I'm teetering on the brink.....

[bigandclever]

.... can you help push me over?

This might be a familiar situation to some of you.... after years of yearning, my heart has convinced my brain that I'm going to have a TVR. My brain has managed to convince my wallet that purchase costs, running costs, maintenance costs can all be coped with, albeit through gritted teeth, but managed nonetheless. Unfortunately my brain has not managed to convince my wallet that just over £2k for fully comp insurance is "a good thing"TM for a £15k Griffith.

Can anyone please recommend a good insurer to try? For info, the best quote was £2100 from Admiral, who I'm with for my 205gti. I've done a Confused.com and quotes from there ranged from £2300 to an hilarious £6500. I've also tried some of the smaller / independents advertised on PH - currently Adrian Flux is leading that charge with £2330.

Clearly insurance is dependant on location, age, NCB, outside temperature, number of curlywurlies the call centre bod has inhaled, and so on. But apart from garaging, alarming, mileage reducing, what other things would an insurer consider to reduce the quote?

I feel bad now that I laughed out loud at the Admiral lady when she gave me the quote.

[speedeight]

A Manning UK Ltd
Tel: [phone]
Extensive discounts in the TVRCC Exclusive Insurance Scheme.

A Plan Insurance
Tel: [phone]
10% off for TVRCC members.

Classic Line - www.classiclineinsurance.co.uk/
01455 639000

I'm with ClassicLine, £499, 30, 4 yrs NCD, 6k pa limit, 6 points, Garaged.

How old are you? Do you have experience of driving a powerful RWD car? Mannings and ClassicLine both ask this.

Edited by speedeight on Tuesday 5th December 15:49

[V8Cerbera]

Hell, I pay £841 full comp for a 4.2 Cerb and I'm only 24.... £2.3k? Are you:

a) 17 years old?
b) Living in Croxteth?
c) A perpetually convicted speeding, former drink-driver?

I insured mine through Bell (www.bell.co.uk?) but situations are different for all of us so I'd recommend you head over to www.moneysupermarket.co.uk, hit insurance and let it search a load of insurers (which is what I did for my insurance).

Good luck!

Edited by V8Cerbera on Tuesday 5th December 15:53

[big_treacle]

Tesco or Direct Line have been the best for me. I think premiums drop a lot when you manage a year without crashing a TVR so it won't be 2 grand forever.

[ncs]

Hi Jon

I had the same problem when I bought my Griff a few years ago, Churchill quoted me £2500, at the time I was 41, company car driver for donkeys years, live in London & the Griff is garaged.

A few to try are...

A Plan who advertise on here, they offered me a pretty good quote this year but wouldnt cover for track days, that might not be a problem for you.

Classic Line - Im with them now, I pay under £700pa fully comp for 8k miles inc TVRCC track day cover (Im 45 now)oh yes, Ive also aquired a few point on my license - sorry officer

A lot of people use Tesco's, they have a very good reputation, as do Sunninghill & Mannings.

Many of them might sting you a bit as its your first year with a TVR, but after that it (usually) gets better.

Drop me a line if I can be of any more help

Nick
SE London & NW Kent TVRCC

[Dave N500 CHM]

I've said it before and Ill day it again, If you have two cars insure the tiv through Hagerty!
I dont know anybody that pays more than 500 through them.

If you dont have two cars you could always buy a £500 car as your main then insure both and still save money.

[bigandclever]

I wish I was a dodgy driver with dodgy history

Company director, 34, Leeds, garage, alarm, no convictions (ever), no accidents (ever), 16 years driving licence, <10000 miles pa, social only, only 2 years NCB though (company car insurance more than 3 years ago and named driver on my ex's policy) and 'powerful' car was Alpina B3 (300BHp-ish, RWD) more than 3 years ago.

I know that Leeds is a less than ideal postcode to be in; I moved the 205gti from a central London postcode, parked on the street, to Leeds parked in a garage, and with an extra years NCB, and the cheeky beggar insurers tried to put my policy *up* by £150.

Admiral have suggested to me that their multi-car policy will go down to £1700 for both the 205gti and a Griffith next November. Which is a great comfort

[ntel]

Sunnighills always come up trumps for me. Just insured the wifes tamora for £680 and includes track days, parked on private drive, and 5000 miles per year. Hagerty wouldn't quote because it wasn't garaged. My 2005 Tuscan is also insured with Sunnighills for similar money.

[ajcerb]

Tesco for me - do a very good introductory discount if you don't have a no claims, as i didn't when i started with my Cerbera - had been quoted over £3000 at one point but it came down with a bit of research to £1250 and is now down to about £600. Do check around itr is well worth it as they vary so much from compnay to company. Do not get anything less than fully comp.

[ajcerb]

also worth looking at accepting a limited mileage - i keep the Cerb to 10k max a year - also have the shooping trolley escort insured with Tesco and the deal they put together allowed me to switch my Escort no claims to the cerb on renewal from another compnay, even after i had had a claim for that, and then do a new insurer intro discount on the escort, even tho they had been insuring it for two years. Found them very competitive and keen to do the biz. If you are keeping the 205 then definitely look at insuring them both with the same firm if that gives you a better deal. Bottom line as i said above is check around and think laterally - it will be worth the effort. Will the Griff be garaged? - will make a big difference in London i expect.

[plug]

I am with Bell Direct. pay £740, 32 years old, car in garage (Cerbera), 7 years NCB, fully comp, no limit on mileage.

Edited by plug on Tuesday 5th December 16:51

[cs174]

Peart might be worth a try if it's your first high performance car. They were the cheapest for me when I first bought mine.

Tel: [phone]
www.peart.co.uk/

Good Luck,
cs174

[WazzaL]

www.Elephant.co.uk offered me a good price, though personally my best was with Admiral.

Can't understand how the prices for insurance is ever worked out personally. I'd have thought you'd have been a safer bet than me, and I managed to get mine under a grand!

Good luck with the price hunting.

[H10TVR]

Hi Big and Clever,

Yes a big problem can't add much to the other comments I have my Tuscan with Manning who are good.

If the Griff is pre 1997 you might want to insure the car under a classic policy .

For cars over ten years old on limited milegae (equity star) they are very good (My old Chimeara was a 94 on 5,000 miles p/a and was £200 fully comp per year)

0870 111 8962

[RichardD]

bigandclever said:

I wish I was a dodgy driver with dodgy history

Company director, 34, Leeds, garage, alarm, no convictions (ever), no accidents (ever), 16 years driving licence, <10000 miles pa, social only, only 2 years NCB though (company car insurance more than 3 years ago and named driver on my ex's policy) and 'powerful' car was Alpina B3 (300BHp-ish, RWD) more than 3 years ago.

I know that Leeds is a less than ideal postcode to be in; ..

My Griffith 500 costs just under £500 (I'm 34 too), living in East Yorkshire. It may be cheaper for you to move east and commute with the insurance saving

Having more NCB could knock 1/3 or so off your insurance in the future (2y = 40% discount) ?

[mrmaggit]

cs174 said:

Peart might be worth a try if it's your first high performance car. They were the cheapest for me when I first bought mine.

Tel: [phone]
www.peart.co.uk/

Good Luck,
cs174

I'm with them, as (a certain promoted insurer) won't insure you without a years experience on 200bhp+ rwd cars. And if your buying your first TVR which is more powerful then an "S", how do they suggest you insure it?

Consequently, I won't even trouble them to quote me. Pearts (who would quote me, and got the business) and Adrian Flux (who did quote me but apologised that they couldn't match Pearts) got to insure my Grinnall, get my vote.

Editted as I forgot about Teds naming and shaming policy. Sorry Ted, I was telling the truth, simple mistake, very sorry.

Edited by mrmaggit on Tuesday 5th December 19:07

[theaxe]

If it helps I maintain a list of recommended TVR insurers. If you get a good quote elsewhere please let me know.

[The Surveyor]

Try the likes of A-Plan, Herritage, and Peart again, but ask if there are other policies available. They will all see the Griffith as a 'classic' and provided it's garaged, and it's your second car (ie not a daily driver), will cover it on a classic policy. I'm a couple of years older (38), and have a total loss claim on a Griffith from a few years back (take care in the wet ) on my record, along with one speeding conviction, and yet my Chimaera cost around £600 last year. Speak to Darren at A-Plan, he knows about TVR's.

Oh, and as said above, join the club as this may also save you more than the cost of membership in insurance discount alone!

Paul

[V-GOM]

We're with Mannings but have heard excellent reports about Hagerty.

[Pies]

theaxe said:

If it helps I maintain a list of recommended TVR insurers. If you get a good quote elsewhere please let me know.

Classicline dont have a website