Is this a good idea?
Discussion
I am looking to buy a new car soon to replace my 1.8 Mondeo, and I am fairly certain that it will be an E39 528i. Obviously being 18 insurance is a bit of an issue, but I think I may have discovered a way to reduce it drastically.
I have been researching quotes, and if I were to swap the Ford in summer, my insurance would be around £1900 fully comp with a years no claims for the BMW. However, if I say I have owned the car for 6 months, that comes down to £1400.
What I am thinking of doing, is buying a cheap-ish E39 in summer, and declaring it off the road while it sits in my garage for a year while I continue to drive the Mondeo for another year. This way, come summer next year, I can say that I will have 2 years no claims (providing I don't wreck the Ford) and that I have owned the E39 for 12 months. If I do this, my insurance would be under £1000 for the BMW.
While the E39 is sitting in the garage, I can sort out any minor issues that it may or may not have - and I would obviously run the engine once a week to keep everything working.
So basically, is this a good idea or not? Thanks for any help
I have been researching quotes, and if I were to swap the Ford in summer, my insurance would be around £1900 fully comp with a years no claims for the BMW. However, if I say I have owned the car for 6 months, that comes down to £1400.
What I am thinking of doing, is buying a cheap-ish E39 in summer, and declaring it off the road while it sits in my garage for a year while I continue to drive the Mondeo for another year. This way, come summer next year, I can say that I will have 2 years no claims (providing I don't wreck the Ford) and that I have owned the E39 for 12 months. If I do this, my insurance would be under £1000 for the BMW.
While the E39 is sitting in the garage, I can sort out any minor issues that it may or may not have - and I would obviously run the engine once a week to keep everything working.
So basically, is this a good idea or not? Thanks for any help
SD1992 said:
I am looking to buy a new car soon to replace my 1.8 Mondeo, and I am fairly certain that it will be an E39 528i. Obviously being 18 insurance is a bit of an issue, but I think I may have discovered a way to reduce it drastically.
I have been researching quotes, and if I were to swap the Ford in summer, my insurance would be around £1900 fully comp with a years no claims for the BMW. However, if I say I have owned the car for 6 months, that comes down to £1400.
What I am thinking of doing, is buying a cheap-ish E39 in summer, and declaring it off the road while it sits in my garage for a year while I continue to drive the Mondeo for another year. This way, come summer next year, I can say that I will have 2 years no claims (providing I don't wreck the Ford) and that I have owned the E39 for 12 months. If I do this, my insurance would be under £1000 for the BMW.
While the E39 is sitting in the garage, I can sort out any minor issues that it may or may not have - and I would obviously run the engine once a week to keep everything working.
So basically, is this a good idea or not? Thanks for any help
Why do you think that?.I have been researching quotes, and if I were to swap the Ford in summer, my insurance would be around £1900 fully comp with a years no claims for the BMW. However, if I say I have owned the car for 6 months, that comes down to £1400.
What I am thinking of doing, is buying a cheap-ish E39 in summer, and declaring it off the road while it sits in my garage for a year while I continue to drive the Mondeo for another year. This way, come summer next year, I can say that I will have 2 years no claims (providing I don't wreck the Ford) and that I have owned the E39 for 12 months. If I do this, my insurance would be under £1000 for the BMW.
While the E39 is sitting in the garage, I can sort out any minor issues that it may or may not have - and I would obviously run the engine once a week to keep everything working.
So basically, is this a good idea or not? Thanks for any help
The only problems I foresee are that given rising fuel costs , a 528 , even though not terribly greedy on fuel will be perceived by many as a gas guzzler , in turn reducing demand and therefore prices will tumble. Your potential purchase could lose a large percentage of it's purchase price over the year it's laid up.
Also insurance companies are known to re-evaluate and change the way premiums are calculated quite often so the price may not necessarily be reduced because you've owned it for a year , in a years time IYSWIM.
Also insurance companies are known to re-evaluate and change the way premiums are calculated quite often so the price may not necessarily be reduced because you've owned it for a year , in a years time IYSWIM.
How tempted would you be just to take it for a spin though to 'free up the brakes' or similar? Could get yourself into trouble if you can't resist!
I wouldn't worry about it being uninsured in the garage, the chances of anything happening to it are very very slim, not as if it's a car worth tens of thousands so I can hardly see someone breaking into your garage to nick an E39 528i
Just take the hit and buy and insure it straightaway, have some fun.
I wouldn't worry about it being uninsured in the garage, the chances of anything happening to it are very very slim, not as if it's a car worth tens of thousands so I can hardly see someone breaking into your garage to nick an E39 528i
Just take the hit and buy and insure it straightaway, have some fun.ZOLLAR said:
Why do you think that?.
Maybe he got a quote under those conditions? 
I'm not sure about this one and its dubiousness, but the policy questions ask how long you have owned the car. Not actually when it was registered to you. This surely makes it completely untraceable, since the registered keeper is not necessarily the legal owner, so you could have owned the car for twelve months prior to the date your name appeared on the V5?
SD1992 said:
Sorry I didn't make it clear in the OP, we live fairly out of the way and in the country. There have been no break ins or thefts in the area for as long as we have been here (14 years).
How much would a 'laid up' policy be roughly, and where would I go about looking for one?
Adrian Flux.How much would a 'laid up' policy be roughly, and where would I go about looking for one?
My justification is that I will be doing far less miles as of September this year so I will not be using the car to commute. It will only be used on weekends occasionally, and mainly during the holidays so the fuel consumption is not really an issue.
If the insurance prices rise substantially then I would probably just keep the car in the garage until I built up enough no claims to insure it. Could always use that time to modify it a little bit!
I would not be tempted at all to take it out for a spin uninsured - if I was caught I would be nailed to the wall as an 18 year old male in a powerful car! I need my licence as my summer job involves a lot of driving. We have a fairly long driveway so I can always drive it up and down to "free up the brakes"
If the insurance prices rise substantially then I would probably just keep the car in the garage until I built up enough no claims to insure it. Could always use that time to modify it a little bit!
I would not be tempted at all to take it out for a spin uninsured - if I was caught I would be nailed to the wall as an 18 year old male in a powerful car! I need my licence as my summer job involves a lot of driving. We have a fairly long driveway so I can always drive it up and down to "free up the brakes"
McSam said:
ZOLLAR said:
Why do you think that?.
Maybe he got a quote under those conditions? I'm not sure about this one and its dubiousness, but the policy questions ask how long you have owned the car. Not actually when it was registered to you. This surely makes it completely untraceable, since the registered keeper is not necessarily the legal owner, so you could have owned the car for twelve months prior to the date your name appeared on the V5?
SD1992 said:
ZOLLAR said:
Why do you think that?.
I have run quotes on comparison websites with these details, and my Dad asked his broker who agreed.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff