18, in education need a card for insurance

rpsep2

CLAPTON wrote: »

sadly, the problem here is why does some-one with an income of on 4k have a car at all?.
Cars are very expensive to run
much better to save up for things and only buy what you can afford without any borrowing.

because i dont have to borrow money to pay for it at all. i did save up and bought the car outright. the point is by getting a card i could save enough on the insurance this year to warrent the hassle of getting a card in the first place.

thanks for all your advice everyone, i went into my bank and found i could get a student card with a limit of 500, but with 17.9% apr its just not worth it. atleast my monthly payments are going from £261 to around 130 gotta love 1 years NCB

izools

If you can get a student credit card, do it. You don't have to borrow money on it just use it for a couple of things here and there and pay it off in full each month that way you won't pay interest and you'll be building a credit history.

RE: Can't wait till you're old, seriously savour these years they won't come round again

Any

rpsep2 wrote: »

thanks for all your advice everyone, i went into my bank and found i could get a student card with a limit of 500, but with 17.9% apr its just not worth it.

Who told you that???????
You need to build up your credit rating! So once you are older and have better income you can get good cards.
Even 40 year old can get caught in the "no credit history" catch 22.

flyingscotno1

I found the APR on my insurance monthly was far higher than on my credit card.

Getting a student card and using it responsibly will help you get credit, but income really defines what you get.

CLAPTON

Jakg wrote: »

I earn less than that on a basic wage (although i do extra to top it up) and I can still run a car.

Of course without a car I wouldnt have a job...

The whole point is that he can afford the insurance repayments, but if he could borrow the money over a year he would save about £100 if he didnt have to pay any interest. I was going to do the same 'till I realised the odds of me getting a 0% card before I was 20 were none...

No, the point is that he can't afford the insurance other that by paying (borrowing) monthly and incurring large charges.

CLAPTON

rpsep2 wrote: »

because i dont have to borrow money to pay for it at all. i did save up and bought the car outright. the point is by getting a card i could save enough on the insurance this year to warrent the hassle of getting a card in the first place.

thanks for all your advice everyone, i went into my bank and found i could get a student card with a limit of 500, but with 17.9% apr its just not worth it. atleast my monthly payments are going from £261 to around 130 gotta love 1 years NCB

I said that you couldn't afford to run a car on that income
indeed you can't as you can't pay the insurance without borrowing money

Now I don't know the full details as you haven't choosen to tell us

but much better to save first then spend; its not rocket science but it works OK.. but I freely say I don't know your full circumstances

Jakg

CLAPTON wrote: »

No, the point is that he can't afford the insurance other that by paying (borrowing) monthly and incurring large charges.

So because he doesn't have £2k all in one go saved up he shouldnt be driving?

CLAPTON

Jakg wrote: »

So because he doesn't have £2k all in one go saved up he shouldnt be driving?

It's obvious to most people that running a car is expensive;
the are numerous examples of people's descent into debt caused by 'needing' a car.
The fact that the OP can't afford the insurance is indicative of a financial problem
One asks e.g. what the OP would do if the car needed some repairs etc


The concept of 'afford' has be corrupted over the last 10-15 years to mean 'I can afford the repayments' rather than I have sufficent money to pay the price of the product or service.. much of our present difficulties have been caused by this attitude.


However we can agree to differ: if you think in sensible to encourage or support 18 year olds with an income of 4k per annum to acquire motor cars then you are certainly free to do so.

I think that unless there are specific reasons for needing (rather than wanting) a car then they are best avoided.
And in any event, save first, spend second is a useful guide to acquiring things (property or investment excepted)

izools

CLAPTON wrote: »

The fact that the OP can't afford the insurance is indicative of a financial problem
One asks e.g. what the OP would do if the car needed some repairs etc

I Agree it may not be the wisest use of an income so small to spend it on a car, but in OP's defence, he can pay the insurance. I myself pay my house contents insurance monthly, I'm sure the overwhelming majority of people pay their various insurances monthly rather than stumping up the annual premium in one fell swoop.

OP is simply being extra vigilant and noticing that insurers tend to charge 20% ~ 30% APR for paying the premium monthly so wants to find a lower interest route.

My home insurance however is charged at 16.9% APR, so there are some out there that have a good APR.

It's just a matter of shopping around

Jakg

If you could pay for your insurance in 10 year installments and save 25%, but could not afford to pay 10 years premiums in one go - does that mean your too poor to own a car? A similar principle applies here - I earn £270 per month, and I can afford to put £100 of that towards insurance. I don't, however, neccesarily have £1,200 to pay for my insurance, and if I did i'd rather keep that free to pay for repairs etc.

For reference, I am 18, I have a basic wage of £3,604pa and I have a car fully paid for by me with insurance (in full actually) I also paid for myself. I am not suggesting the OP gets into debt, but I know when my insurance is dew rather than pay in installments I will rinse my student overdraft and then pay myself back and save £100. Saying that, however, without my car I would not have a job, and if I had to work double the hours I do now to keep my car I would do so - gladly.