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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder how young people afford car insurance?

153 replies

JacobReesMogadishu · 10/09/2020 06:44

Dd is hopefully about to pass her test so I’m playing around getting car quotes for her. If we buy her a cheap, old 1ltr fiesta run around the quotes are £1500 for the year!

My car insurance firm won’t insure drivers under 25 so I can’t add her to my insurers unless I change insurance. I’ll go and get quotes for that in a minute but seeing as my car is a massive 1.8ltr car I can’t imagine it’ll be cheaper.

Can anyone please recommend a firm or some way of doing it cheaper. Go compare didn’t ask about black boxes and we’d be happy with this if it brought the quote down.

OP posts:
MadisonAvenue · 10/09/2020 08:21

Our son passed two years ago this month (I know because I keep getting renewal quote emails for his first car).

He had an old Punto and insurance with black box insurance with Admiral was £1200, that was with my husband as a named driver which was a necessity as he does sometimes drive the car (to move it on the drive, take it for repairs, MOT etc on his way to work).

After driving for a year he bought a 4 year old Corsa and insurance (again with his Dad as a named driver for the reasons above) was again around £1200 but that was without the black box. It’s just been renewed and come down to £800 again without a black box.

We pay in full to avoid the charges added for paying in installments and then he pays us monthly.

Desperado24 · 10/09/2020 08:21

Yep - suck it up (it’s not really much of an age thing either, it’s a new driver thing)

Also disregard engine size and as others have said look at insurance groups and find a car in a low one.

Socksey · 10/09/2020 08:23

Things to try.... and some a little counterintuitive...
Don't put the car value too cheap in the quote as below £1500, prices go up...
Sometimes fully comp is cheaper that 3rd party f&t and 3rd party only can be the most expensive...
Weirdly, a smaller car can be more expensive, if popular within a certain demographic.... so for me... 47F
Base level Fiat 500... £900+ new
Astra 1.8 Breeze.... £580 5yo
Octavia 1.8 SE so mid range.... £210
1989 Mercedes 300d .... £190
Mk4 Golf gti .... £520
Everything else the same.... but fiat 500s are popular in women my age and Octavias less so... these are all quotes I had in the last few months for renewal or changing cars

hammeringinmyhead · 10/09/2020 08:23

I got my own Fiesta at 23, no years no claims, and it was £700 even back then (2008). That's in a cheap area - my renewal this month on a Peugeot 208 was £188.

TeenPlusTwenties · 10/09/2020 08:26

DD1 has an automatic Hyundai i10 with currently DH as a named driver.
We go with Admiral multicar and they have been very reasonable.
We paid the first year of insurance and said she had to save for the next from her earnings.

SmileyClare · 10/09/2020 08:26

My son has just bought a Renault clio for £1200. Third party fire and theft insurance is £500 for a year with free breakdown cover. There's no point getting fully comp if you're paying several times over the value of the car.

Go compare is the best way to find competitive quotes.

LtJudyHopps · 10/09/2020 08:27

Unfortunately that’s quite cheap! My brothers insurance at 18 in a London postcode was £3,000 😱
I passed at 22 just outside of London and mine was around £1500 with a black box.
Use all the comparison sites and do the insurance start date for in 3 weeks time, not tomorrow. Apparently the best time to look is around 21-26 days before you need it. Put yourself down as a named driver.
Go to Direct Line & Aviva directly as they’re not on price comparison sites. Don’t assume third party is cheapest, it was actually cheaper to do comprehensive.
I don’t know if the older models are auto but my Toyota Aygo was a good first car.

Ranunculi · 10/09/2020 08:28

This has always been the case. You just save up and accept that this is part of the expense of learning to drive. It’s only for 2-3 years then the price comes down to a more manageable level. The other alternative is to wait until you’re older and it will be cheaper. A 17yo doesn’t really need a car, in most cases it can be delayed until they graduate.

SmileyClare · 10/09/2020 08:28

Could you put yourself as the main driver on her car, and dd as a named driver? Bending the rules slightly.. You can be the main driver on more than one car.

roadsurvey · 10/09/2020 08:30

Could you put yourself as the main driver on her car, and dd as a named driver?

No. Don't do this OP. It's literally the worst advice ever.

Bending the rules slightly..

It's fraud ffs, not 'bending the rules slightly'

happinessischocolate · 10/09/2020 08:31

My dd had Tesco's black box insurance on her fiesta after she passed her test, it was about £800 and is one of the best, watch out who you use because some cancel the policy without due notice and then they have it in their record forever that they had insurance refused/cancelled. Tesco's don't cancel unless your driving is horrific.

My dd is now in her 2nd year and it's £1k for the year but that's with no black box as she has an evening job and the curfew was a pain in the arse.

Desperado24 · 10/09/2020 08:35

@SmileyClare

Could you put yourself as the main driver on her car, and dd as a named driver? Bending the rules slightly.. You can be the main driver on more than one car.
This is the worst suggestion ever posted anywhere - bloody hell.

Doesn’t even fix the issue as it only delays the fact that when a new driver gets their first policy it’s always massively expensive.

DON’T DO THIS!!

movingonup20 · 10/09/2020 08:35

Dd is looking at a Mazda 2 and was quoted £920 non-black box. Adding me dropped the price to £810. We insured to my address as it's cheaper than her student house.

islandislandisland · 10/09/2020 08:37

Chevrolet matiz comes in 998 cc (might be even smaller actually) so could be cheap to insure, I have one but I'm in my thirties so it's cheap anyway. Usually quite a few around second hand and bits like tyres are cheap for it. As a teen I always used to put my mum on as a named driver with her squeaky clean record! It is a huge amount the first year but hopefully should drop in following years if she doesn't have any prangs.

SmileyClare · 10/09/2020 08:48

It's fairly common for a parent to put themselves as the main driver on their daughter/sons car and them as a named driver. It's hardly a massive criminal offence. However, I share my son's car so perhaps that situation is different. I drive it as much as he does.

As for "delaying the inevitable cost of a new driver getting their first policy- yes that's exactly the plan. Delay the cost until my son is earning more in a full time job. He's on apprenticeship wages at the moment.

Desperado24 · 10/09/2020 08:52

@SmileyClare

It's fairly common for a parent to put themselves as the main driver on their daughter/sons car and them as a named driver. It's hardly a massive criminal offence. However, I share my son's car so perhaps that situation is different. I drive it as much as he does.

As for "delaying the inevitable cost of a new driver getting their first policy- yes that's exactly the plan. Delay the cost until my son is earning more in a full time job. He's on apprenticeship wages at the moment.

“Perhaps that situation is different”

Erm, yeah it is. If you drive the car more than he does then it’s legal.

Just insuring your kids car in your name with them as a named driver when they actually drive it is insurance fraud.

If you can’t afford the insurance you get the bus or walk or get a taxi

Baaaahhhhh · 10/09/2020 08:52

Gosh, some huge quotes here. DD was insured on 8 year old Fiat 500 1l for about £850 as part of multi car with Direct Line. We are now with Aviva. Be careful what you put down in excess, also make sure you are all on the policy. Put reasonable mileage. Don't put unemployed. Lots of tweeks make big difference.

Some policies also cover other things you don't want or need, like commuting, or valuables, EU cover, etc, check them carefully and remove, or go somewhere else for a simpler ploicy.

welshladywhois40 · 10/09/2020 08:54

We just sold my old fiat panda to a parent for their son as they said the insurance was the cheapest they could find.

Might be worth a look

MeadowHay · 10/09/2020 08:55

They can't! My DH is 26 and passed his driving r at 18 months ago. We dont have a car as the insurance will be around £1500 a year and then obviously theres the car itself, tax, running costs etc. The only way we could afford it would be if we both stopped our savings to buy a house which obviously we aren't going to do. Luckily neither of us need one for work or we'd be screwed.

BarbaraofSeville · 10/09/2020 09:00

Dd is 19yo so that could work but I’d rather not buy her a new car, I don’t even buy myself new cars But it can work out cheaper if you're not paying for insurance for a young driver. There used to be a 'just add fuel deal' on a new small Peugeot. Don't know if anything like this still exists.

It's fairly common for a parent to put themselves as the main driver on their daughter/sons car and them as a named driver. It's hardly a massive criminal offence

It's fraud and in extreme circumstances could lead to a prison sentence or loss of family home if they cause an expensive crash that the insurance company refuses to pay out for.

Young people (almost always young men, but they're not allowed to price for sex based risk anymore so young women are also hit) have a nasty habit of driving recklessly with a car full or their mates.

Worst case scenario cost wise is that they all survive with serious life changing injuries then you have a multi million pound payout for costs associated with decades of specialist care, adapted properties, loss of income and pain and suffering. Plus don't forget that it's easy to prove who is the main driver of a car as just about everyone is tracked every minute of every day by their mobile phone.

roadsurvey · 10/09/2020 09:00

It's fairly common for a parent to put themselves as the main driver on their daughter/sons car and them as a named driver.

It's fraud. If people want to break the law that's their choice, but it's not advice to be dishing out on a parenting forum Confused

It's hardly a massive criminal offence.*

Oh, so you 'rate' illegal activities and crack on if you don't consider the offence to be 'massive'

Honestly OP, don't listen to this kind of bollocks. It can get you into a good bit of trouble and if their is a claim you could end up in a right mess financially - particularly if the 3rd party has injuries

roadsurvey · 10/09/2020 09:01

As for "delaying the inevitable cost of a new driver getting their first policy- yes that's exactly the plan. Delay the cost until my son is earning more in a full time job. He's on apprenticeship wages at the moment.

That's YOUR plan though. OP was asking about insurance for NOW.

BarbaraofSeville · 10/09/2020 09:02

Also worth remembering that it only gets cheaper after the first year if you manage not to crash.

Pass plus courses and driving with extreme care and attention will help to reduce the risk of this.

JaceLancs · 10/09/2020 09:04

It really depends on so many things
I pay less than half of what DP does - same car - different postcode
Both my DC learnt to drive and got first car at 17 insurance was well over 1k and that was 10+ years ago

KeepingPlain · 10/09/2020 09:07

Why would it help adding parents as additional named drivers? Even if they themselves don’t own a car or have insurance? Not the OP’s case, I know.

Well if the parents don't have a car or insurance themselves, that may not help, but it doesn't ask for their driving licence details. I think it helps in that the insurance company will assume that the parents do use the car too which will make the younger driver look after the car better, but that's a guess. I did that until I was about 25 and it stopped nattering, but it always brought my insurance cost down until then.

But never put the young driver as an additional driver if they are the main one.