Good, cheap first car?

[mazer]

What would be a reliable first car for a 17 year old with a budget of 3K? No older than 2003 with a nice interior would be nice but not an absolute necessity. Low on insurance as well (for a 17 year old anyway)

Cheers :)

[hc4361]

Ford KA

[tonyav]

Vauxhall Corsa, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio, Pegeot 107, Nissan Micra or as hc4361 says a Ford KA.

[sunny-dave]

Mazda 2 - reliable - cheap - economical

[baza]

steer clear of nissan micras they seem to be driven with one foot on the brakes by older people, corsa, clo and pandas can be a snip.

[tonyav]

Dave, the Mazda 2 is that their version of a Ford Fiesta, Ford / Mazda collaboration and all that, I think Ford own Mazda if I remember rightly.

[sunny-dave]

Mazda and Ford share many components - but are separate companies (Ford owns about 3% of Mazda I think). The Mazda 2 and Ford Fiesta were very similar in past years, but newer models have diverged.

Mazdas often have a nicer design edge and (in my experience) tend to be better screwed together - you also get more "metal for your money" as they are more aggressively priced when new & so used prices are also lower than similar Ford models.

< I have a Mazda 3 mps - miles better than any Ford you could show me :+) >

[tonyav]

Don't blame you Dave, I would have a Mazda above a Ford any day of the week.

[TWR]

Check out the car reviews Mazer, each car does not suite each person.

[Donquixote]

You can't go wrong with a Ford (KA/Fiesta) - much more reliable than their French counterparts and cheap to repair if anything does go awry. I'd stay away from Peugeot/Citroen - especially the Saxo! - but Renault aren't too bad. VWs are great, build-wise, but you don't get much for your money, which leaves the Japanese stuff; Mazda, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Suzuki. The Toyota Aygo is a great little car (the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 are the same car re-badged, making them safer than their other offerings). As sunny-dave said, the Mazda 2's a great little car too.
Shop around for your insurance too. I've been in the motor trade for nearly 15 years and I still find it astounding to see the difference in quotes from one company to the next!