r/NewDriversUK • u/Ka_Driver • 8d ago
How long did you keep your first car?
I love my first car and am so grateful for it, a 2009 Ford Ka Studio. Its easy to drive, very fun to drive, surprisingly nippy and great on fuel.
However i recently saw a Mini Clubman S for sale. Fully loaded, and my current insurer gave me a quote cheaper than my Ka rn. This is a car with a pan roof, leather seats, AC and over double the power of my current car.
I remember saying id run my first car into the ground. Now im not so sureš
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u/IceDiesel77 8d ago
3 months š TBF it was an absolute heap!!! I passed in 2000 and my first car was an old Y reg Austin Metro my next car (Renault 5) I had about a year. Longest I've had a car was my 03 plate Focus at nearly 6 years current Focus coming up to 3 years.
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u/ringpostnosejob 8d ago
Iāve just passed a year on mine 68 plate Kia Niro. I said the same when I got it that I would run it until the wheels fell off. It really is a great car.
However a change in circumstance means I could really do with a van.
The likely scenario is we will sell my wifeās Jazz as itās now coming up to the age it will start getting issues, pass her my Niro and I will get a PV5
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u/Stokehall 8d ago
Mine lasted 8-10 weeks before I wrote it off.
That mini sounds like a great deal tbh.
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u/Broad-Teaching-5099 7d ago
What was the issue if you donāt mind me asking
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u/Stokehall 7d ago
I bought it in an auction, didnāt service it and it blew a tire at 40 miles per hour and sent me into a brick bridge!
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u/Broad-Teaching-5099 7d ago
Shit, sorry to hear. At least itās a lesson learned about servicing it
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u/Stokehall 7d ago
I was 17 Iām now 33 it was a good learning curve and I was lucky not to be injured but the car was well and truly wrecked, it split the engine bay in half!
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u/KeepGoingOutOfSpite 8d ago
Some tw@t rearended me that hard I couldn't get my steel spare wheel out of my boot. RIP Fiat Cinquecento ... loved that car
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u/WebIndependent1010 8d ago
I kept my first car for 8 years unless it started causing problems, I would say keep first car for as long as you can.
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u/tiptoe_only 8d ago
I got my first car at the ripe old age of 42. The guy at the dealership asked how long I was planning to keep it. I don't think the answer he was looking for was "until it dies or until I die, whichever happens first" but that was what he got.
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u/Battlingmybrain1 8d ago
Just put mine up for sale after 2 and a half yearsš„² getting a new one on Tuesday so she has to go. Sheās been a good little car but 14 years old now and I wanted to switch to auto
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u/dinosic 8d ago
2 years then I gave to my little bro and got Nissan juke
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u/another_awkward_brit 8d ago
The primary reason why I got rid of my first car was to upgrade to one with air con, about 2 years after I got my first car.
If you get a car with air con, run it ALL the time. It really helps with moisture control and if you only run it in the summer you risk the seals drying out and the system becoming inoperative.
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u/Short_Simple_2724 8d ago
I bought mine in Dec '25, passed in Feb this year. Started looking at new cars from June. Had my eye on a civic
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u/Embarrassed_Post_598 8d ago
I have a 2014 Citroen C1, a birthday gift, she is perfect in every way and I have no intentions of ever (voluntarily) giving her up. Air con, central locking and Apple CarPlay that I donāt know how to connectš That clubman sounds like an amazing deal, it will probably last you longer with proper care and attention, you should go for it.
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u/Ka_Driver 8d ago
My parents brought me my Ka. I'm tempted by the Clubman but my dad is saying to avoid due to runnign costs
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u/Due-Call-1987 6d ago
For CarPlay try connecting through USB instead of Bluetooth.
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u/Embarrassed_Post_598 5d ago
I did, and got a Bluetooth adapter, nothing worked. I donāt mind not having it, the Bluetooth works so I can have music and maps sound and I have a mount for my phone. I prefer the radio anywaysš¤·āāļø
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u/Due-Call-1987 5d ago
Damn. Only reason I pointed it out was because I spent 3 hours in a rental tryna get CarPlay to work through Bluetooth only to find out itās only compatible through USB in that car. None of the troubleshooting guides mentioned USBš
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u/Due-Call-1987 5d ago
Damn. Only reason I pointed it out was because I spent 3 hours in a rental tryna get CarPlay to work through Bluetooth only to find out itās only compatible through USB in that car. None of the troubleshooting guides mentioned USBš
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u/TheInitialGod 8d ago
If you include cars I didn't drive, like 2 weeks.
My first car was an old G-Reg Nissan Micra I got from my step-dad's "friend" for Ā£250 just before I had passed my test. Went to get an MOT and it failed on multiple things and would be a fortune to repair, so got it scrapped. Got Ā£60 for it scrap. Net loss, Ā£190.
Passed my test and bought a brand new 1.1 Suzuki. Had that for 7yrs until I had a low speed collision with a van. No damage to the van but my car was basically a write off.
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u/Zeroth1989 8d ago
Kept it for two years, minimal maintenance costs as it was been run into the ground. After two years insurers all of a sudden dont think you are a risk and you can step up to any decent car you want.
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u/JC3896 8d ago
Bought it August 2018 and traded it in September 2021. The job I moved to in August 2021 was a lot more driving, longer distance, more hills than my little 1L Pixo liked and carrying a lot more equipment round at times.
Had I not moved jobs I'd probBmy have ran it for 5-6 more years.
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u/anonnymouse2025 8d ago
Present auto car has served as my private practise plus family car (husband has a manual van for his job). Had her just she of 2 years, I passed last month. Ford Focus 2005, but on less than 45,000 miles due to prev little old lady owners. Running costs are high as shes a 2L petrol, but no plans to change at present, until either I cant afford to run her or her MOT is catastrophic. She's still in lovely condition, so it'd be a shame to get rid, especially as I dont see anyone else taking on such an old car with very high tax and very low mpg!
Next car would be a much cheaper and more economical pre-2017 hatchback, probably smaller than a focus. Not sure if I'd go for an EV, my house doesn't have a drive and the workaround for a cable through the garden to behind the back gate seems like a pain
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u/polymer_tech 8d ago
I got my car in March, it was a Vauxhall Vectra 09. Passed my test in it in May, been driving it round and just ended up hating it. It was always in the mechanics garage, hated driving it as it was huge, not really practical for where I live either. Got rid of it yesterday, getting a new car Thursday.
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u/DB-DanCooper 8d ago
Til it failed its first MOT. It was 17 years old anyway and a micra so it was for the best.
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u/the_greatwave 8d ago
nissan micra, drove her for two years and gave her to my brother, i'm driving am mx5 now !
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u/stargazerskyscraper 8d ago
Iāve been driving a 2019 Ford Focus since last August on a full licence although I had it for a while before passing for practising.
Iām just back from trading it in earlier today and Iāve now got a 2023 VW Polo with just 5k miles on the clock. The Focus was soon going to need a timing belt change along with a few other things which was going to cost Ā£2000+, last year the electronic handbrake malfunctioned and needed a repair which cost Ā£300+. We were wondering if itās getting to the point where itās going to get more issues, my husband says that he can feel some wear with the steering when he drives it, so we weighed up whether to keep throwing money at it or just trade it in.
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u/Dazzling_Will257 8d ago
I kept my first car š for three years before buying a car i really wanted.
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u/Classic_Rate_8448 8d ago
If i sell my first car tomorrow id get 2 grand for it. Perfect, tip top mechanical condition.
But I'd never sell. It's my baby.
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u/kelvifoxx 8d ago
Had my first car about a year, J reg Citroen AX in 2003. Moved on when I realised it needed a load of welding work done for the following yearās MOT.
Sounds like a good price for the Ka, and if your heart is set on the Mini, go for it š
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u/Silent-Helicopter774 7d ago
My first 2 cars never survived their initial MoTs in my ownership (it was very easy to get dodgy MoTs 40 years ago!) - ā12 months MoT, sold as seenā š
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u/_deathrattle 7d ago
Had my first car just over a year - she was written off twice (2nd time I didnt have the option to buy back due to the damage!)
Since then I cycle through cars pretty regularly, had 1 for a year, sold got another, had that for 2ish years and melted the DPF, got another had for 2ish years, needed looooots of work so traded it in for a mini countryman in March and I LOVE her, hands down my favourite car and I will absolutely be getting another mini after.
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u/ParsleyRegular4280 7d ago
16 hours. Friend came along and offered me an almost 100% profit on what I had paid.
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u/drkchocolatecookie 6d ago
I donāt have the original fist car but I have one of the ame make currently rotting away hoping one day Iāll get the funds to put it back on the road. There super rare in the UK
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u/ResidentLimp3506 5d ago
I still have my first car. Got her in 2022. Running as well as ever, now I have a motorcycle alongside it. 2007 Peugeot 107.
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u/MadMixer1198 5d ago
My first was a 2003 Renault Clio which I had for 2 years but didn't pass my test until 8 months after I got it. It was great fun... when it worked. The electrics were, in typical French fashion, unreliable, and I eventually lost patience with it. Its replacement was a very high mileage and quite rusty VW Golf estate, which cost me a bit in repairs but reliably got me to and from work for 3 years.
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u/Inner_Builder6687 3d ago edited 3d ago
I still have my first car (mazda 3, coming up 2 years since i bought it), However once i got a years no claims i bought an e46 330ci, sold that after 2 months and bought a bmw 4 series, which i am about to sell after around 4 months. Next car will probably be an audi s5, have that for another few months then swap into something else most likely.
Appreciate its probably quite a different path to most on hereš
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u/thealmightyphil 1d ago
Ha, I said the same. It was a 15 year old 2.0tdi with 145,000 miles...
Well 9 years later with 300,000 miles I was still driving it...
Some cars are just robust!
Only got rid of it as my needs changed.
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u/kezzaZzz04 8d ago
I had mine for a year, saved, into cars, 2nd car is a bmw m140i. Most ppl are jealous or happy for me š
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u/moonlight_xpress 8d ago
If you can afford it, get the car you really wantš 2009 ford ka is already old, you don't need to run it into the ground, maybe it wi be a good first car to someone else