Another first car thread

[Howard]

Insurance TPFT on my car with my own policy would be about £1400... IT's so damn expensive

[Tumble]

I'm paying 326 FC atm... ummm 2.5 TD big thing... been driving what 6 years? only had insurance meself for 2. HOPEFULLY come may the insurance company will be paying ME to drive it around fnar fnar

[Rave]

Well, having been insured on my own since the age of 18 has finally paid off for me. Got this years insurance a month before my 25th birthday: 5 yrs NCB, TPFT on my Mk1 MR2 cost me about £350 (for a dodgy area of SE London, TPO was only £10 cheaper though); I paid over £600 for 10 months when I first insured it age 22. I'm hoping to beat them down even further now, although annoyingly having more than 5 years NCB (as I do now) seems to make no difference.

Still, in my 6 year driving career I've paid over three grand for insurance and recieved, effectively, sod all. Do get angry about crap drivers folks, because they're the ones screwing it up for the rest of us.

FWIW, elephant have always been much cheaper than any other insurer I've tried, even Admiral who are part of the same company

Rich :¬)

[Oakey]

Elephant sucked for me, they wanted £2900 FC on the MG and that was with Pass Pluss. Compared to £1100 with NU. Funny thing is, Elephant sucked no matter what I got a quote on, even crappy Puntos were expensive.

[dkmech]

You could also consider a Peugeot 106. I got this as my first car (1.1L, quite frisky in town with no passengers, fun to drive) - paid 670 in my first year (was almost 22 with pass plus and about 2 years experience) with endsleigh (they are partly owned by student union so if you are a student might be worth trying). Also consider directline and confused.com. And remember that while people like directline might give you the cheapest quote online they will not change it - whereas you can bargain with the likes of endsleigh. I normally found two cheapest places and let them fight it out between themselves. You can normally drop a significant amount of the cheapest internet price.

[Tarffie]

Okay, 17 year old not long passed their test..

2004 Clio 1.2 3dr Dynamique Fully Comp = £1475
1998 Clio 1.2 3dr RT Fully Comp = £1437

bah, I'm getting quoted around £2000 for the same thing. I must live in a dodgey area.

[Swafe]

i think is been coverd, but as said my mates got a mk 1 clio - was his first car too, nice drive, cheapish and not a bad looker

civic will cane your insurance, but nice powerful reliable cars


citreon AX, cheap but fugly

[weebroonieuk]

someone i know rolled his ax on the same day he passed his test ,clown that he is

[Tarffie]

reminds me of a bloke that works in the same company as my Dad, rolled a $200,000 (I think) armoured Land Cruiser on his first day.

Wonder how much that would be to insure with the Baghdad address and all...

[Howard]

Did it even make a dent in that Land Cruiser? Lol

[weebroonieuk]

lol nasty !

he drives like an idiot anyways mind u only on backroads but hes gonna come a cropper one day

[headbrace]

I just got a quote through for when I pass my test, £1000 TPFT, based on 7500 mpa. Not bad, but I got to take it, it's the only company that will insure me under the age of 25

[weebroonieuk]

take it ! i was 1985 quid for a 10 month policy for mine

[Vimeous]

If the insurance prices are scaring you you'll have to think TPFT and a 1.0 or less.

On the cars you've mentioned:

Civic
Great car but engines start at 1.4 and therefore cost plenty to insure.
Clio
Get smallest engine with the fewest electrics. Old french electrics can = big pain in the butt.
AX
Definitley cheap to insure and supposedly a great drive. However made of cardboard so most likely to bend in an accident.
Ka
Cheap to run/insure/repair. Big bumpers for new drivers to bash into stuff. Bigger than you might expect. Plastic and a half but is an ideal 1st motor.

A few additional suggestions:

Cinquecento
Smallest car here, smallest engine, smallest insurance. Also expect it to be as bad as the AX in an accident.
Seicento
As for above BUT better build, more modern and probably safer in a crash. Fiat electrics on a par with the french.
Arosa
Small engines available (1.0 up) and should be cheap to buy. Not certain on insurance. Should survive well but may not be as exciting to drive as the AX.
Saxo
Looks different but is basically the same as a 106. However 106 more popular and so Saxo will be cheaper to buy. Fun to drive but like many of the smaller cars, if you have big feet the pedals may be too close together. Light enough to make the smallest engines fun.
Punto
Italian Clio. Similar size, engines, costs and problems. Like the Clio a proper super-mini and should handle tidily.

Boring but functional:

Micra
Boring? Possibly but the mechanicals should just work and keep working regardless of what the rest of the car is doing.
Fiesta
Same chassis as the Ka with a bigger body and therefore heavier. Boring but there are loads of them and probably the cheapest of the lot.

To expensive:

Polo and Ibiza.

EDIT:
Polo dirt cheap if you get the older estate/coupe style. GT version is great but expensive to insure. Best buy likely to be the last big bumper cars on an L-reg ('94). 1050cc engine gutless but cheap to insure. 1272cc engine much more like it. I've had two and the rest of my family three more if you need any advice.

The best thing about small engined cars? It can be very difficult to break the speed limit unless you're really trying. Should keep you licence safe and ensure you're concentrating properly when pushing the little thing a little harder.

[XTR]

Elephant sucked for me, they wanted £2900 FC on the MG and that was with Pass Pluss. Compared to £1100 with NU. Funny thing is, Elephant sucked no matter what I got a quote on, even crappy Puntos were expensive.

I probably goes by your postcode...


My m8 has just bought a Nissan 350Z... bearing in mind, he's only 21 year old with 3 years NCD and passplus..... 3.5l V6.... and has managed to insure it for £1300 with Elephant! Good deal i reckon!

I seem to be getting very good quotes from Elephant too, which is probably right since i live in the same area as him.