Emissions for road tax seem all over the place right now and I'm not sure why. My car that I bought in 2014 is £30 a year in tax, but looking to buy my wife a new car (newer and more eco) and its £160 a year in tax.

I think the problem with intensive courses is you won't experience a wide range of situations, I'm surprised they are still allowed to be honest.
You will be a better driver for taking longer over it, even if you do 6 months followed by an intensive course.


Ibizas are fantastic cars especially for starting out, I started in them. VW but cheaper. I would go and sit in some cars, you may be surprised, my brother had a Seat Mii for a bit and was more than comfortable in it at 6'1".
Make sure you are looking at insurance as well, it will be high despite your age. Pick something sensible and get the 3 years no claims under your belt.

afgavinstan wrote:

Hello all. First-time post in here. And here's why..

So I'm saving to learn to drive. I've had enough of putting it off, and it needs to be done if me & shona are gonna live together and I'm gonna get to work. Has anyone here done an intensive course? Anything you can recommend? Thinking I'm definitely wanting to do it that way so it's done, yknow? Cannot be bothered spending months on lessons.

Secondly, if/when it all goes well, where do I start? I'm thinking I'm wanting an actual hatchback and not a supermini. I'm 6'4" and want to be comfortable. Things that are important are emissions (for road tax dealios), fuel economy and how it feels inside the car. That new fangled android connectivity would be cool too.
Looking at official manufacturers sites is an exercise in frustration, especially when you don't have a clue what each trim does/means.

Baw Jaws suggested the Seat Ibiza or a Polo which look good! Anyone else?

Thanks in advance.

Gav, this thread (see url) is great for sub £1000 cars. I lurk on it alot. It's amazing what you can find. My first car after passing my test was a mk4 golf. You can pick up an 04 plate mk4 for under £1000 if you hunt around on autotrader.co.uk, eBay etc. A Ford focus as Kow said isn't a bad shout either or the ibiza as live said. Basically anything by Volkswagen group.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1291750&i=9760

For your first car, once you pass you will have scrapes, dents etc so a cheap banger is fine while you gain experience. You only really gain that experience after your test when your driving by yourself. You will make mistakes, that happens hence a cheap car is a good choice.

As for lessons, you can do intensive or do traditional 1 hour a week for x months. Comes down to maturity, ability and confidence behind the wheel. Whatever you decide, make sure you learn on roads that are used for the actual driving test by whichever test centre you will eventually book in with.

I finally got a car after passing my test 4 years ago. I just got a Focus 1.0 ecoboost 125 and it does the job. Can fit a pram in the boot with a bit of space for shopping and that.

It wasn't £1000 cheap but size (physical and engine) wise, it was spot on. Insurance was really high due to not driving for years and having no no-claims.

Applied for my provisional. Wheels are a turning..

I'd want a hell of a lot more than just petrol money for that.

At least a hot meal.

ask for replacement set of tyres, a full fuel tank, a free service. after all those muppets cant drive.

What car do you drive, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

poprock wrote:

Been on the phone with a certain Amazon-based TV show this afternoon because they want my car for a piece of filming next week. The location’s a four-hour drive away though, so I’ll only agree to it if they pay my petrol. No confirmation on that yet …

Mate, I'm insanely jealous. If there's room for a +1, gimme a shout. I'd love that.

Car ordered. Merc are updating the A-Class later this year so there’s some amazing deals. Gone for an AMG line with tons of extra’s in Cirrus white. Was considering waiting for the new model but to get the same spec type in the new shape you’d be talking £400-500 a month, got it all for under £300. If you’re looking for a good deal get searching for contract hire options on the A-Class.

Verecocha wrote:

Car ordered. Merc are updating the A-Class later this year so there’s some amazing deals. Gone for an AMG line with tons of extra’s in Cirrus white. Was considering waiting for the new model but to get the same spec type in the new shape you’d be talking £400-500 a month, got it all for under £300. If you’re looking for a good deal get searching for contract hire options on the A-Class.

What was the deal 6+24? Maintenance included?

g.man wrote:

Nice car Ver. Been driving an AMG line A class Merc for four years now, and currently shopping for a new motor. Couldn't really say anything bad about the Merc tho, but I don't have many options on mine, so it feels way behind the pack tech wise now. 
Have to say I hate the cabin design of the facelift coming this summer, so yes, good time to get one of the last of the old ones.
Out of interest, what sort of spec did they throw at the one you're getting?

I’ve driven a couple and always liked them, I’m not too keen on the facelift either, the cabin or the exterior. Looks a bit softer, a bit too A3 from the back and sides and a little mustang/Volvo from the front, I know that sounds weird but you can see both in the bonnet and lights. Much prefer the aggressive look on the current model.

It’s basically got the Premium Plus Equip line with a few more extras, so pretty much everything, though they’re not supposed to be on the 200d they’ve a few that have pretty much everything on and pre-registered the very last day of last month so kind of a pre-Reg contract hire. Really wanted the A45 4Matic but just couldn’t get it close enough to budget. Which engine you got? Really wanted the smart phone unlock tech but apparently it’s not available on the A.

I’ve always valued your opinion on cars though so it’s good news you’re so positive about it. What are you thinking of getting?

@Dino, went with 3+24 without maintenance as it was an extra £20 a month which I just don’t think is necessarily worth it, unless you’re very unlucky!

They’re lovely, great spec on them too, almost from the bottom up. That was my issue, I was looking at a number of different cars across different sizes and it was mainly gonna be the deal that was best and this was simply too good a deal. The GLA was on the table today too as I do like the look of them but as you say to get what I wanted it was too costly especially in comparison to the Evoque which I was very close to getting a week or so ago.

At the moment there’s a number of good cars that I like but few that I would need to get regardless of the budget, I wondered if it was a maturity thing but it can’t be as I’m simply not that mature...

I love such drives for new cars, especially finding crazy routes to enjoy different types of driving the new car. Gotta get a ferry and a train to pick up the A-Class...

g.man wrote:

Your a better man than me mate. Fucked if I'm driving for five hours to go look at a car.

We’re hopefully gonna tie the trip to also picking up ANOTHER puppy. Apparently it’s easier to have two than one. So Tars will have a friend in Case.