To think car insurance prices are insane and it’s unfair?

[WaterfallGlitter6]

I’ve had my license since I was 18 and I’m now 21 (22 next week). The insurance cost (£2,600 a year!!) for my Tiguan is insane even though I’ve never had an accident or claimed on my insurance at all. I understand that it’s higher because people my age are more likely to have accidents (I’ve never been involved in one and drive carefully) but for people who have never had to claim on their insurance and who drive carefully it’s unfair. I also understand it’s higher too because I have a Tiguan but I still think insurance prices are insanely high. AIBU to think car insurance prices are insane and it’s unfair?

I didn’t even pay that much when I first got my Tiguan, that’s a lot!

I understand that but there are people like me who don’t drive recklessly and who actually drive carefully.

Yes but that’s not the point.

I’m looking at other cars online now too, are Vauxhall and Ford reliable cars?

All modern cars are reliable but look at individual reviews

Ok will do thank you

I wouldn’t drive a car uninsured.

OP, definitely check comparison sites, and you may not need a black box. We looked at lending my son our 2nd car long term. Our existing insurer, which had insured him as a named driver for over 3 years, wanted to charge £2.2k to switch the insurance over to him, at his city centre address. A different insurer found from a comparison site (Admiral) only charged £700.

And you can definitely get 'people carrier' type cars that are plenty big enough and will be cheaper to insure. VW Tourans start at insurance group 10. I've driven one for years and it's been brilliant for carting lots of people and stuff around.

The other issue is that I do like my current car though so not fully sure what to do. Cheapest quote I’ve had so far for my Tiguan is £2,200 unless I look at other cars. I don’t know what to do

The £2,200 quote isn’t black box insurance though to be fair so I could look at that too.

I think the tragedy of our modern society is that we have

• A financial setup since 2010 where people can do PCP finance on cars which would NEVER have been available to someone under 25 years old due to initial purchase cost. I'm not trying to create a race to the bottom, I'm glad that people can pay £250-300 a month on a newish car, but these cars have commensurate running costs and insurance costs. Two decades ago, only people in their 30s or 40s could afford that. Now? You can be 21 and eyeing up an Audi Q3. It doesn't make sense to me, but people are "buying" these cars like mobile phones - "how much per month can I afford" rather than looking at total costs.

• It's insane to me that anyone around 21 years old should be prepared to endure £2000+ in insurance, just so they can be driving a shiny cool looking SUV. Which lets face it is a fashion choice. Everyone but anyone wants to be in these things for the "high up" driving position and feeling of safety. But no one is prepared to be honest and talk about fashion. It really worth it when you're a new driver and could ease your way into the market with something that is NCAP 5 rated, but just less of a "brand" and SUV image? A Seat Ibiza has plenty of room, and my friend (two kids, regularly takes a third home on school run) has a VW Polo, also NCAP 5* rated. The latter friend? Each of them earns £100k plus and are in their 40s.

• Finally, the image problem. In the UK, so many people I know seem obsessed with the image their car has to project to others. I have never known this as much when I lived in the US, where people with good jobs drove Camrys, Altimas and Sonatas because you'd get good mileage and reliability from them. Over here, you have 20 something year olds spending a quarter to a third of their incomes , £400+ a month on Range Rover Evoques, Mercedes GLCs, insane cars for that age.

I know I'll get shouted down and told I'm "envious", but this is part of the problem of this country we live in.

People will never ever accept criticism of their position because we are all so bloody image conscious and want to be seen as "doing well".

We also have this weird pathological arms race where an SUV shows you care about your DCs, and anything else (hatchback, even a NCAP 5* rated saloon car) is seen as second best.

YABU @WaterfallGlitter6 buy a Fiesta like every other 22 year old did, and enjoy the money you save. Invest the rest in a FTSE tracker and buy the car of your dreams outright in 10 years time.

A Fiesta wouldn’t be an option I don’t think because of the kids. I don’t think it would have room for the car seats and the pram/buggy?

I think it’s sensible to get insurance quotes for some other viable car options so you have a direct comparison. There’s so many variables involved in both you and the car. You can’t change your age, driving experience, current situation etc but you can change the car details. If you find that insurance for other viable options is much cheaper then your current car you have a decision to make re changing the car. If there’s not much in it you know you just have to pay in order to be able to run a car.

I had a citroen Picasso with 3 kids. Cheap to insure and heaps of room

I’m just having a look online now at other car options and the insurance quotes too.

Its expensive but in what way is it unfair?

Insurance is based on group risk , not individual risk - they can't predict what you personally will do.

Either take steps to bring the cost down, like get a cheaper car, or suck it up.

Complaining that it's 'unfair' makes you sound like Kevin the teenager.

I’ll have a look at Citroen too, thank you so much

That does make sense but it’s just so expensive.

It's such a shame that the Fiesta comment is all you took from this post @WaterfallGlitter6 .

I will now list for you larger cars . All of them are less than 10 years old, so 2017 onwards like your Tiguan.

I'd like to hear your response please as to whether you'd be happy to drive any of these, as I think fashion is the driving issue here (excuse the pun).

Volkswagen Touran

• Proper 3 individual rear seats + ISOFIX
• Big boot for pram

Citroën Berlingo /

• Boxy so loads of space for the three seats you mentioned
• 3 full seats across + sliding doors (game changer)

Renault Grand Scenic

• More “car-like” than a van
• Wide rear row
• Cheap to buy

Ford S-MAX

• Bigger and nicer to drive
• Good for 3 seats (though slightly tighter than Touran)

All of these are WAY cheaper than the Tiguan to insure.

Fashion is not the issue. I will look in to all of those options if they are cheaper to insure, thank you

OK thanks for responding @WaterfallGlitter6

You'll find the Volkswagen Touran (2016-2019) can be got for around £14k if low mileage (less than 40,000), or £10k if around 60,000 miles.

They used to be all over my school run before people discovered weirdly named SUVs ('Rocs, Qashquai, Sportage etc)

Crucially there is a big difference between insurance groups for these vehicles. The Touran is insurance group 12, maybe insurance group 15 for some bigger engine models.

The Tiguan STARTS at insurance group 18, but can rise as high as 25 for some models.

That's useful. Was just looking at the Dacia, but the Ford is a good bet too.

When looking at alternatives find out what the 0-62 is for your current car and consider that with alternatives. There are absolutely loads of very under powered cars available with lower insurance groups. Striking the balance between enough power to be able to safely go uphill/overtake/join a motorway etc is important. There are EV’s with a 0-62 time of 5 seconds which for most people is just far too quick and then there’s under powered cars with a 0-62 of 18+ seconds. I wouldn’t put my DC in a really under powered car even if the insurance was really low, it’s just plain dangerous. What you’re used to is important. It’s not about engine size, they aren’t comparable, use the 0-62 times of any specific model you consider as a benchmark.

Ok will do thank you. That’s important as I do drive on the motorway.

The problem with OP selling her car and buying another, is that she's going to lose money. No-one seems to be taking that into account.

If she's going to buy a similarly aged car, the trade in for her present car will be pitiful (if anyone will even take it at that age). And 'we buy any car dot com' will rip her off. Then when she buys another from a garage or dealer, she'll also be paying a premium for their profit.

If this car suits her new lifestyle (I notice that barely anyone has acknowledged what a huge thing it is that she's doing, as a single 22 year old, or shown any empathy for her situation) it might be that, in the short term, finding the cheapest black box insurance might actually be the best thing financially, for this year at least.