How Much Money Should I Save For My First Car

Just asking as i'm curious, as i'm buying my first car soon...

I don't wanna overspend, but I want to be to an extent proud of my first car..

How much is too much? (I'm saving atm for it) The car I want second hand is £3000 - £4000, is that too much? (second hand 2005/2006 car)

So yeah.. what car did you get and how much did you spend on it?

Thanks

Edit: OK thanks for the replies, they are awesome...

Question then: Is £3500 to possibly £4000 max too much to spend on a 2007 Volkswagen Polo 1.4L, 5 door car with 40,000 miles on the clock?

Again, i'm saving the money for the car at the moment, but don't wanna spend too much money on a car when that money could be going towards road tax etc, but at the same time I want my car to be nice..

(Original post by PurpleConverse)
Just asking as i'm curious, as i'm buying my first car soon...

I don't wanna overspend, but I want to be to an extent proud of my first car..

How much is too much? (I'm saving atm for it) The car I want second hand is £3000 - £4000, is that too much? (second hand 2005/2006 car)

So yeah.. what car did you get and how much did you spend on it?

Thanks

I think it's great that you're saving up to buy your own car (quite a rare occurrence amongst people my age ) and that's quite reasonable seeing as you'll be paying for it yourself. What drives me crazy is when my friends expect their parents to buy them cars that cost that much, not to mention the insurance too... and then throw a fit when that doesn't happen.

Most of the money I save up will go towards the insurance so we're probably looking at £700-1000 for the car itself.

£650 for a 2002 Fiat Punto 1.2 done 40,000 miles

(If I bought it retail it would have been around the £1300 mark)

Mine was 1250, insurance has ranged from 300-500 in the first 3 years in my dad's name. Managed to get a policy in my own name for 300 this year! It's also a 2000 reg car.

To be honest I wouldn't spend more than around 2000 on a first car, for the reasons that a newer car with a higher value will be much more expensive on insurance and you will definitely want to insure it fully comp if it's 2006.

My sister wants a 2008 car, god knows how she will afford it and the insurance, she can keep dreaming though. I'm happy with my little car it does me for what I need

(Original post by PurpleConverse)
Just asking as i'm curious, as i'm buying my first car soon...

I don't wanna overspend, but I want to be to an extent proud of my first car..

How much is too much? (I'm saving atm for it) The car I want second hand is £3000 - £4000, is that too much? (second hand 2005/2006 car)

So yeah.. what car did you get and how much did you spend on it?

Thanks

i spent £500 on my first car, 14 years old with 120,000 miles however insurance was £3500 as i live in a dodgy area and have a penis

£3499 - had saved up over the years. I was planning to spend £1000 max, but I didn't know about my savings then. Car has a 56 plate (Fiat Panda 1.1 Active).

Insurance is £1261.

I spent £1000 on a Fiat Brava 1.2. Worst mistake of my life haha.

£1750 for a 1.2 Corsa Life, 10 years old. Forced into buying from a 'proper' place by the mum because of her bad experiences.

Worked my arse off for 2 years for it, and then had to slump up another 1200 for insurance.

I kind of regret it now, really don't NEED a car.

My car was really expensive, it's an 09 reg polo, 1.4 litre engine, but then I am really proud of my car. I wash it every weekend and I know it's going to do me 10+ years.

So basically if you are looking for something you are going to keep using for years it's worth the money, if you're just planning on using it as a stepping stone, go for something cheaper.

Any car at this age is a stepping stone. Id avoid spending under £1000. I'm on my fourth car, (I'm 22), but my fourth, a 51 plate ford focus has been a faultless runner so far (over a year). It costs me £1750 with 50,000 miles on the clock, and air conditioning and alloys, amongst other extras.
Dont forget that its almost guaranteed that you'll damage your car in some way. I know lots of people with 06-09 plate cars who have damaged them and significantly reduced their value.
If you want to spend that much, be prepared for it to be a poor investment and ultimately for you to lose a substantial amount of the money you paid for it.

Mine was £1500 originally, but got it for £1250 thanks to dad's haggling.

Agreed with the above about potentially damaging the car. Someone I know has an 11 plate Fiat 500, but about a month after passing they span off at a roundabout and landed in a ditch. They were fine, but the car has an unsightly dent in the passenger door.

(Original post by isitinyet?)
i spent £500 on my first car, 14 years old with 120,000 miles however insurance was £3500 as i live in a dodgy area and have a penis

Actually a Top Gear top tip on this topic about insurance was to "slice your penis off"

£400, was looking at buying a Clio at £1000 but was sold, meh

£2000 on a 2004 fiat panda dynamic.

+£1800 for insurance

+£115 for tax

(Original post by pbsjohnz)
Actually a Top Gear top tip on this topic about insurance was to "slice your penis off"

I think most people would rather pay an extra thousand or 2 then opposed to that , hehe

(Original post by pbsjohnz)
Actually a Top Gear top tip on this topic about insurance was to "slice your penis off"

good old jezza, always giving us the best advice