my first car

lil'm said:
Hi

I have 10,000 saved up to buy my first car.

I am only beginning to learn about cars/engine/running costs etc but I have seen the Mazda MX 5 and am in love....

Obviously it will be a 2nd hand model

Any advice?

Insurance,engine size?to buy here? or up north ?or even import from England?

I will only be using the cars at wknds/holidays


Are you only learning to drive as well? If so why buy something cheaper. you will easily get a good second hand car for much cheaper and as you are only going to be using it weekends also why go to that expense?

I dont know any one who has one but have seen them around and really WANT IT!:D

I appreciate any advice, Thanks
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Starting with an MX5 for your 1st car might be too much.

Considering you will have zero no claims bonus you might find the insurance very high.

I appreciate that they are very nice cars, but perhaps you should buy a roundaround first for a few years.
 
lil'm said:
Hi

I have 10,000 saved up to buy my first car.

I am only beginning to learn about cars/engine/running costs etc but I have seen the Mazda MX 5 and am in love....

Obviously it will be a 2nd hand model

Any advice?

Insurance,engine size?to buy here? or up north ?or even import from England?

I will only be using the cars at wknds/holidays

I dont know any one who has one but have seen them around and really WANT IT!:D

I appreciate any advice, Thanks
Click to expand...

Excellent choice - looks great, amazing to drive and one of the most reliable cars around: certainly the most reliable of it's type.

(Obviously you won't have much spare room for passengers/shopping etc)

It won't be expensive to run. Importing is nearly always cheaper but it depends how much you are willing to pay in the first place as to whether you'll actually save enough for importing to be worth the (bit of) hassle.
 
is the mx5 the convertible?
if so - I had a friend who had the soft top version and insuring it was very difficult - and expensive - if you are on a provisional license you might find getting insurance very hard - best bet is to phone for quotes before buying the car.

well done on saving hard for your first car - if I could go back and do it again I would have bought a cheap run-around for my first one. I was hard on the engine through inexperience and I wore the handbrake out as well :)
You will make mistakes - we all do, but its better to make them in something less expensive to begin with.
 
assuming that (and I may be wrong) you're not that experienced with cars I'd suggest you don't buy from North/England or privately. That's a good option but you need to know a bit about cars to avoid pitfals. It might be better to buy from a garage that provides some warranty. With the amount of money you have saved you should be able to get a fairly late model small car still in warranty or with at least 6 months warranty on it...

I would suggest you consider one of these - they are all fairly reliable, easy and cheap to maintain, and easy on insurance - but not terribly boring:
1. Ford Fiesta
2. Mitsubishi Colt (04-onwards models)
3. Mazda 3
4. Seat Ibiza

There's also Toyota's and Nissan's out there that might fit your budget, but don't inflict it on yourself, you might as well be driving a fridge-freezer around ;)
 
Congrats on saving 10 big ones.
For your money you will prob be looking at a 1998 model 1.6 or 1.8. (approx 7k for car and 3k tax and insurance)
Great looking car with great reliability.
Just remember that a car is a liability, not an asset.
Also yummy mummys in their X5s may not see you when reversing, parking, etc:) so be careful out there.
 
Great car, great fun - family member has one and loves it. Its a good idea to get the hard top also which you can remove during good weather (storage may be a problem though). I can pm you the contact who arranged it for us if you want to contact me.
 
If you're set on the MX-5 and assuming there are no obstacles in insurance or licence, then good for you, best car you could pick. Wish I'd had it as a first car. It's more a way of life than a car, it's a car you wear rather than drive. It's reliable, economical , big enough to carry shopping or golf clubs but not both unless I leave the OH at home! It's now cheaper than ever to insure ( assuming you're not 18 on a provisional ! ) and very very slow depreciating. 10K would probably get you a good Mark 2 about 1998. There are lots on www.carzone.ie and it would be worthwhile checking out www.mx5ireland.com There are lots of imports with higher spec than Irish cars but read carefully. If going for an import best recommendation on dealer is someone who had bought from there too. Do your research and take a few drives. The 1.6 is sufficient although there are 1.8's around the ins is a bit dearer and you don't really need the extra power. You probably guessed by now what I drive, so I may be slightly biased but as the best selling roadster in the world, what more is there to say.
 
HappyBudda said:
Just remember that a car is a liability, not an asset.
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I don't agree with that.

A car is an asset with a book value. It can be sold for what you paid, less subsequent depreciation (and the depreciation is an expense).

Outstanding finance on the car, in the form of debt that must be serviced, is a liability.

(And for those who lease cars, the car is still an asset. It belongs to the bank or lease company, but in the owner's books it's an asset.)
 
Fast depreciating asset with additional running costs, fuel, insurance, tax, services etc versus liability

To non-accountants they might sound like much the same thing!
 
YouNeek said:
I don't agree with that.

A car is an asset with a book value. It can be sold for what you paid, less subsequent depreciation (and the depreciation is an expense).

Outstanding finance on the car, in the form of debt that must be serviced, is a liability.

(And for those who lease cars, the car is still an asset. It belongs to the bank or lease company, but in the owner's books it's an asset.)
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It will be very rare that you buy a car, especially your first and have a profit at the end. I think that what was meant. You consider something an 'asset' in most terms as something that is appreciating, not depeciating. A car of any kind is an expense and nothing else.
 
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