Affordable insurance in the NW?
Discussion
As a 16 y/, i'm currently considering my options, driving or biking, and i know for a fact that the Manchester isn't exactly the safest area for car crime, hence insurance prices being sky high. Is there anyone under the age of 20 who has a car, in their name, insured? I recently got a quote of £14,000 for a 1.2 Polo 
It seems completely random to be honest.
Just shopping around i put in various options
Believe it or not (for me at least) with direct line (who seem to be the best on price i have found).
It was cheaper to say that i was a student keeping a car on the street in a really s
tty area of Coventry, than it was to say that i worked and kept it on the drive of my parents house in a nice area of Cheshire. 
From what i have seen, the cheapest quote i got was on a 1.1 2004 fiat panda with Direct line (was around £900 @ 21 with 0 years no claims, no crashes and had my license for 3 years)
Try to go to the companies direct, much better than going through these comparison sites.
Just shopping around i put in various options
Believe it or not (for me at least) with direct line (who seem to be the best on price i have found).
It was cheaper to say that i was a student keeping a car on the street in a really s
tty area of Coventry, than it was to say that i worked and kept it on the drive of my parents house in a nice area of Cheshire. From what i have seen, the cheapest quote i got was on a 1.1 2004 fiat panda with Direct line (was around £900 @ 21 with 0 years no claims, no crashes and had my license for 3 years)
Try to go to the companies direct, much better than going through these comparison sites.
AMGpower said:
As a 16 y/, i'm currently considering my options, driving or biking, and i know for a fact that the Manchester isn't exactly the safest area for car crime, hence insurance prices being sky high. Is there anyone under the age of 20 who has a car, in their name, insured? I recently got a quote of £14,000 for a 1.2 Polo
Crikey, do you live in Moss Side?As a new driver, you're just going to have to accept that you're going to be shafted (and let's face it, it isn't without justification as a rule). While insurance might seem random, it is based on boring stuff like age/experience, location, car etc.
Assuming you can't influence where you live (which can affect anyone - I'm comfortably more than double your age and I still get shafted on that front, but so be it) & obviously can do nothing about age, concentrate on the things you might be able to influence. What car will be one, as will experience type stuff. When you do learn & pass, look to do pass-plus and from there IAM/RoSPA. It isn't a magic answer, but it will help.
Oh, and have some patience - plenty of days ahead to enjoy something a little more jiggy at a sensible cost
.I've not really shopped for insurance for a good few years.
Now 30, and in a company rep-mobile. The wife has a family bus and at 34 she doesn't pay much so it's usually a call to Direct Line, Tesco, Aviva and a quick check on Compare the meerkat and jobs in a good un.
I had to get my own insurance at 18, no option to use a parents car or whatever and needed a car for my then new job so no other advice other than to bite the bullet and look forward to happier times in future. Oh other than when you finally do stump up for insurance - drive safe and get on with the NCB! I know it's your first car but a 1.2 or 1.4 Fiesta/Polo etc isn't exactly supercar territory so go easy!
One suggestion - not sure how valid these days - is to do what my mate did. Avoided the usual Peugeot 106s / Citroen Saxos etc that we craved back in 2000 at 17/18 and bought an F reg Volvo 340. Totally not cool or 'young lad' type of car - but paid half what we paid in insurance for a car with a good chunk more power - that ultimately lasted longer too. Similarly, a lad I know now reckons he bought a 5 year old Lada Riva Estate back in 2000, N reg - so not cool but so did what was required of it for very little money!
Trying to something suitably 'ste' for you to consider....
Now 30, and in a company rep-mobile. The wife has a family bus and at 34 she doesn't pay much so it's usually a call to Direct Line, Tesco, Aviva and a quick check on Compare the meerkat and jobs in a good un.
I had to get my own insurance at 18, no option to use a parents car or whatever and needed a car for my then new job so no other advice other than to bite the bullet and look forward to happier times in future. Oh other than when you finally do stump up for insurance - drive safe and get on with the NCB! I know it's your first car but a 1.2 or 1.4 Fiesta/Polo etc isn't exactly supercar territory so go easy!
One suggestion - not sure how valid these days - is to do what my mate did. Avoided the usual Peugeot 106s / Citroen Saxos etc that we craved back in 2000 at 17/18 and bought an F reg Volvo 340. Totally not cool or 'young lad' type of car - but paid half what we paid in insurance for a car with a good chunk more power - that ultimately lasted longer too. Similarly, a lad I know now reckons he bought a 5 year old Lada Riva Estate back in 2000, N reg - so not cool but so did what was required of it for very little money!
Trying to something suitably 's
te' for you to consider.... Saying that, back in 2000, I got offered a 7 yr old Fiat Tipo 1.4 with 33k on it for £800. My Dad's bosses wife's car who had died with cancer.
Clean car and had a CD player too - impressive in a 1993 car.
£800 to buy, said he'd had let me have it for £725. Insurance - as it was a 1.4 - the grand sum of £3500.
Needless to say, I stuck with the bus for a year.
First car at 18 was a 1.1 Peugeot 106, 18 months old, £5k for the car, £2k for the insurance. More than halved when I hit year 2 with a years NCB.
Clean car and had a CD player too - impressive in a 1993 car.
£800 to buy, said he'd had let me have it for £725. Insurance - as it was a 1.4 - the grand sum of £3500.
Needless to say, I stuck with the bus for a year.
First car at 18 was a 1.1 Peugeot 106, 18 months old, £5k for the car, £2k for the insurance. More than halved when I hit year 2 with a years NCB.
jaik said:
I had a nightmare getting reasonable insurance when I lived at an M1 address (central Manchester) and ended up getting a classic Mini. I paid <£500 to insure it rather than the >£3,000 they wanted for my MR2.
That's what im talking about!Buy a classic, look after in and as well as saving ££ on insurance, you might even end up stumbling upon an appreciating asset!
Ford Cortina anyone?
One thing to consider is that an old classic might give you a bit of grief on a winter's morning.
But when i had my 3 year old Peugeot 307 HDI a few years back, so did that.
Not sure how 'sporty' you could go with a classic. Would say a 1988 Fiesta XR2 attract a cheap insurance premium or not?!? Not when i was a lad but can't see your modern twocer going for a 25 yr old Ford!?
Very quick look otherwise:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C352155 - £500 1978 Allegro.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C351975 - £350 1982 Escort 1.6 Ghia. Needs a bit of MOT work but local in Ramsbottom too.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C351171 - £850 1988 Vauxhall Nova.
If my earlier point about the XR2 is considered a 1995 car could be classed as cheap to insure, then....
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C346326 - 1995 Clio Williams 2 = £2k!
But when i had my 3 year old Peugeot 307 HDI a few years back, so did that.
Not sure how 'sporty' you could go with a classic. Would say a 1988 Fiesta XR2 attract a cheap insurance premium or not?!? Not when i was a lad but can't see your modern twocer going for a 25 yr old Ford!?
Very quick look otherwise:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C352155 - £500 1978 Allegro.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C351975 - £350 1982 Escort 1.6 Ghia. Needs a bit of MOT work but local in Ramsbottom too.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C351171 - £850 1988 Vauxhall Nova.
If my earlier point about the XR2 is considered a 1995 car could be classed as cheap to insure, then....
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C346326 - 1995 Clio Williams 2 = £2k!
Have you tried adding your parents as named drivers? Adding my mother on to the policy of my first car, back in 2000, knocked £50 off a £400 premium. Bizarrely the next year the ins co wanted an extra £50 to have her on the policy still worth a try.
Other options are having a restricted mileage, going for a none obvious car for a 17 year old i.e. the already suggested Volvo or a classic. The apprentice my OH used to work with bought a classic mini as it was £1,500pa cheaper to insure then his 1.2 Corsa
still worth a try. Other options are having a restricted mileage, going for a none obvious car for a 17 year old i.e. the already suggested Volvo or a classic. The apprentice my OH used to work with bought a classic mini as it was £1,500pa cheaper to insure then his 1.2 Corsa
PS. Adrian Flux has a list of the top ten cheapest cars for 17 year olds to insure here http://www.adrianflux.co.uk/blog/2007/06/top-ten-c...
Be interesting to see how the prices for males and females change with the EU legislation coming in on the 21st.
Be interesting to see how the prices for males and females change with the EU legislation coming in on the 21st.
AMGpower said:
Really takes the p!ss, and I live in Prestwich, north manchester. Think those sub £1000 turbo Saab's may have to wait a little while longer
Is it possible to transfer bike NCB to car insurance?
Mmm, M25 postcode Is it possible to transfer bike NCB to car insurance?
... And no, bike NCB generally can't be swapped over to a car - sorry! I think you'll have to shop around, buy the cheapest insurance and get some NCB - this makes all the difference! I'm in Bolton (and middle aged),and you're not alone in thinking "why is car insurance so expensive???"
Sadly inevitable of you're going to be 'legal', I'm afraid - but if you inadvertantly drive into an expensive car in front or a queue of people at a bus stop then it's the best value ever
. Not that any of us plan this, but... £3059 for a 17 yrs male test passed a few days ago, comp on a 107 (2010) with mum as named driver and two other cars as a multicar policy down from £3500
two years ago same circumstances/same combination with eldest was £2000 - f'ckin robbers
mid Cheshire rural(ish) postcode 5000 miles pa
try an agricultural vehicle (lad in Bolton featured on NW tonight did a tractor for £50 ish)
two years ago same circumstances/same combination with eldest was £2000 - f'ckin robbers
mid Cheshire rural(ish) postcode 5000 miles pa
try an agricultural vehicle (lad in Bolton featured on NW tonight did a tractor for £50 ish)
My son is 20 at the moment and his insurance was sub £1k.
He was driving around on L-plates for about a year before passing his test. This gave him his first years NCB. After passing his test his insurance went up, probably due to him no longer needing to be supervised.
I think his post-passing insurance is now approx £1k - £1.1k fully comp on a 1998 Fiesta 1.25 Petrol.
So my advice to any new driver (young), is to get behind a wheel as soon as you can to start gaining NCB years. Also consider all the usual incentives such as pass plus and the black box schemes.
It is VERY interesting to hear about the Agricultural tractor thing... I wonder if you can insure a tractor fully comp and then drive a 3rd parties car as a 3rd party?
Or simply get EVERY youngster under 25 driving tractors, I imagine the government will soon either ban that move or regulate the premiums a lot more.
For something that is a legal requirement, they should have a compulsory cap on premiums to allow for legal use, any extras after that can then be charged accordingly to keep the insurance companies happy and wealthy.
He was driving around on L-plates for about a year before passing his test. This gave him his first years NCB. After passing his test his insurance went up, probably due to him no longer needing to be supervised.
I think his post-passing insurance is now approx £1k - £1.1k fully comp on a 1998 Fiesta 1.25 Petrol.
So my advice to any new driver (young), is to get behind a wheel as soon as you can to start gaining NCB years. Also consider all the usual incentives such as pass plus and the black box schemes.
It is VERY interesting to hear about the Agricultural tractor thing... I wonder if you can insure a tractor fully comp and then drive a 3rd parties car as a 3rd party?
Or simply get EVERY youngster under 25 driving tractors, I imagine the government will soon either ban that move or regulate the premiums a lot more.
For something that is a legal requirement, they should have a compulsory cap on premiums to allow for legal use, any extras after that can then be charged accordingly to keep the insurance companies happy and wealthy.
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