condition. Cars like the VW Polo can be good, but they are often expensive, as are BMW 1 Series especially to insure on that one. Anything with sub 100hp, probably front wheel drive, and likely 3 or 5 doors is what you’ll be after. The lower the mileage, generally the better. Over 80,000 miles or so, and over 10 years old and you’ll start having problems with all the rubber parts on the car tearing and wearing which can get expensive.

A hatchback makes it easy to park as you can see where the car ends, you’ll want some spare seats for your mates (assuming you have some), and it needs to be fairly simple so nothing too costly can break. Here’s an idea of cost for servicing and parts. Brakes for small cars like my old Clio aren’t much. Discs are £15 each from EuroCarParts (which is insane), pads are also around £15. Oil should be about £30, plus a fiver for the filter. Engine air filters are £5 or £10, and cabin filters are a tenner too. And tyres range from £40 and up. Of course that varies per car, and I’m assuming you are working on it yourself there, otherwise double the prices for a garage to do it for you. Still, not too much.

In terms of insurance, this varies a whole lot based on the exact model and engine you are after, your gender, your age when you actually start driving, where you live and where you’ll keep it and lots lots more. To give you an idea, I started driving at 17, passed my test within a few months and bought the Clio before I passed. My first year’s insurance was £1080. The car was only worth £2000. Mental. Use sites like comparethemarket to price out insurance before you even call up to see the car. Work out what you can afford and go from there.

So, you’ve worked out what car you want to get, found one you can afford to buy, insure and run, now you need to actually buy it. Happily I already have a full guide on how to buy a used car, so go check that out and get out on the road – safely.