To ask how on earth we can help to get DS affordable car insurance?

[SlimJimmin]

Has anyone helped to buy and insure a car for their DC as a new driver very recently? Insurance prices are just crazy, and even crazier than ever it seems. Does anyone have the magic formula? I wondered if there’s a type of car we should be looking for which hits the sweet spot of being one he’ll actually ‘be seen dead in’ 🙄🙈 but also doesn’t cost the absolute earth to insure due to age/mileage/engine size etc? Is there a specific insurer you’ve found who can offer a more reasonable premium? We know about adding ourselves as additional drivers but still prices are astronomical. DSS bought his first car last year and prices seem to have shot through the roof for insurance even since then, and we’re wondering if we can even get him on the road at all at this rate, which we really could do with doing to help his plans for when he finishes college in summer (many options he’s looking at for his future seem to want a driving license).

Thank you so much if you have done this very recently and can offer any tips!

Honestly? Wait until he’s older.

We waited til ours were older, then added them on ours so they could drive where they needed to- as in, not their own car, not as the main driver.
It’s phenomenal and I don’t think anyone expects youngsters to have a car anymore for that reason. Moped?

DS2 is about to get one through work, where the insurance is generic and paid by someone else.

Just read about this link might be worth looking at, also if the pass plus would help reduce costs?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance-compareplus/

DS added both DH and I as named drivers and that knocked down the price by £500 or so. Worth a try…

Fit a black box? This brings premiums down.

Screw a car he will be seen dead in. The car that's cheapest to insure is the one he should have!! DD has a 2007 ford Ka. It's shit but it's cheap! And insurance is lower than other cars. Still shocking though!

No ideas about reducing it though, cheaper for my daughter than her male friends which seems unfair!

Black box
Add parent as named driver
look a 1L vehicles - the newer models are more powerful and the newer the model the cheaper it gets.

Being on your insurance will not give him any no claims discount so you’ll be in the same boat next year anyway.

Check prices online some specialize in young drivers.

We bought ds1 a car for his 18th and regret it. I actually think it’s good that the insurance is so high. It’s far better and safer that they don’t have their own cars until they are a bit older.

Multicar policy and something not typically kid car.

Play around with adding named drivers. DS1 cheaper with me on, DS2 cheaper with husband on instead of me.
Also for DS2, found a bigger engine car was cheaper for insurance than the usual 1L first cars. He got a 1.6 citroen Ds3

With his attitude i would make him wait. Tell him driving is an expensive luxury. Which it is.

Not in every case surprisingly. DS got quotes from 1st Central with and without a black box - without was £3,700 and with was £4,100.

There are insurers for young drivers which are a bit cheaper than mainstream companies. Black box always! At least for the first two years until he builds up his no claim bonus. And tell him not to be picky about the car. If he wants something other than what he won’t be seen dead in, then he will probably need to think about paying for his own insurance. Gift horse and all that.

Dd added me, waited until 19, insured to my address with her student house as secondary and it was all part of my admiral multi car

If DS2 is under 25 please check he’s covered. Our work insurance policy excluded under 21s and if the car was pricey, under 25s as well.

Try Admiral. They were the cheapest for both my kids. Don't buy a Fiesta or Corsa
We bought a Nissan Micra. Put you both on the insurance as named drivers. Black box. Still expensive but he will start to build up no claims.

mine went from £450 to £800 this year for no reason. Insurance is become extremely expensive

When I returned to driving after a break in 2018 (aged 27) I was quoted nearly 3k for a 10 year old Corsa. My colleague told me that it would be cheaper with a newer car and after trying quotes with several models she was right. Fully comp was also cheaper than 3rd party. I ended up buying a Skoda Citigo on PCP. It was the cheapest brand new car I could get. Insurance start at £70 per month so still wasn't cheap but it quickly dropped down.

Ours waited both to learn to drive and to have a car. They learned at about age 23, and one DD only has a car. She bought it when she was 24. Nissan Micra, parked on the street.

BIL bought a small car derived van (so no back seats) to use for work as an apprentice carpenter. With a black box it was a lot cheaper than the equivalent car.

Cheap crappy car. 3rd party insurance. More incentive not to crash it and a lot cheaper

Parents ( with no accidents or points) as named driver.
Shop around a lot- I think we got quotes from every insurer in existence.
Apparently, putting insurance to start in a month rather than the next few days lowers the quote a little ( don’t know how true that is).
Go on to a car dealers or second hand car website and search for cars your dc is interested in eg fiesta, 8 years old 1.2 engine. Use the reg plate of a car that fits your search and use it for quotes. That will give you a pretty accurate idea of cost- before you purchase a car!
Pay for the year rather than by monthly direct debit. With the cost being so high for young, inexperienced drivers , the extra charge just for paying monthly by dd is significant.
LV and Hastings were the cheapest quotes we found.

Just passed young males are always penalised with higher insurance. Fiesta and Corsa are the most expensive to insurance.
Adding different things can make the price go up or down on a insurance quote (It’s quite surprising) I think it’s best to find a car and then try out insurance quotes online adding things to see if you can reduce the quote.
Apparently even the colour of the car can make a difference to the price.

Thanks @PervyMuskrat that’s well worth knowing. He’s 24 so hopefully said car doesn’t land in the expensive bracket.

Mine went from £300 to £510 (renewal). The cheapest comparison quote I got was £550!

Apparently it’s down to a decline in driving standards post Covid and a higher proportion of uninsured cars being on the road.

The dealership warned us that insurance was incredibly expensive at the moment when we got DD her car. She was due to take her test at 17 but it was cancelled and put back by a month. She was 18 when she took it and her insurance quotes were cheaper due to her age.

She has a 1.4l 2016 Vauxhall Adam - which came in cheaper than a 1.2 corsa, 1.0 polo, 1.0 Citroen etc. So apparently there is no logic to it…