[UK] Learning To Drive - 1st Person Perspective of a 17 Year Old. (1 Viewer)

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Seven

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Aug 25, 2014
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Just got back from looking at the car. Didn't even drive it, it's not road legal. 3 of the tires needed changing, needed a spare wheel as it was missing and the handbrake didn't work; apparently it needed new cables. Cracked windscreen, missing radio and the floor mats plus a rear wiper blade and front sidelight bulb.

In short, at least I can save my money for a better car but that one wasn't even road legal. It'd cost the price of the car to fix it at least! :P

Credit to the dealer offering to put new tires on it and I believe him when he said the engine would run perfectly because under the hood was flawless but unfortunately, I don't have the money to fix it up... Won't be the last car - there's plenty more out there that will come along in time!

My advice for young drivers looking for their first (used) car, go with someone else like I did who you can just run things past and another pair of eyes to spot things that don't look right. Beware what the seller might tell you as well - emphasizing the good points to make the bad points seem minor. Sure, the engine was great, still couldn't drive it off the lot though.
 

Max

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Just got back from looking at the car. Didn't even drive it, it's not road legal. 3 of the tires needed changing, needed a spare wheel as it was missing and the handbrake didn't work; apparently it needed new cables. Cracked windscreen, missing radio and the floor mats plus a rear wiper blade and front sidelight bulb.

In short, at least I can save my money for a better car but that one wasn't even road legal. It'd cost the price of the car to fix it at least! :p

Credit to the dealer offering to put new tires on it and I believe him when he said the engine would run perfectly because under the hood was flawless but unfortunately, I don't have the money to fix it up... Won't be the last car - there's plenty more out there that will come along in time!

My advice for young drivers looking for their first (used) car, go with someone else like I did who you can just run things past and another pair of eyes to spot things that don't look right. Beware what the seller might tell you as well - emphasizing the good points to make the bad points seem minor. Sure, the engine was great, still couldn't drive it off the lot though.

May be worth looking at private sellers too, when my Dad was looking for a car for Me, my brother & sister they were far more honest on history etc :P

What did you go to look at, out of curiousity?
 

Seven

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Aug 25, 2014
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UK
lx-fx.co.uk
May be worth looking at private sellers too, when my Dad was looking for a car for Me, my brother & sister they were far more honest on history etc :p

What did you go to look at, out of curiousity?
1.9 VW Golf (Estate of course, only looking at Estates / MPVs and diesels strictly). I will be going to more private sellers from now on. Currently waiting on a reply from a man locally with a Vauxhall Zafira 2.0.
 
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May be worth looking at private sellers too, when my Dad was looking for a car for Me, my brother & sister they were far more honest on history etc :p

What did you go to look at, out of curiousity?
He must've looked at this car.
daihatsu-cuore-18.jpg

I went for an Astra for my first car, ran like a butterfly.
1.9 VW Golf (Estate of course, only looking at Estates / MPVs and diesels strictly). I will be going to more private sellers from now on. Currently waiting on a reply from a man locally with a Vauxhall Zafira 2.0.
If you want a good MPV, I would suggest the Ford Galaxy - The dictator of MPVs. <2010 VW Sharans are good too but they are essentially all a copy of the one and only, Ford Galaxy.
 

Seven

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Aug 25, 2014
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I went for an Astra for my first car, ran like a butterfly.

If you want a good MPV, I would suggest the Ford Galaxy - The dictator of MPVs. <2010 VW Sharans are good too but they are essentially all a copy of the one and only, Ford Galaxy.

Daewoo's offend my eyeballs. The only problem with the Ford Galaxy is the trunk isn't flat-loading. Whereas the Astra and Zafira do, I'd easily consider the Astra estate, my freelancing boss has one and it's great. The Zafira is practically the same but more van-like being taller, slightly longer and wider - having 400L more storage capacity and still being able to transport people should I ever need to. Of course though, if I miss out I'll settle for an estate or keep saving my pennies for another Zafira. Since turning 18 I can afford 2.0 cars now where I was limited to 1.6 in my budget.
 

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Well i have been very fortunate it only took me 2 lesson and i passed my test straight away as i was very lucky in my younger years to learnt to drive in a working in and around Heathrow Airport i was lucky enough to be given access to HGV`s as a M.O.T Cleaner so the drivers dropped the units off then went off to the cafe leaving me to shunt them around around when i need to clean them :) Oh the perks of that job, Also just add for guaranteed pass on either the Theory test or Practical is to use your common sense. Thats what it all boils down to really In 2 weeks i take one of three theory test towards getting my C class which you have to do by UK law now before you can get anywhere near an E class license. Gratz on getting you license & hitting 18 :)
 
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Seven

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Aug 25, 2014
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That's a Daihatsu :meh:
Just as horrible. :)

Well i have been very fortunate it only took me 2 lesson and i passed my test straight away as i was very lucky in my younger years to learnt to drive in a working in and around Heathrow Airport i was lucky enough to be given access to HGV`s as a M.O.T Cleaner so the drivers dropped the units off then went off to the cafe leaving me to shunt them around around when i need to clean them :) Oh the perks of that job, Also just add for guaranteed pass on either the Theory test or Practical is to use your common sense. Thats what it all boils down to really In 2 weeks i take one of three theory test towards getting my C class which you have to do by UK law now before you can get anywhere near an E class license. Gratz on getting you license & hitting 18 :)
Very lucky indeed! I'd love to have been shunting trucks, I went from driving a Ford Fiesta to a Renault Master van. That's the biggest vehicle I've driven so far, I'll only get a HGV license if I need one since you have to do all the 5 year health checks and tests, etc. Also, thank you. :)
 

Seven

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Aug 25, 2014
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lx-fx.co.uk
As of this afternoon, I am the proud owner of a 1.9 DCI Renault Laguna Estate in Silver/Blue. Lovely looking car, drives incredibly well, 11 months MOT and only set me back £690. £1,878 to insure it for 10 months which equals to one year No Claims Bonus and £180 road tax. Absolute bargain, so happy that this is where it all paid off. Literally. :D

I'll take a picture at some point in a "Show us your ride" thread, but there's plenty out there on Google Images.
 

Seven

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Aug 25, 2014
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lx-fx.co.uk
Yesterday I finally got my Dashcam fitted. A rearcam will come at a different time when I have spare money, I found my car has a 12v outlet in the trunk so that's very handy for that! Records top quality video, sound has a little to be desired since it's mounted to the windscreen so there's lots of road noise and the odd vibration but at least it works and works well. For those interested I own this exact camera: WINGONEER Mini 0801 Car Camera. Also, here is a video from Techmoan on Youtube with his review of this camera. I should add, the one from Amazon comes from the UK, not New Zealand like Techmoan's did plus the camera can now switch between MPH or KPH which is great.

Today I also fitted my black box. I am with Bell insurance (part of Admiral) so I simply plug it into my 12v outlet (it comes with an extra 12v extension for my camera) and stick it on the side of the plastic next to my shifter as instructed by the guide it came with. The advantage of Bell is I only need the box for 3 months before they ask me to send it back and I then get a discount if I drive to their standards. I can either pay the same or less so <£1878. It's a lot, but bear in mind I am driving a 1.9 turbo diesel estate. Not a small car. :p I get regular status update emails over the 3 months from Bell which lets me know how I'm doing and any tips to drive better.

Basically, all good! If you don't know what the black box or dashcam is, I quoted an earlier post I made below:

What is this "BLACK BOX" I speak of?!
Easy, you might have heard of these "Black box flight recorders" in planes; in a car it's very similar. The black box is about the size of the typical smartphone and has two cables running out of it: one to the power and one to the computer. It is hidden discreetly in the glove compartment, chances are you won't notice it. What it does is it records how safe you are and how smooth you drive, things it records include: Steering severity, acceleration and braking intensities, your speed, G-forces. It's goal: If you are a safe driver, your premiums will drop, if you're very safe you may be looking at a substantial drop in insurance. And, if you break the law I'm fairly certain they send the details off to the police and get you done for it - I love that part personally. You can monitor yourself online as well as print out your statistics for proof with later insurance companies. I'm an advocate of the box as if you have nothing to hide, why pay more?

Also, dashcam / rearcam!
I'm a massive advocate of dash-mounted cameras and rear-mounted cameras to record driving. It's great because it's undeniable proof of who was at fault in a collision, also, we've all seen the Russian videos and some pretty funny stuff does happen on the roads. One of the highest quality small dashcams/rearcams is round £50 and it's called the Ambarella Mini 0801 (Google it, buy it from Ebay/Amazon and you won't regret it).

Ragey motorist: "Dude you hit me!"
You: "Nuh uh. *points at camera in window* Try explaining raw video footage to the police."
*Ragey motorist drops microphone, exits stage left and awaits a phonecall from his insurance company.*
 
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Max

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Yesterday I finally got my Dashcam fitted. A rearcam will come at a different time when I have spare money, I found my car has a 12v outlet in the trunk so that's very handy for that! Records top quality video, sound has a little to be desired since it's mounted to the windscreen so there's lots of road noise and the odd vibration but at least it works and works well. For those interested I own this exact camera: WINGONEER Mini 0801 Car Camera. Also, here is a video from Techmoan on Youtube with his review of this camera. I should add, the one from Amazon comes from the UK, not New Zealand like Techmoan's did plus the camera can now switch between MPH or KPH which is great.

Today I also fitted my black box. I am with Bell insurance (part of Admiral) so I simply plug it into my 12v outlet (it comes with an extra 12v extension for my camera) and stick it on the side of the plastic next to my shifter as instructed by the guide it came with. The advantage of Bell is I only need the box for 3 months before they ask me to send it back and I then get a discount if I drive to their standards. I can either pay the same or less so <£1878. It's a lot, but bear in mind I am driving a 1.9 turbo diesel estate. Not a small car. :p I get regular status update emails over the 3 months from Bell which lets me know how I'm doing and any tips to drive better.

Basically, all good! If you don't know what the black box or dashcam is, I quoted an earlier post I made below:

I assume that should something happen that's not your fault the Dashcam will help you out with proving it's not your fault? Does it reduce your insurance to have it there too? Wondering if it's worth investing in one when I'm passed :P
 

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Seven

The Dickhead
Aug 25, 2014
1,422
371
UK
lx-fx.co.uk
I assume that should something happen that's not your fault the Dashcam will help you out with proving it's not your fault? Does it reduce your insurance to have it there too? Wondering if it's worth investing in one when I'm passed :p
Yes, the dashcam will provide hard evidence that I didn't rear-end someone for example.

I asked my insurance company if the cam will reduce my premium and this is pretty much exactly what I was told on the phone:
"Unfortunately having a dashboard camera in the car will not affect your premium as it is already heavily discounted by using our black box recorder."

Basically, since I saved around £3,000 by having a black box, they can't cut off anymore (or aren't willing to). But I do know that other insurers, say you're 21 and you don't need black box insurance anymore -because of how cheap it is if you're a good driver- will discount as much as 20% off your premium simply because of how it is unarguable hard evidence in your defense (if you were not at fault obviously).

Even though it won't discount me on the insurance, I just know it will stop someone crashing into me and trying to claim from my insurance since I have the video footage. This protects my premium inflating and also my repair bill(s). Well worth it, plus you've seen the videos from Russia - everyone wants to catch a meteor flying over the highway! :P
 

Max

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Yes, the dashcam will provide hard evidence that I didn't rear-end someone for example.

I asked my insurance company if the cam will reduce my premium and this is pretty much exactly what I was told on the phone:
"Unfortunately having a dashboard camera in the car will not affect your premium as it is already heavily discounted by using our black box recorder."

Basically, since I saved around £3,000 by having a black box, they can't cut off anymore (or aren't willing to). But I do know that other insurers, say you're 21 and you don't need black box insurance anymore -because of how cheap it is if you're a good driver- will discount as much as 20% off your premium simply because of how it is unarguable hard evidence in your defense (if you were not at fault obviously).

Even though it won't discount me on the insurance, I just know it will stop someone crashing into me and trying to claim from my insurance since I have the video footage. This protects my premium inflating and also my repair bill(s). Well worth it, plus you've seen the videos from Russia - everyone wants to catch a meteor flying over the highway! :p

£3000 less! Oh my..

Shame you couldn't get any more off though lol
 
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