Driving exam today. Tempted to buy a car!
 

Well I will be giving my class 5 GDL exam today at 4:00pm and hoping that I will not do anything that will cost me my test.

So I have already started looking into cars (tired of relying on others for grocery shopping and fish stuffs) and I am planning to get something within $1,500. Will use it for 6 months or so before I am confident enough to take a lease on brand new car. So, I am looking for suggestions and stuff. Alongside, I will be taking 3rd party insurance for the car; which company should I go for (looking for the cheapest obviously :D ).

Suggestions please :biggrin:

Where would you put the coral and live rock?

IMO, there is NOTHING cheap about owning a car.
Before purchasing a used car, take it to a mechanic that you can trust (that isn't selling the car) and spend a few bucks to find out what it may need in the coming year.
Do a lot of research before leasing as car leasing isn't wise for everybody.
You may find that car ownership is more expensive than paying for cab fare even.
Cost of car, gas, repairs, insurance.
To become a good driver will take a lot more than 6 months experience normally.
Confidence can be a misleading indicator as you can feel confident without being a good driver.

Not counting repairs or even maintenance, I probably spend $600/mo on payments insurance and gas. Cabs might be cheaper :)

Check out the cars2go option if you just need something to drive for a bit they rent cars by the minute for 35 cents or 14 bucks an hour and they pay for the fuel ..... And you can get 20 free minutes if you fill it up when it's done to a 1/4 tank

Biggest cost with cars is depreciation if you buy new, and leasing is even worse. So if you can buy an older, good, low mileage Toyota or Honda for cheap, you are far better off. You can save a few bucks on insurance, too, by just carrying liability, no collision. And make sure the tires and brakes are still good, too, or that will run up your after purchase price.

In my younger years, I did that, and even resold vehicles after driving them for a couple years for pretty close to what I bought them for. But you need to shop really wisely.

Just don't buy an older GM, Ford or Chrysler product...

I'd check your insurance rates before you consider getting a new vehicle after only having your license for 6 months. Your insurance payments might end up being more than your lease or finance payments.

I will probably quit ;)

Thanks for the info :) Yah I was thinking about hiring a mechanic to take with me when buying any car.

I am not thinking yet about getting a new car; leasing was just an idea to place forth; might change over time :razz:

I have checked with someone I know who also use car for similar purpose that I will be doing. His insurance rests around $80 (3rd party) and one full tank goes over a month so that's affordable to me. I can afford this hobby, why not a 2nd hand car :lol:

About the 6month time, I actually drove back home for 2 years (I was exempted from waiting to get my class 5 2 years ago but didn't give the exam since I knew I would be eyeing cars which I couldn't afford at that time).

I won't be using my car for extensive use (I live 4mins away from the university and that's basically the only place I go to everyday). I just curse myself when I have to buy grocery (I have some food restrictions so have to go to the other end of the city to get what I eat); not to mention when fellow reefers sell corals which are out of reach of the transit. :sad: And insurance will probably be within $100. Maintenance can be an issue so I will have to make sure that I get a car which is sound.

Yap already have seen that but they need a 3 years driving experience which I won't have for another three years :P

Thanks for the info :D Yah everyone says not to get an american car (ford has the rep for suddenly stopping). I am actually thinking of getting a pontiac since that fits right into my budget :neutral:

3rd party insurance won't be that expensive (checked it already). Alongside, I will have insurance certificate which will cut down the premium by some significant amount.

Pontiac is GM, piece of crap...

And just so you know, I currently own an expensive GM piece of crap vehicle....And will never buy another one (if I can help it...LOL).

I know leasing seems to be an attractive option especially when your on a budget but if you can I would do my very best to stay away from those as they are nothing but a money sink that could cost you way more than you expected. If you can save up for a decent vehicle instead

There is a reason that leasing is also known as Fleecing ......

That's funny...
My 89 Plymouth minivan had over 360,000kms when I put it to rest.
95 Neon we owned had 235,000 without any issues. We out grew it and sold it.
My 03 Ford Taurus has 185,000 on it with only regular maintenance.

My family and inlaws have:
Pontiac Montana's with 180,000 and 215,000, 350,000 and 375,000 on them,
Pontiac Grand am with 185,000 on it,
91 GMC 2500 with 300,000+ on it,
etc etc.
2001 neon with 260,000 on it.

2006 nissan xterra (highway driven with 140,000 that blows smoke like a chimney)

Unless we are somehow lucky and our domestics are exemplary, I'd say buy a vehicle that has been maintained over a particular brand as lemons exist in all brands.
If you ride a vehicle hard regardless of what it is it wont last.

Buying a car gives you so much freedom to do what you want when you want!
Go for it...it's like buying a fish tank:
When you sell it you will never get what you paid for it.
Cars tend to empty your wallet.
Doesn't matter what you purchase you will always upgrade to something else.
Everyone else's car will seem better than yours.

Yup, I'd say you have been lucky, or I have been very unlucky. I have owned many domestic and non-domestic vehicles, and by far the non-domestic have been far superior both in quality and longevity along with low maintenance costs.

Actually, the best vehicles I have owned are Subarus (had 3 of them) in terms of quality and driving experience (especially when driving to Whistler after a heavy snowfall). Not the cheapest, but basically bullet proof, and very low maintenance costs.

F350 Not treating you well on gas brad? haha

I couldn't even imagine gas for one of those, I've only got a small v8 in a Jeep!

Monthly payment $1276
Fill up diesel once a week $160
Monthly insurance $124
Oil change every 2 months $150 extra $80 if needing an airfilter

Ok, I won't complain about my bills anymore!! lol

160 a week.. jesus.. Its more expensive then kids I thought my 160 a month was bad...

Yea my average one way trip to work was 80-100km
Did that for 21 years
Took up a new career so I traded that truck for an F150. Much cheaper now and only 8km from work now.

Ha yeah I currently drive a 150 as well.. so far so good with 6,000 km's on it! soon (Nov) I should be 5km's to station so.. not sure what the gas mileage on my pedal bike is but i'm thinking its pretty good!

Yea i'm not putting to much wear on this one had 14 months now and 9800km on it so far. 15L/100km average. Station in Nov?

I just purchased a used car about a month ago. And let me tell you, it feels great to finally have a car to myself.

Before you seal the deal on a car:
1) Make sure you and the seller have brought it to a mechanic for inspection (usually $75-$100) unless you trust the seller?. If your car is older than 12 years (I think before it was 15) you need to have a Alberta inspection sheet filled out by a mechanic. Some insurance companies need this before they can give you insurance.
2) I would get a lien check done on the car just to make sure the car is debt free.
3) I also got a car proof report just cause I was curious to see if the car has been in any accidents

Hope that helps.

I never understand why new drivers buy older beater cars that don't have half the safety features of new cars.

Doesn't it make sense to have a newer, safer car for inexperienced drivers?

Mostly comes down to cost to buy. Yes newer vehicles are better but with newer inexperienced drivers if they break the vehicle they aren't out a lot of money plus even most baseline models now come with a lot of bells and whistles that for the new and inexperienced driver is distracting I would rather have a new driver looking at the road rather than the console.

Yes it makes sense to drive a newer and safer car. But not everyone has the money to afford brand new cars let alone "newer" cars.

There's cars being advertised for 150 dollars a month.

It doesn't need to be fancy. But even cheap base model cars are safer than some 1500 dollar car that's 10 or 15 years old.

And even if the person is driving is safe and does everything right, they can't control the other drivers around them.

I think investing in a newer car (3-4 years old) as opposed to (10-15 years old) is well worth it. It could be the difference between life or death in the case of a collision.

Definitely check for debt on the car. I know a guy (insert choice words) he came here on a visa, bought a truck and got a loan out on it. Sold the truck to get his money back but had a 4000 dollar loan on it. Then left canada. Didn't pay his lawyer, stiffed the bank that 4k which then passes into the trucks new owner.

Hasan, if you're looking for a go-to car to run for a few months, there are a number of great older cars to get you going. I love old cars. There is no need to get a beater. You can find a well maintained old car for a very good price.

Two of the old stand-bys are the Honda Accord and Honda Civic. I just picked up a 1992 Honda Accord for my girlfriend to use as a run about while in university - got it for less than $1000 and it runs like a champ! Even if it only runs for the next year, it's still cheaper than leasing a new vehicle. And the best part is: killer gas mileage! God, I wish my car could do that. It literally gets twice the mileage of my RX7.

I agree with this whole heartedly. I've seen base model Civics and Corolla's advertised for like $65 bi-weekly and at least then you're getting basic warranty and fuel efficiency. I think Ford's Focus is in that price range as well as the Fiesta and a few of the smaller compact Japanese cars.

A 15 year old vehicle will be much harder on gas, and parts are getting harder to find.

But this all may be moot at this point ... did you pass?

10 year old cars almost all have traction control , all have abs for sure , drivers and passenger airbags and side impact beams what more could you want? First cars are always the whoops cars , rubbed a post in the underground , backed into a shopping cart stand ect on a new car that hurts value BIG TIME even if you have it repaired . Depreciation on a new car is 10% a year and you pay whatever % in interest so that gets expensive . Best 1500 cars around are corollas and civics but ive also owned caviliers and sunfires for that price and while there not fantastic cars they work and are always cheap and get fine milage. Service history is the biggest factor , all cars are crap if you don't maintain them ! (domestics especially so) so see if they have records for at least oil changes that's the most important.

Thanks for all the great information everyone. :D

I am extremely happy to say that I have passed the test with 40 points :D 10 for stopping at the stop sign (there was no white stopping line so I stopped right where the post of the stop sign was as per as my instructor but the examiner said its too far from the road), 10 for following the traffic which made me go above the speed limit and 20 for not slowing down at uncontrolled intersection (my bad). :redface:

Anyway, couldn't apply for my license since my study permit is pending extension so will get it after I get the extension. Keep the suggestions coming :D

So you were speeding, pulled up too far at a stop sign and sped through an intersection? Some things you just don't tell people bud.:lol: Haha just kidding.
Well congratulations and good luck finding some wheels.

Well what can I say, um an honest being ;) Thanks :mrgreen: