Luke_Eliasz Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 As i'm only 15 i obviously cant learn to drive yet , but........... i always plan ahead, and my mum will be paying for the car/lessons/1st years insurance/tax which will get me started. I'm taking my lessons for my 17th birthday present. I was wanting my new car as soon as i passed my test, but my mum wants to give it as an 18th birthday present, so..... my mum said she will get me a little run around until i get my new car at 18. I've been looking at a few, and the one that appeals to me most is a classic mini cooper, i've seen some on ebay for £700 - £1200 in excelent condition, and my mum will probably give me around £1000 to buy one to start off with. Btw, for my 18th present car, i'm probably going to get a Citroen C2, or something like that, a small but decent car. Anyone think an old style mini would be a good car until i get my new one? Quote
adhawkins Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 Personally, I'd get the cheapest, crappest, slowest car you can as a first car. You're almost certainly going to have an accident within the first few years of driving (statistically) and you want that to be in as cheap a car as possible, and ideally as slow a car as possible (so you don't become part of one of the other statistics...) I had a 1100 MK II Escort (500 quids worth) for about 18 months after passing my test. And yes, I did have a (small) accident in it. Andy Quote
Luke_Eliasz Posted September 7, 2004 Author Posted September 7, 2004 Well old minis are cheap, (not crap ), slow in straight lines (but not around town/corners). And it will be my "1st car" but not my main car if you know what i mean Quote
adhawkins Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 (but not around town/corners). That's the problem. Anything that encourages you to drive around corners like a loon before you have the experience to know how to handle 'moments' is just asking for trouble. In the time I had the Escort I only ever once got out of shape. It was at about 15 MPH on an oily roundabout. Andy Quote
Luke_Eliasz Posted September 7, 2004 Author Posted September 7, 2004 Ad, when i said that it goes quick around town/corners, doesnt mean that i will take it like a lunatic, just like your westfield, you know its quick when your driving it, but you dont go and speed (well at least i dont think you do.. ). Quote
adhawkins Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 That'd be where your wrong. Trouble is, the natural tendency for a young lad just after he's passed his test is to think he's Michael Schumacher. Driving like a loon without the appropriate level of experience is just asking for trouble. Seriously mate, anything that will force you to go slow for a couple of years as you build up the experience to be able to handle a car when things get a bit hairy will be in your best interests. Really mate, I know from where I speak...I was that boy racer who thought he was the greatest driver on the road... Luckily, my car was crap Andy Quote
Bob Green Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 I have to agree with Andy here. I was the D/B's driving my first car and nobody beat me...... except for the round-a-bout that did!!! Quote
stu999 Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 That's the problem. Anything that encourages you to drive around corners like a loon before you have the experience to know how to handle 'moments' is just asking for trouble. IHMO anything that is motorised is likely to get the living death thrashed out of it by a 17 year old (statistically) The minus point with a Min is that you tend to be much closer to any impact... The plus point with a Min is that you have more chance of getting an 'out of control' moment back in control... Really mate, I know from where I speak...I was that boy racer who thought he was the greatest driver on the road... Sorry, your wrong mate, I was... Quote
stu999 Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 Seriously, the thing you *really* want to try and work on in your early years driving is gaining 'no claims'. insurance is the biggest crippler for the young driver. A carefully chosen cheap runabout is still likely to be expensive to insure, but if you can, get it in your name, and keep your nose clean. I strongly suspect a Mini is still likely to be classed as fairly high risk to most insurance companies-especially with a Cooper badge on... Quote
adhawkins Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 Yup, it's all about no-claims as Stu says. When you consider that full no claims is a 60% discount, that means the 600 quid I was paying on my ST170 (as a 35 year old with a relatively clean recent driving record) was actually a 1500 quid policy... Andy Quote
v7slr Posted September 7, 2004 Posted September 7, 2004 My first car was an 1100 mini clubman. Superb "standard" car to go playing with. Nothing wrong with the standard mini either. It accelerates, corners and brakes well owing to its relatively light weight. Insurance is cheap too. My next one was a full race prepped 1400 mini which was storming. I loved that but didn't understand enough about how things work to keep it running (it was a high maintenance car). So my lesson to pass on to youngsters like my cousin (a year from 17) and your good self is not to buy anything that you cannot afford to keep running. It's just depressing. I accept that statistically you will crash your first car. I did, even though it wasn't my fault (seriously), but it doesn't change the fact that if it had been a great car, it would have been scrap after the crash. It just seems unfair to trash a nice car. Might as well learn accident avoidance and how to read the road better before buying a nice car (I might have seen the other chap and avoided him if I'd have had more experience). So what I'm saying is this... don't go looking for a cooper. I doubt you'll find a genuine one anyway. Buy a mini 1000, stick a large exhaust ("zorst". See I'm still "with it"), spot lights and other trick bits and have fun getting flashed by other mini owners. Everyone here knows that 90% of the fun of owning an original-looking car is the camaraderie from other owners. Quote
Bazzer Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Surely a Mini is an Ideal first car !!! Its Cheap. Easy to work on. Cheap replacment parts. And lets be honest by todays standards they are pretty slow (Edited to say in standard form ). But still pretty cool Bazzer Quote
mr-rad Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Luke have you tried karting? You could as Andy says get somat cheap and chearfull with no thrills for the first couple of years untill you build a bit of no claims bonus, and gain some experience of sideways action on a kart track (starting now). Karting is a great way of learning car control, it's cheap and there is probably a good track close to you. Quote
adhawkins Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Second the recommendation for karting, although some kart tracks' hire karts are pretty dire... Andy Quote
S8ight Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 when you say classic do you mean 60's/early 70's cars ? you'll struggle to find classic cover at such a young age and from what i can remember they are grouped quite high Quote
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