Lewis Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) Have been looking at buying a car for a while but only seriously for the last couple months. Am driving Moms car atm but its not fair to have it for work every weekend and full time during the summer esp with my brother taking his test now. We hired a car over Summer so this makes sense to me to buy one rather than waste on hire, and I could use it for Lambing at Uni rather than paying £10 and £20 a night on taxi's! Asked for money for Christmas and Birthday so can afford to buy one now - insurance is the killer! Anyway, does anyone have an opinion on the Rover 25i - 2000 plate, 1.4 and Petrol, oh and its green My uncle is a mechanic and said its not a bad car so trust him but just want other opinions. Going to see it tomorrow so hopefully the reviews are good Thanks Edited January 4, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I think they are ok Lewis, plenty of spare parts around for Rovers anyway which is a good thing Petrol not as good as diesel if you are doing lots of miles (in my humble opinion) Kia Rio and Renault Clio are good cars frugal on the diesel but with your height you'll need to get in a few cars to see what fits you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckmum6 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I personally wouldn't buy a Rover, they were not known for reliability or safety even before they went bust. I would go for a manufacture that is still in production, as scarce parts will be expensive and you would probably need a few repairs. That just my opinion (and a fair few car reviews) though. VW would be a good buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Hmm, nothing fundamentally that wrong with the Rover, you can get the parts etc. Clio etc are all fine also. The main problem you face at your age is insurance - even going third party only, you're a bit knackered for insurance. Not sure what you'll face in your neck of the woods, but at your age in Sunny Manchester, you're looking at around £2k (I've got a feeling you mentioned similar on Twitter mind you). Insurance is shocking when you're young these days, especially if you're male. You're not going to get anything that looks good and is insurable sadly. Some relatively Insurance-friendly (heh) cars - Fiat Panda Ford Ka (previous shape) The wildcard option is to still pay for taxis and keep borrowing your mum's car and wait til next year - you become less persecutable to insurance companies when you hit 21... Might be worth trying an online quote to see how much of a difference there is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Have read a few reviews that say 1.4 version is best and the petrol engines are more reliable than the turbodiesel so was going with that? All the reviews moan about the plain interior but not really bothered about that. Moms car is petrol so would probs get confused with the 2 aswell Drive Moms 307 atm which is only small so should be fine but you're right, will sit in it tomorrow afternoon + probs drive it round their yard. Think I also like that I can blame my Uncle if it breaks! Have got a few quotes for other and this car - Third Party, Fire & Theft is £1800 for this car and I budgeted + saved £2000 for insurance. Is cheaper to get Moms policy but me as the Main driver with her NC protected (£1400) but don't think I get No Claims with that - its £177 for just Mom! Insurance drops at 24 and have waited 2 years to buy, can only afford it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 wow, is it when you're 24 now? Crumbs! Best thing you can do is face the pain now and get it out of the way. It might be worth looking into PassPlus to see if that helps - some insurance companies give a discount on it. Also, it may be worth looking into any companies that have NCB accelerator schemes (ie awarding a bonus after 10 months). There are other things you could do such as restricted hours/restricted miles policies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 I did do PassPlus so should mention that - think they're guaranteed to take off the cost of the course if nothing else Have thought about restricted hours and miles but with Lambing we work from 8.30pm-7.30am so wouldn't suit that and am nocturnal insomniac so drive at stupid hours in the morning (going to Te$co with friends in a bit ), will just have to pay the extra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Insurance is a shocking con sometimes, as you know I am 34 and mine is £900 and it will go up when I tell them my yearly mileage is likely to increase I know that you have been using your mums car to get to work but please please do not underestimate the cost of petrol, lots of short drives here and there will really eat the petrol. I am ever increasingly shocked at how much diesel I use (after years of having a company fuel card!) I've now started planning journeys in where more than one place is visited eg I can get feed for the chooks on the way to the supermarket on the way to the rubbish tip etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Just back from Te$co then to my friends I know, hate having to pay for petrol but has come down recently, I paid £1.47 in Summer, is about £1.30 this week. For the first time this week my friend paid me £25 petrol money for when we went camping in the Summer. I never take petrol money off friends 'cos we always share lifts but this is people who don't drive and just expect lifts so didn't feel too bad! Costs about £22 to get to and from work so have been paying for that all summer so thats a big chunk of my wages gone already, I stopped over a few times and for shows 'cos its half the petrol money. Not sure what I'll do for Aber every week 'cos have been spending about £35 on trains every week and thats with a railcard but might still do that and then drive to work from home ... this is why I'm £500 overdrawn in ma Student account! I've been quoting 2,000 miles a year, put in 10,000 to see what the price increase was and it was the same so not sure what the categories are with mileage? Ma Big Sis lives in Qatar and petrol is 12p a l ... £7 to fill her car?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I had a Rover and it was a dreadful car... Completely unreliable, broke down constantly, I was afraid to drive it anywhere and really hammered my AA membership.... That said, I bought it privately and didn't have a family mechanic saying its a good car Would your uncle do a "family warranty" for you eg. Fix it for free for the first 12 months As a 1.4 petrol it's not a small engine, so please do not underestimate the cost of fuel. Like Tasha, I have found the increase in fuel costs have meant that I have needed to 'plan' my journeys more which was something I have never done in the past, even when I was your age with a car of my own (a mini, it was fabulous, and I could do the repairs myself with a Haynes manual ) I do (as you know) worry about you being in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night when you are lambing so think you having a car is a great idea... IF you can afford it. Maybe buy it, try it, and if you find it's too much, there is no shame in selling it on. Good luck sweetheart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Lewis, have you considered Fully Comp insurance? I know some insurance companies actually charge more for 3rd party as they assume you are a higher risk might be worth looking and trying? may be cheaper? also consider tax!! we are going down to one car as its £250 for kevs tax...the car is only worth £200 (we just looked) some cars have low tax good luck, I know what its like to be reliant on others when it comes to journeys cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 There are all sorts of insurance cons For Mr Griffins car that he only uses for getting to and from work, it ended up cheaper for him to be fully comp with me as a named driver than it was to insure it third party without me on the policy I've never driven his car and neither do I intend to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Two other things I forgot to mention yesterday were - -try getting a quote for a larger car (with small engine) such as a Vectra/Mondeo - I found when I first looked many years ago that insurance companies don't necessarily penalise young drivers as much in some bigger cars as younger drivers tend to go for smaller cars. Not sure if it's still the case mind you. - the wildcard - try checking insurance for a small van. Commercial vehicles often have cheap running costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thaanks Was unsure 'cos people on reviews about Rovers being unreliable, head gasket probs etc, but Uncle has said there are loads of (cheap) spare parts if there ever way a prob - I know he wouldn't sell me a dodgy car and he has loads, parents trust the car anyway! 4.3/5 on AutoTrader and mostly positive Its the newest car I've found with lowest miles - the Polo I was seriously looking at was '96 with 95,000, was a more expensive car but a couple £100 cheaper to insure 'cos 4 years older. Have wanted a car for ages 'cos will give me way more freedom and have saved up for 2 or 3 years. Know a couple people have said to save more and wait but I want one now I can, I'll probably learn the hard way but thats fine Have tried all the variations with Mom + Dad on the insurance with 3rd party F&T, but not even looked at Comp 'cos thought it would be more expensive so will do - thanks! Mom will be driving it when we swap cars for long journeys so she'll be insured anyway so will look whats cheapest We did have a van over summer, it was cheap to run but expensive to insure - apparently its because they don't believe you won't use it for business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Lewis - work out your mileage carefully 12,000 miles for example is just 230 a week, I do this easily despite being unemployed When I start my new job the mileage will be 30,000 a year easily Most insurance companies charge if you alter your policy so try to get a good idea of mileage from the start In saying that I am not sure how they can check up your mileage... Presumably from MOT records??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 My DD is 22 and has just got her first insurance policy on our old fiesta. I do appreciate she is a girl and over 21 but her quote from Admiral almost halved when we added oh and me to the policy. She does have a £500 excess on the policy though . We don't have any of our other cars insured with Admiral so it is not a multi car policy...might be worth getting a quote though..( Oh...and get an online quote then phone them....that's how ours got reduced because they seemed to be able to do better deals on the phone sometimes.... Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Admiral were by far the cheapest quote I had but their customer service has had some very bad reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Their customer service is dreadful... I had a car stolen and it took them AGES to sort out, I left them after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Lewis..a tip for you. Maybe try and insure it at your Aber address? I had to get quotes for my dads new car last week. He's not into computers, so I did it for him. Went on Compare the market. He'd been quoted around £600 mark. I got it to £376. But then if he lived at my address, it would have been £230!!!! Fancy moving in here Lewis, so you can get cheap insurance? Good luck Lewis. Whatever car you get, you'll love it & can always customize it inside to make it cool! Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 oh, and one more thing that helps - add your other half to the insurance. If you don't have an 'other half', find a willing volunteer and add them (they don't have to actually drive your car) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTree Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I would love to have a car of my own, but we can't really justify the cost My grampy has a Rover & has had a head gasket problems recently - its a W reg. His mechanic did some sort of repair to keep it going - my gramps is 82 & doesn't really want to change it. I think if you can afford it, go for it as you can start building your no claims. Hubby bought his first car as soon as he passed his test at 17. He went with Direct Line & has been with them ever since as they always come out cheapest. Strangely his insurance dropped when he moved from Harrogate to Cardiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 It is £250 cheaper to insure in Aber, Emma, but won't be there all the time so don't know if I can do that? Just been to see it, few scratches which isn't the end of the world and they're replacing the power steering etc, but I drove it for 10 mins and Tasha is right, its too small! Have said no for now but can always go back, just felt too big to drive it esp if driving a few hours a day. Will look at the couple of Polo's and Ka's I found, know someone said look at VW's. He gave us a car place to try so can look there too. Back to the drawing board... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 You'll be in Aber as much as you'll be in Brum Lewis, so I reckon that's fine Thinking about it, I'm sure I insured my car at my term address when I was a student Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 We love our new style Fiat Panda & the daughter loves her very old 4x4 one,which is cheap to run & insure. Would never look back.....great little cars,which hold their value too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Just think you have to be clear to them Lewis otherwise if anything did happen and you needed yo claim you won't have any problems. If they can wiggle out of paying they do. Be honest and say you live there but go home for x amount of time at brum and see what they say?? X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
