Man I wish I could have afforded a £14k car, £200ish/month insurance and heavy fuel and running costs when I was 19. It kind of blows my mind a bit.....when I was 19 I was driving round in a 6 year old Fiat Uno 1.0 with the biggest dent in the back door you have ever seen (I didnt do it, it came like it) and did about 45K miles in it, cooking a head gasket once on the way. Was poo but being young I liked it.

I got into that from a 1988 Lancia Y10 with more rust than Titanic, bad electrics and not far short of 100K on the clock......my brother had it for years and had killed it once over already. It's only redeeming features were that it had (semi working) central locking, electric windows and an alcantara dashboard......was still embarrasing as hell though!!

In fact pretty much all my friends had crap cars....was the way back then. Best car one of my mates had was a Nova 1.3 SR, did 120 (at a push) but didnt stop or steer...at all really! It had a Calibra 16v steering wheel and a big sound system too which made it all the cooler to us. Only my friends with minted parents had new cars (but they were usually slower or more embarrasing than mine if thats possible!) or they drove their mums cars. How it would seem that things have changed!

Don't get me wrong I think its great that young people are finding themselves in the market to buy new cars, they are so much safer nowadays such actions probably save a lot of live. However I do feel a vRS at 19 is perhaps a bit overkill, particularly if your having to sell your arms and legs just to insure the thing. Its also not worth putting a great big HP/PCP noose around your neck that that age unless you can definitely afford it one way or another. My big fear would be crashing it, is a big responsibility having a 140mph car and trying to drive it sensibly even at my age.

If I were 19 i'd be made up with any Fabia (the Monte Carlo would be good - looks the part and would be a hell of a lot cheaper), Polo Moda or a new Corsa SXi/SRi, something new and a bit funky but wont break the bank. Some of the options there are fairly pokey too. I'd give it some serious thought before making the plunge.

I agree with some aspects, however, luckily for me I am employed full time so it is financially viable for me.

To the OP, I would say, dont take it for a test drive unless you figure out you can afford it... If you drive it, you will buy. ;o)

Theres my problem! I went for a test drive on sunday and WOW! All i've thought about since!

I find that with a faster car, young people (or at least, some) find there's less of a need to be driving like maniacs. It gives you more responsibility and the fact that you know, as soon as you put the foot down, the powers there, makes it so much more comfortable to drive. My mate just bought a brand new Astra VXR (has been saving up his summer holiday earnings for the last 6 years or so and through a family member got a brilliant deal on a VXR Racing). He drives on dual carriageways on the speed limit with cruise set. Also feel less intimidated by other drivers because again, you know you have power if necessary. I genuinely feel I would drive a Fabia vRS slower than I currently drive my Corsa C.

EDIT: I also work full time and with no hope of getting property, decide i'd be as well spend my hard earned pennies on a car.

Edited 1 February, 201115 yr by frobb

Theres my problem! I went for a test drive on sunday and WOW! All i've thought about since!

I find that with a faster car, young people (or at least, some) find there's less of a need to be driving like maniacs. It gives you more responsibility and the fact that you know, as soon as you put the foot down, the powers there, makes it so much more comfortable to drive. My mate just bought a brand new Astra VXR (has been saving up his summer holiday earnings for the last 6 years or so and through a family member got a brilliant deal on a VXR Racing). He drives on dual carriageways on the speed limit with cruise set. Also feel less intimidated by other drivers because again, you know you have power if necessary. I genuinely feel I would drive a Fabia vRS slower than I currently drive my Corsa C.

EDIT: I also work full time and with no hope of getting property, decide i'd be as well spend my hard earned pennies on a car.

Funny you mentioned this.

I didn't break the speed limits in my 1.0 Yaris, and coincidentally I do not break the speed limits in the new VRS.

Power is used responsibly, very good for safe overtaking procedures - this is one thing I never felt safe doing in the old car.

A lot more stable at motorway speeds too, hardly affected by wind and is rock planted to the floor - again, unlike the old car. Only thing I wish I had was cruise control, used it in many cars before for long journeys, shame my VRS doesn't have it.

You hit the nail on the head though - a car like this is down to responsibility - abuse it and the consequences will ensue.

Edit: I am also full time with no property ladder intentions - you only live are young once! Hence why I have travelled quite a lot of the world in the past 12 months (admitedly after turning single!)

If you can afford the car, buy it. It's an enjoyment you may never be able to afford again in the future, with the increased amount of responsibilty and costs being an 'adult' brings.

Edited 1 February, 201115 yr by Stu vRS

I am also full time with no property ladder intentions - you only live are young once! Hence why I have travelled quite a lot of the world in the past 12 months (admitedly after turning single!)

If you can afford the car, buy it. It's an enjoyment you may never be able to afford again in the future, with the increased amount of responsibilty and costs being an 'adult' brings.

Same situation as me. First time buying is a joke right now so might as well have some fun. Really glad I bought the car.

Fair shout to you guys, hope you didn't think I was trying to be-little you at all. You're quite right, there is no reason why at 19 - IF your responsible why you shouldnt have a powerful car, particularly if you're working and can afford it.

For me though the thought of spending £2K+ on insurance makes me feel sick to my stomach. I was paying £1200 for a short while on my 1.9 CDTi 150 Astra, but this was mainly down to the car being a rental and not being registered in my name, soon as I hit 25 went down to about £900 which was much more manageable. If I bought one now I expect £4-500 would be about right and I still think that's quite alot of money. My missus got a quote of £299 on the vRS from Admiral! It would seriously make me consider buying a slightly lesser model (perhaps an optioned up 1.2 TSi 105 Elegance with Sports suspension) which would still be plenty quick and have lots of toys, all the while being much cheaper to run.

I also know that credit being as readily available as it is is a real pitfall to be falling into at 19. A mate of mine bought a 2000 Fiesta Zetec S brand new on a PCP, decided he didnt like having a black car after about a year or so (as he was awful at cleaning cars) and swapped it for a nearly new silver one. Lost so much money on the new one that he's only just finished paying it off 11 years later. He was terrible with money but you get my point. If you buy it and stick with it happy days but PCP's can really bite you in the ass if youre not careful. I only PCP cars because I never intend to keep a new car once the warranty runs out and it needs MOTing, the reduced monthly payments and miniscule deposit requirement is also useful, but if I were planning on buying a car and keeping it indefinitely I would always do a traditional HP with as bigger deposit as possible over the shortest period that I could afford. Much better than being faced with a £6-7K balloon at the end of the term, particularly if you end up wanting to keep it.

One thing I have found though having grown up with some pretty slow (and crap handling) old cars is that it really helps hone your driving skills. In the same way that if you disrespect a modern powerful car, doing the same thing in an underpowered car, with bad suspension, brakes and no safety aids whatsoever means you have to treat the car with respect in order to....well basically stay alive. I think I'm a pretty good driver, but I do think much of my driving skill has come from having driven some very old cars at 10/10ths, which lets face it in new cars is very easy as they have so many electronic assistance systems that they generally flatter even the worst drivers. I would also say that my driving skills have probably degraded over the years a bit on account of having cars that are really easy to drive fast with none of the effort required on an old car.

I also completely understand RE mortgage situation, on a single income is very difficult to get a decent mortgage, particularly if you dont have cash behind you for a decent deposit. I would always say though that it would be a much more sensible bet to throw your money into bricks and mortar as the situation with mortgages isnt likely to get any easier in the future. One thing I do regret a bit is not going travelling, I went straight from school to college, to Uni then to work.......nice!

One thing I have found though having grown up with some pretty slow (and crap handling) old cars is that it really helps hone your driving skills. In the same way that if you disrespect a modern powerful car, doing the same thing in an underpowered car, with bad suspension, brakes and no safety aids whatsoever means you have to treat the car with respect in order to....well basically stay alive. I think I'm a pretty good driver, but I do think much of my driving skill has come from having driven some very old cars at 10/10ths, which lets face it in new cars is very easy as they have so many electronic assistance systems that they generally flatter even the worst drivers. I would also say that my driving skills have probably degraded over the years a bit on account of having cars that are really easy to drive fast with none of the effort required on an old car.

The upside to learning in older poor handling cars is that if you bin it, it's likely to happen at a lower speed (although, admittedly, the crash protection isn't as good). Quite often when a car full of driver aids lets go it is at a much higher speed with greater consequences