Cheap to insure pickup

[caelite]

Hey folks

Not for myself but my glue sniffing mate has recently passed his test and got the rude awakening that most 17-25 year olds get when he realised his dream 1500quid car was going to cost him many many thousands to insure. In his case it was a ropey Toyota Hilux 2.4TD crew cab that was being sold locally. (£1600 for the car, confused is quoting him £6-15k a year, owe to be 18 again...). He has asked me if I know of any cheap cars to insure bar the typical little 1 litre hatchbacks, he is a BIG guy and also a groundskeeper so packing himself and all his tools into a shoebox would be a pain.

So yeah what he needs:
-Pickup with a bed big enough for a small-ish lawnmower + assorted gubbings
-Cheap to buy & insure
-Crew cab prefered
-Diesel prefered
-His all in budget is about £3500, he has been quoted ~£1600 to insure a k11 Micra

4WD/Off road capabilities would be a bonus but he really doesnt care for his 1st car.

Im really at loss as to what there is out there for small pickups, all I can think of is the ancient Subaru Brat 1.3L which never sold here. Ive already recommended him a small chassis estate (i.e Skoda Fabia Estate) which he says would be alright but a pickup would be ideal.

[300bhp/ton]

I'd have a shop around for better insurance quotes first. Compare websites probably aren't the best option for vehicles like this.

[RedAndy]

agreed - shop about. if hes a trader of landscaping services he can get car insurance as part of his trade insurance perhaps?

alternatively
Proton Jumbuck
something like a Previa is essentially a van, and previa comes in 4x4 flavour
Skoda Scout estate 4x4 thingy?
x trail?
surf truck?
Lada Niva?
something from the kit world...?

[InitialDave]

If he can get classic insurance (debatable), an old Land Rover would probably do the job.

[caelite]

InitialDave said:

If he can get classic insurance (debatable), an old Land Rover would probably do the job.

Ah I know from my own experiences (im 22) you basically cant get classic insurance if your under 21 nowadays. Most companies dont even consider under 25s. That was a trick for cheap insurance from about 10 years ago which now no longer works .

RedAndy said:

agreed - shop about. if hes a trader of landscaping services he can get car insurance as part of his trade insurance perhaps?

alternatively
Proton Jumbuck
something like a Previa is essentially a van, and previa comes in 4x4 flavour
Skoda Scout estate 4x4 thingy?
x trail?
surf truck?
Lada Niva?
something from the kit world...?

He aint a fan of vans plus insurance is notoriously bad for them, x-trail is expensive, Nivas are a 'collectors' item now and are thus a rip off.

Proton Jumbuck. Ill tell him to check that out, looks right up his street to be honest although my very small knowledge of protons is that they are all terrible bar 1 GTi one that Lotus fettled in the late 90s .

Edited by caelite on Tuesday 24th May 18:00

[Raize]

caelite said:

Ah I know from my own experiences (im 22) you basically cant get classic insurance if your under 21 nowadays. Most companies dont even consider under 25s. That was a trick for cheap insurance from about 10 years ago which now no longer works .

Basically if you were born later than 1990 you will never get classic car insurance as the age limit is rising at the same rate as your actual age.

[bearman68]

What about a diesel Frontera? That's so woeful to drive it has to be cheap to insure?

[Crush]

My friend was in the same position (new driver, big chap, gardener). He bought a Citroen Picasso and removed the rear seats.

[V8RX7]

Skoda / VW Caddy pick up

[V8RX7]

Subaru Forester (4WD and low range gearbox) and a trailer

If he looks hard - Suzuki SJ / samurai Pick up

[Jodyone]

I can't offer any help I'm afraid- but this thread (and others like it) make me wonder: what changed? When I was his age early '90's) I could get insured on moderately interesting vehicles for not-horrific sums. In my parent's day, it was even less of a consideration.

I've read enough from the insurance bods here to understand it isn't a case of insurance companies fleecing customers because they have no choice- that's stupid business practice anyway, and I believe the experts when they say that the risks that new drivers present is fairly reflected in the crazy premiums. But- why so prohibitive now, when it used not to be? (Did it used not to be? Am I wearing rose-tinted specs?!) Simply because there are more people and cars, or has there been some legislative change I never knew about?

[Willy Nilly]

We have a Honda self propelled mower at work and it's fking heavy. Get your mate to park a Hilux next to a Transit Connect and then ask him which one he wants to lift a lawn mower into the back of, then start looking at insurance quotes.

[shake n bake]

A plan are good for commercial vehicles. Worth a call before compromising.

[V8RX7]

Jodyone said:

I can't offer any help I'm afraid- but this thread (and others like it) make me wonder: what changed? When I was his age early '90's) I could get insured on moderately interesting vehicles for not-horrific sums. In my parent's day, it was even less of a consideration.

It wasn't cheap IIRC it cost £300 when I were a lad in 1987 which is £761 today - I'm getting quotes for my son and they are circa £1k with a telematics box.

Bearing in mind the claims culture, hire costs, parts prices etc it's not too bad.

Certainly if you asked me to pay for anything a typical 17yr old will hit and you'd give me £1k - I'd not take the deal - I want at least 10x that.