First car for £2000 (with insurance), is it possible?

[RobZo]

I am turning 17 in a couple of months (yeah, yeah, I know) and after looking at rising quotes over the past few years, was wondering if it is actually to get a car and insurance for £2000 (or less) when you're 17. I have been fanatical about cars since I was a little boy and can't wait to finally get behind the wheel of one, however myself and my family don't have much money so I doubt I'd be able to get a car for more than £2000 at my age. Any suggestions/pointers?

Thanks

[RZ1]

I think the best thing to do is make a note of all the cars with the lowest insurance group. Get some prices on the insurance and then you will have an idea of how much you have left to spend on the car.

[J4CKO]

Sorry, but I dont think so, reckon a first years driving costs a miniumum of £3,000 sadly, probably nearer four.

[CBR JGWRR]

Considered motorcycling?

Easily possible on a 2k budget.

[Jandywa]

I'd say the only way you'll get both a car and insurance for 2k would be with a classic car on some sort of classic car policy. Which doesn't bode well for your safety as many classics, cool and desirable some may be, are alot like crisp packets.

[pembo]

I'm not necessarily saying this one but one of these would be ideal, I know they're not exactly 'cool' but they get you on the road and are good to start off with. A mate got one as his first car and managed to get insured for £600 (he was 26 though) so I'm sure you could get this on the road for less than your £2k budget:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[chrisispringles]

Put simply, no. You are not going to get insurance for less than £3k, factor in the cost of a car and running it for a year and you are probably looking at £5.5k at least. The sensible thing to do would be to get yourself through your test then wait a few years for insurance to drop to a sensible price.

ETA.

Do not front the insurance. It is fraudulent and if you get caught then your insurance company will cancel the policy leaving you having to declare a cancelled policy for life, which will inflate your premiums substantially. If you have a crash they can come after you personally for any third party costs.

Edited by chrisispringles on Tuesday 13th March 16:39

[DaveH23]

RZ1 said:

I think the best thing to do is make a note of all the cars with the lowest insurance group. Get some prices on the insurance and then you will have an idea of how much you have left to spend on the car.

Groups have very little affect on insurance now as its all statistics against claims.

Try looking at cars folk your age dont normally insure like older volvo's etc.

[jgtv]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

1996 MX5 old enough for a classic limited milage policy?
£475
probably not going to be without fault but for that money its never going to be perfect.

failing that

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Less than £300 worth of fiesta cant be that much to insure right?

[Petrol Only]

Surely the problem with getting classic insurance is the age? All polices I have ever seen and had have all been for 25+

Personally if I was you and I did not have mum or dad to help with running a car. Id pass my test and forget about driving for a couple years im afraid. As much as I love driving I would not pay that much for the privilege at your age. 4k? fk that's basically a your whole summer holiday on an 18-30 holiday!

So drinking and fking girls all summer or driving a st box for a year...

[Decky_Q]

The company I work for are starting to offer young drivers with smart phones an app that records some aspects of your driving and it automatically means that you get 50% off the standard premium, check out this type of thing on the internet and you should find a comapny that has the same type of offer.

Get it in your own name- fronting is the easiest out for denying a claim and the premium will be almost identical as if it was in your own name, so you might as well be earning NCB.

Also tips are- limit your mileage, get the renault 1.5diesel or vaux 1.4diesel engines as in my experience the premiums are half normal, get a garage, if the model designation has 's' or 'r' avoid it, you can get the same engine/spec in another variant, avoid VAG for a few years to start with, when asked whats the vehicle value tell them a figure over £2k, dont be a student if you have a job, shop around alot and not just comparision sites phone everywhere you can, get the policy in the last 3 days of the month when ppl are under pressure to meet sales targets, Its a big premium so if the best offer is a broker ask/tell them youll put the business with them if they split the comission with you.

Be stingy as hell with every penny and its possible, I got my brother his first car recently a 2003 1.9sdi fabia with comfort pack under 100k on the clock 12months test and 6months tax, plus comp insurance for £1200 all in ((helped that I got the car for £800 and I sell insurance but anybody could do it) and I know its a VAG with 's'in the name lol)

[LouD86]

Dont go for a car that is popular!! Ive just been sussing this out with my younger brother. He is 17, just about to pass, and we have just brought his first car for him, with the same insurance woes your having.

1995 Nissan Micra 1.3 LX - £495
Fully Comp, £500 Excess Insurance - £981

So he is on the road, in a tax'd, mot'd car, with 4 doors, and quite nippy for £1476. Not bad. A 1.0 Corsa was double that on insurance alone!

[davepoth]

jgtv said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

1996 MX5 old enough for a classic limited milage policy?
£475
probably not going to be without fault but for that money its never going to be perfect.

failing that

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Less than £300 worth of fiesta cant be that much to insure right?

You have to consider the question "What cars are 17 year old boys most likely to crash?" and a £300 fiesta is quite high up that.

You need to find a car that

1)Is cheap to buy
2)Has cheap parts
3)doesn't go fast
4)Doesn't appeal to the average 17 year old in any way whatsoever

before you're in the ballpark. When I was at school a Triumph Acclaim was a very good shout; similarly any car that's popular with pensioners (think small saloon cars, and cars from no-name manufacturers like Peroudua) will likely have an oddly low insurance weighting for a 17 year old.

[chrisispringles]

LouD86 said:

Dont go for a car that is popular!! Ive just been sussing this out with my younger brother. He is 17, just about to pass, and we have just brought his first car for him, with the same insurance woes your having.

1995 Nissan Micra 1.3 LX - £495
Fully Comp, £500 Excess Insurance - £981

So he is on the road, in a tax'd, mot'd car, with 4 doors, and quite nippy for £1476. Not bad. A 1.0 Corsa was double that on insurance alone!

It isn't insured in his own name is it. He is fronting the policy and it could very easily come back to bite him, not least because he gets no NCB from it.

[mat777]

find a cheap little stbox from the shed section on here, then get the cheapest TP or TPFT policy you can on the basis that it would be cheaper to replace the car if it gets nicked or destroyed than it would to claim on the insurance

[Flares&Chestwig]

We went through this same dilemma with our son, it looked impossible to ensure the lowest insurance group car ( most were between £3000- £4000 TPF&F) and was considering going down the classic route. However, we found an insurance company where he has a tracker fitted to the car and there are restrictions on the time he can use it.
After 23-00hrs and not before 6-00am, these are apparently the high risk times for young male drives, he can move it to park it, but if he decides to drive it more than 100 metres within this timeframe there is a charge of £100 a time. We bought him a 2002 VW Lupo 1-0E, its in silver with BBS wheels, looks and drives really nice. Car was £1300 and the insurance was £1400. This is on a provisional licence and when he passes they will not put the premium up, which some insurance companies wouldnt guarantee. This was last March, he still hasnt passed and insurance renewal has come through at £900. So a little more than your budget but you could go for a cheaper car.

Just bought our daughter another Lupo, insurance is slightly cheaper as she is a girl and less risk

[bicycleshorts]

jgtv said:

classic limited milage policy?

Usually need to be >25.

[Greengecko]

It may be possible to do it for close to £2k. A younger member of our family recently passed, fully comp insurance on 1988 Mini Mayfair 998cc is £1,400 a year. This is completely restored mini so has quite a high value too.

Might be possible to find a mini in a roadworthy state for around £1,000; so could work out around £2400ish mark. Other than that, all small modern ish cars (i.e. last 10-12 years) seem to have crazy insurance quotes.

Note : This isn't on a classic policy either, with some Eco insurance company that was found on confused or gocompare IIRC.

[skene]

Do a LOT of homework and it may be just possible. I passed almost a year ago and my insurance was more than your budget, and i live in an 'A' post code!

[DannyScene]

chrisispringles said:

Put simply, no. You are not going to get insurance for less than £3k, factor in the cost of a car and running it for a year and you are probably looking at £5.5k at least. The sensible thing to do would be to get yourself through your test then wait a few years for insurance to drop to a sensible price.

ETA.

Do not front the insurance. It is fraudulent and if you get caught then your insurance company will cancel the policy leaving you having to declare a cancelled policy for life, which will inflate your premiums substantially. If you have a crash they can come after you personally for any third party costs.

Edited by chrisispringles on Tuesday 13th March 16:39

This is what im doing when i passed in 09 at 19 my quotes for a saxo vtr for example were £4000, ive just checked and its now 1800.
As much as it sucks I think this is the way to go.