The whole fucking world's against me, dude, I swear to God

[emony]

So I've spent the last two days looking at cars. By cars, I mean this car, which I want! But everyone around me is telling me not to. Tom at work thinks I ought to get an Aygo (because he just bought one, and is therefore biased). My mother thinks the Fiesta is "too sporty" and too expensive for a "first car". It's a Fiesta!! It is not too sporty! It's a Fiesta. They're like the elasticated trousers of the car world.

She wants me to get a "lower spec" one, i.e. no CD player, no aircon, no electric windows. I might as well put some wheels on a skip. I don't mind getting a used one, that's fine, but the Zetec range are on special offer, so it's barely any cheaper to get a used one right now, especially with the end of the financial year coming up and car salesman eager to hit their targets, unless I get a used one with 40 or 50 thousand miles on the clock.

I'm feeling a bit contrary about the whole thing. I sort of want to flounce off and buy it myself, but I do realise that it would be entirely counterproductive, and that they do have my best interests at heart.

But I want a shiny new car with Bluetooth! I never get anything I really want - why can't I have it just this one time?

Comments

[nausica2.livejournal.com]

I know little about cars, but my cousin drives a Fiesta of that colour, and it's this cute thing that gets her everywhere and she's so proud of it.

[emony.livejournal.com]

We had an old-style Fiesta a few years ago, and it was really reliable. And I'm learning to drive in a Fiesta too, so I know them well.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

If you can afford to buy, run, tax and insure the thing, then why not have what you want? Assuming you pass your test, of course... ;)

You might want to try pointing out to your mother that the things she thinks are dispensable are in fact what will make it possible for you to sell it on in a couple of years, because they are what everyone wants and in fact it's therefore false economy to buy a lower-spec car which you won't be able to shift if you need to.

[emony.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's v helpful ;P But seriously, I think that's part of the problem - when I started taking lessons again, my mother foolishly promised that if I passed my test, she would buy me a car. Now she's having to stick to that promise, which I think she regrets for a variety of reasons. She also foolishly said she would pay for the insurance, tax etc., which I said she doesn't need to do, but she won't be told. So as she thinks she's going to be paying for all this, she's trying to keep the cost down as much as possible. After all, she's never going to be inside the thing (there's no way she'll let me drive her anywhere - not until I've been driving for 20 years and she's had her licence taken away), so she doesn't care if it's an uncomfortable, unsellable hunk of crap.

I'll do my best to be rational etc. And she may be right really about getting a smaller car, if not necessarily a very low spec one, although it's not easy to find many that are smaller than a Fiesta. But I think my best bet is probably to hit up my father for some cash instead. I bet he'd buy me the Fiesta ;)

[kangaruth.livejournal.com]

Why not ask her for the cost of the low spec one, then add to the money she gives you to get the fancy gadgets? If that's financially feasable, obviously.

Maybe she wants you to get a Smart Car?

[emony.livejournal.com]

I may do that, yes. We're going to go and see some at the garage this weekend - just a preliminary recce, but we can discuss options then.

I think she'd rather I didn't get a car at all. But I need one!! :)

[atlas-one.livejournal.com]

I hope you get the shiny car of your wishes.

[emony.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Me too :)

[01100100.livejournal.com]

They're like the elasticated trousers of the car world.

*lol* - brilliant *g*

And I hope you get what you want. No fun otherwise :)

[emony.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) I've persuaded her to take me on a car recce this weekend, so fingers crossed!

[slb44.livejournal.com]

Best advice I can offer, whether you're paying or someone else is, is to double check insurance rates and repair rates. In the past, I've had incredible deals on specific models of cars only to be dismayed by the completely outrageous insurance rates on a particular model. If it's anything like here, there can be a shocking difference (even within a specific model - here a sports model, which is normally just heavy duty springs and a fancier pant job - can add a huge amount to the costs) and you don't know when you might start having to pay these things out of your own pocket, so best to be prepared.

[emony.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. Replacement parts for Fords are very readily available, so they can be repaired and serviced just about anywhere, but the more technical you get (e.g. the so-called "sporty" features like electric side mirrors and that) the more difficult and expensive they are to repair when they go wrong. My insurance is going to be sky high anyway, because I'm a new driver, but as you say there's no need to go mad and make it even higher! :)

[ruric.livejournal.com]

My first car years and years ago was a metallic brown and cream Ford Fiesta. My mother bought it because the car was the same colour as the dog we'd had since I was a kid and had lost the year previously.

I LOVED that car with a passion. It was reliable, cheap to fix (Ford parts back then were always available and very cheap and if you couldn't get it into a Ford garage the Joe Bloggs Garage down the road could fix in a jiffy because the engines are not complicated and do not require specialist tuning and nursing).

Also? Should the worst happen and you break down en route somewhere the chances are you will not need to be towed anywhere because the AA/RAC etc keep Ford parts in stock in their dinky little vans for just such emergencies.

So yeah. I'm all up with getting a Ford.

Reliable, economical, cheap to repair, run and insure. Freaking easy to squeeze into small spaces for town driving. Very popular for resales and easy to shift.

I drove mine into the ground - I had it about 12 years and put so many miles on it, replacing the engine once (because yes you can in fact wear out a Ford engine if you give the car enough hammer and my little 1.1L Fiesta would happily do 110mph up the motorway - no one who got in it believed it could go that fast). It came close to breaking my heart to part with it.

There is no down side to Fiestas. *G*

[emony.livejournal.com]

Awesome :) Thank you. I'm certainly leaning towards a Ford, although I might have to look at a Ka, as they're cheaper, but we'll see.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

GET THE CAR.

No, seriously. If you can afford the car repayments etc, get the car.

I've just been through this myself. I have a.. a.. thing about getting an off-the-showroom-floor car. They depreciate so quickly, it's not a good financial investment (but then, no car is - a new one's just a bit worse), and you can usually pick up a pretty near-new one for quite a bit less, and it's already been through it's first couple 1000 klicks.

But then you go look at the new cars, which happen to be on the same lot as some second hand ones. In my case - VW Golfs. Oh, Swoon. Not only do they come in pretier colours, their NEW, and they're new smelling, have no bumps or scratches, no one's sat in them before, and if you're going to buy a 4yr old Golf (sporty) with 50,000kms on it, for $5000 more you can get a BRAND NEW (not sporty) GOLF!

We haven't bought a car :( But we're still planning on it, at which point I guess I'll be going through the whole drama. Again.

[emony.livejournal.com]

LOL :) That's so true. On the garage website, they have the used cars, which have a few thousand miles on the clock, but for £500 more you can get a *brand new* one, with more features! It's just not logical to get a used one, unless you're looking for one with 40 or 50 thousand miles on the clock, and even those don't seem to be that cheap, as the new ones are on offer at the moment, so have £1000+ knocked off the price before you even haggle.

Good luck with your car buying, when you do get to it. I hope you get your Golf :)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

We might end up with a Polo, the smaller version of the Golf. So much cheaper, and if you can believe it, better fuel economy.

You'll know when we get it :D

[emony.livejournal.com]

The Polo is nice. My grandparents had a Polo. I was just looking at the Fox, which is the smallest in the VW range, but it's quite expensive compared to others of the same spec. Sweet though :) Good luck with yours! I look forward to seeing the photos :)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

We don't have the Fox. *goes and googles it*

HAHAHAHAHAH OMG it comes in a 1.2L 55hp!!! That's like a scooter! or a lawnmower! *giggles*

We've just been talking about it again, and I think we'll end up with the Golf, cause we both just really really like it, and it's a bit bigger than the Polo.

[emony.livejournal.com]

LOL, well yes, it is quite small. It's meant as a city car though - they're all fairly small.

Golfs are nice, definitely. A bit out of my price range though ;)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

It'd be way out of my price range too, if my partner wasn't buying it *g* We'll be getting it and going from country to city in it, so figure it's a great car to do that (only 1hr journey).

[lachli.livejournal.com]

I'm in the throes of car woes atm, my rover sort of died and we were considering new cars. To quote my mechanic husband "you can't go wrong with a Ford". Especially a Fiesta, cheap to run, readily available parts, blah blah blah.

Insurance should be good too, although I use good relatively because as a new, young driver your insurance will be hideously expensive as I'm sure you know.

All I would say is that maybe it might be worth getting one 12 months old as opposed to brand new, you lose an horrific amount of money on brand new cars and you can get some cracking deals on very new used ones. Also consider having a showroom car, many are still trying to sell of 57 plates and you can get a few thousand off those because everyone will be wanting the 08 plates now.

My first car was a fiesta and it was wonderful, loved it to bits.

[emony.livejournal.com]

Woe :( Car death is so tragic, and also annoying. The Ford definitely sounds like a good, safe bet in the longer term, for all those reasons. The insurance for the Ka Zetec Climate (which is on special offer, so is the cheapest in the range, atm, oddly) is group 4, which seems a bit much when some of the others are group 2, but as you say my insurance is going to be horrendously expensive anyway, so there's no point getting distressed about it. I doubt there's that much difference financially anyway between groups 2 and 4. Hopefully it will be slightly less, as I'm a few years past 18 and into the sensible zone of the mid-20s.

I'm certainly hoping to be able to go in towards the middle of March, when they're desperate to get rid of the 57 plates and to meet their yearly and monthly sales targets. :)

[odycee.livejournal.com]

I have a Ka and I love it! It is a bit like a motorised rollerskate but it looks cute and it's cheap. Obviously it's the only car I've ever owned so I can't compare it to anything else really but I think it's nice to drive and it does lots of miles to the gallon. Mine is a bog standard one without anything very exciting and I keep saying that the only thing I'd change is getting central locking and a heated windscreen - which that Zetec Climate one has.

Getting a car is all very exciting - I wish I could afford to get a new one and choose which colour interior I want!

[emony.livejournal.com]

LOL, awesome. I've always liked rollerskates ;) Thanks though, that's good to know. I'm very torn between a Ka and a Fiesta. I'll have to look carefully at both, I think.

It's terribly exciting :D I just hope I pass my test soon and can actually drive this car I'm planning on buying!

[seshat1.livejournal.com]

Get the fiesta over the Aygo, every time. The Aygo is a bumped up C2 Citroen - and therefore not as well made as all the other Toyotas (normally toyota=yay, but not in this case!) and the fiesta is a good car, espescially the zetec. I had a fiesta before I bought my current car and I didn't love it, but it was a reliable car and I've been told by practically everyone else that they loved theirs and it was because I didn't have the zetec model. So the zetec is supposed to be fab. Plus, you know, fiesta. Cheap to insure, good ncap rating, and parts aren't too hard to find.

:)

[emony.livejournal.com]

Reliable and practical is exactly what I'm looking for at the moment, although the Zetec does have a few exciting features too :) Thanks. I think it's almost definitely between a Ka and a Fiesta, and will probably just depend on they price in the end.

[seshat1.livejournal.com]

I just bough a Seat Ibiza (lovely car ♥!) so know a bit about the buying of new cars - mostly this: find out about insurance up front - especially if there's a deal on with the dealership, you can haggle a bit and find cheaper cars if you are willing to buy pre registered rather than properly new. I did that and managed a grand off list price (through massive amounts of searching for a dealership willing to give me that), but it had still only got 6 miles on the clock when I got it. I just didn't get to pick the number plate really (as I searched for the colour I wanted).

The other thing is (especially if you do go pre reg) it's important to look around, even if you can't get to the dealers in question for a test drive, ring up and talk to them about deals. Test drive the cars at your local one and buy elsewhere if needs be (though make sure you can pick it up or ask if they deliver etc!) to get a good deal - new cars are very similar and won't have any hidden faults. :D

Also - I'd get the fiesta over the ka if you can, because I think the fiesta's a safer car, but I'd have to check to see if I'd made that up or not!

Right, will stop over-advising you now, as I'm sure you have better things to do than read all that! :D:D

[emony.livejournal.com]

Hehe, no, the more advice the better! I know next to nothing about cars and even less about buying cars, so the more I can find out beforehand the better prepared I'll be. That's all v useful stuff. My aunt has a Seat Ibiza, she speaks very highly of them too.