I use the car once a week

magic_genie · 3 June 2005 at 4:37PM

I'm 36y/o, 9 years no claims, the lowest quote I can get for my Vauxhall Vectra is £300, the reason I'm not happy with it is because I use the car once a week, twice at a push and use my motorbike the rest of the time.

Has anyone else found themselves in this position, is there a way I can possibly get this any lower, I probably do less than 1500 miles a year.

I've tried Insuresupermarket.com and confused.com

Hope to hear from you, kind regards
Alex

spendaholic · 3 June 2005 at 4:40PM

It'll depend on the area that you live in, if the car is garaged, kept on a drive, or on the roadside, and who else you have insured to drive.

I recently reduced my car insurance by £150 per year, and that was going FROM 3rd party, fire and theft, TO fully comp. It costs me around £175 now for a 2 yr old small car with 23 years of driving licence and maximum no claims (I think they max out at 6 or 7 years). I did it by going to a small, independent insurance broker.

dougk_2 · 3 June 2005 at 5:39PM

Tesco always seem to be the best bet for me. But to be honest I am slightly younger than you and have full no claims, A citroen ZX 1.8 which is 9 years old and my insurance is £300, Its probably as cheap as you are likely to get if you don't live in a rural area and garage the car.

If you use the car so little is it worth keeping it?
Would taxi's etc be cheaper?
(when you add in all the costs insurance, MOT, Tax, depreciation), you are probably spending £1,500 a year + (so £1 a mile!).

telly-addict · 3 June 2005 at 6:44PM

Norwich Union have been experimenting with telematics - pay as you drive in layman's terms. You pay a fixed amount per mile you drive. Not sure whether you fit their criteria, but may be worth investigating.

Details below:
http://www.norwichunion.com/pay-as-you-drive/index.htm

Savvy_Sue · 3 June 2005 at 6:53PM

Is there a carshare scheme in your area? If I only used the car once a week I'd definitely look into such a scheme.

Although remember your insurance - fully comp anyway - covers the car even when you're NOT driving it, and we've had more 'accidents' (aka vandalism and attempted theft) when it's been parked and empty than when there's been a driver in it!

barbie_babe · 3 June 2005 at 10:25PM

esure my hubby gos with a lot cheaper than his last company.

nadnad · 3 June 2005 at 10:33PM

An obvious question maybe but have you tried the specialist low milage insurance companies - I drive only about 6k a year and previously my insurance company had me down for 12k (they didn't ask last year and this is the first year I had a car so didn't know what mileage I would be doing) - I got about £150 knocked off my insurance.

lisyloo · 4 June 2005 at 9:32AM

Have you considered not using the car.
I'm guessing you might not be able to use your motobike because you need to look presentable.
However I think you should sit down and add up the following costs:

Car insurance
car Tax
Mot, servicing and repairs
depreciation
breakdown cover
Petrol.

Once you've added that up then compare with bus/train or taxi combination.

If you live in a rural area then you might find that public transport is not possible, otherwise I think you might find it cheaper to get rid of the car, even if some taxi fares are involved. This is because of all the costs of running a car as listed above.

oldagetraveller · 4 June 2005 at 9:58AM

How about ditching the modern metal for a pre 1973 classic car? Next to nil depreciation, nil road tax and agreed value comprehensive insurance, including breakdown cover for about £90 depending on circumstances. Plus there is an option for limited miles use with most insurers.
I personally have two on the same policy for £110/annum. :j

mick307 · 4 June 2005 at 1:27PM

lisyloo wrote:

Have you considered not using the car.
I'm guessing you might not be able to use your motobike because you need to look presentable.

Isnt that a bit of a generalisation? He rides a bike therefore he is not presentable? Even though he has probably spent around £1000 on protective gear to ride the bike? How much did you spend on ptotective gear to drive your car?

This is a misconception about bikers and should be stopped IMHO.

Mick (also a biker)

lisyloo · 4 June 2005 at 3:56PM

This is a misconception about bikers and should be stopped IMHO.

I am a biker myself.
I have also spent a lot of money on protective gear myself.

I have long hair which looks a total mess after being under a helmet.
(If you have little hair or are bald this might not be a problem).

I could not turn up at my job on a client site with dirt on my face, take my ear plugs out (complete with ear wax) and with my hair all over the place.

I didn't make that statement as a car driver who doesn't know anything about biking. I'm a biker of 20 years experience.

Of course it depends completely on your job, but I know I couldn't do it in mine. It would not be considered presentable in some circumstances.

Clearly there is some reason why the original poster does not use their bike once a week.

Feel free to disagree with me. I don't mind that at all.

But I do dispute you claiming that I have misconceptions about bikers, because I do know what they wear and I do know what the requirements are for my profession (I accept it may be different in other professions).

Even if you spend £1000 on protective gear which is clean, it does not make it acceptable attire for a business meeting in some professions.
Some people would not be happy if they turned up for a meeting with their solicitor and he/she was in racing leathers.
Perhaps you would like this but I can assure you it wouldn't be found acceptable by the employers.

He rides a bike therefore he is not presentable?

By the way? how did you know that magic_genie was a he?
or were you just generalising? :-))

Cheers

I use the car once a week

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