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

[LimitIsUp]

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 ? 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?

Is this a thing now that kids have to get their first car bought for them before they've even passed their test and it has to be practically brand new? Jeezo.

this a thing now that kids have to get their first car bought for them before they've even passed their test and it has to be practically brand new?

Yes - it’s an essential life skill and also vital if you live in an area with poor public transport. DS is currently job hunting and a potential employer rang last week to ask if he had a driving license and his own car - he got the impression that they would not have offered him an interview if he had said “no”.

@swisscheeseplant interesting. I didn't get a car until I was 23 and it was my Mum's old one that I had borrowed when she wasn't using it while I was at uni. I still think it's odd to buy the car before the test is passed though but hey ho.

@Ginger1982. - it is impossible to hold down a job here without your own transport as the buses are so infrequent and unreliable. A neighbour had to move as his young adult son couldn’t learn to drive for medical reasons and lost 2 jobs in a row for being constantly late. DD had to catch local bus to 6th form and we reckon she missed 1/3 of her Wednesday morning lessons as that seemed to be a day when the 7.30 bus didn’t turn up (next bus 10.30). I had to pay for a taxi (£25 each way) when she took her A levels as we were worried that the bus wouldn’t come.

Unfortunately nowadays if you live outside of big cities, public transport is abysmal. In order for my DC to get to school (out of catchment due to bullying) it involves, two buses and a train and a 1.5 walk or a 3 mile walk, a train and then a 1.5 mile walk. none of the times are co-ordinated so to arrive for 9am means leaving at 6.25. It can be driven in 15 minutes. As a consequence, I drove for years so DC getting a licence and access to a car was very important both to them and me. Taxis are extortionate and unavailable at school times as they are doing contract work.

My DC are only a year apart so we bought the car after DS1 passed but it's been theirs to share and DS1 gave DS2 lots of lifts until he passed himself. We were adamant that they were not getting a car each. When that time comes they can sell the one and split the proceeds or one can buy the other out.

I lived in a bigger city when I was young so didn't even learn until my 20s and did not get handed a car.

DSs know they are very lucky but some friends have been given brand new minis and one got an audi!

We bought a car for DD1 to learn in as ours weren't suitable, but it was in DH's name. (i.e. we didn't give her a car). She started work 3 months after passing. A year later we contributed towards a newer car that was hers.

It's not normal for kids to have brand new cars before even passing their test driving may be one life skill but saving up for big purchases is arguably a more useful one.

I don't think £4,400 on a brand new car for a brand new 18 year old is bad considering some teens are paying £2k on a £500 banger!

FWIW I'm not jealous- I have my own brand new car (paid for myself and my insurance is only £400 a year )

It's not normal for kids to have brand new cars before even passing their test hmm driving may be one life skill but saving up for big purchases is arguably a more useful one.

I bought my DC new cars because I didn’t want them breaking down in the middle of nowhere. I also looked at safety ratings before I decided on the car. The purchase has had no impact on my DC’s ability to save as adults - one is a saver, the other less so. If the OP can afford to buy her DC a fancy car, then good luck to them both - it is nobody else’s business.

Have you checked comparison sites? A lot of high street/mainstream insurers purposely give excessive quotes because they don't want to insure younge drivers. In future I would check insurance before committing to buying a care, presumably you're not going to insure it forever and she'll be a younger driver for insurance purposes until she's at least 25

Personally I can't fathom the parents of one of dd's friends who are not short of cash (both doctors) but bought their daughter a fiat punto. Check that out on the Euro NCAP stats

So much THIS.

Im totally with you OP. Until recently I used to work as a professional in a road safety environment. Studying collision statistics. I absolutely cannot believe how many parents who could afford to do otherwise buy a cheap old car for the most precious thing in their lives. The child they have spent 17 years caring for.

My advice is always the same if anyone asks. If you care about your loved ones, Buy the newest highest ncap rated car you can afford. In a collision It really can make the difference between walking away and death or lifechanging injuries

I really don’t understand the aparent Mumsnet hive mind on this. On the one hand so many threads obsessing over minutiae of the safest car seat, then mocking people for not putting it into a 15yo rust bucket. Because anything else is just showing off.

It is utter madness allowing the poorest performing driver demographic (new drivers) to drive anything but the safest car you can Afford for them.

RevealTheLegend - Absolutely. Thanks for just getting it!

Mad that people are hating on this car so much. If OP can afford it then why can't she spend her money how she sees fit?

When I passed my test I was lucky enough to be bought a new car (it was very well appreciated). I had it for 6 years and loved the bones off it. Didn't get as much as one scrape on it, and it only ended up having about 50,000 miles on it in the end. I sold it a few years ago and was able to buy a nippy 140bhp turbo hot hatch with a mixture of my own savings, earnings and from trading in my old car as I obviously got a few thousand back for it. It can be an investment for future purchases, too.

OP wasn't asking if the car was silly, she was asking for advice. Just because she can afford a new car, doesn't mean she wants to throw money to insurance companies for no good reason (and when there's cheaper policies out there).

Everyone has different priorities in life. I love cars and will always spend a lot on them. I choose not to spend my money on holidays throughout the year or designer clothes, but I won't judge someone for buying a bag at 2k. Their money, their choice.

limit

A Safe car is the one thing you absolutely should go into debt for. When you’ve spent a few days ––years–– reading endless police and first responders descriptions of car accidents. You’ll feel the same way.

Agree totally. The most vulnerable group and the group least able to cope with something going wrong with a car or a car that is harder to drive. Also new cars usually come with recovery as standard, I wonder if everyone remembers to make sure their teens have cover with the AA etc?

DSs policy has the black box fitted and if they detect something that leads them to think it's broken down or been in an impact, they will attempt to contact the driver to ensure everything is okay and will call emergency services if required. It's an added level of comfort.

Dd doesn't have a new car, but its reliable. Not all old cars constantly break down! My old citroen has never broken down.

DSs policy has the black box fitted and if they detect something that leads them to think it's broken down or been in an impact, they will attempt to contact the driver to ensure everything is okay and will call emergency services if required. It's an added level of comfort

I literally don't understand whst this means.

Fibbke The fitted black box means that the insurance company know exactly where the car is at all times. The computer programme that monitors the cars will alert if the car stops suddenly somewhere inappropriate such as the motorway or if it detects an impact. The box is there to monitor driving and will alert if there is speeding or quick acceleration or hard braking. It monitors the time it's being driven so drivers can be rewarded for avoiding times of highest accidents etc. If an alert is triggered then a member of staff will try to contact the driver to make sure that they are okay and if they suspect that they have been injured then they will call emergency services.

Obviously the don't try to contact them if they've just been accelorating too fast from the motorway but they can lose points towards their next premium, lose rewards, face an increase in premium or in cases with speeding, they can remove their insurance completely.

Ginger!- the reason why dd had a cat bought for her before she has even passed her test is because imo she needs to practice driving between lessons; we plan to go out and practice several times a week. Since both dh and I drive automatics and both cars are > 2 litre, our cars would be totally unsuitable for her to practice in - hence it makes perfect sense to get her car now. It's not remotely odd or strange if you take a moment to think about it

Cat?
Car ... car!

@Ginger1982 I'm 32 and had my car before I passed my test at 17. Used it for driving to college and back (mum would take it home and come back for me) to learn in in between lessons. I know a few people who did this, wouldn't say it's new.

i've yet to learn to drive as it is so expensive. I was quoted £350 per month for insurance, and that was for a 2004 VW Beetle

My first car was a £700 16-year-old Bug and insurance was just over a grand if I recall correctly. Couldn’t have a black box as it was two litre but my dad was a named driver to bring the costs down. I don’t think you’ll get much cheaper to be honest given it’s such a new car.

the reason why dd had a cat bought for her before she has even passed her test is because imo she needs to practice driving between lessons; we plan to go out and practice several times a week. Since both dh and I drive automatics and both cars are > 2 litre, our cars would be totally unsuitable for her to practice in

To be honest i don't think it's really necessary to be having practice if she is having weekly lessons. Both DSs didn't drive between lessons, I didn't, DSs friends haven't either. If she hasn't done her test I would really suggest that she practices and practice again the theory side of things. This seems to be the biggest stumbling block for passing for the young people I've come across recently.

I also don’t think it’s a good idea to practise between lessons because it’s easy to fall into bad habits when not driving with an instructor.