Admin Team Sir Penguin 648 Posted June 5, 2015 Admin Team Share Posted June 5, 2015 I know there are a few petrol heads on PolCom so wondered if any of you can help me! Hopefully, I'll be starting a new job soon and will need to commute about 50 miles/an hour to and from work. I'll be needing a car and this will be my first. I've been a named driver on a car before but never had my own, and I'm sure the insurance premiums will be a big shock to me, especially with being only 19 and having 0 no claims I was originally looking at buying a brand new car, but am gradually going off the idea as theY depreciate in value very quickly. I'm looking to spend around £6-7,000 and ideally want something that is reliable and comfy as i'll be driving for a couple of hours a day. Does anybody have any suggestions? I do quite like VW polo's but I'm useless when it comes to cars so any input is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanW + 1,916 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Pingu, Things like VW's are generally good, but they tend to hold their values! Being part of the VAG group have a look at the Skoda / Seat of the same variant too! But you need to work out what size / style of car you want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Team Sir Penguin 648 Posted June 6, 2015 Author Admin Team Share Posted June 6, 2015 Pingu, Things like VW's are generally good, but they tend to hold their values! Being part of the VAG group have a look at the Skoda / Seat of the same variant too! But you need to work out what size / style of car you want? Mr W, I don't plan on starting a family in the next few years so a 3 door smallish hatchback would be preferred. I was having a look at the seat ibiza/leon and they both look quite nice. As long as it's nice and not too basic. I like the audi A1 s line but its a little out of my budget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR8623 243 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Volkswagen for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Team Sir Penguin 648 Posted June 6, 2015 Author Admin Team Share Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Volkswagen for sure. There are a few in my price budget so it's looking that way! http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505073269773/sort/priceasc/usedcars/make/volkswagen/model/polo/dealer/93044/page/1/advert-type/dealer-stock?logcode=dsp @IanW what would you recommend looking for milage wise? 30-40k? Edited June 6, 2015 by Sir Penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanW + 1,916 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Mr W, I don't plan on starting a family in the next few years so a 3 door smallish hatchback would be preferred. I was having a look at the seat ibiza/leon and they both look quite nice. As long as it's nice and not too basic. I like the audi A1 s line but its a little out of my budget Personally if you want something like that I think Seat will offer you better value, as for that sort of budget your looking at a 8-10 year old VW golf probably? Or a couple of year newer Polo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanW + 1,916 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Don't be put off by a higher mileage, if the vehicle has a full main dealer or specialist history, as this would normally indicate it has done motorway miles which are relatively easy on the car. My current BMW has this week passed 145k miles, and it's not missed a beat in the time I have had it (approx 1/3rd of its life). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miffy + 74 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 If you want super cheap performance car, get a ex-police car! Side note, little Polos or Seat will be fine, but try to get a 1.4, 1.2L just struggle heavily generally in towns Test drive a little Citron C1 or the Peugeot, super cheap, pretty fun to drive, small and pretty economical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempo + 69 Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 With VAG cars dont be too worried about mileage especially with the diesel engines they are near bullet proof if looked after. Make sure it has a good service history and you could pick up a nice Audi a3/ VW golf for the price you are looking at. I have a 2 litre diesel A3 which is great for driving long distances but with town driving it isnt the greatest because of the engine, if you are going to be racking up alot of miles through the year a decent sized diesel engine will probably suit you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Team Sir Penguin 648 Posted June 7, 2015 Author Admin Team Share Posted June 7, 2015 @miffy after being a special, and seeing how the police cars are ragged every day I could never bring myself to buying one I think the clutches are going on half of them at my station! @Tempo, I did have a look at a few audi's but the problem with the bigger engine will be the insurance. A lot of people my age are paying £1,500+ on a small 1.2 engine. Lucky with being a bobby I've managed to get a quote for £700 on a 1.2 polo. But I think golfs are definitely worth having a look at so I'll keep having a browse. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miffy + 74 Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Have you tried putting someone like your parent on as a named driver? My insurance went down loads when I put my mum on, and she does use my car which is handy at times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR8623 243 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 @miffy after being a special, and seeing how the police cars are ragged every day I could never bring myself to buying one I think the clutches are going on half of them at my station! @Tempo, I did have a look at a few audi's but the problem with the bigger engine will be the insurance. A lot of people my age are paying £1,500+ on a small 1.2 engine. Lucky with being a bobby I've managed to get a quote for £700 on a 1.2 polo. But I think golfs are definitely worth having a look at so I'll keep having a browse. Thanks all I think you'll find that even with a bigger engine, it all depends on the insurance group for the car and the crash statistics for someone your age. Here's an example of my insurance history: Passed my driving test at 17 years old. Bought a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2, new shape, only a couple of years old. Insurance was £5k for the first year. Own policy. 2nd year it came down to about £3k. Then I went and bought a brand new Vauxhall Astra 1.4 and my insurance came down to about £1200. I now have, at the age of 21, a brand new Volkswagen Golf R Line 2.0 TDI which costs me a staggering. Wait for it. Are you sat down? £600 for the year. Keep a clean track record. Don't claim. She'll be right! Also, if you are an excellent driver and don't mind Big Brother watching you, look at telematics insurance (black box) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR8623 243 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 If you want super cheap performance car, get a ex-police car! Side note, little Polos or Seat will be fine, but try to get a 1.4, 1.2L just struggle heavily generally in towns Test drive a little Citron C1 or the Peugeot, super cheap, pretty fun to drive, small and pretty economical I echo that. I'm currently overseas in España and been unfortunately given a 1.2CC Fiat 500 to rag around. Needless to say, I could probably get out and run up some of the hills quicker. The handling on it is awful too, I feel like it's gonna roll every time I turn a corner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VerySpecialConstable + 231 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 If you go for anything in the VAG range, please do yourself a favour and make sure you don't get the awful low powered 1.2 or 1.4 engines which are sub-100 bhp. Theywill seriously struggle to do anything - there are better 1.2/1.4 engines in the same models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScotLass + 638 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Would agree with the recommendations for VAG group cars so far, but when I was in exactly the same scenario as you I ended up buying a Vauxhall Corsa, it was a good deal as I was getting it 3 years old with only 6000 miles on the clock and within your price range. Basically a nearly new car for about half the price the owner paid for it! It's done me well so far but my next car will be a VAG group car or another Vauxhall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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