Car insurance tips for late learner/passer

librarian83

Hi there

I am a late learner (late 30s) and I passed my test in January, so I am very, very new and naive to all things car buying.  I have been using a car club car this year and hope to buy a new or almost new car with my partner next year (who doesn't drive).  I am aware that the insurance will be very steep, but would my insurance be cheaper if I got a really old banger now and built up some no claims, or is it not worth it?  I guess my driving a rental car without any issues doesn't count for anything?

DUTR

Insurance is high full stop. The underwriters are taking a risk and that will reflect in your premium.

thesouthernnortherner

I found that definitely using a comparison site worked. When I first passed 3 years ago, the quotes were between £500 and £2000!!! It depends a lot on what metrics the company uses I guess.

I also found that adding my dad as a named driver helped, strangely, as he had a +10 yr no claims. (And yes he did occasionally drive it. I was a named driver on his too, which bumped up his costs)

The first car I had was a 1997 Ford KA, low mileage, small engine. The engine size I think will have a bearing - with a small engine you're less likely to be driving silly speeds or accelerating wildly. Mainly because it's difficult🤣

Aside from insurance, I would recommend a cheap old car for your first one anyway - as there's a high chance you might get a knock while you get used to driving - probably not with another moving car, but a slow speed bump when reversing. That was my experience anyway - I clipped the edge of a wall in a tight car park. No damage to wall, but damage to car (cosmetic).

Cash-Strapped.T32

You'll be laughing in no time as long as you don't crash
 I spent most of my life just with a bike license, only took the car test a few years ago in my 30's.
First year insurance was something of a killer at over a grand, having been used to perhaps £100 a year for the bike.
Year 2 almost halved that, year 3 something like £400, and this was on a 2L hatchback.  The 20yr old Peugeot 106 I eventually ran cost about £200-300 I think, in yr 3.
My experience was that I started high just like the teenagers do, but each year the amount it came down was nuts, and very quickly is getting close to what you'd expect middle age, basically free insurance (well, the lower end of middle age! ) should feel like.  Yay for being old!

knightstyle

Make sure you get insurance quote for the exact car you are buying BEFORE agreeing to buy.
Some car models are much more to insure than a similar car with the same name but different spec.
Often buying a more recent car than a banger is cheaper as well.  Plus often fully comp is little dearer or the same as third party.  Also play around with the excess when getting quotes.

macman

Add an experienced named driver to the policy, it can be someone who will never drive it.
At your age, despite your inexperience, you will be assessed as a considerably lower risk than a newly licenced 17-21 year old.

yksi

I'm on year 3 in this country, mine have been 900, 700 and 450 and I am now in my mid-40s. Same car the whole time, a 2008 three-door hatch vehicle, nothing special, there are hundreds of them on the road. Am I a careful driver, yes I am, I got my first license in my home country back in 1991. Have I made mistakes, dog yes I have, there are two small scapes on my car incurred while parking in my second year of ownership. I accept it was a silly mistake and it's a 12-year-old cheap car. Everyone I know has dinged or scraped a car in similar ways, but imagine you did it in a brand new car that you paid £15,000 for, which was worth £12,000 the moment you drove it out of the lot, your finance package means you'll pay £18,000 for in total and you've now scraped the paint causing £500 worth of damage to repair and an extra £1500 in premiums for the next five years if you make a claim... food for thought?

Buy your banger and take your "new driver" risks in that, rather than worrying about the no-claims bonus. It is a psychological fact that everyone believes themselves to be better drivers than they are (if you doubt this, look around you on the motorway, most drivers exceed the speed limit and it's because they believe that their "above average" driving skill means they can safely drive at "above average" speed). Essentially, we underestimate our own shortcomings and we definitely don't account for idiots doing unpredicable things right in front of our noses and forcing us to... well who knows Touch wood that your predictable bingle will be nothing more than needing a new wheel cover or side mirror.

Nobbie1967

The potential costs and hassle of buying/selling a banger would likely exceed any saving in insurance cost. Just keep using the car club until you buy the car you want. I don’t think it’s a given that you will have scrapes just because you are a new driver. If you’re worried, get parking sensors on the new car.

GunJack

Nobbie1967 said:

The potential costs and hassle of buying/selling a banger would likely exceed any saving in insurance cost. 

with respect, that's cobblers!!  £300-500 on a banger with close to 12 months MoT would be ideal for the OP to get used to driving and build up some NCD