Car Insurance

[Adam.M]

All the job adverts i see for jobs that I would actually want either require me to have my own car or I'd need a car just to get there. So I'm casually pondering now about getting one.

The only thing that's stopping me really is, is figuring out how much insurance I'd have to pay...

I'm 23, never drove before, where does that put me generally?

I'd like to avoid looking like a prat in a tiny car just because of insurance, but i guess I'll have to at first. Being 6ft3 in a 'Supermini'... brilliant.

I'm actually looking at getting a Vauxhall Omega estate at the moment, reliable as a a... really reliable thing, and i can move loads of junk/amp'n'cab/drums etc around...

If anyone has any ideas what ballpark figure I'd be paying, for this or a small tiny micro car, or any advice in general, it'd be awesome  PDT_003

[Antag]

OK, firstly my knowledge on this may be some years out of date but here goes anyway:

How long you've driven for is of little relevance.  It's your age, how long you've held a licene for & whether it's clean that insurance companies consider.

25 seems to be a kind of "landmark" age where it gets noticeably cheaper.

You want fully comp insurance, with protected no-claims bonus - may cost a few pennies more, but trust me on this, if you ever have to claim when you weren't at fault you'll regret not having it.

As for prices, shop around - IIRC there was around £300 variance in prices quoted when I bought my first car.

Coincidentally I was 23 then :) (eventually I bought a new car that came with a year's free insurance so I ended up not having to worry about it until renewal time)

If you get a small carwith a bog standard 1.0-1.4 engine, you should find plenty of places willing to insure you.  As a very rough guess I'd be surprised if you can't get something for <£500

[Stevepage]

I've got just my first car and insurance too (I'm 22) the insurance alone would have cost me the same amount as I paid for the car (around £1000, fully comp) as I'm a first time driver. My mates pay around the same too and they all had smaller engine cars (1.2,1.4).

Usually, the smaller the engine, the cheaper the insurance I think.

[Stevepage]

I don't think you'd get insured on an estate though. I could be wrong, but first time drivers won't get insured on cars like that.

Something like a Fiat Punto or Ford Focus would be big enough to carry gear around and do pretty good mileage. My Focus can get my Gibson hardcase, pedal board, combo and a passenger in the car with ease and still have plenty of space for more.

[Will]

When I was speaking to insurance company, they said the age is of no relevance. Its how many years of no claims etc.
First year is likely to be £1500, next year drops 30%, then next year drops 40%, then 50%, then 60%. Then they will slowly decrease it again.
You can get your first years no claims by doing pass plus though too I believe

[Oli]

I'm 22 and own an estate (VW golf though, 1.8), and this year, my insurance cost me about £600, but i've been driving since i was 17. My insurance went like this:

Age: 17
Car: VW golf (1.3)
Insurance: £1300 (!)
Following year: approx £1100

Age: 19
Car: Ford Ka (1.3)
Insurance: £900
Following year: £800

Age: 21
Car: VW golf estate
Insurance: £800
Following year: £600

It goes down over time, but as a new driver, it's going to be expensive. Perhaps consider being a named driver, as some policies these days will give you your own no claims bonus, so in a couple of years time, you can then take out your own policy, and you'll have 2 years NCB to kick off with.

[AdamB]

I passed my test a few months ago, and i'm 24.

When i was looking at insurance quotes, it was generally the same price as the car. I was looking at 1.2 and 1.4 hatchbacks. But, my girlfriend has been driving for 5 years, and has 5 years no claims named driver discount on her parents insurance. Named driver bonus isn't as much as being the main driver obviously, but it's better than nothing.

So, i bought a 51 reg Peugeot 206 1.4, for just over £2000. The insurance for me as the main driver, with my girlfriend as a named driver was nearly £2000. Swap that around though, with my girlfriend as the main driver and me as the named driver, £850!

As it's with direct line, i still build up a named driver discount, and i'm hoping it will go down quite a bit after the first year because i will have turned 25 by my next quote, and i guess the first year of driving is the most risky to insurance companies

[Jonny]

Hmm. Insurance over here seems slightly life-ending.

[dave_mc]

i pretty much agree with what antag's saying.

also, if you're buying new, try to get a car with free insurance, as that could save you the guts of £1000 if you've never had insurance before.

[Sifu Ben]

Get a 1.4 Focus, it'll be plenty big enough for you and shouldn't be too pricey on the insurance. Like Antag says, if you can get fully comp do so (unless your car is sub £1000) Shop around, check for good deals on the internet and trade the providers off against each other (they'll often beat a rival quote if you put it to them).

[LazyNinja]

I was all ready to buy a car this time last year when I passed my test but gave up after figuring out that I'd need to pay at least £1300 on a tiny little hatchback, more than twice what I was gonna spend on the car. My parents are useless and don't want to include me as a named driver, even though I'm offering to pay all the money and to help with the petrol money (even though I'd hardly ever use it). I don't think I'm gonna have a car until I finished uni now to be honest. Hopefully my insurance would have gone down to something manageable by then.

But Adam, maybe we could sort summat out together ;)

[38thBeatle]

A lot of the free insurance deals with the purchase of cars are restricted to people with experience or no claims bonuses but maybe with the drop in car sales it might play to your advantage. I'm afraid that it is down to getting exerience as an insured driver and getting a fairly modest car to start with unless you can do what some others have suggested and drive as a named driver-except that you cannot do that if you are the main driver of the vehicle.

[Adam.M]

Cheers for all these replies guys :) it's given me a clearer picture on the whole insurance thing, no one i talk to in my family drives so i've no knowledge on the area what-so-ever.

Now i've given it some really serious thought and all i really want is a freedom-machine, so i'm thinking yet again about getting a bike... ahhh!

[LazyNinja]

Does anyone know what Fiat Seicento is like? Seems tiny but it's cheap to insure (relatively speaking) costing £890 compared with £1030 for a Peugeot 106 and £1485 for a 1.8 Mondeo. If it fits a 4x12, a head, guitar and pedalboard I'd behappy but somehow I doubt it lol.

[roland_rat]

You could have a look on parkers  or on some car garages and get the insurance class of a car.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/

It will not tell you how much your paying but will give you an idea of which types of cars  may be cheaper to insure.  When you got an idea what you fancy just ring up one or a couple of insurance companies and tell them you have not bought a car but have seen one you like could they give you a quote based on the one you have seen.    They can normally do it.
Good Luck