Car insurance for young/first time drivers!

Newdriver_2

Having passed my test yesterday :beer: and having found a car that i was considering buying (not bought yet), i went to check for insurance quotes...

My details are:
21 male
working in retail
no garage
no homeowner
full uk license
no no-claims-bouns

The vehicle is:
2003 Ford Fiesta
1.4 litre Zetec
3 doors
worth £2700-2900
Insurance group 4

The insurance is Fully Comp (won't go third party on a car of that price).

The prices were unbelievable, at Confused.com the cheapest insurer quote is £2460 and that's from e-car, a company with terrible user feedback/comments. Second is Quinn Direct at £2463, followed by Hastings Essential at £2585 etc...

I then changed the vehicle to a Vauxhall Corsa Club 1 litre (insurance group one!) and was quoted £1700 at cheapest, then changed this same corsa to Third Party Fire and Theft and was quoted £1200...

The strange thing is, 2-3 months ago i did the same checks but with a 1.6 litre Ford Focus and was getting fully comp quotes at £1300-1400.

I've read the guide on here and followed all the steps and it's no use. So i ask... am i doing something wrong or am i forced to buy a 1 litre engine car at 'TPFT' until i get some NCBs unless i want to pay £1500+ on my insurance?

Lokolo

Have you tried the ones that are not on comparison sites? Such as DirectLine and Norwich?

Also, try things like Go Compare and such.

Also do it through cashback, you'll get like £50 off through that.

Newdriver_2

Just checked at Direct Line.

£2,459.10

still £1000 more than i have to spend :P

stationaryace

How many people are on your policy? adding older and experienced drivers (ie parents) can help take it down by a chunk. otherwise reducing the car spec(assuming you haven't bought one yet) to the smallest model is your other option.

JPreston

Newdriver wrote: »

So i ask... am i doing something wrong or am i forced to buy a 1 litre engine car at 'TPFT' until i get some NCBs unless i want to pay £1500+ on my insurance?

Sadly, yes. You might find that the car is much less a factor than your age/new licence and postcode. I'd advise you to buy an old banger and go TP only. When I were a lad I were paying about £1300 TPFT on a £4k car, but I really wanted that car .

Never had to claim and I had no problems but with the wisdom of old age I now see that it would have been less risky and cheaper to buy a £500 car (or series of cars :rolleyes:) and rack up some NCB and driving history first.

Newdriver_2

I've just tried adding an additional driver (is that bad grammar?) and it's cut the cost down to £2082.

Still £500 more than expected although nice to see we're making progress:T

...with the wisdom of old age I now see that it would have been less risky and cheaper to buy a £500 car (or series of cars :rolleyes:) and rack up some NCB and driving history first.

Thats the issue with buying a £500 car, i can imagine having to buy a series of them due to them braking every 5 miles :think:

Lokolo

Newdriver wrote: »

Thats the issue with buying a £500 car, i can imagine having to buy a series of them due to them braking every 5 miles :think:

I have a 1991 Ford Fiesta. It had 40k miles on it when I got it, coming upto 4 years ago now. It has now done around 60k.

Has broken down once because the fanbelt snapped on the middle of a dual carriageway eek.

It has a manual choke :eek: and only has 4 forward gears :eek:

Other than that, its a beauty, and theres plenty of room in the back....

Rockporkchop

Congratulations on passing your test! Welcome to the money pit that is car ownership.

There are some interesting ways to reduce your premium here. I had never heard of More Than's DriveTime.

http://www.which.co.uk/reviews-ns/car-insurance/young-drivers/index.jsp

I definitely wouldn't have gone for a group 4 car when younger, try to stick to a group 1. I don't know if it would suit you but for your budget you could get a decent Smart car (right hand drive, left is too expensive on insurance) - my 17 year old goddaughter has just bought one and the insurance was surprisingly low. I loved the car so much I bought one too and it costs me £178 a year insurance (I am in my 30s though), £35 a year tax and does 80 to the gallon. I guess there is a much lower accident risk when there is no one in the back seat.

Jonesy_McJones

My first car (six years ago) was a 10 year old 1.1 fiesta for £900. Only had 1 previous owner who gave me the paperwork for everything that had ever been done to it. Had about 65k on the clock. Nearly every weekend I'd do a 130 mile round trip mostly on motorways and in almost three years the only work it needed was a new clutch. Unfortunately, an articulated lorry picked an argument with it on the M25 - you can guess who won :-(

So I bought another 10 year old fiesta (three years ago) with a 1.25 engine for £950, about 50k on the clock - hardly any paperwork this time. It has cost me about £450 in the last 6 months (brake cylinders and welding) which is obviously not great.

crittertog

Have you thought about PassPlus? Direct Line are involved in the scheme, so you should* get a discount from them - perhaps worth a try on their website to see what the quote would be?

Sadly, you'll find insurance will be pretty high to start off with - you're male, and young - not a combination insurers like! After the first year, it should come down a fair chunk..!

* I say "should", because it may be age dependent - I'm a few years older, and it didn't make any difference at all for me. The few extra years meant I'm looking at about 33-50% what you're looking at, but for a group 6 vehicle, so there is some hope for you soon ...

vicshippers

I think passplus normally gets you a 20% discount, on your premium I would recommend it.

I would recommend a smaller engine car more though...