Car insurance for teens now completely unaffordable?

[ginforall]

Teen is nearing 17 so started looking at potential cars and insurance. I can't believe the prices of car insurance, I knew mine had gone up loads this year, but the price for DS to have his own policy is crazy. For DS it's approx on average £4000 a year depending on the car (this is for older cars, small engines eg VW polo). Do you have the car in your name and add the child to your insurance? Does that make it a lot cheaper? Just interested in how other people mange this?

Thinking about how much my car costs to run & maintain (and it's the smallest car possible) I don't even see how a young person under the age of 23 can afford to run their own car at all.

Having a car is a luxury. Young teens/people do not seem to realise and only do realise when older and funding it yourself, without the bank on mum and dad. (And your daughter's wouldn't understand this either as you paid for their actual car)

Why was there a need to rush to have lessons at 17? You said yourself that it's a 'want' and not a 'need'

For your circumstances your daughter's would be easier and cheaper to use public transport.

Having them as named drivers, you're responsible for any accidents they might have. So it will put your policy up.

It does seem.to fall into 2 camps here..Those saying its a.luxuary in the main live in large towns with good youth job opertunitys and public transport . TBH adults of all ages don't really need a car there. Just back from London, public transport. was amazing. The other group which is where we are, very small market town , 1 bus an hour, starts at 8 stops at 6, every 2 hours from 9 on a.Saturday nothing Sunday. DD 16 can't get a job locally, to get to the local.larger town see the bus issues and only work locally is bar/ restaurants. Taxis cost £25 one way so would wipe out a 5 hour shift on minimum wage. Uber dosnt exist. I work.so not always able to drive her, dad blind so can't drive either now and also at the mercy of buses. Ds now at uni passed his test at 18, has a local bar job in the holidays , borrows my car to get there and is on marmalade. Thankfully he will be 21 before his sister lerns so will add him.to my insurance and put her on marmalade. He drives.my fiesta but also his dad's motabiliy car a Honda crv and has done since he passed..when he takes his dad out. Luckily the scheme.covers his insurance, and having 2 driver's when he's home is amazing. Driving is not a luxury unless public transport is good.

Very good point about your last sentence. ^^

Poster means naming parents on the teen’s policy so their policy but with added drivers. It can save money. I always go on DH’s car as it’s cheaper with me on too even though I rarely drive it.

Answering your points in the sane order -

I don’t see why you’re so concerned about how my dd funds her car. She works pt earning a decent wage while at uni. If she didn’t, no doubt we’d cover what was needed.

Her car IS a luxury and there’s no rule that says car owners must fund their cars themselves. As it is, DD doesn’t NEED to know, understand or experience self-funding her car, neither is it a prerequisite of car ownership. Should the car become unaffordable for us all, it’ll undoubtedly have to be sold. Very very very unlikely, but that’s what would happen in theory.

Driving lessons at 17 are an option, not a rush. An option that is available for my dc.

Why do you presume to know ‘my circumstances’ better than I do? Our decisions about dc driving are not based on being ‘easier or cheaper’, and not a problem that needs you to try solving.

We don’t see learning to drive as a luxury, we see it as a life skill. We lived very rurally when our children were 17. The buses to college were infrequent and unreliable. I didn’t want them to ride their bikes down narrow, unlit country lanes to get to college on freezing cold, rainy Winter days and nights either. We were, also, fed up of driving them to their friends houses all weekend and their jobs. They needed their independence.

When you live in a town or a city, with a bus stop at the end of your road, or shops within walking distance life is totally different.

@MindHowYouGoes How?

What you described sounded like it could be insurance fronting. A long time ago though, presumably you are no longer doing things like that.

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/fronting/

Oh, interesting! Not sure if it was insurance fronting as it was her car which I drove occasionally but she used for work. I also must have had my own policy at some point because I built up no claims as time went by.

Lessons aren’t going to get cheaper so it’s good to get it out of the way, and it’s relevant and useful for CVs and job applications. My DD (now 18) has a part time job she wouldn’t be able to do without a car (think theme park type of job) and has friends she wouldn’t be able to see much without relying on us for lifts there and back. So yes, it’s expensive, but it’ll be more expensive in 3 years. Now it’s done we don’t have to think about it anymore.

For lal those saying 17 year olds don’t need to drive, that depends on where you live
our buses stop at 6pm dont start until 8 and barely a service on a sunday, so ds had to learn at 17 , also ready for when 18 and left college and got a job.
we both work and can’t run him to work as well at all times.

@Mademetoxic you do realise some 17/28 year olds work right?
my ds is 18 and works full time so has a car he bought , pays for and insures etc Totally self funded as ne works, not everyone goes to uni

That was in response to a number of posters saying 17 year old 'kids' dont need cars. Not all 17 year olds are 'kids' in the same way not all adults need cars.

17 year olds are 'kids' the brain is not fully mature until the age of 25.

Your DD does not appreciate how expensive cars are to buy if her mum and dad actually pay for it.
She would not be able to afford to purchase her own car if it was not for bank of mum and dad.
A decent wage at 18 in a part time job.. sure it is.

Sorry but your daughter's will not have a clue how to fund a car, and will not appreciate how hard it is to fund yourself. The lessons, the actual car. If she had to find it all herself it would be a different story b

Better than him having it handed on a plate that it's self funded.

DS may need to bus or train it into uni at a nearby city when his time comes as he's not in a position to afford driving to and from uni until after he finishes his degree.

A bit like earning over 100k in niche roles 🤣

Well by that way of thinking 24 year old are kids and I was married had a child and a mortgage by then, should someone not have stopped me because I was a "kid. Similarly my 16 year old is in an apprenticeship working shifts and having a driving licence and a car will enable him to take on more duties at work, shall I tell them he cant as he's just a 'kid'?

I think different people have different perspectives in when a young person should just get on and stand on their own two feet and I think it best to agree to disagree.

They're in for a nasty shock when they have to pay their insurance themselves when their first year runs out, alongside their MOT, car repairs etc....

I don’t think this is really true. Our dc knew how much insuring him cost for the first year and that he would pay for the second year himself. So he saved to pay for it and paid for the mot.

Sorry - your first post said that your mum bought your car and she was the registered keeper. If the parent insures the car in their name but the child is the main user of the car, that’s fronting. If the car was actually your mums, she was the main user driving it to and from work every day and you only drove it once a week then that’s not fronting.

Everyone is in for a shock as insurance has risen these past few months.

This thread honestly...... So you support your kids in what they need at any given time. Be that schooling, clubs, cars, university. Later we might give them a deposit for a house if we are able. We are all doing our best to set them up for life. That's what parents do. Cars are a big part of setting up skills and independence, regardless of who pays.

We only live 10 mins from a large town, but semi-rural ... DD worked in a small museum, country house, no transport links. Even if she had worked in town, the cost of our 5 mins train journey, yes we have a station, is £5, and it only runs twice an hour, and is always cancelled. So, yes city dwellers, they do need cars, funded by parents.

Looking back to when you were 16/17 I'm sure you agree that you were a child and didn't really have a clue in life.