So it's getting to that point in time...

It's nearly my 17th birthday, so I'm thinking about learning to drive. Problem is I have, like, no money (I applied for Tesco, Fat Face and Halfords, all of them didn't even bother to reply). So what would be cheaper to run, a car (something like a Peugeot 106) or a motorbike? Any feedback or recommendations would be nice

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

For someone who's just learning(to drive or ride), a car would definitely be the safer option, and a small one like a Peugeot 106 would be great for running costs. You might be able to get the car itself really cheaply as well, depending where you look(Ebay is a good place to start. Search for the model you'd like, in order of cost, cheapest first. You might be lucky and come across a car that's as good as new that the owner just wants rid of).

A bike would probably be cheaper for overall running costs though.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2010 06:32PM by EC83.

Walking would be cheaper to be honest.

But it might be an idea to visit a few scrap yards. Some have cars taken to them for scrap that are actually quite serviceable, and plenty of scrapped vehicles to get road worthy components from. That could be quite cost effective.

Alternatively... don't bother buying a car. Just book lessons with a instructor, even though the prices seem double of what they were for me about 10 years ago... it still should be cheaper than buying, insuring, taxing and fuelling a car yourself.

Or if your parents or older siblings if you have any and if they're brave... maybe they might be willing to teach you in their cars.

Be sure to read up on the regs etc for learner drivers.

i'd offer you my car, but i think i'm the only human being on the planet who can drive the thing... clutch and gearbox are extremely tempremental, and have to be treated a very particular certain way - my mate had a go in it once, stalled 4 times, gave up and went 'you drive!'

In all honesty, best strategy is to learn first, get licence, then get the car. the main cost isn't the car, or running it, it's the insurance - i paid nearly 2 grand in my first year, 800 quid the second year, and 600 in year 3,,, all of those for a 1.3 1995 toyota corolla

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Team Japan Owner - GPGNC

17. You can't even officially drive yet, so forget about getting the car itself.

Lessons will cost you a small fortune, and I am willing to bet you will need at LEAST 10, even if you get use to how to act to the instructors to pass.

Then, when you can drive, having no money, it's just not gonna happen. Your insurance is going to be insane.

Tough luck kiddo.


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

I learned driving with this

It has a 1.5 l diesel engine (no turbo). Very low consumption, but when it comes to performance ... man, it's crap! I once tried timing a 0-100 km/h, at 15 sec I still was at 90 km/h and the road (private one, of course) was over

Ah, if you are about 1,8 meters tall, like me, it's really difficult to find a confortable position for the seat (and it has fixed steering wheel), thought it was spacious enough when I learned back in 2003.

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Cheers for the advice, guys. Yeah, it's gunna be very expensive, after I spent some time trawling through some price comparison websites. I've decided that one step at a time would be a better use of time, so I'm gonna go job-hunting again (all the uni students have gone back so there's vacancies), and then I'll just save. And blag.

Thanks again

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

I'd recommend the bike personally.

For a 125 you only pay (or did 2 years ago) £15 a year tax, insurance is like 1/3 of the price for a car and before the fuel crises I was paying £13 to fill the tank mine up. After the crises I was paying £13.50. That £13 got me just short of 200 miles. In terms of value for money, it's about as good as it gets for independence.

I depends on the character you are though. If you're the reckless sort, or think you might go quickly through corners, or show off to mates, then you will crash and hurt yourself - there's nothing gained by being brave on a bike - only lots to lose. If you're the sort of person who is full control of themselves on the road (and I don't mean bike or car control, I mean control of your head) then read on.

I did fall off twice at 60mph, but my worst injuries where a fractured little finger the first time (in that rather horrible accident my second worst injury was some bruises still coming through my torso a couple of weeks later) and the 2nd time I bruised my knee. In a car I'm sure my injuries would be worse in both accidents - you do have a cage around you in a car, but when you're riding in all likelihood you'll separate from the bike and roll away, dissipating the energy gradually, whereas in a car you'll almost certainly come to a sudden stop. Just don't fall off around exposed tree trunks or lampposts. Remember it's the stop which kills you, not the speed.

You often hear stories of bikers dying constantly, but if you buy the right kit, ride safely and most importantly be aware of other vehicles (might that car pull out? if so, assume he will and prepare for if he does), the risks are greatly reduced. I had 2 accidents in my first year. After the 2nd accident (not my fault, and it made me far more alert and aware of what others may do unexpectedly) I came off my bike zero times until it was retired 5 or 6 years later - and I rode all year round, through the winter on untreated Northumberland B and C roads, only refusing to go out if it was icy or snowy when I left - I often came across black ice and snow a couple of inches thick on my way to work, but I never came off. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to ride safely and expect other vehicles to do the unexpected - ride like that and you'll be fine.

The one thing you do need to be aware of with bikes is the need for tender loving care. You'll need to keep the chain in good nick by lubricating it frequently and tightening it maybe every 500 miles (done by loosening the back wheel and moving it further back). A stretched chain will fall off if it's not tightened, and when a stretched chain falls off, the best case scenario is a chain which just falls off and you lose drive, you manage to refit the chain or you need to call a recovery firm - the normal scenario is that you're looking at a rear wheel which is locked solid at whatever speed you happen to be doing at the time the chain falls off, and obviously if that's anything above 20 or 30mph, that's an accident waiting to happen... one which will hurt.

Keeping the bike clean is essential - everything is exposed to the elements, so you need to keep things like the brakes clean or you'll find the bike rusting away in no time at all. It's especially important to clean it more regularly in the winter, as riding it on salty roads and roads full of crap is a sure-fire way to developing rust in no time at all.

The only other thing I can think of is that your usual destinations needs to have a place where you can get changed. You can ride with clothes under your protective gear (I refused to wear leather personally - much looser kevlar-based products I found far better, and kept me perfectly safe in the 2 accidents I had - the sole exceptions is that I wore leather gloves in the warmer weather and some leathery boots of some description). At work I could get changed at the toilets, but if you're going out to, for instance, a staff do at some eatery, then you're not going to impress many by turning up in dirty biking gear and helmet and immediately head for the toilets - I relied on lifts from others for such occasions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2010 10:25PM by gav.

Have a look at either a yamaha r125 or an aprilia rs 125 the yamaha is a 4 stroke and will do around 75mph and has around 15bhp as for the aprilia that is 2 stroke and has 33bhp and will do 100mph but you really need to look after a 2 stroke ie warming before thrashing etc..

A 106 is a great car. I currently have a pink 106 GTI. Althought GTI is harder for you to insure. Nice cars and great for track days. And boys don't like it when I outrace them.

Kx
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Best 125 by quite some distance is the Honda Varadero in my opinion, but it's not cheap new and as it's so reliable it holds it's value exceptionally well, making it not much cheaper 2nd hand. The engine is famously good (not so much for speed, but torque is good and it's especially reliability). If you can afford one new then I personally think you'd be nuts to go for anything else

I had the Aprilia RS 125 (unfortunately it was written off in the 2nd accident) and it was manoeuvrable and certainly fast, but it's a very poor choice as your only mode of transport (it's wasn't good in the wet, regardless of tyre and it certainly wasn't good in the winter) and it wasn't the best built bike in the world. Good, but only if you can use public transports or lifts when it's very wet or wintry. I did find it surprisingly good in the wind though - probably due to the naturally lower riding position. I expected a slab-sided racing-replica to behave horribly, but it was far better than the replacement, which was a...

... Honda VT Shadow 125, just as I wanted something very different and I managed to haggle a good 2nd hand deal (and it turned out to be popular with the ladies). Again it's not a good all-rounder, but not because of riding, because it rusts a bit - the chrome-plated exhaust especially, which was what made me retire it after around 50,000 miles - which is a lot for a bike of this sort used through all 4 seasons. It wasn't fun in the wind (it made the front end feel very light, despite the bike weighing about 3,000,000 tonnes), but it laughed at rain and was easy to ride in the winter, even in snow measured in the inches on standard tyres (not that I can recommend that). The engine is good (same as in the Varadero and absolutely faultless), but as the bike is so heavy it's slow. Slow to accelerate and you could only hit 70mph on a straight road if you had a tail-wind - the normal speed with little-to-zero wind on a flatish road was between around 55mph and 60mph - probably more if you removed the plastic slab that was the shield in front of you, but I kept it on to help shield me from the cold.

Thanks again everyone

gav, you've really opened my eyes to the motorbike side of things. I've had a look at your (and miffy's) recommendations and I think that it wouldn't be a bad option. I do have access to public transport (so wet/windy days are sorted), and I'm not gonna dick about on a bike either. It just needs to get me around so I've got the freedom to see friends, pop to the shop or whatever, so mileage will be relatively low too.

All of your help has been very useful

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

I learnt in a Corsa,

then drove a Clio for four years,

then bought a Golf.

The Golf is definitely the best of the lot but a bit more expensive...



I really would wait till you have a job though or you'll do something you'll regret!