Buying your first car

Hello everyone,

Sorry I have been MIA lately but I have been trying to finish all my college work, but moving on from college I am going to be talking to you about buying your first car. I have a blog post here talking about my first car, and a lot of car/driving related things.

A lot of people recommend not to buying your car until you pass your driving test, to begin with this was my mentality and thought process behind the whole circumstance. A few of my family members were apprehensive, just because of past experiences my cousins have had with buying a car too early.

However once speaking to my driving instructor, she said that I need more practise and the experience of getting behind the wheel more than once a week, she recommend starting to look at cars as in the long run it would be cheaper instead of paying £26 a week for a driving lesson. Once speaking to my parents we decided we would start looking for cars. 

It took a lot of reasoning and convincing to try and change their minds, but I explained to them that I could get the practise and experience in driving in different situations, also the fact that it's going to save money, it's going to motivate me to pass as well as the fact that I am going to need a car eventually.

Tips for buying your first car:

Be sensible 

Sometimes you may see 17 year olds that have just passed their test, driving around in an Aldi or BMW, this isn't being sensible because they are expensive cars to begin with, not the safest for a first car as well as the fact that insuring a newly qualified driver on a car that costs a lot of money is going to be a lot of money a year. Insurance is expensive enough on a second hand car, without having something brand new.

Don't be too picky

For your first car you can't be too picky, not liking one colour or the way the car looks, it's your first car and it's better then not having a car all together. All you have to do is set a price in mind, and start looking for something with a small enough engine size and something that is safe within your price range. 

Check history and insurance

Before you are buying a car, it's worth doing some history checks on previous MOT's, this way you can check what the advisory notes say about the car and wether this is in good enough condition. Also looking for some insurance prices can give you a good idea of how much you will be paying a month. 

Join Facebook groups 

If your wondering how I found my car, it was through some private sellers on Facebook, we joined a few Facebook groups and just searched for "Cars for sale in..." and loads of groups come up, just join a few and keep an eye on the adverts to see what fits with what your looking for. Also of course Autotrader is a good one, but I found a lot of the cars to be overpriced on there.

Test the car!

This is an obvious one, but if you aren't able to drive the car as your still learning, get a parent or a relative to test drive the car. They don't have to be experts but they can judge wether a car can drive safe enough. Use this checklist if your unsure what your looking for (here), also if anything catches your attention such as a light on the dashboard, question this because at the end of the day you want a car that is safe for you to drive.

Once you've got a car, driving it can be scary! I was so excited and nervous to drive my car for the first time, as it's the third other car that I have driven in my life. Here are a few things to bare in mind:

- It's going to take some getting used to

- Don't get put off if you stall

- Question yourself 'Am I ready to drive my car' (remember it has no dual control, you have to feel comfortable in being able to drive

- Get out in it as much as possible (practise makes perfect)

- Go for longer drives that last around an hour

- Drive places you would normally end up doing when you pass, for example driving to the supermarket etc... This way your practising the journeys you'd do when you pass, it gives you more confidence knowing you can do it, but your comfortable.

Have I missed anything?

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