Buying your first Car

Buying your first car can be very stressful. I was looking with my mum who is hopelessly clueless about cars, so I had to learn some stuff. I figured I could have done with a literal step by step (or at least a list) of things to know, so I thought hey! I’ll do that. Obviously, it’s different for everyone so I’ve tried to generalise this as best as I can.

1. Buy as cheap as possible, but not too cheap. You can buy some cars on Autotrader for less than £500. This, off the bat, seems like an amazing deal, but you have to be extremely careful. If the car is quite old, it may work totally fine and this can be ideal for people who don’t have a lot of spare money for a car. For example, my cousin got a 2002 Ford for £600 and it works just fine. However, if it’s a newer car, it may have some technical problems that will cost more than the car itself to fix.
   ​
   
2. Look everywhere. I searched local dealers and found ones that did a variety of car types are generally cheaper than brand specific places. It’s also worth keeping an eye out when you’re walking or driving places as some people will have for sale signs in car windows. Websites are super helpful too - I found Autotrader to be the best one, as you can input your preferences. Something else I learnt is that people selling their car privately as a one off will more likely be cheaper than going to a dealer.
   
   
3. Engine size. Teenage insurance is expensive as hell, and a smaller engine will generally make it cheaper. It’s important to stick between a one litre engine to a 1.4 litre; the latter may be slightly more expensive but still on the cheaper end of insurance prices
   .
4. Type of car. You’ll want something that lasts a long time, so find something you think is reliable! Fords and Hondas tend to have good reputations - specifically Ford KAs, Fiestas and Focuses, or a Honda Civic or Honda Jazz. Again, it’s what you think is reliable and you may have a family favourite.
   
   
5. Car interior. This is far less important, but sometimes the inside of car can be more comfortable if it has different things. Honestly, most cars that a teenager will buy won’t be expensive enough to have leather seats but fabric ones are far more comfortable. Air conditioning is nice too and comes in most cars. If you’re more technical, you may have  a specific preference for how many gears your car has on the shift stick.
   
   
6. Practicality. If you’re driving a long distance everyday, fuel economy will be a massively important feature. If you know your friends will be wanting lifts, you may want to look at a car with four doors or more seats, whereas if you won’t be, you may opt for a two seater such as a Smart car.

These are just a few key things I have learnt - if you have a family member who knows loads about cars, they can be massively helpful. It may take a while to find the car perfect for you but it’s worth a long search.
Equally, it’s important that your first car is meant to be a bit crap. It’ll get scratched up and probably dented quite a bit. You may want to even have a car in mind for your second vehicle that’ll be more expensive - for example, my absolute dream car is a Ford Mustang but they are ridiculous in every sense of the word.

It’s also important to remember that every situation is different for everyone. If I look in my college car park, there’s every kind of car from 1998 Peugots to brand new Fiat 500s. An old car that has four wheels and a working engine does the exact same thing as a brand new car so go with what you can get, and what is best for you, without looking at what everyone else.

Lastly - don’t feel any pressure to buy a car straight away. It may be your financial situation or the fact you just don’t want to drive, but like I said before, it’s different for everyone. For example, my best friend isn’t learning to drive because she knows she’s going to London next year and will be using the tubes more than anything.

So, in short - go with what you can afford and what you like, don’t compare your car/driving situation to anyone else’s and only do it if you feel ready.