My mates who have gone through this recently all have daughters so I gather the insurance side of things will differ massively, any tips on what to look for corsa/fiesta etc? How to get the insurance side a bit more manageable?
Cheers
My eldest lad is now 17 and so it may be time to start thinking about a car for him, be handy to get some "L" plate experience and then as a
first car when solo.
My mates who have gone through this recently all have daughters so I gather the insurance side of things will differ massively, any tips on what to
look for corsa/fiesta etc? How to get the insurance side a bit more manageable?
Cheers
I had a mk2 punto for my first car, being a 1.2 though there are cheaper 1.0 options like corsas, saxos out there etc. But it was a great first car,
nippy...great fun. Can't imagine driving something that slow now, only 3 years ago! But like they say, sometimes it's more fun driving a
slow car quickly than a fast car slowly.
What about a kit?
Corsa of the two
Look for something "bog standard" no alloys. neons or spoilers
My baby sis is going through all this at the moment.
I convinced her to buy something interesting but cheap (spotted a decent enough mk1 fiesta 1.1 for £500). Problem is they still wanted £2,500 for
TPFT insurance.
It's getting to the point now where you need to subtract the insurance premium from your budget and that's how much your car will have to
cost.
Jess's £3k of hard earned is going to get her 12 months insurance and an old $hitter that will probably spend a lot of time on my drive being
fixed.
However, IMHO that's what first cars should be all about
Choices I've narrowed down with her are Ka, Lupo (and Seat equivelent) and an old Nova (but only because I had one myself). She really wants a
classic mini but while they're just as cheap on the insurance front, it's not as easy to find a decent one for the same price as the others.
get a new car on finance with 1st years free ins ... look out for the pitfall of being 21 and older !!! or get a classic car thats 15years and older
to ins as a classic thats 2 extremes !!! otherwise corsa and grin and bear it !!!
its worth asking which insurers take on board the passplus and other courses ... tho sometimes it costs more to take this than get the ins at normal
price !!!
ive just lost 5 years ncd on my lupo 1.7sdi (works shed) and paid 320quid last year my quote to renewal is 1600 quid lol. so selling up and going to
run the corrado full time at the cost of 512 fully comp 
Make sure you are seated when you get quotes, you might be in for a big shock!
The usual insurance tips are to phone the insurers directly rather than use comparison sites, and to add low risk drivers (e.g. yourself and wife
etc.) to the policy as named drivers.
A lot of young lads try 'fronting', were they put the main driver down as their mum or dad, but it can really bite them in the arse if a
claim is made and the insurance company suspect this. They also don't build any no claims, which is vital for a youngster to get reasonable
insurance premiums.
also look into purchase hire that charges a lot a month but get a car plus ins and all included except petrol/diesel
Our apprentice at work is looking for a first car at the moment. hes looking at quotes of over 2500 for 1 litre polo's an the like.
Iv heard rover 200/25 1.4's are not too bad to insure. they do a 1.1 rover 200 aswell. Bloody good cars really.
Can you get classic insurance now if your under 25 ??? When i passed in 1990, you couldnt go classic insurance until you were 25.
quote:
Originally posted by StevieB
My baby sis is going through all this at the moment.
I convinced her to buy something interesting but cheap (spotted a decent enough mk1 fiesta 1.1 for £500). Problem is they still wanted £2,500 for TPFT insurance.
It's getting to the point now where you need to subtract the insurance premium from your budget and that's how much your car will have to cost.
Jess's £3k of hard earned is going to get her 12 months insurance and an old $hitter that will probably spend a lot of time on my drive being fixed.
However, IMHO that's what first cars should be all about
Choices I've narrowed down with her are Ka, Lupo (and Seat equivelent) and an old Nova (but only because I had one myself). She really wants a classic mini but while they're just as cheap on the insurance front, it's not as easy to find a decent one for the same price as the others.
We have just put a car on the road for 18 year old son, passed test 8 months a go, pass plus etc.
Best deal we found was £1600 fully comp in his own name with myself and wife as named drivers, car is garaged overnight. Insurance is ona deal where
after 10 months a years no claims bonus is given
The car is a 2003 seicento all 1100cc of it , seems tidy enough and nippy we paid £1150 with 6months tax and test on it , 2 elderly owners before so
not thrashed.
Ironic that the insurance costs a lump more than the car!
hth
Mike
I'm 30 so don't know about being 25 and gaining classic ins it's worth asking adrain flux chris knott or some other classic specialist insurers
Cheapest my mate could get for his renewal was admiral, he's 20 though not 17. £1000 excess though! Yikes..
Rover 25 with the 81hp engine --- derated version of the 104hp K for insurance purposes. Easy and cheap to fix 3* Ncap.
Beware some small cars have very poor NCAP ratings check for model year for example some older FIAT Puntos barely manage 2 stars but others get 5
stars
For cheap cars TPFT insurance is now usually as or more costly than full comp.
Thanks for the advice guys.
I think i will look for cheaper older car than we first thought. The Polo's from around the P reg age look good for ABS , airbag etc. I guess
they would be OK for the crash testing as well. (is the Polo a bit girly ?? )
Oh, if anyone knows of any for sale in the Milton Keynes area,, drop us message
97 Polo is 3 star Ncap --- pretty good for the the year and size.
One advantage of the VW is the electronic diagnostic prospects are good.
Downside is they attract a price premium over the Corsa/Punto herd.
Beware Corsa engines they suffer badly from cam & valve gear problems however they electronic diagnostic prospects are good.
With FIATs the biggest problems are imobilisers and head gaskets.
There is now a Btech course which has kind of superseded Pass Plus you can get to the info via http://www.driveiq.co.uk/
they have some great insurance rates.
The other place to try is http://www.collingwoodlearners.co.uk/ also seem to be very good for young drivers.
Whichever way you do things go for something in a very low insurance group for the first two years - then it all gets a lot better if they don't
have any bumps or speeding offences.
quote:
Originally posted by BigGeoff
There is now a Btech course which has kind of superseded Pass Plus you can get to the info via http://www.driveiq.co.uk/
they have some great insurance rates.
The other place to try is http://www.collingwoodlearners.co.uk/ also seem to be very good for young drivers.
Whichever way you do things go for something in a very low insurance group for the first two years - then it all gets a lot better if they don't have any bumps or speeding offences.
- 3months for £270 on a 1 litre Polo I have a perfect fiesta for sale in for sale section
Things have not changed that much. My first car was a 1200 Ford Anglia. Cost £100 to buy and £100 to insure.
quote:
Originally posted by eddie99
I have a perfect fiesta for sale in for sale section
Might be worth trying... You find a lot of insurance is done on figures, so if less people have had a 1.6 fiesta, all thinking it would be better
having the 1.2, less 17year olds have crashed 1.6's so therefore sometimes its cheaper. Thats my logic anyway, i had a 1.7 puma as my first car,
was cheaper insurance than any 1.1's i found....
If the car's not worth a great deal try full comp but with as much voluntary excess as they will allow.
Remember that the insurance will shoot up once they pass.
Think yourself lucky you don't have any special requirements. I got my first car at 21 and needed an auto and I can tell you it's not easy
to find a cheap small car with an autobox, I had £600 to spend on the car and the month I got it I had a choice of 3 cars (Mk2 Fiesta with a huge dent
and broken Radio, Mk3 Golf 5Dr or a 205 3dr) I was kind of lucky because I really wanted a 205. There are some weeks though when I check autotrader
and there are no cars I would have been able to buy in a 50 mile radius. Mine went from 1400 to 1600 when I passed my test (TPFT), My Current car
which I bought less than a year later got me about £1000 fully comp, on a Brand new Panda.
Most of the free insurance deals on HP and new cars don't apply to 17 year olds but the ones that do might be worth looking into as there are
some cars out there where the monthly instalments for both are going to be less than the installments on insurance for a shitty old car.
My brother has been looking into this and had the same kind of problem. The funny thing is that so far the cheapest quote he's had was on a 911.
Obviously he got that quote as a joke but he was offered classic insurance on an 80's 911 for about £2K with the same mileage and conditions
he'd been using for quotes on sensible cars.
I personally would say your wasting your money buying a 17 year old boy a car, wait a while and the insurance will be a bit cheaper and he'll
have the time to save up and pay for it himself.
True you might as well get yourself a small runabout (fronting, pah, what copper thought I was driving a high-spec 405 at 17 on my own policy?) and
have them as named drivers. Make sure they earn their own no-claims too. Stepson's going to be going through this in about a year and I'm
thinking it might be as well sticking him on the Mondeo rather than the 106 (which is costing us more to insure for some reason)
Maybe this reasoning is that their first shed is going to get dinged, however mum and dad's pride and joy is going to be looked after for fear of
the a**e kicking of his life (I know I did!)
quote:
Originally posted by macc man
Things have not changed that much. My first car was a 1200 Ford Anglia. Cost £100 to buy and £100 to insure.
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
quote:
Originally posted by macc man
Things have not changed that much. My first car was a 1200 Ford Anglia. Cost £100 to buy and £100 to insure.
I was about to say that! - but mine was a 105E (1050) engine - I used to hanker after the super 1200s! Car cost £140 and I think insurance was £40 !
However, I don't think this is helping the thread - poster, is it?
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
quote:
Originally posted by macc man
Things have not changed that much. My first car was a 1200 Ford Anglia. Cost £100 to buy and £100 to insure.
I was about to say that! - but mine was a 105E (1050) engine - I used to hanker after the super 1200s! Car cost £140 and I think insurance was £40 !
However, I don't think this is helping the thread - poster, is it?
The 1200 123e Anglia should have been cheaper to insure they used to spend more time in the garage getting new big end bearings than the 997cc 105e version.
Early Ford Kent engines were crap until they got the 5 bearing crank,
Back to the classic insurance.
Yes, it is possible at 17.
Heard of quotes under £800 on mini's, and eldest daughter is planning on my Triumph Toledo in just over a year. Stick it in her name, and that
way my NCD won't be affected if she prangs it. If considering this route, best to avoid convertibles
Mini's make a lot of sense, as although not cheap to buy, will always hold value (unless dinged)
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
Back to the classic insurance.
Yes, it is possible at 17.
Heard of quotes under £800 on mini's, and eldest daughter is planning on my Triumph Toledo in just over a year. Stick it in her name, and that way my NCD won't be affected if she prangs it. If considering this route, best to avoid convertibles
Mini's make a lot of sense, as although not cheap to buy, will always hold value (unless dinged)
It doesn't bother me (As I have no kids) but aren't minis really bad in crashes? As I say I've got no kids and when I do they
won't be getting cars out of me but I imagine alot of parents would be put of by something like that.
Anyone looked into putting their kids on their kit insurance? Some guy selling a GTM told my brother it would be cheaper to insure than a normal car
even at 17.
Something else to bear in mind. Sometimes low estimated milage puts the price up, thats why I'm insured for 6K when I only do 4K (when getting my
quotes 6K was the lowest).
Just a slight sidetrack (I don't think it really warrants it's own tread) what qualities are ideal in a first car for a 17 y/o?
Of course a multi-airbagged chelsea tractor would be safer, in fact so would a new 5* NCAP motor, but mini's and the like were what we grew up
on, and in something like a mini you get a healty respect for speed and other road users. Modern cars insulate the driver, and so speeds tend to be
higher and more risks taken (possibly)
Besides, in reality the vast majority crunches are dings, dents and so on. Maybe the odd hedge, but I do that when rallying
People are getting scared and believing the hype pushed by manufacturors that old cars are deathtraps, which is not the case. Not what I was expecting
on this forum TBH.
And yes I am protective of my kids, but I hopefully understand the risks. And more importantly, I hope they do, which is where most of the problems
occur. By the time she is 17 my eldest will have competed in a few autotests and maybe autosolo's, getting her on a track may be a little more
difficult, but that of road experience should give her a bit of nouse when it come sto car control, reckon that is better than an airbag
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
Just a slight sidetrack (I don't think it really warrants it's own tread) what qualities are ideal in a first car for a 17 y/o?
I've got a feeling that most two seaters are going to be costly insurance wise. I may be wrong but I think Smart cars were more to insure than
superminis and most other small two seaters cars were really expesive because they were low volume cars (Like Axiams, they're rediculus for
insurance). On 2 seaters If you want a laugh have a look at an insurance quote for an original Honda Insight. It's because of the batteries but
it still gets me.
I was actually thinking beyond financial reasons which off course makes everything academic (Hence why it doesn't need it's own thread).
I don't think this has been asked, but what is the car going to be used for?
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
I was actually thinking beyond financial reasons which off course makes everything academic (Hence why it doesn't need it's own thread).
I don't think this has been asked, but what is the car going to be used for?
), as if he's going up town I would rather give him £20 for a taxi back, than the risks of
driving back in the early hours possibly loaded up with mates who are happy on beer.
I would definately recommend the K11 micra. Loads of them about for spares, cheap enough to buy, and reliable engines. A lot of them have been owned by old grannies too, so havent been thrashed about.
quote:
Originally posted by karlak
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
I was speaking to someone a while ago who heard of an insurance company specifically for lads, that has a 11pm curfew, made quite a difference to the cost apparantly. Would suit me (not sure about him
We looked intothe i box scheme or whatever it is called and for not using the car ever between 11pm and 5 am ( £100 surcharge each trip!!) and restricting mileage it only reduced quote by about £30 compared to Adn miral etc quotes. There might be some better schemes that have started more recently but it appeared to be a bit of a marketing con.
Re kit cars the Quantum owners club do a pooled scheme which does bring insurance down to reasonable lvels and we seriously looked at obtaining a Quantum 2 +2 but felt it wa s a bit flash to leave around town, theyalso doan H4 with zetec power but the back end is plain fugly
hth
Mike
morcus - 31/1/11 at 03:18 AMFor the record I'd like it noted that I appear to have been quoted as saying something I didn't. Though the curfew thing seems like a good idea.
Ninehigh - 31/1/11 at 04:13 AMquote:
Originally posted by morcus
On 2 seaters If you want a laugh have a look at an insurance quote for an original Honda Insight. It's because of the batteries but it still gets me.
Just looked, tis about the same as our mondeo... Which I guess is a bit high considering it's a 1l 2 seater greenmobile compared to a 2l td repmobile
karlak - 31/1/11 at 03:06 PMJust to add what I have found from my inital post..
It seems that two companies come out as best quotes,
quindirect insurance and Adrian Flux.
Collingwood only insure them while provisional and then cancel the policy when they pass and refund the remainder. Trouble here is that if they have been on prov for 6months, then that is not used as part of their first years NC bonus.
Bloody nightmare though, there must be a better way of insuring young lads and evaluating their "real" risk. I think they are all assumed to be like the tits that you see racing away from coppers on these police,camera,chavs programs
Kwik - 1/2/11 at 03:47 PMclassic mini:
decent one for around £1000, will teach him about restoration and car maintanance.
insurance for me (18 year old in london) £640 on a classic car policy, will beat any corsa or fiest for looks, and im 6ft so no height issues
loggyboy - 1/2/11 at 04:43 PMCitroen C2
New enough to be reliable and safe (4star ncap)
Old enough to be cheaper, and parts available.
Funky enough to be cool, common enough to be undesirable to scum (ie thiefs and police!)
Get a 1.1 if you want group 3 insurance. 1.4s are Grp 6
Wife had a 1.4 Furio (VTR/S look alike) to replace her first car (Saxo). Lots of gadgets for money and drove nicely. Was good step up to her first Hot hatch (Fiesta ST)
Nowadays I wouldnt stick a child of mine in a 10Yr old + car just for the safety factor.
Old minis, fiestas, novas/ corsa may be easy to repair/maintain, but arent exactly full of airbags and ABS.
[Edited on 1/2/11 by loggyboy]
trextr7monkey - 1/2/11 at 04:49 PMquote:
Originally posted by morcus
For the record I'd like it noted that I appear to have been quoted as saying something I didn't. Though the curfew thing seems like a good idea.
Don't know why it did that ?
atb
Mike
morcus - 1/2/11 at 05:34 PMIt's cool I didn't think you were up to anything, was just pointing it out because it's weird.
After the last two winters I wouldn't want to be without ABS. I had at least one incident this year which I'm certain would have been a crash without it (Someone stopped at a roundabout then pulled out infront of me onto the roundabout, then paniced and started spinning the wheels).