Best first car choice

[obi_waynne]

One of the biggest choices that a new driver has to make these days is which car to choose as your first car. Many new TorqueCars members ask us what car is the best one to start with. Most people in the UK start driving at the age of 17 unfortunately at this age the cost of car insurance can be somewhat prohibitive.

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[TCJBOLDIE]

Unfortunately being young and with zero driving history the insurance companies have to cover their butts.
Over here the insurance companies take into account
1 the area you live in and claims history for that neighbourhood .
2 the type of car.
3 history of claims on the make.
4 Is it parked in a locked garage.
There may be more things to be taken into consideration when assessing the premium as well.

We also have a maximum power to weight ratio for cars that a newly licensed driver is permitted to drive.

 

[davalav]

When I passed I was 18-19, so insurence wan't bad. I bought a Peugeot 306 D turbo and my insurence was 3K. I tried insurnce on a 1.6 306 and it was a few hundred more expsensive! I personally think diesel cars are cheaper to insure as I think insurence companies still don't class diesels as a 'Performace' vehicle.

 

[Yugguy]

Aye, which is good for us old blokes who drive diesels.

It's funny, as a new driver in 1987 I don't remember insurance being the biggest worry, like it is now for a new, young driver. Buying the car itself was what we struggled to do, insurance itself was cheap.

The best first car for a new driver is something low-powered and mainstream, low powered so they don't class it as a performance car, and mainstream so they class it as cheap to fix.

 

[T9 man]

It's funny, as a new driver in 1987 I don't remember insurance being the biggest worry, like it is now for a new, young driver.

Same here! The cost of insurance at the time of my first venture onto the road wasn't like being mugged as the poor young drivers of today are.

I wonder why this is? I have ideas but not sure if they are valid for todays insurance companies outrageous quotes.

 

[Aerial Andy944]

Same here. October 1988 and I seem to remember insurance was only £300 or there abouts. Saying that my 1st car was a 1977 Morris Marina 1.3 that cost £100 to buy. Petrol was only 49p a litre and I bought £5 worth of fuel a week to travel to college. It never broke down and served me proud for my first year of motoring and I still have not had an driving accident to date.

 

[Yugguy]

@T9 I dunno. I do remember back then none of us were really that conscious of car image, we weren't that bothered what car we had, just that we had one and were independent.

@Andy - my first car was a Marina, late 70s too, but I had a 1.8TC, oh the power. (;-> Oh the joy of leaf spring suspension

 

[stamford]

My first car, well it was a Marina van actually, seems to be a good choice so far! The insurance was higher than a car as it was classified as a sports car due to the fact it only had two seats! It was still cheaper than a 200oE Cortina. But yes as others have said the cost was never an issue for young drivers back then. I can remember having a Firenza back in 1985 and looked to buy a mk1 Lotus Cortina in its place, my brother-in-law had a mk1 GT that I fondly remembered a few years prior. The Lotus was up for £650 and was cheaper than the Firenza, so got a quote and no-one would touch it because it was a Lotus and I was under 25 so had to call that purchase off. If only I knew what was around the corner for those old cars, back then nobody wanted them!

What the kids pay today is shocking and unjust, I do feel sorry for them. Prices I hear are somewhat random for the same areas, there seems to be very little justification for how they band them and quote accordingly. It seems that the male appendage loads a few £s to the price as does the choice of car even if it is bland and has a miniscule engine.

 

[Aerial Andy944]

@Andy - my first car was a Marina, late 70s too, but I had a 1.8TC, oh the power. (;-> Oh the joy of leaf spring suspension

Hahaha excellent. 1.8s are the collectable ones now arn't they. Mine was really basic and I put an AudioLine cassette radio in the glove box. It had a 5 band graphic equaliser with 'extra loud' button which was just, better

 

[Yugguy]

Sweet - turn it up to 11.

Talking of insurance, I was listening on the radio today about people in the flood-prone areas who are now paying house insurance of 15 grand a year. Blimey.

 

[T9 man]

Talking of insurance, I was listening on the radio today about people in the flood-prone areas who are now paying house insurance of 15 grand a year. Blimey.

That's just not right, the government should step in and tell the insurance companies to pack it in or else!

 

[herb]

Why?
If you decide to live in a desirable area like by the river you should pay the insurance premium to do so. I don't want my premium going up for people who choose to live by high risk area's!

That's just not right, the government should step in and tell the insurance companies to pack it in or else!

 

[T9 man]

Why?
If you decide to live in a desirable area like by the river you should pay the insurance premium to do so. I don't want my premium going up for people who choose to live by high risk area's!

No I don't think so! I am not in a desirable area by any means yet the river is only 1/2 mile away. To be told that my current premium is going up from £620 per annum to £15K because I put in one claim for flood damage is fundamentally wrong!