To ask you which car

[PeteWicksSexyPirate]

Hiya
What do you recommend as a good first car?
I’m currently looking at Fiestas, Clios and Polos, which do you think is the best for mileage, expense, reliability etc?
Or do you have any other recommendations?
I’m still learning btw but it’s so expensive I’m just going to bite the bullet and buy a car thanks!

I depends on your age but choosing something other than typical first cars can keep insurance costs sensible.

I had a polo for my first car and I loved it! I did have issues with it but that's my own fault for buying a cat D car🤷🏽‍♀️ Corsas tend to be decent and cheap to run. I'd look at insurance groups before you buy and check quotes too.

Check quotes rather than groups. Both me and my husband drive high group cars, plus both are modified. Insurance is peanuts.

Thanks I’ll have a look at Corsas, I’ve seen some lovely blue polos! I always had the idea they were seen as racer cars but obviously i’m clueless as the quotes came up very reasonable for insurance!

Seat Ibiza 1.2 turbo diesel.
Was my first car and it was nippy bit felt more same than the very small cars.

I’m late 20s btw so I assume that helps a bit, I’ve read the price is cheaper as a learner though because I have to have an experienced driver with me at all times so I’m wondering if the insurance prices I’m looking at will shoot up when I pass

You should definitely think about insurance which can be very high for s new driver. Since you are more likely to have scrapes etc in the first year getting a cheapish car is often a good idea but the insurance can be a significant proportion of the cost of the car.

As a pp said getting an unusual first car can be cheaper there will be lots of stats of new drivers with corsas fiestas etc. I ran online quotes on first cars I was looking at and bigger family cars were cheaper to be insure than small runabouts

You need to get some dummy quotes as a newly qualified driver to get a feel for what the various cars will cost.

Polo, Fiesta, Clio in that order. Personally I would never by a Renault or Citroen, based on having driven quite a few of them and than all being a pile of rubbish. I’d add a Corsa into your list, and maybe a Ford Focus hatchback, which are reasonably small. Modern Skodas are also pretty good cars and worth a look.

Thanks for the advice, maybe I should cruise about in a people carrier
I don’t know if this is like asking how long a piece of string is, but is there an amount you would/wouldn’t spend on a first car? I was thinking about £1000? But I don’t know if that’s too much or too low

VW > Ford > Renault so in that order. I think you're thinking of Golf as 'boy racer' cars as they do some GTE types that are fast!

Personally, I quite like Mazda as well. They are reliable.

As PP said, get some actual quotes and read reviews on 'Autotrader' to get a feel for reliability and running costs.

Polo's are great to drive, nippy, powerful, but still small enough. Huge boots for the size of the car!! Corsa's are a really fun drive too.

I had a hyundai i10. Great little car, cheap on tax too.
You could try an insurance quote with an experienced driver as a named driver to see if that helps the cost. (Obviously you need to declare that you will be the main driver).
Personally I'd spend £1k min to try and get a car that's not in too bad condition. Depends whats important to you.

Well I'd think 1000 to 1500 would be reasonable but it depends on if you lose money when it brakes down, what type of journeys you will do with it. E.g petrol cars often have less to go wrong and are better for short journeys. More modern diesels can have problems if they don't do longer journeys at higher speeds etc. For me though as an older first time driver insurance was still over 800 quid for my first years. Quotes on fiestas etc were over a 1000.

You could try an insurance quote with an experienced driver as a named driver to see if that helps the cost

That's not a bad idea. I used to have my mum included on my policy and it definitely helped. You need to check their driving record though, or it could work against you.

As a pp said, you must declare yourself as the main driver or you could be accused of 'fronting'. not good!

Another vote here for VW. I had a VW Fox as my first car, it was cheap to run and very reliable. I only changed it because I had DD and needed 5 doors and a bigger boot. I've stuck with VW and gone for a Golf.

From personal experience I'd definitely avoid a Clio-I've been driving one this week and it's not great.

I’m learning in my instructors Citroen diesel at the moment but everyone tells me petrol is more fun to drive
After waiting in a queue behind 78,000 people yesterday to book my test then being told bookings shut again I’ve decided to get my own car to practise in, the lessons I’ve been having to keep up practise are really adding up

Really good to hear everyone’s feedback, I’ve already mentally knocked Clio off the list!

My first car was a Polo, and wasn't too much to insure, though my husband was a named second driver. Lovely little car.

Skoda Fabia, great value little car.
"What Car?" awarded it best used car of the year in the small car category.
www.whatcar.com/used-car-awards/best-used-small-car/2020-overall-winner/SkodaFabia

I had a fiat cinquecento as my first car. Loved that little thing. I had the sporty version so it was really nippy to drive.I know they don't do them now but what about the fiat 500? Ok for round town but hear they don't fair well on the motorway, so depends on what your useage would be.

I also had a ford KA which was nice and felt really solid. That was a fair few years back though, so I'm not sure if the modern version is still as good, but worth a look.

I had a fiesta as a courtesy car last year and wasn't very impressed with it. It was only a year old but felt very cheap inside and like I'd come off worse if I was in an accident. May be as I'd gone from a bigger car it felt less safe, but I'd been thinking about getting one as I wanted to go back to a smaller car which would be easier to park in a city centre for work and this changed my mind.

My Step-mum always has citroen C3s and they are lovely. I know people think french-built means bad electrics etc, but I test drove one and loved it.

Friend's daughter got a polo after passing her test earlier this year. They all love it so much her mum drives it about instead of her big Jag!

I could go on for ages! DH gets lots of cars from work so I always give them a bit of a drive to see what I think.

I wouldn’t be looking any further than Kia/Hyundai. Something like an i10 or i20 would be perfect and a much better car than Polo/Corsa/Clio etc.

Skoda are great cars. I'd go for the best you can afford. We tend to buy cars a year old then run them until about 10+ years old and touch wood we have never had major problems

My friend was teased mercilessly for his Skoda about 10 years ago but he says they’re basically a VW under the bonnet?

My first car (that I owned) was a Renault 5.
I then went to a Renault Clio and after that a quantum leap to Mercedes.
I learned to drive in a Skoda, which are great value and were nice for the price cars back in the 70s, I suspect they are even better now.
At the moment, looking round the family, we have Mercedes, Volvo, Audi and VW.
My parents both had BMW, but I don't like them as the engines "whine".