16 and looking to buy a Nova soon (ish)

[Joz-Greig]

Hi im 16 years old, and im looking to buy my first Nova. Im thinking about a 1.3 SR or 1.4 sri as my base car, wat do yuh guys think and yuh think this is the best option.

Cheers Jordan

[peester]

hi dude.. Sr's are starting to fetch 'more than expected' money. There arent loads of them about either.
As a first car, 16 yrs old Ide recommend a std. 1.2. Then spend some money on it..
check out John H's GL , Shauns yellow 1.0 and theres loads of saloons about to give you ideas.. (project room)

[CP]

Buy a standard car such as a 1.0 or 1.2 merit. Best ones to buy are late plate (J or K)low mileage, always garaged examples usually owned by women as a run around shopping trolley. They go for ?500 - ?1000. Make sure its not rusting out in the engine bay and the rear arches etc.

Keep it fairly standard engine wise. Bide your time, save your money and wait til you've got a year or 2's driving under your belt and some decent NCD on the insurance. Keep the car clean and well looked after and get some clean engine oil soaked into behind key rust traps. You can slowly mod stuff like the suspension and brakes as you can afford it. Later you can look a sorting out an engine transplant etc. The slower it is in the first year or so of driving the better - boring but true. You are many times more likely to crash in the first year cos although you'll think you know what you are doing, in fact you wont.

DONT go out and buy the first modded, flashy 1.4 /1.3 sr whatever you come across. It'll probably cost too much to buy and insure, not be done very well, be unreliable, more likely to be stolen and make it more likely that you end up backwards in a ditch cos it was too fast for your driving abilitylol You'll just end up rinsing loads of money that you cant afford to.

[Jack]

Wise words from CP. I'd also recommend a 1.0 or 1.2 - not what you want to hear, but insurance on a 1.3 or 1.4 will be extremely high (if not impossible if its modded).

[Ricky G]

i had a 1.4 sri as my 1st car and i wouldnt advise you to get any big engines. i had plenty of experience from junior stock car racing but i still wasnt up to having a 1400 on the road. best to start off slow and build your way up.

[lee coley]

my first car was a nova 1.3 sr,i loved it but 6 years ago it cost 1700quid to insure,but i did my passpluss and it was then 800quid.

But it was to 'Fast' for me to drive as a first car.i killed it.

[silvertornado_sr]

agree with every one here a nice lil 1.0 or 1.2 any higher and u'll be looking at stilly money i have a year ncb and my 1.2 nova on a k plate is still costing me 800 a year to insure to stay as low as u can for first year or two :)

[NovaLad]

I agree aswell with the engine size.

Mine is a 1.2 and i'm paying 2000 on it a year as my 1st car.

Your 1st year of driving will soon fly past with a NCB under ya belt, then just get a quote on a bigger engine or stick it out for another year that's what i would do.

[goldengraham]

I wouldn't advise on a engine higher than a 1.2 to begin with, i got myself a 1.4 and its a killer to insure, takes most of my money away. It's got considerably cheaper now i have a years NCB though

[coochiSR]

......... Lies, all lies!!!!

Lol nah on a seroius note keep the enigne low and the mods low, easy to ensure and run too.

I stoopid;y had a 1.4SR to start with and it didnt really last long, just wait and bide your time, good things come to those who wait :D

[lee coley]

^^same as^^

[twistysnovagte]

daves 1.0ltr of here, very nice motor, doesnt have to go like stink as youll end up banned, speed isnt everything its the appearence in my opinion , although i would tell your insurance about the mods you add:thumb:
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee305/PNG_Features/2008_March/header.jpg

[dannyb]

Agreed with above - 1.2 carb will be enough of a car for you. Get a tidy one then learn to drive in it for a few months before you touch it. If you don't bin it after 4 months you could think about upgrading the interior to a SR/SRi/GTE/GSi spec one as this won't affect the insurance...

I've worked in local secondary schools for the last 3/4 years and I've seen a fair few lads who get a car at 15/16 then spend a mint modifying it badly until their test. Then I see them out and about once they pass their test; most end up crashing their pride and joy in the first 3 months and are heartbroken because of the time, effort and cash they put in.

[NovaLad]

Break something it will teach you a lesson lol...

[Joz-Greig]

i would just like to say cheers mate, yuh speak wise words and i will take them into account. Any other advice on when im looking to buy a nova ?

[just vaux trev]

try and buy one off here as most sellers are genuine and know what they are loking for
therefor would'nt buy a dog in the first place

[mowgli]

the rust free nova is as rare as rocking horse poo
the rear arches, front panel, inner arches & battery tray go really quickly.
if the car is in standard condition with a cheapo stereo in it, then the chances are that the rest of the car is quite good. a pre-modded one will most likely be well used & tired.

[Joz-Greig]

thing is i live in scotland eh and the hardest thing is to find one that is decent or isnt too far away eh, got any help on this

[mowgli]

try all of the local papers, do ebay searches with 'closest to you', even stick a wanted ad in somewhere

[CoolTiger]

to find a really decent one you must be prepaired to travel or wait a long time

im 15 ive started modding my 1.2 i know the insurance will be alot but i just get carried away i think the first year im going to garage it buy a cheap run around while i rack up some ncb and driving experiance :)