How much do you think it will cost me to run a car?Suggestions for a car?

[shoneshine]

Ive just sent off for my provisional driving licence. I am DESPERATE to learn to rive and get a car now we have 3 lil uns. Hubby cannot drive yet either. Obv the insurance differs on lots of things but I am hoping to get a reliable banger, wide enough for 3 car seats, pushchair in boot etc. Dont have alot of money but a goodlooking one would be nice, though Im not really fussy!
Any sugestions for a car, how much it`ll cost me per week or month to pay for petrol,tax insurance and a bit extra to put aside (uh-hmm) for any repairs. How many lessons do you think Ill need? My Dad thinks 12 but I think thats wishful thinking tho it would be nice! Thanks!

Taken from another thread

"renault clio

Britax Highliner (group 2)
Britax Horizon (group 3)
Britax Renaissance (group 1)"

so it can be done, just depends on the size of your car-seats. Cheap(er) 2nd hand would be cars like fiesta, focus, mondeo, astra, nissan, kia, citreon...any dealer should be happy for you to take along car seats and try them out for size.

or you can look for cars that are wide enough to take 3 like: citreon picasso, fiat multipla mpv, honda hrv, volks touran, vaux zafira, mazda 5, toyota verso...& I'm sure there are more.

Toyota Yaris has quite a spacious back seat for its size(although at the expense of boot space so it would depend which buggy you want)

Mine is a group 2 insurance, but some models are group 1. The insurance group is vital because a really nasty old banger can be a lot more expensive to insure in your position if it is group 6 or 7. The cost of insurance definitely needs checking out before you actually buy.

You will be lucky to get through with 12 lessons, but if your dad will give you plenty of practice.

Cost will depend on:

• Cost of insurance, which is likely to be the main one
• how many miles you intend to drive
• tax will probably be £120 per year

Hard to say how many lessons you will need as I have never seen you drive and don't know how quickly your pick things up ! It also depends on whether or not you are going to be able to practise between lessons (going out with a friend or relative), that will really help you and will almost definitely reduce the number of lessons you will need compared to if you did not have access to practise sessions between lessons.

If you want something that it is cheap to buy, cheap to run and cheap to repair then I would suggest a Ford. If you want something big enough for 3 seats across the back then you are going to have to go for Mondeo size, minimum.

I wouldn't go French (Renault, Citroen, Peugeot) or Italian (Fiat & Alfa Romeo). Parts are expensive and they aren't known for reliability (I own a 4yo Renault and hate it. It has cost me a fortune in the 10mo I have owned it and I am hoping to get rid of it next month, finances permitting). Japanese cars are great reliability wise but their interior trim can often be a bit plasticky and ugly compared to Euro brands. If you can go German (Audi, VW).

Cost wise you need to get a smallish engine. If you are going for a Mondeo/Vectra sized car then a 1.8 petrol or the smallest diesel will be fine but be aware that you need to have a car with enough poke to overtake etc without crippling you on fuel consumption and insurance. Monthly costs are again hard to say, it depends on how old the vehicle you end up with is, how many miles it has done, how many miles you will do in it and whether you buy a lemon (like I did)

Thankyou for your replies, there def is alot to think about! Too many cars to choose from! Good idea to figure out the insurance before I buy the car. Regarding practicing with someone, I may hava a few friends that could help but my sister is living abroad, Mum too nervy and Dad too busy,lol Think the hardest thing will be getting the balance,bite of the clutch right so I dont stall! Any more tips on learning to drive? I am quite a novice but have been offroad with my sister about 5 months ago. Felt quite confident and tried reversing the 2nd time but didnt have enough time to get used to balancing the clutch,iykwim!Xx

i remeber reading somewhere that it takes one driving lesson per age we are and the ease of learning to drive becomes harder the older we get.

My sis who was 23 when she recently learnt to drive had about 30 ish lessons.

As for costs of running a car IMO and IME it costs too much lol.

You need to think about the size of the car as 3 children grow very quickly inot 3 teenagers also are you going to buy fairly new or failry old. Fairly old will probably need more repairs and more money spent on it although again thats not always the case.

Petrol well again varies if it is for general running around like i tend to do i average mine to be about £30 per week.
Insurance - will prob be high as you have no 'no claims bonus' yet althoug being over 25 makes it a little cheaper.
then you have road tax think mines nearing £200 per year. oh and MOT if the car is older than 3 years which is er not sure mines due next month but i think if nothings wrong with it its about £40.

tips on learning to drive - well my tip would be to remeber to use mirrors and look everywhere esp for bikes and children between cars. Always look ahead at possible dangers. i think the learning (practical) part of driving is the easiset, guess the rest comes with expreince

good luck

i'd say most people need abuot 30 hours to learn.

the test is alot harder than it was, i took mine back in the late 80's and failed. I started over again in 2007, and passed.

You have to do the theory test too, and pas that before you can take your practical. Lessons are about £20 + an hour. If y ou have the determination, then you'll get there. Thats' what it was forme anyhow. Running a car depends on what goes wrong with it ime!! Things like insurance vary. There is a web site called something like what insurance group is my car in. I'd be looking in the auto trader, and double checki8ng on insurance groups.

Petrol, well that depends what you are using the car for. I manage on about 10 a week!! I don't work atm, am single mum, and use it for school run, and little trips.

i learnt to drive and passed 2 years ago i was 22 when i passed. i did about 20 lessons which cost £18 each. the theory cost about £45. i failed my first driving test which cost £102 and so had to pay nother £102 (luckily i passed the second time!!)

so in total that cost about £609

my car is only a ford fiesta as i only have 1 ds so ideal. this cost £900 to buy and insurance for the first year was £90 per month. second year i am paying £80 per month.

road tax is £120 per year and mot is about £45 per year. although last year i had to pay out £160 for various things!! petrol i spend on average £25 per week.

so on average i spend about £2450 per year on my little car!!

thats providing nothing goes wrong in the mean time. im hoping my insurance will go down a bit in July when its renewed too

Crikey juicychops, that insurance is astonishingly expensive !

What engine has your fiesta got in it ? The insurance for my car when I re-passed 5 years ago aged 22 (long story involving court revoking my licence due to speeding) was £670 for the first year and that was in a 1.8l Ford Focus !

yes it depends where you live as well as to how high your insurance is. i live in a low risk area, my car is 1.4, and so less to road tax.

blimey! i feel im being ripped off!!

its only a 1.2. i am now 24 and paying the £80 per month. i rang up literally about 20 insurance places and this was the cheapest for my age and car etc

Sent for my provisional yesterday (thats £50 now!) running a car does seem very expensive but hopefully wel manage it! Strange but I`ll feel so much more 'grown up' when Ive got a car, lol. Will keep you all posted how I get on. Oh, have found the cheapest quote on a 1996 1.6 Diesel Vauxhall astra estate £485 a year and thats with a provisional licence and when Im still under 25! Xx

12 lessons??

I wish I only needed 12 lessons, would have saved me a fortune!!

I had one lesson a week....started learning in October 2007, passed my test first time just 4 weeks ago. So that took me 17 months to learn to drive- whats that? 68 lessons??

So learning to drive cost me-
68 lessons = £1428
Provisonal = £ 50
Theory test = approx £50
test and instructor fee on day £98

= a lot of money.

Its so expensive, I cant see when I will ever be able to actually afford my own car, I have to 'share' with dp!

I remember the cost of one year insurance on my first car was about £1,000, more than the cost of the car . I was 20.

It does really come down with age though ime, my insurance now is about £250 a year iirc.

Be careful - when you pass your test, your insurance will go up. This is from when you pass your test not at renewal. DD was with the AA, and they just put it up by £80s or so for the final 8 months. Quinn insurance has a bad name for doubling premiums when you pass. Other DD is with Elephant, and they have been good. If your partner has passed his test, try putting him on the insurance as named driver as hs will someimes lower the premiums. Also, fully comp is not always more expensive than third party. The older VW Polo is a reasonable size for low insurance. A car newer than 2001 can sometimes have a lower car tax group.

Can you tell I have been doing alot of research on insurance? lol!

Good luck

I will second that the insurance will go up when you pass. Guess its something to do with the fact that you have to have a qualified driver with you when on provisional licence but as soon as you pass you can drive all alone and be a lunatic