On a budget so what cars are best?

Question

Ive only just past my test and im still young, dont want an expensive car for my first one but dont want a cheap crappy one either. wheres the best place to go to get a good reliable car on a budget?

Answer 1

I'm not sure what is best in The U.S.

But the UK, You have to be careful, Road tax is a sting, Fuel costs but overall the biggest fear is insurance.

You need a small car, small engine, Better on the pocket.

If you want to spend upto £1,000.
Look at a Fiesta (95-99) as they are cheap, reliable and plenty on offer so you can afford to say no to a shabby one. Also Peugeot 106, Very cheap, and economical. Looking at about £750-£1000 for a Basic 1.1 XN 1997/8 P/R Reg. Other cheap and good cars are VW Polo, (94-97) Citroen Saxo (96-98) Vauxhall Corsa (94-99) and Renault Clio (91-97) All these are in the budget of upto £1,000.
If you want upto £2,500.
Look at a Late Plate (51/02/52) Corsa or Fiesta, Also 99-01 Peugeot 206 are good. Clio's are cheap too, Look at 97-00 models. Try to avoid Japanese/Korean as they may seem cheap cars, and Yes they win reliability stakes, but when it comes to Insurance/Service they are costly.

Have fun and good luck.

Answer 2

Fords are cheap to service and fix. A fiesta makes a good first car. And don't buy new. Its like throwing money down the bog, you lose so much value in the first 2 years. Small car (I'm assuming you are in the UK, sorry) , diesel and a british make, and you can't go too far wrong. Steer clear of vauxhall up to the last couple of years as they had a bad spell of making dogs. I hate corsas. And please don't be a clio driver. It will make you drive like a bra. My first car was an astra (before vauxhall went all poo) and it was great. My second car was a saab 900s once I got the no claims built up. I loved that car, got rid when it was 12 years old. Now got a Mazda 323 (basically a ford focus but looks a bit different), its diesel, good size, goes for ages on a tank of fuel and goes like s*

Answer 3

Dont get conned into financing a new one, you will certainly lost money. I have had a Peugeot 306 for two years, its an old one, but sound in every respect, it is also a delight to drive, and despite my models large engine, not too heavy on the insurance. Go and test drive a few. Get a copy of Loot and look for cars that appeal to you, within budget, be aware of things with excessively high mileage. Try and go for something being sold by a "one careful lady owner" but ensure that her "son" or "brother" or someone isn't "handling the sale for her" as it may not be genuine. Anyone selling a car that their son or daughter had as a first car may be a good bet, but take care that a young inesperienced driver hasn't thrashed the hell out of it. Better yet, ask around your friends and family, see if anyone is selling, or if they have somewhere or a type of car they can recommend to you. Ford KAs and Fiestas are great first cars as are Renault Clios and minis. Enjoy

Answer 4

I've been around the car business for a long time and I would recommend a Honda, Nissan, Toyota, or even a Kia. The Asian cars are the best built and most reliable. Stay away from GM, and Ford. I hate to have to say that but it's true.

Answer 5

Where are you? If you are in the US probably a domestic Subcompact like a Ford Focus or Chevrolet Cavalier....they cost about $12000 new and a lot less secondhand.......the Focus in particular is a brilliant driver's car and cheap to maintain...its the worlds bestselling car currently so supplies are plentiful and cheap. If You're in Europe, try the Smart ForFour......its got Mercedes technology and since it isnt selling well, they're giving them away on contract hire for £99 a month (i think its about 150Euros on the continent)!!!!! Cant go wrong with that

Answer 6

Go to a honda dealership...Get a certified pre-owned. I got a '98 certified pre-owned honda accord in 2000 when I was 16. I'm now 21 and it's still in great condition. I don't owe anything on it anymore.... and even though I now have a great paying job, I'm keeping the car at least another yr with no payments and saving money so I can buy an Acura or Lexus next year! Honda's will go forever!

Answer 7

The original style mini. They are REALLY cheap to insurance, almost in the lowest band for Car Tax, and are really fuel effective (I drove 300 miles in one on a single tank of petrol.

They have got LOADS on space inside as well.

I have had two myself, so has my brother, my parents have had 3 or 4. And my old (not in age), drove them as well when they were younger, they loved it when I brought mine to work - they would borrow the keys to open the drivers door and spend their lunch breaks sat in the drivers seat reminising about all the fun they had. The saddest day of my live was when I had to stop driving through ill health and part with my beloved Mini.

Have fun, but at the same time do NOT break any laws on the road.

Answer 8

Micras and the like are a fairly cheap and reliable safe bet, but if you're only young your main consideration will be insurance ratings. Go to the web page below, it'll give you a rundown on how insurance groupings work, and examples of vehicles that fit them. Congratulations on passing your test. Have fun!

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/money/features/insurance_groups_car.html

Answer 9

I have a Matiz (mine was made by Daewoo, but Chrysler make them now) - it is very small but was a good price and is cheap to run. I have had it just over three years and use it to drive a round trip (including motorways) of about 180 miles nearly every weekend and it hasn't let me down yet and recently passed its first MOT with flying colours.

Answer 10

Well, you have a couple of options KIA and Hyundai . Both car companies have improved the quality of their vehicles 100 fold. Also these car companies offer the best warranty 100,000 miles.
Check them out, good luck.