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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

£4,400 quoted for car insurance once dd has passed her test. Advice and recommendations please.

258 replies

LimitIsUp · 18/07/2019 10:30

Posting here since as parents of teens you may have had the car insurance problem.

Okay, we weren't expecting a cheap insurance given dd has a 2018 VW Polo Beats, so the replacement cost of the car is quite high. Also, whilst it is a 1 litre engine it is turbo. However dh has been given a quote of £4,400 from the brokers. We had been anticipating (a still eye watering) £2K perhaps, but £4,400 Shock? If she had previously driven and been banned for drink driving her insurance would probably have been less!

Fortunately she has only just started to learn to drive so we have time to work on this. Any advice please re getting a better deal?

OP posts:
Jaffacakebeast · 21/07/2019 14:06

Driving not bribing

WaxOnFeckOff · 21/07/2019 14:12

I couldn't get any reduction when inputting Pass Plus so we didn't do it officially but I think that might vary. DH took them out and did some different types of driving with them once they'd passed though.

I could be wrong, but I don't think you can build up ncd on learner insurance.

And yes, check the conditions of the insurer re the black box. On ours they are encouraged not to drive late at night but there is no rule but a friends DD was caught out on their insurance as she regularly worked quite late in the evening and then drove to stay with a relative afterwards so was driving later than she was allowed 2 or 3 times a week. they didn't like that.

Jaffacakebeast · 21/07/2019 15:29

Aslong as the insurance is in the L name you can built up no claims

WaxOnFeckOff · 21/07/2019 15:45

good to know jaffa. Everyone in my house has passed now so not useful to me anymore but sure it will help somebody.

Also noticed when we were looking that some policies were for 10 months and were giving 1 year no claims at end to help people get a discount quicker.

Soontobe60 · 21/07/2019 16:01

So I've gathered that the OP has a driveway with electric gates, has been able to buy her DD a car she can't yet drive to the tune of maybe £15k plus? (Just guessing here) and thinks because it's a Polo and got a good safety rating her DD will be safer in it.
OP, the high insurance isn't because of the risk of theft, it's because of the risk of accident. It doesn't matter how safe the car is according to the rating, if it's wrapped around a tree because of the turbo, that's going to hurt!
Insurance premiums are based on risk. Your quote is high becUse the risk of damage is high in the category you want it for, i.e. A new, inexperienced, very young driver. The only plus is that you have a daughter because if you wanted it for a son it would be even higher.
FWIW, when my DD had passed her test, I swapped my car for a Toyota Aygo and added her to the insurance as my old car was too expensive to add her. I didn't buy her her own car, she was barely a child and didn't need one.

Oliversmumsarmy · 21/07/2019 16:04

Dd has a new car. (Leased. When I calculated depreciation on a 2nd hand car that was already a few years old it was about £3500-£4000 over the 2 years, then adding in possible breakdowns and MOTS etc it was slightly cheaper to get the new car that will be handed back)

Her car is a very staid car but is a 1.6 litre (low horse power though)

Her insurance has me and her df on it.

Dp is in his 60s, we live in a very quiet area (no crime). Dp also does a very boring job. I am in my 50s I am down as a housewife and we both have a clean driving licence.

It came to £1200 per year which I didn’t think was bad at all.

thesnapandfartisinfallible · 21/07/2019 16:09

Try admiral? I found them easily the cheapest but tbh I wouldn't have got a new driver such a boy racer type car, simply
because of the fact that it will be expensive to insure even with telematics.

Nat6999 · 21/07/2019 16:10

Look at the Martin Lewis site moneysavingexpert.com there is a certain way to use all the sites like moneysupermarket.com to get the best deal & it also gives details of insurance companies that don't come up on them. You have to do all the searches in a certain order to get the best deal.

Oliversmumsarmy · 21/07/2019 16:11

We are with Admiral

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 21/07/2019 16:12

A boy racer would be woefully disappointed with a 1 litre engine. Even with the turbo.

OP posts:
Original poster
LimitIsUp · 21/07/2019 16:21

Thank you for further recommendations - but I am happy with the new Aviva quote of £1,800 and don't think we can anticipate getting much more off

For those still maintaining that that the car wasn't a sensible purchase, I suggest you read RevealTheLegend's posts from last night

OP posts:
WaxOnFeckOff · 21/07/2019 16:35

The only plus is that you have a daughter because if you wanted it for a son it would be even higher

Insurers aren't allowed to charge differently for men and women anymore. Typically premiums for men are higher but that teds to be because they drive more powerful cars, drive more miles, have more points on their licence, have riskier occupations etc. But if you simply change your sex (and name) on the quote, it will be the same.

Oliversmumsarmy · 21/07/2019 19:21

We had the same thinking as RevealTheLegend

There was no way we would have got Dd a small rust bucket.

If we couldn’t afford it then she would have had to go without.

Her next car is going to be a very safe SUV type vehicle with all the cameras and beepers

cdtaylornats · 22/07/2019 17:27

Many years ago a friend of mine phoned an insurance company and asked for fully comp. for a 19 year old in a Fiat X-19. The woman on the phone said "Actor or jockey? No other 19 year old could afford it".

Fibbke · 22/07/2019 17:42

Loving the idea that if you don't buy a new car you must be giving your kid a 'rust bucket'

People are very Hyacinth Bucket about having to have brand new cars.

RevealTheLegend · 22/07/2019 20:56

Fib

That’s exactly what I’m NOT saying.

I Very carefully worded my post to say the newest, highest NCAP rated car

Not necessarily a new car, not the absolute safest that money can buy, just the best that you can afford. I’d buy an old Volvo over a new punto any day, regardless of the cosmetic appearance.

But I do get pissed off with the sneering on her that those of us who have newer cars (lease in my case) we MUST be doing it to flaunt our wealth. in my case ive had unfettered access to 40 years worth of statistics and it made me cautious as to what kind of vehicle I carry my kids and elderly mum round in.

MichelleC69 · 22/07/2019 20:59

Try insuring it in your name and adding her as a named driver. It often works out cheaper that way. Or you could try a black box policy.

This fraud - please don't do it. As others have said get a black box policy. Do a quote on a price comparison website.

PoppingOneOutIn2020 · 22/07/2019 21:07

Mine was £1300 when I first started driving.. I was late to the party though and passed when I was 19. I'm 23 now and my insurance is about 600, still expensive hutbuts not as crazy as some people.

Alot of it also depends on how much mileage you require, your address, where you keep the car outside of work.

Try an insurance quote for her as a 'full license' and insure it from the first day of the month in a month or two. I can guarantee that will take a bulk off.

I had a quote for 400 to insure at the beginning of the following month, got my car early, needed to insure it the following week and it bumped it right up. Ridiculous theiving gits

Oliversmumsarmy · 23/07/2019 01:26

Fibbke

If you actually work out the cost of owning and running an older car, depreciation, breakdowns and getting it through its MOT. MPG etc it doesn’t make financial sense to buy an older car than just to lease something new.

Equally it isn’t about having a brand new car either

I wouldn’t let dd drive any car with a bad safety record new or old.

Whilst your child might be the best driver in the world if a lorry doesn’t stop and crashed into the back of them wouldnt you rather them be in a car that is built around a steel cage than a car with no protection.

I was T.Boned by a driver who attempted to bury their car into my rib cage. I walked away from the accident

I know if I had been driving any other car I would have had broken ribs or worse.

Fibbke · 23/07/2019 06:25

If you actually work out the cost of owning and running an older car, depreciation, breakdowns and getting it through its MOT. MPG etc it doesn’t make financial sense to buy an older car than just to lease something new

Huh? Leasing is a very expensive way to own a car. Only worth it if you are desperate to drive a new car. I bought a 4k car 6 years ago whrn it was 4 years old. Still drive it every day, not broken down yet (famous last words). Good mpg. Could sell it for 1k or so. Don't have to worry about it getting dinged in the car park. Regularly serviced and all fine. Would have spent at least 8k had i been leasing it?!

coconuttelegraph · 23/07/2019 08:15

Try an insurance quote for her as a 'full license' and insure it from the first day of the month in a month or two. I can guarantee that will take a bulk off

I'm not sure what you mean by that but you can't insure a car as a qualified driver until you actually passed your test

A quote is just that until you've actually passed, how will that help?

Noroof · 23/07/2019 08:25

I don't think high insurance is a new thing. I passed in 1997 and it cost my folks 1k a year for me to drive their turbo Sierra. They then bought me and my sister a polo but I think that was slightly cheaper to insure but not by much.

Oliversmumsarmy · 23/07/2019 08:49

I have had my fair share of old bangers.

Usually broke down at least once per year and cost around £300 to get them through their MOT.

I was looking to spend about £8000 because I wanted a more modern car because Dd was a new driver and I didn’t want an engine failiure in the outside lane of the M6

By the time I had added it all up it did work out slightly cheaper to lease than buy.

Depending when you start the lease there are some really good deals to be had.

Bought Dp a small runaround 4 years ago. He doesn’t do a lot of mileage. Every year we spend £300-400 just getting it through its MOT. Big repair and the MOT this year was just under £2000

Given the size of the car it might have been cheaper to lease than buy.

Fibbke · 23/07/2019 09:08

Ok, well you may have bought 'old bangers' and 'rustbuckets', but plenty of financially savvy people drive older cars with no issues whatsoever.

WaxOnFeckOff · 23/07/2019 09:28

It very much depends on the older car. DH has a 9 year old octavia. It's a brilliant car, apart from new tyres, brake pads, window wipers and the timing belt, it's never required any actual work. That's just maintenance. Always passes its mot with nothing needed. He hit a red deer at speed on a country road after a few months and ended up with nothing more than a cracked bumper and headlight. However, we have had it since new (special deal) and we know its entire history. It's an estate though so not really suitable for learning in and as its quite powerful, much higher insurance for a new driver. Our other cars were pre registered with between 500 and 2000 miles on them for just over 6k each. So essentially, there is a lot of middle ground between brand new high insurance, leasing deals or rust buckets.

The thing I think is key here, is knowing the safety record and maintenance history and reliability of a vehicle and pairing that with the type of driving that will be done and making the best affordable choice.

We don't have a mechanic in the family to check over things for us so we tend to go newer as we can make a judgement based on stats and common sense. People who know more than us about cars can possibly make cheaper choices.