I start my players with RAW (the 120,000 ship), but then let them pick 3-5 upgrades for the ship as long as the ship has the HPs for them.
That way they have a ship that will last them a while, but it's not so good that they will never desire a better ship.
Edit: At Knight level they start with a ship worth 170,000 credits.
Edited by HistoryGuy