#21

My Nissan micra passed its MOT every year for 15 years, whereupon it started getting a bit grumbly and I gave it away to my cousin so she could learn in it and it didn’t matter if she totalled it on the farm.

Brilliant fuel economy, it went like shit off a shovel (which was fun for burning off boy racers at traffic lights) and I even lived in it for a summer. I think it cost £3k new in 1993 which means it cost me about 55 pence a day obvs not including costs like fuel and maintenance.

I would have got another one but it’s too small for our current family needs. It certainly was the perfect ‘starter’ car for me, to the extent that even though I could well afford to trade up I just didn’t want to.

#22

If you’re getting a 2nd hand motor for c.£2k then I’d ask for a HPI check if the seller has done one. This basically tells you the vehicles history and if it’s been lost stolen or damaged etc.

The main reason for this is to see if it’s a Category C write off, which means that it was written off by an insurance company at some point, but that the car was not repaired by that insurance company. I mean you can take a punt on it if you like but if a car’s been a Cat C write off at, I dunno, 20k miles in the past then this would mean it’s been in a fucking big accident and you’ve got no clue how it was repaired to get back on the road. Could be a cut and shut etc.

One of my mates works in a car dealership so I always text him a reg when I’m looking at a car, but you can get a text HPI service for £2 a text or so - just Google it. Should be fine for your needs.

2 Likes
#23

As stated above, definitely get insurance quotes on a car you are thinking about buying before viewing, so that you know if you can afford it. One tip is, you could get the car put in your parents name, put both their names as 1st and then 2nd names and then you put down as 3rd named driver. Should hopefully drive the price down. Basically, this means that you “would not” be driving it that much in the insurance sense, but insurance companies don’t check this

1 Like
#24

Lots of good info in this thread

some other points:
get 2 keys if poss (seriously, they can be expensive to replace)
Check for rust on the bottom frame esp if the car comes from areas near the coast (salt water…)
You can get decent around 80k miles 1-1.2L cars for sub 1000 imo (seat ibiza/vauxhall corsa/ ford fiesta/ hyundai getz types).
Get mechanic to check how worn clutch is if possible

#25

I’m a bit biased because I’ve got one but look at Skoda Fabias if you’re going for high mileage for your first car. They’re basically VW Polos but with a different badge on them. They should run for 160k miles if they’ve been looked after properly, with minimal annual MOT issues.

Crucially they also have a timing chain rather than a timing belt. Timing belts need to be changed either with age or with mileage (varies from car to car) and can cost £200 a throw at MOT time depending on the car. Timing chains don’t need this so it cuts out a fair bit of onward maintenance hassle.

#26

i don’t know anything about them tbh but am 100% convinced it’s a scam

2 Likes
#27

What are you using the car for, how much mileage a year?
Would shape what type of car is best for you, city v motorway etc

#28

what colour clothes do you usually wear

1 Like
#29

Cheers for all the help guys, been informative!

In terms of mileage, I really don’t know. I live in Manchester but it’s only a short drive to work, it won’t be a huge amount

#30

do you have a dog or kids?

#31

Definitely don’t do this. Especially if you live away from home. In the event of you needing to claim they will check these details. And it’s illegal.

#32

Only illegal if the address given on the policy is his parents address and not his own isn’t it?

Of course the parents will need to square it off with their own policy to see if being named on another policy affects their own.

I’d advise against it because it’s a lot of faff and potentially fraud-y just to save a few quid. Putting parents as 2nd/3rd drivers would still bring your premium down so just do that.

#33

2 grand could buy you a semi decent bike

#34

It can be a good idea to cross reference mileage and age. If you can find a car that’s consistently done 5-15k miles a year for each year it’s been on the road that’s clearly a good sign. there will be a record of the mileage progression on the MOT certificates

Auto Trader is pretty much the central resource you need. mixture of salesmen, independent sellers and individuals. some salesmen can be a bit slimy; i had a very positive time buying a car off a guy who just bought and sold cars as a side-income

don’t bother with that insurance box, definitely a money making scheme, just line up a few options and then work out which has cheapest insurance. i had an old ford fiesta to begin with and reliable cars like that have fairly reasonable insurance. mentioned above, seat ibiza is another good one for cheap insurance, good reliability, cheap-ish to buy

#35

Why didn’t you spend the extra then?

#36

Got to get some rapha kit and carbon bottle cages innit

#37

The essentials

1 Like
#38

doesn’t matter about address, the main driver needs to be the policyholder, otherwise it’s known as fronting and most definitely illegal. Not really worth the risk.

#39

Ah fair enough. I don’t know the specifics but I thought the address you registered the policy under (and where the car will be) is the key variable. People do that all the time though - insure the vehicle at their parents house in Sunbury-on-Thames or whatever when they live in Homerton.

#40

christ no!