best first car for cheap insurance?

carbonmonoxide

Hi - I'm hoping to pass my test in the next few months and wondered what sort of car would be best for cheap insurance just to get me up and running. A few people have mentioned Micras - any other suggestions? It will have to be third party as I haven't driven before. Cheers.

Mark_Hewitt

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

Hi - I'm hoping to pass my test in the next few months and wondered what sort of car would be best for cheap insurance just to get me up and running. A few people have mentioned Micras - any other suggestions? It will have to be third party as I haven't driven before. Cheers.

Why will it have to be third party? It depends on what sort of car you get but if it's anything half decent you'll want to be fully comp, as if you are a new driver, you're much more likely to prang it!

As for the type of car, yep, Micras are ok, as is any small car really, Fiesta, Corsa, Clio etc. Just get something less than £1,000. Avoid all and everything that has been "modded" or done up to look sporty outside of the manufacturers standard spec. It's almost certainly been thrashed.

carbonmonoxide

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

Why will it have to be third party? It depends on what sort of car you get but if it's anything half decent you'll want to be fully comp, as if you are a new driver, you're much more likely to prang it!

As for the type of car, yep, Micras are ok, as is any small car really, Fiesta, Corsa, Clio etc. Just get something less than £1,000. Avoid all and everything that has been "modded" or done up to look sporty outside of the manufacturers standard spec. It's almost certainly been thrashed.

I was guessing fully comping a first-time driver would cost a fortune. I was thinking of getting a cheapo car (around £500) so if I prang it I would just have to write it off. Not ideal but don't knowI can afford fully comp.

thanks for the tips

Mark_Hewitt

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

I was guessing fully comping a first-time driver would cost a fortune. I was thinking of getting a cheapo car (around £500) so if I prang it I would just have to write it off.

Yep, that's probably the best plan. As you're going to be paying over £1,000 for your insurance no matter what really.

Not ideal but don't knowI can afford fully comp.

Probably not!
As far as insurance goes then usually the lower power the better. The cost really goes up when you have an engine which is 'too big' for the car. So for example if you have a Fiesta with a 1.2 then it'll be cheap, but a 1.6 will be mega-pricey.
But put that same 1.6 in a Focus and it probably won't cost as much.

carbonmonoxide

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

Yep, that's probably the best plan. As you're going to be paying over £1,000 for your insurance no matter what really.

£1000??:eek:

I know it would be pricey but I didn't realise it would be that much!

Mark_Hewitt

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

£1000??:eek:

I know it would be pricey but I didn't realise it would be that much!

Do yourself a quote on moneysupermarket or something, you'll find out soon enough.

iolanthe07

You may be surprised to find that fully comp costs very little more than TP. This is because most of the really expensive claims from new drivers relate to third party liability.

drivebyargument

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

Hi - I'm hoping to pass my test in the next few months and wondered what sort of car would be best for cheap insurance just to get me up and running. A few people have mentioned Micras - any other suggestions? It will have to be third party as I haven't driven before. Cheers.

Don't be afraid of buying [new or] nearly new.

The current small cars i.e. 107, Citreon C2, Aygo, the Renault [forgot it's name, but would be my pick!!] etc are brilliant to drive, spacious, economical and a LOT cooler than a ******* Micra !!
From experience, if you buy a car you are never going to love, you will grow to hate it and it will not help your judgement for future car owning.

I can see the benefits of buying an old banger and running it until it dies, but NOT as a first car, unless you have no option financially.

Have a look at your budget and have a look at what is available in the small car bracket, do some proper research and you'll forget about any Nissan Micra...

...Look for something 2 years old or less, if within your budget.

carbonmonoxide

thanks for the tips - just did a quote on a 1.2 corsa and it came up between £450-£1000 and as iolan suggested not much more for fully comp.

The thing is if I get a new/nearly new car wouldn't the insurance go through the roof? I could well prang it just through lack of experience. Wouldn't it be better to get a cheapo car and then look fopr a better model after a few years?

DGJsaver

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

thanks for the tips - just did a quote on a 1.2 corsa and it came up between £450-£1000 and as iolan suggested not much more for fully comp.

The thing is if I get a new/nearly new car wouldn't the insurance go through the roof? I could well prang it just through lack of experience. Wouldn't it be better to get a cheapo car and then look fopr a better model after a few years?

The insurance doesnt always get cheaper because the cars older , its the cost YOU can do to someone else and /or their car .

Newer cars should be harder to steal for example so if your budget can stretec to a newer car with FSH all stamped up , i`d go for that

drivebyargument

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

thanks for the tips - just did a quote on a 1.2 corsa and it came up between £450-£1000 and as iolan suggested not much more for fully comp.

The thing is if I get a new/nearly new car wouldn't the insurance go through the roof? I could well prang it just through lack of experience. Wouldn't it be better to get a cheapo car and then look fopr a better model after a few years?

Sorry, I digressed somewhat on my last post.

The point is, that while insurance may be slightly more on a newer car, when purchasing the car AND the insurance you have to remember they are not the ONLY costs.

I could never recommend anybody gets third party cover, so do a few fully comp quotes on some cars you're thinking of and some of the ones I've mentioned.

The fact you are on here asking the questions shows you've got a good head on your shoulders for [presumably] a young person, but my advice would be to look at what you can afford in total and don't compromise on quality.

I apologise if I have gone off on a tangent again and buying a newer car isn't something you want to consider......... but I'd still avoid a Micra !!!