New Driver @ aged 26 looking for car + insurance

wba31

Jai_M wrote: »

I been driving 3 1/2 years and decided on a KA as first car:

Cost £1000.

98 plate, insurance never over £600/yr. (i am now 28 male).
Its cheap to run/repair, don't need main dealers. parts are cheap and freely available.
Its a 1.3, so more power than corsa's, but not OTT.

Initially, to build up my NCD, before getting a 'propper car'.

RE: mp3 system, shouldnt be a problem in any car tbh.

I think this fella has the right idea. If you have just passed don't go blowing money on something you may knock a post with or reverse into a tree in by accident. Spend no more than £1000, use that for a year or two (and build up no claims) and then move onto something a little nicer... Ford Ka's are meant to be great for insurance

forgotmyname

Cheapest quotes i can get for my daughter is the Ka.

Shame older ones are rusting heaps, Where's the Ka your selling.. Its over there.. Where behind teh pile
of horse manure... No thats the car...oops..

Rust is free and insurance aint so...Looks like we will be buying a Ka

hethmar

mayling03 wrote: »

Thanks hethmar, what do you mean by insurance group?

"Car insurance groups explained

The Group Rating Panel assigns every passenger car built to UK specifications into insurance groups according to a number of factors, using research conducted by the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre (Thatcham). The panel meets each month and is made up of various representatives of the insurance industry, including members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The cost of repairs accounts for more than half the money paid out in motor insurance claims, according to the ABI. So it's no surprise that it's a big influence on a car's rating. A car's insurance group reflects both repair times and the cost of parts. Longer repair times and pricey parts will bump a car into a higher group.

The panel also considers a car's performance. So, a car that can accelerate quickly and reach high speeds is more likely to be placed in a high group as statistics show that it is more likely to generate costly claims.

The price of a new car is another factor in its group rating. The panel also takes into account the standard security features, such as an alarm or immobiliser, glass etching and a visible Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), as they can minimise the risk of theft.

Cars with a low group rating tend to be cheaper, low-specification models with smaller engines.
Check out the car insurance groups list

Before you buy a new car, it's worth checking its insurance group so that you can get some idea of the likely cost of insurance, or at least whether the premiums will be higher or lower than the premiums for your current car.

You can find details of your car's rating at Thatcham's website."

Lithian

I had a chance to get a late old style Ka for not a lot of money (55 plate, already rusting) and found that the insurance, while cheaper than some things, for the level of performance it gives (none on early ones, barely enough on post 2003 ones) its not such a great deal. Nor is the fuel economy especially great considering how slow it goes. That said they are great fun to chuck around and you will learn smooth driving (to maintain speed)

However!

Throw the less than 1.5l requirement out of the window (it makes no sense as a 1.4l can have more power power than a 5.7l) and just spend £3.5-4k on a Focus 1.6 which will be just as cheap to run

logana

mayling03 wrote: »

I want to choose the car and then do the insurance price comparison.

That is the wrong way round - find a car on AutoTrader or eBay and then use the registration number to get an insurance quote first !!

Use Gocompare or one of the others. Save the quotes and then you will be able to update the quotes for different cars easily.

Depending on where you live the quotes may be astronomical and it is best to find out the bad news first.

I suspect that the engine size and the insurance group of the car will not make much difference to the quotes. Age/postcode/lack of driving experience will influence the quote more than the size of the engine.

I would second the suggestion of a Focus 1.6 or 1.8 and you should not go far wrong (avoid the 1.4 !!)