Unrealistic expectations for car insurance?

CreditWhereItsDue

I'm 23 years old and I passed my driving test 4 months ago. I understand that being under 25 and a new driver, that my insurance premium is likely to be high. I have been using some of the well known comparisons sites and my best quote so far has been £1,323.45 using gocompare.com for comprehensive cover.

Is it unrealistic for me to try and target/expect a quote under £1K? I have tried opting for a car in a lower insurance group, 4 to be precise (Ford Focus 1.4L), reducing my stated mileage, increasing my voluntary excess to name just a few. My efforts might well be in vain because of my profile or is it known for quotes to be given under £1K for people such as myself?

Dime_Bar

I was 23 when i passed my driving test 4 years ago and just managed to sneak under £1000 fully comp.

Right now if you need to reduce your premiums can you answer the following questions

You talk about a 1.4 fiesta what year and value is it, this can make a big difference.

Can you park it off road.

CreditWhereItsDue

It's a 1.4L Ford Focus that I'm looking to get, ideally I would have the 1.6L, but I'm just trying to cut insurance premiums down. As for the value I'm looking around the £1.5K-2K mark and year of registration is 2000-2002. I also have access to unsecure residential parking. What car was it that you got insured on?

lisyloo

One way to get the premium down would be to go 3rd part fire & theft.
Could you put up with a slightly cheaper car for 1 year and go 3rd party F&T?
In general there doesn't seeem to be much advantage to going 3rd party only (in fact less choice so sometimes more expensive) but you will see a big difference between fully comp and 3rd party F&T.

A cheaper car and put some money by in case of accident would be the sensible thing to do even if you can do it jsut for 1 year until you have NCB.

Ultimately once you've tried all the tricks it then comes down to cutting down on what you have in terms of the car and/or the cover.

Dime_Bar

I got it on a 1.2 Punto witha value of about £2k but it was when I lived at my mums and had a garage. The best ever car I had for insurence and mpg was a Suzuki Swift not the new model but the one from the late 90's. You can get one less than 10 years old,for less than £1k.
I had the 998cc engine in 3 door mine was a s-reg and itwas the best car i have ever had. It did 55mpg, was supprisingly fast around town and could cope with motoway speeds no problem. For that kind of money you should get electric windows, central locking, alloys, cd player and aircon.


With one years no claim but parked on the treet in a high risk area was paying less than £300 third party fire and theft. Only got rif of it because I now have a Company Car.

I use a small broker who make alot of effort to beat any quote and are very good if you have to claim, they are GSI Southern give them a call 08006129376

CreditWhereItsDue

Thanks for the responses. Third party cover is not something that I have looked into too much as of yet, but I might do some investigation. Although I did read that you should only consider this option if the car you are looking to purchase is less than £1K. So far that has not been the case. Having a secure parking place e.g a garage as in your case Dime, I hear is also a good premium cutter.

I'll have a play with the variables and take a few things into consideration in order to try and get under that £1K mark and while I'm at it see what GSI Southern is quoting. In the meantime any other advice or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.

gaz_jones

Hi CWID.

Being a 19 year old male with a 1.8L hot hatch I know how you feel about bad insurance quotes. I'd definitely recommend reading through this http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/compare-cheap-car-insurance

If you spend an hour and go through all the insurance comparison sites Martin lists in here i'm sure you'll find a cheaper price

giggles_alot

Some cars that insurers class as family cars can sometimes work out to be cheaper, my sister found this with a 1.4 astra.
As a new driver i always found Direct line or Zurich to be best price wise.
It does get better, especailly if you get few years no claims, im 23, 6 years no claims and my insurance in now about £200 a year (£130 with cash back site after comparing :j )
Good luck, your not asking too much its just a bit of time finding the right deal.