Are you looking to buy your first car? Do you need some guidance? You’ve come to the right place! If you’ve recently passed your driving test, we understand that buying your first car can be exciting but nerve-racking. If you don’t have much knowledge of car buying or someone to help you through the process, our top first-car-buying tips are here to help!
Top tips for buying your first car:
1. Check insurance rates.
Insurance costs are one of the highest for first-time drivers. This is due to the likelihood of a crash or incident happening in the first year of driving. Newly qualified drivers have less driving experience, which can bump up the costs of your insurance premiums. Before you start shopping for your first car, gather some car insurance quotes on different makes and models. Using websites like Compare the Market can help you shop for the lowest insurance rates from a range of providers.
2. Get a car that’s cheap to run.
Not only will you have to think about buying your first car but you’ll also need to consider how much it will cost to run. A car’s running cost can include things like fuel or recharging an electric car, maintenance costs like MOT and servicing, and any unexpected repair costs. As a legal requirement in the UK, you’ll also need to tax your car. The cost of car tax can vary and some cars will cost more than others.
Find out how to reduce your car’s running costs.
Cars with cheap road tax
3. Set a budget.
Now you’ve done your research on how much cars cost to run and the factors you need to think about, it is time to set your car-buying budget! This may be a monthly payment for car finance payments or paying for car with cash. If you’re looking for car finance for first-time drivers, your monthly budget should be no more than 20% of any monthly income you get. This can help you stay on top of your payments and ensure if your situation was to change during the finance term, you’d be able to meet your repayments.
If you’re planning to buy with cash, the budget planning process is a lot easier. Whatever money you have saved up or are being gifted from a family member or friend will determine your budget.
Buying a used car checklist ✅
4. Choose used.
You may be wondering should I buy a new or used car as my first car? If you have the budget and you’re confident you won’t have any accidents whilst on the road, by all means, buy a brand-new car. However, choosing a used car can be much more beneficial. Firstly, they’re usually always cheaper to buy than brand new cars (like for like). Secondly, it’s reduces the financial risk if you were to have an accident or decide to sell it in the future. And lastly, Used car depreciate at a slower rate too so they hold their value better. Need we say more?
5. Avoid high-mileage cars.
When you’re shopping for your first car, a handy piece of advice is to consider the mileage vs age of the vehicle. On average, cars travel around 10,000 miles per year and you can predict the condition of a vehicle by using its age and mileage. For example, you could expect a car which is 3 years old to have approx 30,000 miles on the clock. Mileage is usually included on online car adverts but if you’re viewing a car, you can find a car’s mileage on the dashboard. Also, consider how many previous owners a car has had. Driver snow tend to keep their cars for longer so a car with one or two owners is ideal. Many owners in a short space of time can indicate the car has issues and is frequently gotten rid.
For a small fee, you can use a reputable car history check website like AutoTrader and get information like number of owners, whether the car has been scrapped or stolen and any outstanding finance on the vehicle.
6. Check ULEZ or CAZ charges.
Ultra-Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) and Clean Air Zones (CAZ) are certain hotspots across the UK which charge drivers a fee for driving through them, if their vehicle is non-compliant. If you regularly travel to the city centre for work or socially, you may need to check the charges. Compliant vehicles tend to be those that release little to no harmful emissions. Pretty much all electric an hybrid cars are ULEZ complaint and most petrol cars can be too. You can enter the reg of a car you’re interested in buying on the Motorway website and see if it’s ULEZ compliant.
Explore some of our favourite low-emission Euro 6 cars.
7. Check Euro NCAP safety ratings.
Did you know all cars are rated out of 5 for their level of safety? The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a 5-star safety rating system designed to help customers identify the safest cars to buy. Basically the higher the star rating, the better. Many new cars come with a full 5 stars as manufacturers strive to make their vehicles as safe as possible. However, many models do score lower than five stars. Head over to the Euro NCAP website to find out the safety ratings of cars you’re interested in buying.
8. Consider how far and often you’ll drive.
Drivers are spoilt with choice when it comes to buying your first car and the fuel types on offer. One way to consider which would be best for you is how far and often you’ll drive the car. Electric cars are great for short journeys and infrequent city driving, and they’re cheap to run. Petrol cars with small engines tend to be cheap to buy and run and they can tackle both urban and motorway driving. If you’re getting your first car and you cover many miles and often complete long journeys every day, a diesel car may provide better MPG.
Where to buy your first car:
Where to buy your first car can be determined by your funding options. Cash buyers have the freedom to buy a car from a dealership or private seller. However, if you’re not very confident with car buying, we recommend you still to reputable, FCA-approved dealership over private sellers. You kind of have to take the car at face value when you buy from a private seller and it can be hard to get your money back if something goes wrong. By using a car dealership you have better legal rights and can hand the car back to get a refund if needs be.
If you choose to finance a car through UK Car Finance, our trusted dealer network is made up of some of the best dealers in the UK. We only work with dealers who are reputable, verified by the Financial Conduct Authority, and have great customer ratings. We don’t allow you to buy from a private seller but this process helps us and you to ensure you’re getting the right car from the right dealer.
Related Content:
The most reliable used cars you can buy.
When considering how reliable a car is, it’s not just down to how many times it breaks down or has issues, it also needs to consider how much it costs to repair the vehicle and how long it takes to fix.
The pros and cons of black box car insurance.
Black box insurance, also known as ‘telematics’, is when your car insurance provider fits a GPS box to your car which transmits information back to the provider regarding your driving performance.
The best cars for beginner drivers.
Shop our list of the best cars when you’ve just passed your driving test. From the ever-so-popular Ford Fiesta to the sporty SEAT Ibiza, these cars come with low running costs and cheap insurance.