Car and insurance for a 19 year old

Revzman

Hey guys.

I'm looking for my first car at the moment after passing my test. I've got a budget of around £5k (for both the car and the insurance) and I'm wondering what's the best possible car I could get in my price range.

The prices for insurance that I've been quoted have been quite shocking. I'm looking at spending £3k insurance for a £1k Fiesta Zetec 2000, not that I particularly want a Zetec anyway, but I suppose it's much better than my mum's choice - a Fiat Cinquecento 97 model which would be £3.5k for the car and insurance.

I'm guessing me being based in south London has something to do with the high prices, along with my age, lack of experience and gender.

So has anyone bought a car recently and were in a similar predicament to me? Or anyone else with any advice?

Thanks

hopefulfooluk

Get a small engined car to start with. Zetec 2000 sounds very much like a 2 litre so you will get royally rogered by the insurance companies.

If you get a 1.2 fiesta or something like that you will prob be looking at around the £1200 mark for insurance rather than a lot more than that.

Any larger and you will pay through the nose. Direct Line were good for me when I was a new driver, much cheaper than the others.

davidjwest

Use the comparison sites such as https://www.confused.com and play around with a few different cars/engines and see how much they are going to cost. The smaller engines and lower insurance group car you go for will make it cheaper. Once you've had a car for a year or two and not had any accidents/claims/motoring convictions you will have built up some no claims discount so can then afford something with more "stree cred" if that's what you want.

Kingsd316

hopefulfooluk wrote: »

Get a small engined car to start with. Zetec 2000 sounds very much like a 2 litre so you will get royally rogered by the insurance companies.

If you get a 1.2 fiesta or something like that you will prob be looking at around the £1200 mark for insurance rather than a lot more than that.

Any larger and you will pay through the nose. Direct Line were good for me when I was a new driver, much cheaper than the others.

I think the OP is referring to the age, year 2000 as a 2 litre fiesta would not be £1000 as they didn’t release a 2 litre till recently.

Try going for an insurance policy that allows a bonus accelerator, this is when you are covered for just 10 months but given a full years no claim, they are usually cheaper and helps you build up your no claims discount a lot quicker

Revzman

Thanks for the replies.

The Fiesta Zetec is a 1.2 litre, and the Fiat is a 0.9 litre.

I just found another Zetec on Autotrader:

• 2000 (X reg)
• Hatchback
• 43,000 miles
• Manual
• 1.2L
• Petrol

43,000 miles, 3 Door Hatchback, Blue, Petrol, Manual, Body coloured bumpers, Trip computer, Front head restraints,CD player, Drivers airbag, Folding rear seats Has dent on the rear driver side hence the price. MOT till 12/10. 2 owners. The car is in immaculate condition. Please serious buyers only. Will not go down on price. The car has been parked in the drive way since December 08 so no tax. Once again serious buyers ONLY!!. £750.

and these are the settings I entered into moneysupermarket's comparison engine.

Ownership of the car: looking to buy
Who will be the registered keeper of the car: you
What's the approximate value of the car: £750
What's the car's security device: Thatcham approved Cat 1
Does the car have a tracker fitted: no
Number of seats: 5
Is the car an import: no
Has the car been modified: no


How will you use the car: social, domestic and pleasure
Estimated personal mileage: 1000 (not really sure about this one)
Where will the car be kept overnight: garage/secure car park
Total number of cars in your household: one

Gender: male
Age: 19
How long have you been a UK resident: from birth
How many children under 16: none
What's your marital status: single

Type of licence held: Full UK
How many years have you held your licence: 2 months
How many years no claims discount do you have: less than one

Any motoring offences: no
Any non-motoring convictions: no
Any motor insurance claims: no
Have you ever had declined cancelled, or had any special terms imposed: no

Do you have any medical conditions: no
Do you drive any other cars: no

Entered my address: London ...
Employment status: student

When do you want the policy to start: 01/12/09
Type of cover: third only
How would you prefer to pay it: annually
Are you a homeowner: no

And the cheapest that came up was a whopping £5364.

I'm convinced I'm doing something wrong.

Once again, thanks a lot for the help.

Kingsd316

Average mileage is suppose to be 10,000 per annum but this varies alot, i currently do about 6,000 a year and use my car pretty much every day, 1000 a year is very low, even for someone who hardly uses the car.

Next thing to try to get the insurance down (which some people take objection to) is to add a parent/older relative to the policy as this usually brings it down quite a lot, that person doesnt even ever have to drive the car or live at the same address

davidjwest

Out of interest try it fully comp - may seem silly but I have heard of people getting cheaper quotes for fully comp than for third party! Also, do you have a part-time job? I'd guess that entering student as your occupation isn't helping and so if you had a part-time job you could put that instead and see if it reduces the quotes.

Revzman

Thanks, Kingsd316 and David, I entered my mum's details (with me as secondary driver) and I've been quoted £4.3k. Not cheap by any means but still more than a £1k saving! I also changed the annual mileage to 10k.

I also just changed it to comprehensive following your advice, David, and it's down to 2.7k! I'll have a look round for some cheap cars and toggle with the insurance preferences.

Thanks a lot.

bosseyed

Ugh, Insurance :mad: Hate it, such a monstrous rip off when you're younger. We've all been there (if you're male anyway) sadly. Its a sad state of affairs when the policy for young drivers costs more than the fine for driving with no insurance.

If you can bear it, get a parent to be the policy holder, with you as the named driver - it can bring premiums down a suprising amount.

Not ideal, but you could always try looking for older, even less desirable cars. Theres a certain charm about driving something monumentally shi**y when you first start out - think of it as a right of passage, allowing you to appreciate better cars as you get older! It may not be the case now, but older cheaper cars were cheaper to insure when I was first starting out.

And the most annoything thing is you know full well if you ever have to make a claim, the insurance company will do their very best to wriggle out of paying up - so be truthful on the policy, otherwise you may as well just not have insurance.

Revzman

Thanks, bosseyed. My mum wants me to get an old model Fiat Cinquecento. And although I have given a thought, I don't think my mates would let me get away with it. I don't think I could get the insurance quotes down to a low enough number for it to be worth it anyhow. If I was making a huge saving compared to a Fiesta, it would make more sense.

As I said, I'll keep shopping around for the right car, but all your advice has been very very helpful. Cheers.

Hintza

What insurance group is the Fiesta? You really want group 1 or 2 to get started.

Go and play around with a few differerent cars and see how that effects the premium.

Be careful getting it insured in your parents name if you are the main driver (you might not be covered if your mother is fronting) but if you are at say Uni and onluy use the car when home then that would be the sensible option..

Any car will probably be over £1,600/£2,000.

Become a girl you'll get it cheaper that way....:rotfl: