Expat first time buyer/insurance newbie

trapman99

Hi all,

We are a London based expat couple (going on 4yrs now) looking to buy a cheap vehicle <£7k (really for the purposes of a newborn). We are both 32yo and have driven since 18 in our home country (Australia) holding full licences since then (well experienced with no claims etc). We are in the midst of transferring over to full UK licences. That said, we're not familiar with the particulars of the UK market (both from a vehicle and insurance perspective) and would appreciate some insight.

Regarding vehicles
1. In Australia, European cars are generally more expensive to fix/maintain versus the Asian makes (Honda, Mazda etc). Is this still the case for the UK given proximity?

2. Are automatic's or manual's more expensive to insure?

3. The cars we have on our radar are the following;

• VW GOLF GTI
• BMW 118d
• Alfa Romeo 159
• Mercedes C180K

Should we be wary of any of these makes from a maintenance or insurance perspective?

4. MOTs - Any tips?

Regarding insurance
5. The online comparison sites do not take into account our prior experience off the shelf. Presumably an insurance broker would be the best method of approach for us? Does anyone have any broker recommendations or know where we can find a legitimate broker to assist?

Thanks

forgotmyname

All your choices are likely to be high on the insurance. With zero no claims discount you mayb in for a shock.

You may want to think smaller to start with. Small hatch with a 1L engine.

Only tips for MOTs are service the vehicle properly. The manufacturers service intervals are the max not a target.
Just because its every 12,000 miles doesnt mean you roll into the sevice centre with 11,999.9 miles on the clock. Service it yearly or at 8000 miles and it should last longer.

InsideInsurance

1) Not the best on this one. Asian and European cars are very common here and doubt you will see a big divide on price just based on this criteria. You will see a bigger divide based on prestige brand -v- budget both on parts price plus labour rates (esp if you use own brand garages)

2) In theory autos would be slightly more expensive to insure than manuals as they are more expensive vehicles/ more expensive to repair that area. That said, the number of crashes that will break the gear box but not write off the car is slim and so you probably wont find much difference in real life terms.

3) Alpha have a bad reputation for breaking down but no idea if its justified or not. The Golf GTI will probably be more expensive to insure than its brand would guest because of its popularity with youngsters who then wrap it around a tree with 4 of their mates in it.

4) Find a garage you trust. You'll find many stories of garages falsely claiming a vehicle failed to secure the job of fixing the problem with the promise of a free retest if they do the fix

5) Try both, given you've been here 4 years there is no option of getting real credit for your overseas experience. Do dummy quotes, using details similar to yours but not actually your real name/ address/ dob etc on the aggregators etc and see what works for you. A broker should be a member of BIBA and you can search their site to find one. Avoid Swintons like the plague but most others should be fairly similar.

knightstyle

When we returned to the UK a few years ago we found most well known insurance companies would not recognise our many years claim free insurance record.
So we contacted https://www.stuartcollins.com/ who got us insurance with a no claims discount.

maxheadroom

The MOT is far more stringent than the esafety of nsw and given thats supposedly one of the toughest in Australia then you may be in for a shock - as above service it and find a reputable garage if you give us a clue where in london you are there may be some suggestions i Can recommend one in new Southgate garages are not as regulated as in nsw

Insurance will be expensive in comparison however the minimum third party here covers all third party risks (Property) and not just injury as in the oz green slip although fully comprehensive may work out cheaper.

You may want to change your vehicles choice due to the insurance issue so get some quotes before committing depending on postcode with no NCD you may find insurance costs more than the vehicle

The one major difference is that cars rust which may sound obvious but corrosion is a big issue. The 25yr old golf I had in oz had pristine bodywork the same car here would be a pile of rust.

maxheadroom

Oh forgot to say insurance is tied to the vehicle and specifies drivers. You cannot simply hop in and drive if you have a licence as the green slip system allows so if you have any antipodean visitors they will need to be specifically added to the insurance to cover them to drive