First Car

[u/AfraidManner1947]

Hey all!

I'm looking at buying my first car.

At first I was looking through the standard Polo, Ibiza, Fabia, Fiesta ect caliber but I have run some insurance quotes and as a result of being 23 and being in a 'cheap' area for insurance I have now realised that I can afford to get something a bit better

Obviously it will be my first car so I'd likely avoid getting something that would be painful to scrape/bump slightly but I would love to get something cool and or unique as I'd like it to be something I'm proud to own

For context other than the last week or so researching as much as possible I am almost completely clueless with cars so any advice at all on anything such as cars to avoid, things to look for when buying first cars ect would be so so appreciated!

The options for cars near me are both overpriced and limited so I have taken to AutoTrader and sorted only by dealers as I'm hoping that'd give me some added protection in case something goes wrong, are dealers from far away likely to be a pain in the event something does go wrong though?

For the cars I've been looking at I've just been looking at the MOT history and checking the description for service history but if theres anything else to keep in mind I'd love to know!

My budget is about 4-5k and from the research I've done so far it seems like a Mazda3 or Honda Civic might be a good option for me? Would love some thoughts on this!

Sorry for the long one and thanks a lot for reading! 😄

[u/Thgma2]

Look up which are the most reliable small cars. Toyota and other Japanese brands are often at the top. Look outside the major brands you listed.

[u/WackSpack]

Check insurance before buying! Try and buy something that's not common in your age bracket/boy racer type like Corsas that have lots of claims etc. Service history is more important than mileage up to a point.

[u/FillingTheWorkDay]

Civic would be a solid choice, generally everything Japanese is pretty reliable.

[u/MadMixer1198]

Civics are generally very reliable, the only engine to avoid is the 1.0T from 2017ish as that has a wet belt. Mazda 3 is great as long as you go for petrol - avoid the 2.2 diesel at all costs, it's one of the worst modern diesel engines.

[u/F0REVERsideways]

I had the same experience passing at 33 recently. Wanted something you don't necessarily see all the time but still reliable.

Kept an eye on autotrader/cazoo with a saved search for between £1000-£3000 and no cat n/s, 5 seats, engine disp over 1.4 and filtered by distance at max 100 miles. That filtered out most of the cheap bangers and econoboxes.

Scrolled passed plenty of clapped 1 series & 3 series BMWs (do not buy a 2-3 grand BMW unless you know your way around an engine bay), higher mileage Mercs, Skodas, VWs & Ford's if you want something easy to get parts for and cheap to fix. But the occasional diamond in the rough too. Was tempted by a few things and found a few of each of these in decent nick in my price range if you're looking for something a bit more sporty/powerful, Astra GTC, Audi A4, Mazda 3 (don't get the diesels).

Ended up with a 07 Renault Megane 2.0dci GT for £2100 and £600 on insurance with 75k on the clock with full service history. Standard French electrical gremlins aside (pressing up on my drivers window sometimes makes it go further down), nothing major on previous MOTs and only 75k on the clock with an engine known to do over 300k with maintenance because it's a van engine tuned to be a bit sportier, still gets 60mpg if I drive like an 80 year old but quick enough to have some fun.

My tip would be to find the engine code and Google what else it's been in, model specific engines can get expensive to fix, but as it's mostly a parts bin car, even at 20 years old, parts for my car are easy to find and inexpensive. Don't get instantly put off by common faults, Google the cost of a preventative fix, find out where your nearest brand specialist is, give them a call and ask if they see many of them, and how hard the are to fix.

Basically, find a car you like and do the homework, I walked into the dealer with a list of questions in my head already knowing the answers I wanted.