First Insurance - any ideas?
Discussion
I have recenly been looking at buying my first car. I have about £2500 saved up and want something fairly newish as I don't know enough to maintain an older car.
Anyway I looked at a 96 golf tdi - good nick and know the driver well - problem is insurance. I have never been a first driver, only a named driver. No prangs and only 3 points given 6 years ago.
Is there any chance of getting insurance companies to take into account your status as a driver with history even if it was only as a named driver? I have been quoted £1700 for the Golf and I really can't afford that. I don't really want a 1 litre dustbin - but it looks as if that is the only route so far...
Anyway I looked at a 96 golf tdi - good nick and know the driver well - problem is insurance. I have never been a first driver, only a named driver. No prangs and only 3 points given 6 years ago.
Is there any chance of getting insurance companies to take into account your status as a driver with history even if it was only as a named driver? I have been quoted £1700 for the Golf and I really can't afford that. I don't really want a 1 litre dustbin - but it looks as if that is the only route so far...
in all fairness, i bought a h reg (1990) fiesta for £1000 and insured it as a new driver aged 22 with direct line fully comp for £700.
i would have loved a newer car and looked around at cars I could afford but i was not prepared to pay that much for insurance, particularly because i couldnt bear the hassle if the worse happened and i was involed in a crash only to find they give me a cheque for some measley figure at the end of it.
I would get a cheap fiesta/clio and save the money, if you look closely you can get a reliable car, mine did 20k miles in two years and never let me down once.
Failing that, buy a new car like a peugeot 106 and take advantage of the years free insurance they are currently offering, 2k should be enough for the deposit and you have a new car! IMO nearly 2k for a years insurance is madness!
i would have loved a newer car and looked around at cars I could afford but i was not prepared to pay that much for insurance, particularly because i couldnt bear the hassle if the worse happened and i was involed in a crash only to find they give me a cheque for some measley figure at the end of it.
I would get a cheap fiesta/clio and save the money, if you look closely you can get a reliable car, mine did 20k miles in two years and never let me down once.
Failing that, buy a new car like a peugeot 106 and take advantage of the years free insurance they are currently offering, 2k should be enough for the deposit and you have a new car! IMO nearly 2k for a years insurance is madness!
The 3 points are invalid anyway now so no need to worry about that. This is bacause you have had them over 4 years.
Not sure how old you are but if you are trying to get insurance at 25+ and have had your liscense 5+ years you should expect to pay around £850 for a fully comp policy on a Golf 1.8 SE 96 Which is quite good consideing my mum would have to pay £330 for the same car at 56 with 5+ years no claims.
Incidently i drive a similar car 318i 94(M) BMW and companies wanted to charge me £2300 fully comp so instead became a named driver on mums policy protected no claims gold policy etc for £900. Which is quite good considering i am 18 and passed 8 months ago.
Ignore people who tell you it's immoral etc to be a named driver when you do 90% of the cars miles yourself. These companies make a packet and i'm certainly not contributing to someones dodgy PI claim.
Not sure how old you are but if you are trying to get insurance at 25+ and have had your liscense 5+ years you should expect to pay around £850 for a fully comp policy on a Golf 1.8 SE 96 Which is quite good consideing my mum would have to pay £330 for the same car at 56 with 5+ years no claims.
Incidently i drive a similar car 318i 94(M) BMW and companies wanted to charge me £2300 fully comp so instead became a named driver on mums policy protected no claims gold policy etc for £900. Which is quite good considering i am 18 and passed 8 months ago.
Ignore people who tell you it's immoral etc to be a named driver when you do 90% of the cars miles yourself. These companies make a packet and i'm certainly not contributing to someones dodgy PI claim.
Are you saying that you got points on your licence six years ago, or that you have got three over six years? (oooooo... like me )
If it's the former, you should be able to get them wiped off. Then they will make no difference. With a clean licence you should then be able to wangle an introductory bonus equivelent a year's NCB with alot of companies, if you ask.
That should knock off around 40%, so bring you closer to the 1K mark
They are also probably quaking in their boots at the use of the words Turbo and VW.
Golfs are notorious for high repair costs, and insurers still don't understand that a blower on an oilburner doesn't mean "boy racer".
Bad choice for low premiums. The solution is implied, but if you've found a car you like and you think will be reliable, maybe the piece of mind is worth the extra outlay.
Shop wisely, and shop around, there will a deal out there. I usually buy a copy of MAXPOWER
and trawl the ad's in the insurance section (god some people have dirrty minds!), 'cos the ones that advertise there are more likely to be prepared to listen to young/inexperieced/no NCB drivers possibly with fast cars. Play them off each other, eventually one will crack, and the rest mysteriously drop their price too...
...funny that.
Mouse
) If it's the former, you should be able to get them wiped off. Then they will make no difference. With a clean licence you should then be able to wangle an introductory bonus equivelent a year's NCB with alot of companies, if you ask.
That should knock off around 40%, so bring you closer to the 1K mark
They are also probably quaking in their boots at the use of the words Turbo and VW.
Golfs are notorious for high repair costs, and insurers still don't understand that a blower on an oilburner doesn't mean "boy racer".
Bad choice for low premiums. The solution is implied, but if you've found a car you like and you think will be reliable, maybe the piece of mind is worth the extra outlay. Shop wisely, and shop around, there will a deal out there. I usually buy a copy of MAXPOWER
and trawl the ad's in the insurance section (god some people have dirrty minds!), 'cos the ones that advertise there are more likely to be prepared to listen to young/inexperieced/no NCB drivers possibly with fast cars. Play them off each other, eventually one will crack, and the rest mysteriously drop their price too... ...funny that.
Mouse
Im afraid the insurance man is going to con you for all he can mate. Its a sad state of affairs but if your under 25 insurance quotes are in silly money region. I doubt any company will look at your history as a named driver, nor you as a individual driving case, to them you are a statistic and whooping pay check. The one slight good point is the more NCB's you recieve the quicker the insurance bill drops eg at 22 i had 2 years NCB and the lowest qoute i had on a MGF was £2700, this year same company..same address it was down to £1300, when i changed the car to a higher insurance group they only added £50 to the policy.
I have argued till i am blue in the face about age discrimmination etc but nothing works. Bottom line we are in a high risk bracket and you cant legally drive without insurance so they can pretty much cr*p all over you which really winds me up
Tesco have been the best for me and have undercut other companies like AA and Churchill by literally thousands of pounds. Direct line provided me a half decent quote and if you trust Elephant.co.uk and read ALL the small print they can be V. cheap.
I have argued till i am blue in the face about age discrimmination etc but nothing works. Bottom line we are in a high risk bracket and you cant legally drive without insurance so they can pretty much cr*p all over you which really winds me up
Tesco have been the best for me and have undercut other companies like AA and Churchill by literally thousands of pounds. Direct line provided me a half decent quote and if you trust Elephant.co.uk and read ALL the small print they can be V. cheap.
andrewh said: The 3 points are invalid anyway now so no need to worry about that. This is bacause you have had them over 4 years.
Not sure how old you are but if you are trying to get insurance at 25+ and have had your liscense 5+ years you should expect to pay around £850 for a fully comp policy on a Golf 1.8 SE 96 Which is quite good consideing my mum would have to pay £330 for the same car at 56 with 5+ years no claims.
Incidently i drive a similar car 318i 94(M) BMW and companies wanted to charge me £2300 fully comp so instead became a named driver on mums policy protected no claims gold policy etc for £900. Which is quite good considering i am 18 and passed 8 months ago.
Ignore people who tell you it's immoral etc to be a named driver when you do 90% of the cars miles yourself. These companies make a packet and i'm certainly not contributing to someones dodgy PI claim.
The immorality of isn't a problem for, just the illegality.
If you have prang and hurt someone (of couse it never happens to you) and the Insurer can prove you covered more than the milage/proprtion of use agreed by the policy as a named driver, they are quite within their rights not to cough up.
They can afford to be pretty dogged about thiese things. It hard enough to get money out of the buggers when you have legitimate a claim, but if they get a sniff of dodgeiness rest assured blood and stone come mind, plus potential prosecution if things go properly pearshaped!
Driving is stessful enough at times with out adding to it by not doing things by the book.
I'm sure there are a few insurers out there who will offer no-claims bonus up front in these circumstances - along the lines of "if you have been driving for a period of time with no claims, then you can have a no claims bonus".
It certainly works for company car drivers and when I insured my first car I got a bonus accelerator policy which gave me 1 year NCB after 10 months instead of 12. OK, the insurance was only for 10 months but the renewal policy was lower with the NCB.
Try Direct Line - I'm sure they will give NCB up front and there must be others!
It certainly works for company car drivers and when I insured my first car I got a bonus accelerator policy which gave me 1 year NCB after 10 months instead of 12. OK, the insurance was only for 10 months but the renewal policy was lower with the NCB.
Try Direct Line - I'm sure they will give NCB up front and there must be others!
3 points 5 or 6 years ago - either way it sounds like they have gone - good riddance 42 in a 40 - nice of them I thought!!
Anyway, there is some good advice here. I want to start my own history so will have to take the pain initially. I do want the Golf as it is a very clean car, but the cost is too high.
I need to shop around as I haven't looked at many other cars. The quote was for fully comp on street parking in Newcstle, (although in a reasonable area) is it too dodgy/illegal/immoral to tell them it would be garaged at my parents, even though any car I get will hardly ever be there??
edited to add: ooops, forgot to say thankyou for the advice. Cheers.
Phil
>> Edited by mannginger on Tuesday 26th November 13:34
Anyway, there is some good advice here. I want to start my own history so will have to take the pain initially. I do want the Golf as it is a very clean car, but the cost is too high.
I need to shop around as I haven't looked at many other cars. The quote was for fully comp on street parking in Newcstle, (although in a reasonable area) is it too dodgy/illegal/immoral to tell them it would be garaged at my parents, even though any car I get will hardly ever be there??
edited to add: ooops, forgot to say thankyou for the advice. Cheers.
Phil
>> Edited by mannginger on Tuesday 26th November 13:34
The immorality of isn't a problem for, just the illegality.
If you have prang and hurt someone (of couse it never happens to you) and the Insurer can prove you covered more than the milage/proprtion of use agreed by the policy as a named driver, they are quite within their rights not to cough up.
Ummmm...technically yes, they are, but the Ombudsman would take a 105mm howitzer to that argument and just leave a big, black, smoking hole where it used to be. Plus the fact most policies nowadays don't have a mileage limit as such, the insurer justs asks for an idea to gauge the risk - the more miles you do, the more likely you are to be involved in a prang. NB Classic car policies are different - that's usually a hard limit, but check your paperwork to be sure.
They can afford to be pretty dogged about thiese things. It hard enough to get money out of the buggers when you have legitimate a claim, but if they get a sniff of dodgeiness rest assured blood and stone come mind, plus potential prosecution if things go properly pearshaped!
It should NOT be hard to get money out of a company for a legit motor insurance claim - I suspect what you're referring to is personal injury (PI) claims for the driver, which is a whole new ball of wax - as a driver your car policy DOES NOT cover you for injury, loss of earnings etc etc - the other guy's insurer pays that and it's up to YOU to get it, not your own insurer, unless you've paid an extra premium for what's known as ULR (uninsured loss recovery) solicitors to act on your behalf. And, why are you surprised when insurers protect their business? Supermarkets have store detectives to prevent people defrauding them, why complain when insurers do it? If people didn't make so many bul
hit claims for 'whiplash' costing £3000 a pop when the impact happened at 5mph then premiums wouldn't be so high and the insurers wouldn't need to employ so many anti-fraud investigators. On that note, don't tell the insurer that the car is garaged somewhere when it isn't; this is deliberate misinformation and could potentially invalidate the policy, which is something you don't want to do, trust me. Most of the decent 'direct' writers will give you some sort of introductory discount - maybe only 10-20% but it's worth something. The 3 points are null and void now, don't bother mentioning them as I'm fairly certain they are officially classed as 'spent' under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Madcop - am I right on this??).
Best advice I can give is, tell the truth; unfortunately this may mean some financial pain initially, but write this off as the fault of the Max Power turkey-turds-for-brains mob and use it as motivation NEVER to be like them
As always, if anyone thinks I can help with anything insurance-related, let me know. I don't promise anything other than to do me best, mind
Try Tesco online or Admiral - they have both given me good quotes in the past. Admiral has a no-claims bonus accelerator, which racks up a NCB quicker and you also buy insurance in 10 month "chunks" so you pay slightly less each time around.
Other than having had insurance with both, I'm in no way related to either of them.
Hope this helps.
Other than having had insurance with both, I'm in no way related to either of them.
Hope this helps.
hey hey hey!
I'm not critisisng the insurers for being careful who they pay out to. Even they have feed their kids.
Besides, in long run they're doing us, as well as them selves a favour. If every spurious claim was payed out willy nilly, it wouldn't be the insurers who pay, would it?
I'm not critisisng the insurers for being careful who they pay out to. Even they have feed their kids.
Besides, in long run they're doing us, as well as them selves a favour. If every spurious claim was payed out willy nilly, it wouldn't be the insurers who pay, would it?
danger mouse said: hey hey hey!
I'm not critisisng the insurers for being careful who they pay out to. Even they have feed their kids.
Besides, in long run they're doing us, as well as them selves a favour. If every spurious claim was payed out willy nilly, it wouldn't be the insurers who pay, would it?
Couldn't agree more DM...didn't mean to aim that directly at you, although it may have looked that way, sorry (((hug))) I just get a little exercised when people pop off at us insurers - there are some scummy toerags out there, but most of us are here to make an honest living
mannginger - German cars tend to be a bit more expensive to insure... for example a Golf will cost more to insure than a Focus - even if they are the same spec and price / value. Bascially, that comes down to the cost of parts and labour...
We all hate paying insurance, and thus far (touch wood) all I have ever done is paid out - no claims or convictions, no accidents (touching wood again).
However, the fact remains that for drivers of relative inexperience (defined by NCB - NOT actual experience) or young age (under 25), for every £1 paid in premiums, the companies pay out £1.50. You do the maths. These people are in business to MAKE MONEY. They don't give a flying about who you are, or what you drive - they base their premium on the industry standard - they are associating a risk to you and you pay that risk - it's a bet. Will he / won't he claim.
It stinks, but it's fact. Golf will be expensive - maybe try a humble Ford or Vauxhaul...
We all hate paying insurance, and thus far (touch wood) all I have ever done is paid out - no claims or convictions, no accidents (touching wood again).
However, the fact remains that for drivers of relative inexperience (defined by NCB - NOT actual experience) or young age (under 25), for every £1 paid in premiums, the companies pay out £1.50. You do the maths. These people are in business to MAKE MONEY. They don't give a flying about who you are, or what you drive - they base their premium on the industry standard - they are associating a risk to you and you pay that risk - it's a bet. Will he / won't he claim.
It stinks, but it's fact. Golf will be expensive - maybe try a humble Ford or Vauxhaul...
andrewh said: The 3 points are invalid anyway now so no need to worry about that. This is bacause you have had them over 4 years.
Not sure how old you are but if you are trying to get insurance at 25+ and have had your liscense 5+ years you should expect to pay around £850 for a fully comp policy on a Golf 1.8 SE 96 Which is quite good consideing my mum would have to pay £330 for the same car at 56 with 5+ years no claims.
Incidently i drive a similar car 318i 94(M) BMW and companies wanted to charge me £2300 fully comp so instead became a named driver on mums policy protected no claims gold policy etc for £900. Which is quite good considering i am 18 and passed 8 months ago.
Ignore people who tell you it's immoral etc to be a named driver when you do 90% of the cars miles yourself. These companies make a packet and i'm certainly not contributing to someones dodgy PI claim.
The immorality of isn't a problem for, just the illegality.
If you have prang and hurt someone (of couse it never happens to you) and the Insurer can prove you covered more than the milage/proprtion of use agreed by the policy as a named driver, they are quite within their rights not to cough up.
Yea, a lassy I was at uni with got cought out with this one when she gave police her Edinburgh address instead of her home one. -Dont know what the initial outcome was, even though she usually left the car at home anyway and was just shifting stuff out of her flat, last I heard it was taking at least the best part of a year to sort out tho, an she was driving round in a smashed up car...
Try a pug 306 for insurance (I know, I wouldnt buy one, my mums is a shed), but its a 1.8, relatively new an only group 5 insurance (newer ones are way lower).
One of my mates just got an L plate 2 litre mondano insured for £800 through elephant (no, or maybe 1 yrs NCB).
Also try CIS -thats who me and my brother are with, and phone round every single company in the yellow pages, cos there will be a massive differance between the highest and lowest quotes, even from brokers.
Get something slow/crap/french for just now, then after youve built up a bit of NCB move onto something a bit better (like a Golf)...
Pete.
Podie said: Bell Direct could be an option - they do a 9 month accelerator policy.
Insurance is bough tin 9 month intervals, and for each claim free 9 months, they give you 1 years NCB.
Worth checking out..
They are - but be careful. You'll probably find in the small print a clause that says 'No claims discount will only be provided if you renew your policy with us' - i.e. if you try and take your 1 years NCD elsewhere you can't. NCD 'accelerator' or 'bonusbuilder' -type policies are a great marketing gimmick and do help the younger drivers out in their formative years, but they can act as a tie-in for some years - if they hike your premium the possibility exists they will have you over a barrel. [Hill Street Blues] Let's be careful out there [/Hill Street Blues]
Edited to say if you're too young to remember HSB, please don't tell me, cos I'll feel ancient
I'd go with pablo, I too had a shed for a few years til I could get the NCB and then the discounts to afford a new car.
My first was a £500 Escort with insurance of £800/year, soon fell to < £300 after three years or so.
I always recommend to friends who have 17 year old kids to get them insured on their own from the off, it works out cheaper in the long run.
My first was a £500 Escort with insurance of £800/year, soon fell to < £300 after three years or so.
I always recommend to friends who have 17 year old kids to get them insured on their own from the off, it works out cheaper in the long run.
The shed route is often wise.
My cavalier (yes, yes, a yucky vauxhall) cost £350, and has done over 30K miles. It's insurance wasn't too bad, and now I've built up some NCB I've got the cabrio, which was nice, (until bits started falling off).
Another thing about a 'decent' 1st car - and this isn't a dig - do you really want to risk stacking it?
Young drivers premiums are high for a reason.
Even the best will in the world can't necessarily compensate for a second's lack of judgement.
My cavalier and I have been through some scenery together, only quick reactions and a lot of dum luck prevented a couple of major incidents. Classic novice stuff every time.
The cav doesn't mind mud & scratches coz it's old, but a nice expensive golf would.
Think carefully. Good luck with it either way.
My cavalier (yes, yes, a yucky vauxhall) cost £350, and has done over 30K miles. It's insurance wasn't too bad, and now I've built up some NCB I've got the cabrio, which was nice, (until bits started falling off).
Another thing about a 'decent' 1st car - and this isn't a dig - do you really want to risk stacking it?
Young drivers premiums are high for a reason.
Even the best will in the world can't necessarily compensate for a second's lack of judgement.
My cavalier and I have been through some scenery together, only quick reactions and a lot of dum luck prevented a couple of major incidents. Classic novice stuff every time.
The cav doesn't mind mud & scratches coz it's old, but a nice expensive golf would.
Think carefully. Good luck with it either way.
I thought I payed too much money for insurance, but some of the annual figures you guys are or have paid is just crazy.
As for trying to get some kind of no claims bonus from being a named driver on a private policy, think this could proove interesting, if not impossible! With everyone handing back the keys to there company cars these days, some of these insurance companies are now even refusing a letter from your companies insurers as proof of NCB.
As for trying to get some kind of no claims bonus from being a named driver on a private policy, think this could proove interesting, if not impossible! With everyone handing back the keys to there company cars these days, some of these insurance companies are now even refusing a letter from your companies insurers as proof of NCB.
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