Top 10 Best First Cars Under £3,000

If you're interested in getting into the used car industry, check out the website below for more information on my online course. It's only £27 per month with biweekly livestreams! There are nearly 100 videos covering a whole range of topics. Plus you can cancel at any time. Click below.

I'd be grateful if you could give the video a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe if you're new to the channel.

Today, I'm talking about the best first cars for under £3,000.

Thank you to the channel sponsors:

Follow Me:

#highpeakautos #firstcar

[darrenwilson]

A lifetime working in insurance tells me getting your car Insured in a parents name and you as a named driver is a no-no. Its an easy fraud to spot and immediately invalidates your insurance so as well as probably smashing your car up and possibly having someone else's insurer chasing you for a recovery of their outlay you will probably get a conviction for driving whilst uninsured that costs you a fine and points on your license and even more costly insurance premiums.
It also forces the parent to disown the child and claim they didn't know or they could face a conspiracy charge - a fine - and possible points. In any event their costs would then rise too because their insurers would ask themselves why should they trust someone who has been proven to be untruthful?
I know its a pain and I know its a cost but honesty will always be rewarded and as expensive as the Insurance will be its probably cheaper in the long run compared with all the potential costs I outline above and certainly less stressful.

[dunkyhut]

This is why I love this channel, everything from Bentley and Aston Martins to sub £3k and all backed up with real world knowledge.

[Adventures-with-Ty]

Great video, really helpful. My daughter passed her test in a little 1.6 Clio which I bought for her to learn in. Once passed her test the insurance said nope. Couldn’t get cover. She was ok on my policy as a learner but not on her own policy with a full licence. Go figure. Also just to add to the comments about insurance, if you make any modifications to the standard specification of the vehicle technically you need to inform your insurer. I’m referring to the bit about changing your fiat 500 into an abarth replica. Changing things like wheels need to be cleared. Basically you don’t want to give insurers any excuse to leave your cover null & void when it comes to making a claim.

[cm_ire]

This was great, I'd actually like to see your take on the best "2nd car under 10k~... ", I think that's almost as significant a step for motorists as their 1st, that point that "okay, I've passed my test and had my first run around for a couple of years years to get the insurance down but now I want to step up to something a little more exciting without breaking the bank completely".

[samcole]

I bought my first car in 2019, but because I'm mentally 64, it was a Jaguar X-Type with the 2.5 petrol V6 and AWD (dark blue with no chrome, looked great). 52, 000 miles, £1, 500 and about £1, 000 to insure. There are definitely some creative ways of spending that £3K budget.

[louier]

My first car was a 2009 Ford Focus 1.6 Titanium hatchback - nice to drive, lots of equipment and a very practical car, all for £1800. Even though it had 115k on the clock, I never had any mechanical issues and those 1.6 Zetec engines are supposed to be pretty bulletproof. Same one as in the C30.

[tc]

I bought my first car, a 2013 Ford Fiesta 1.5TDCI back in November 2019 for only £3200 with only 53, 000 miles. It was a cat S but the only thing that happened to it was the drivers side door and side skirt had a big dent in it and I was shown the photos of it damaged and how it was fixed. It’s still going strong now with very few issues and it’s very cheap to fix. What a bargain I ended up with.

[Kenny_P_abz]

Great vid as usual. Bad idea to insure in your parents name. It’s called fronting and could see a claim being rejected. My advice would be get a first car to learn in, not when you pass. That way your first 6 months or so are cheap on learner insurance then you’ll only pay high insurance for 2nd 6 months and at the end you’ll have a year’s NCD.

[danielwitte]

I considered a Ford Fiesta but ended up going for a 08 Mazda 2 TS2. Same platform, but lighter so drives better, more standard equipment, and no cambelt to worry about. Picked it up for £2000 and never had to spend anything on it for 3 years other than the regular mot and service, and a blast to drive down B-roads

[kkiller]

I totally agree with the Suzuki Swift. There's something about bike manufacturers who also do cars (or vice versa). The engines are really good and they are very reliable. Little known fact: Yamaha has designed engines for car manufacturers. The Swift is also a bit quirky but that doesn't make it impractical or an object of ridicule.

[antonycharnock]

The young drivers telematic insurance firm I used to work for used a series of risk assessment questions to determine if you were suitable. Any changes to a car from standard including go faster stickers (like the Abarth) or wraps would be classed as mods & would disqualify you. As other people have commented start with the smallest engined standard car you can & earn your NCD before moving to anything bigger engined.

[ryanperry]

As a young 107 driver, keep it for 2-3 years and build your no claims and some savings up, after that you'll be able to afford something decent like a 500 abarth, keep away from black boxes if at all possible as they will be super sensitive to any harsh driving

[bobibest]

I own an A3 Sportsback 2.0TDI quattro. And I absolutely love my car. Very tough, nice looking, nice to drive and somewhat economical (35-40mpg). The AWD system is awesome. The Haldex clutch does miracles.

[rossmurison]

I got a '14 Fabia Monte Carlo as my first car and I must say it really is brilliant. It's jammed full of tech like a touchscreen sat nav and heated seats, along with nice red stitched leather steering wheel, gear knob etc. Plus 105 horsepower is more than enough to have fun with!

[stejacjam]

My first car was a Mini 1275GT I'll leave that there, anyway I've had two golf MK4 1.9SE diesels one after the other both run up with high mileages. These golfs were cheap to run and bullet proof. Not sure how the insurance is for youngsters but its a great car all round including bits you can change without needing to 'programme' them. Fist cars don't always have to be newish.

[nmc_]

Love the C30 and the V40 that came after it, such a shame Volvo are doing away with a small hatchback in their range for another stupid crossover

[bluwusky]

Had a 2004 Fiat Punto as my first car for 3 years now, the car plus insurance came to less than £2k! It's a brilliant practical choice, nice to drive and easy to work on, but not the most reliable. I'm looking for my second car now and thinking either a Nissan Micra, Honda Jazz, Peugeot 208 or Ford Fiesta as I want something reliable, comfortable and not too big or expensive to insure (even with nearly 3 years no-claims I'm getting quotes over £1200 on some cars I would like)

[ianrossiter]

Forget 'carwow', HPA is the perfect channel. Matt's hilarious analogys, great wit and perfect reviews make me Binge watch. Plus, I'm down the M62 in Merseyside so get his NW humour. Keep 'em coming!

[comeonman]

Excellent choices! 20 years ago (when we passed) upto 1.4 normally aspirated engine cars were the only ones we could afford to insure. We were always looking for the most powerful 1.4 engine

[adrianclark]

Great video. I’ve sent it to my car-obsessed 16 year old, who is counting down the days until his lessons start, and told him it’s worth taking 10 mins away from F1 sim racing to listen to a guy I trust talk about first cars. He’ll like that you’ve got the Swift on there, but whether he’ll manage to get a Swift Sport, for his (insurance) budget, only time will tell!
PS You’re right, that table is too high! Better in the SUVs vid. 😀