New driver? Looking for your first car? Let us help you.
New driver? Looking for your first car? Let us help you…
Here at Angus MacKinnon Ltd we take pride in being customer focused and ensuring everyone has an excellent experience from start to finish. We recognise that your first vehicle is a very special milestone within anybody’s life and is most definitely one you will always remember. So, we have decided to create a blog post to help push you into the right direction and give you some much needed guidance at finding yourself the perfect first car.
So, if you’re still here reading, we assume you’ve just passed your driving test – congratulations! We here at Angus MacKinnon Ltd know how exciting this will feel for you, but we also realise how daunting the process of purchasing your first ever vehicle may be. We have put together some needed guidance and tips we all wish we knew before buying our first car – so here we go…
1. Should I buy a new or used vehicle?
You can call us biased for our opinion, but we would very much recommend that you purchase a used car as a first car! You may be wondering why, the reason for this is that used cars are typically cheaper than a new one (which may be better suited for people just starting out) Also, buying a used car typically means you have A LOT more choice, which allows you to have a greater chance of finding the perfect first car at a price that suits you.
2. How much should I spend on my first car?
The stereotypical answer to this question would be to purchase an old car which costs as little as a few hundred pounds (we’re sure you can picture one in your head). Here at Angus MacKinnon Ltd we’d disagree. We think it is important that you purchase a car that will last because running a vehicle is not cheap, so keeping up with constant repairs of a drastically older vehicle may cost you more in the long run.
Depending on what you use the vehicle for would be the answer to this question. If you’re intending to drive long distances regularly then we would recommend a vehicle which has a larger engine, whether that be a petrol or a diesel engine. You can typically find a suitable first car for anywhere around £9,000 but finance is always an option that can be discussed depending on circumstances.
On the other hand, if you are only really intending to use your vehicle for running around in for shorter journeys we would recommend you a smaller petrol vehicle, typically a hatchback. We have many in stock for you to view, from prices as little as £5,500.
3. So, what about insurance?
When it comes to insurance, if you are a young and a new driver this will typically mean your insurance will be more expensive than your parents for example. All vehicles have an insurance group number which ranges from 1 to 50, 1 is the cheapest and 50 would be the most expensive. There are various other factors which insurance companies will use to calculate the cost of your insurance policy. Our top tip for keeping insurance costs low is to go for a vehicle with a small engine – usually less than a 1.6 litre. When browsing our website for your new vehicle we have made it easy for you, by stating which insurance group the vehicle falls into. This will allow you to get a rough idea of how much the insurance would cost you for the vehicle.
4. What car should I get?
We have a great range of vehicles in stock here at Angus MacKinnon Ltd. The vehicles that we would recommend for a new drivers first vehicle would typically be –
· SEAT Ibiza
· Renault Clio
· Fiat 500
· Peugeot 108
· Vauxhall Corsa
· Citroen DS3
· Ford Fiesta
· Volkswagen Polo
· Audi A1
· Alfa Romeo Mito
We have left links to the cars we currently have in stock which we feel would be excellent first cars – you can access the links here down below.
Volkswagen Polo - https://www.angusmackinnon.co.uk/used-volkswagen-polo-uttoxeter-staffordshire-3778368
Renault Clio - https://www.angusmackinnon.co.uk/used-renault-clio-uttoxeter-staffordshire-3841287
Fiat 500 - https://www.angusmackinnon.co.uk/used-fiat-500-uttoxeter-staffordshire-3837903
Peugeot 108 - https://www.angusmackinnon.co.uk/used-peugeot-108-uttoxeter-staffordshire-3831144
Alpha Mito - https://www.angusmackinnon.co.uk/used-alfa-romeo-mito-uttoxeter-staffordshire-3827428
Take a look on our website for any of these vehicles above, we are sure we will have something that is suited towards you – in the meantime if you have any further queries regarding purchasing your car from us here at Angus MacKinnon Ltd then please do not hesitate to give our award-winning sales team a call! We look forward to hearing from you.