Cheap cars to insure for learner drivers

kr15snw

I learnt in a crosa and it was so handy as my instructor also had one!

In regards to the insurance it may be worth going with direct line and getting yourself to insure it and then having her as a named driver. I did this with my dad and was a named driver for 2 years. When I went on my own I went with direct line and so they gave me 2 years no claims (they offer no claims to named drivers). I was then on my own for 2 years and now can move (at the end of this year) to anyone else with 2 years no claims behind me.

This worked out at £180 a year with my dad, where as it would have been £700 without him.

Then on my own it was £400 first year (bigger car, 1.6 16v) and £300 second year. Now with someone else I can get about £280.

This to me means I have saved cash

tinkerbell84

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

have you thought about insuring the car in your name with her as a named driver - whilst she won't earn her own no claims discount this will be far cheaper, especially whilst she's a learner.

NOT a good idea :rolleyes:

Lokolo

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

NOT a good idea :rolleyes:

agreed with that. I refused to so I can earn no claims. I went from £1500 --> £1200 (I had an accident, hence only £300 deduction) --> £650...

I don't think it would have reduced much having no no claims.

I think shorterm it would be cheaper, but longterm I don't think.

lipton

welf_man wrote: »

I learned in a Daewoo Matiz, and it was great - small, cheap and easy to manoeuvre, but surprisingly nippy and could accommodate my Rottweiler!

Mel.

Same here. I just passed my test in January and since last september (I turned 17 in august) I have been driving my little matiz that I bought for £1050, W reg 70,000 miles, couple of scratches but otherwise sound. Brilliant learner/starter car only a 0.8litre engine.

When I was a learner I was with Quinn Direct and my yearly insurance was £600 odd with £250 excess, third party fire & theft. Pretty cheap when I compared it to what some of my friends were paying.

Be warned when you pass your test the insurance will probably go up, I called Quinn Direct to let them know I'd passed and they said it would go up to over £900, great I thought - such a great reward for passing! Needless to say I wanted to change companies. So now I'm with Direct Line and it's £730 a year with a £200 excess. Direct line are quite good they give you a 20% discount if after you pass you do the pass plus program where most other companies only give a 10% discount (which I haven't done yet simply because it's £180 to do with the instuctor I learnt with but the discount lasts until your 21 as long as you take it within a year of passing so i'm keeping an eye out for a cheaper instructor).

All in all Quinn Direct are pretty cheap for learners (several of my friends were with them too) but be prepared to switch once she's passed. They say theres a £40 cancellation fee but 6 months on and I've yet to be charged for that

Bamber19

Lokolo wrote: »

I don't think it would have reduced much having no no claims.

Depends what age you are the first year and the following years and on the car. Even with no no claims insurance can drop quite a bit at 21 then vastly at 25 on some cars. My suspicion would be that a "mix n match" approach might work out better, i.e on parents insurance at 17 and 18, you're own for the next few years, not looked into it at all really though so they're just rough ages.

cutterschoicenotmine

Hi There.

Check with your insurance company. Many offer "protected no-claims" so if she does have a bump and needs to report it you have a few more chances if your main policy holder and shes a named driver.

The chances are unless its a large smash causing quite a lot of damage to the other vehicle, you will be able to sort it out with the owner with cash and a trip to your own garage to get the work done.

This is why I recommend a moderatly priced car, like an old Clio, Fiesta, Escort, Polo Etc. Parts are cheap. Look for a moderatley low milage vehicle as possible.

For around £400-700 you will be able to get a VW Polo, Mark 4 (P reg approx) with 60-70,000 on the clock. I recommend these as they keep going and never break. Also they are nice to drive and the 1.4 is nippy. Or you could look at the 1.9 Diesel for lower insurance.

I think around £1000 - £1500 you should be able to get a good motor with insurance. Dont be fooled by too much Tax or MOT left. Really look for quality of car and miles, also look for service history. Fair your daughter wont be getting no claims discount for at least a year, and if she crashes badly you may have only a few chances left before you loose your no-claims, but this is the way I started and it did me very well.

I'm 21 and own a Polo 1.9Diesel. Its only got 70,000 miles on the clock, got it at 53,000, and spent around £500 in parts since I got it 2 years ago. It always goes, if a little sluggish, is good with diesel and is a really nice drive. I pay £750 per year on the insurance and dont have a clean history.

Oh and also I recommend Bell insurance. Go to their website and get a quote.

http://www.bell.co.uk/

Good luck!

tinkerbell84

cutterschoicenotmine wrote: »

Hi There.

Check with your insurance company. Many offer "protected no-claims" so if she does have a bump and needs to report it you have a few more chances if your main policy holder and shes a named driver.

Only if the parent is actually the main driver though. If when they pass the child uses the car to get to school/college etc then it should be in their name (otherwise insurers are unlikely to pay out in the event of an accident - which can be a costly mistake)

Plus, and this is the biggie, you can only use NCB on ONE CAR AT A TIME!!! If the OP keeps her car, she won't be able to use the NCB on her child's car!

cutterschoicenotmine wrote: »

The chances are unless its a large smash causing quite a lot of damage to the other vehicle, you will be able to sort it out with the owner with cash and a trip to your own garage to get the work done.

You still have to declare ANY incident to the insurers and they will load the next policy accordingly.

lipton

^ Another problem with her being insured in you name is that if ever the company was to find out that she's the main driver and is using the car more than you, it invaldiates the insurance policy. I tried this after leaving Quinn Direct and we talked to some people and they told us thats how it is.

Many people still do it though as obviously its hard to prove who's driving the most.

tinkerbell84

Not true.

When I was at school a friend bought an old mini and insured it in her father's name. She drove it to and from school every day, and used it to visit friends in the evening.

She had a major accident one morning on the way to school, car written off and she was quite badly hurt, and following investigations the insurers refused to pay out. This was because:

* the car was registered in her name
* she wrote the cheque that bought it
* she lived alone with her father - her father was 6'5" and couldn't have driving the mini if he'd wanted to as he was too tall
* school records showed she'd driven the car to school every day for the past 3 months

There was no way her father was the main driver, and the insurance company had every right not to pay out.

There's another post here on the forum with a company refusing to pay out after a theft because the named driver has been 'fronting'.

Not worth it.

Cardelia

If you insure the car in your daughter's name then put both parents on as named drivers, even if they have no intention of driving the car. In my experience this brings the premium down significantly for young drivers. It's also worth playing around with the different options you have when applying online. For example, if your daughter has a job, try getting her insured as a worker (e.g. supermarket assistant, or whatever it is) rather than as a student. It's important that you don't lie though.

It's also worth looking for no-claims-bonus accelerator policies. You pay for 10 months insurance but if no claim is made, after 10 months you have one full year of no claims bonus (about 33% discount). This isn't always the cheapest policy though, but sometimes it does work out well.

In terms of what cars to buy, anything big, powerful or new will be expensive, so small is definitely better. Don't just look at the engine size if looking at the power, especially with diesels. In general, for reliability, Japanese or German will serve you well but I would avoid French and Italian cars. Fords and Vauxhalls are plentiful so parts will be cheap and readily available if something breaks. Don't be put off by high mileage cars - it's far more important that the car has been serviced regularly (i.e. well looked-after) than something which has been sat around doing nothing for months at a time.