General Stilo as first car...

[Tom S]

Firstly, i'd like to introduce myself. I'm Tom, 16, and from the north west.

Back to business. As i said i'm 16, turning 17 in may. By that time I should've saved up about £1800. After doing a lot of browsing, i've got my heart set on a 3dr Stilo. So, my budget is about £1800, and my parents will help with insurance.

Is it a good option as a first car? I know Puntos are smaller, but i don't really like them. I'm after a 3dr version, preferably smaller-engined for insurance purposes. I'm not going to 'chav it up', but i just have to put some Blades on.

I'm not asking for you to find a car, as I'm only going to be buying next year. Just if you'd recommend as a first car.

Cheers.

 

[PNL]

Hows your mental health..are you prone to spells of deep depression..if so make sure when you buy its a good one cos if you dont all the above could happen......

I would get as much reading in on the section as possible and then form your own opinion..I wish I had before buying..

 

[Argonought]

Is it a good option as a first car?

Frankly I'd say no.

I'd say you'd do better to go for a cheapish motor for about a grand (Cinqs are fantastic fun) and then you've got some money left for any problems.

Running costs should be a lot cheaper too and less grief when/if you prang it (which is fairly likely on your first year ).

You may not like to hear this but it's my two pennies worth

 

[johnson550]

Phil and Argo can you remember when you got your first car did you get advice then totally ignore it cause you had your mind set on a particular car I know I did. I dont think he will be able to get any car for a £1000-£1800 and not have problems he might as well have problems with the car he has his mind set on.

 

[PNL]

Phil and Argo can you remember when you got your first car did you get advice then totally ignore it cause you had your mind set on a particular car I know I did. I dont think he will be able to get any car for a £1000-£1800 and not have problems he might as well have problems with the car he has his mind set on.

Well I learned to drive on an Austin A35..I can even remember the reg plate..SAX 850..my dad bought it for £500 and spent about the same getting problems sorted and filling the back wings full of bloomin filler..I past my test about a week or two after my 18th birthday and after 6 lessons with a driving school..on the first day on the road [same day I past my test ]I had 3 prangs.. not bad ones and the worst one was backing out a car park and nearly ripping off the back bumper of the car parked next to me still it was a banger and it gave me the experience needed in the next few years which I obviously needed..:idea: I think having a banger for a few years is probably the best way to go..not only does it give you the experience without the possibility of righting off a half decent car but on the likes of the cento you might decide to have a go at doing some easy repairs to save yourself a bob or two..just a few lines or six at my early days on the great British roads of yesteryear..for what its worth..

 

[danhans115]

I wanted a mini for my first car, I didnt listen to a word anyone said and got one. It was a pig to work on but it could be fixed and tuned at home which meant trips to the scrap yard to fix things etc - and there was a lot of those

I know what its like to be younger, I didnt want a cheap runaround I wanted something nice to drive (I drove my dads Rover 623 for a while, thought I was the dogs danglies) - so I know where you are coming from.

I am sure, if you can sort the money/insurance out a Stilo would make a nice first car, and if you really want one go for it. In the time you have before passing etc you read this section here about the various problems you may encounter, so when you come to buy you should know what to look for.

If you are looking for a smaller engined model, given your budget you should be fine. Just really check them - there is a lot of crap about.

To end the story, I had the mini for about a year, drove it on the road for three months and crashed it into the back of an Escort.

Then bought a cinquecento - the start of my italian love affair..

Dan

 

[Bulletproof Saint]

Hi Tom & welcome to the forum,

My Stilo is my first car, but I did not pass my test until I was 25.
Mine has been pretty good to me it's a 1.6, when I was looking for cars we looked at Punto's, Polo's, Fiesta's, Civics etc. Didn't really like any of them that much & because of my budget at that time (similar to yours) the cars that were available were a bit ropey.
So I left it a month because at 25 I wasn't as desperate for a car as I would have been at 17, so I went to look at a Stilo in West Thurrock & after viewing it I decided to spend that bit more money on a newer, lower mileage better equipped car than those that I had previously seen.
I had no previous knowledge of the issues that had affected the range and in hindsight after reading some of the stories from the forum I believe I was fortunate in my choice of Stilo. But I wouldn't change it now having been all over Britain in it.
So in summary, based on my experience of stilo ownership I can say mine has been a great first car. In fact earlier today I have been out in it, with the L plates on, teaching my sister how to drive.

Good luck with your choice of Motor

Jay

 

[Argonought]

Phil and Argo can you remember when you got your first car did you get advice then totally ignore it cause you had your mind set on a particular car I know I did.

In my time you were thankful to have any wheels at all

There was non of this materialistic crap like you get nowadays. A car was just a means of getting from A to B (mainly to parties, pubs or clubs :devil

 

[Bulletproof Saint]

Hi Tom & welcome to the forum,

My Stilo is my first car, but I did not pass my test until I was 25.
Mine has been pretty good to me it's a 1.6, when I was looking for cars we looked at Punto's, Polo's, Fiesta's, Civics etc. Didn't really like any of them that much & because of my budget at that time (similar to yours) the cars that were available were a bit ropey.
So I left it a month because at 25 I wasn't as desperate for a car as I would have been at 17, so I went to look at a Stilo in West Thurrock & after viewing it I decided to spend that bit more money on a newer, lower mileage better equipped car than those that I had previously seen.
I had no previous knowledge of the issues that had affected the range and in hindsight after reading some of the stories from the forum I believe I was fortunate in my choice of Stilo. But I wouldn't change it now having been all over Britain in it.
So in summary, based on my experience of stilo ownership I can say mine has been a great first car. In fact earlier today I have been out in it, with the L plates on, teaching my sister how to drive.

Good luck with your choice of Motor

Jay

Of course now I've seen some of the Stilo's on here I really want one with a Skyroof!

 

[johnson550]

In my time you were thankful to have any wheels at all

There was non of this materialistic crap like you get nowadays. A car was just a means of getting from A to B (mainly to parties, pubs or clubs :devil

That maybe the case but did you not want a car that would look canny good when you got to the parties and pubs cause you wouldnt be just going for a pint. I know there wouldnt be much choice of car atleast there wasnt 45year ago when I first started to drive.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Frankly I'd say no.

I'd say you'd do better to go for a cheapish motor for about a grand (Cinqs are fantastic fun) and then you've got some money left for any problems.

Running costs should be a lot cheaper too and less grief when/if you prang it (which is fairly likely on your first year ).

You may not like to hear this but it's my two pennies worth

:yeahthat:

Argo's got it in one.

I'm 20 and have had my Stilo for 4 months now. And although I love it I'd have never have gone for it as a first car and am glad that I haven't.

Mainly due to size. Insurance won't be cheap either. Although your thinking of the 1.2 its insurance groups you want to look at.

Thought of the mk3 Panda or something similar?

Jon.

 

[Argonought]

....but did you not want a car that would look canny good when you got to the parties and pubs cause you wouldnt be just going for a pint.

All you need is your own presence to walk out of a club with girl in hand - having wheels was just a convenience :devil:

 

[StevenkSengwayo]

I'd say go for it.....my 1st car was a brava just looked at it and loved it (Oh my dear Shelly) even though my parents said no.........anyhow had loads of problems namely

1.just sudden loss of power (needed new ecu)
2.petrol pump went (£375 paid for by my AA roadside cover yey)

You get the gist at least you have come here and you can get some sound advice and tips on what to look out for and what to do before hand. Best of luck anyway. Love my stilo to bits I've had 2:slayer:

 

[Oakley28]

Phil and Argo can you remember when you got your first car did you get advice then totally ignore it cause you had your mind set on a particular car I know I did. I dont think he will be able to get any car for a £1000-£1800 and not have problems he might as well have problems with the car he has his mind set on.

Rubbish. My first car was a MK1 N reg Punto and cost me £800. Never had ONE thing go wrong with it. Kept it 3 years and it ever failed an MOT and all it ever needed was tyres. So if you check out what car you're buying then all can be well.

 

[Ffoxy]

Getting a good example of ANY car is key, that is the trick to buying a car 2nd 3rd or 4th hand, ur buying someone elses faults and possible neglect.

So a fully maintained 1 owner example is your target, and I'd make it a 1.2 as they look just as good as all the others in 3 door form and return reasonably good economy around 40 - ish if driven with empathy.

It isnt a small car though, quite wide actually, Mrs Ffoxy 1.2 Stilo almost dwarfs my GPS but she has been happy, no major issue just 1 or 2 small niggles easily fixed.

But buy a bad one, and boy there could be a world of pain ahead.... having said all that it really does depend on the cars history, and that goes for ANY make of car in the price bracket...