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Teenagers

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

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Original poster

Tell me about cars for leaner drivers

17 replies

Bankholidayhelp · 28/12/2023 20:36

Just that really!

Should we be looking at less than 1000cc? Presume no to specials, turbos, electric.

Fiesta, Panda, Corsa. Anything else? A mini one?

But what about doors? 4 door seems more 'sensible' but I'm partial to a three door... but which do insurance companies prefer?

What about a small van - eg Corsa - garage near us has one and it would be handy. But no idea what insurance would be like for a learner.

Don not want to spend fortune on insurance. Have looked at Marmalade. Any others? I'd like the option to start building own no claims rather than adding to one of our existing policies as a learner/named driver.

And do I need own car insurance (fully comp?)? If we go down the route of the learner having the insurance?

It seems really difficult to get a quote without actually having the car...

OP posts:

Toddlerteaplease · 28/12/2023 21:01

I wouldn't get In A car with a learner, without dual controls.

Neriah · 28/12/2023 21:07

Love the title.

justanotherparrot · 28/12/2023 21:29

If you're in a position to afford it, a small engine petrol/diesel car which is in group 1 - an Aygo, Citroen c1, peugeot107, VW Up. I got my son a cheap group 1 car and a learners insurance policy whilst he was on a provisional licence and it's paid off by being able to build up his own policy and that's saved quite a bit for him later on. He had to have a fully licenced driver with him at all times on this policy whilst he was learning but it allowed him to build up a year of no claims. I believe the insurer was A plan.

Original poster

Bankholidayhelp · 29/12/2023 00:23

Ooops. But if we do get a tiny car then being lean will help with elbow situation I suppose 😁

OP posts:

iknowimcoming · 29/12/2023 00:34

It's probably a good idea to give a local (to you) insurance broker a call and get their advice, as it does seem to change frequently, as pp said it's a good idea to get a group 1 car if possible, but also don't automatically think an older cheaper car is a better bet, insurance companies prefer newer cars as people are more likely to be careful with them - good luck!

AgeingDoc · 29/12/2023 00:52

If you are planning to keep this car after the learner passes, that's the insurance you need to be concerned about. Insuring a learner is actually comparatively inexpensive, it's after they pass that the cost shoots up. So don't be lulled into a false sense of security by any quotes you get initially - make sure you find out roughly what it will cost to insure after they pass.
It's worth looking at policies with a black box as this can save quite a bit of money but make sure you look at all the restrictions and be sure you can live with them. For example, lots have curfews which for us would have meant DS couldn't drive himself home from his part time job, thus negating the main benefit of him having a car from my perspective, and some of the ones we looked at forbade driving on unmade roads. Given we live in the countryside and half the places DS goes involve farm tracks and the like then they were obviously no use either! But if the restrictions work for you the cost reduction can be significant.

iknowimcoming · 29/12/2023 11:36

Forgot to say both my dcs are on our admiral multicar policy which was way cheaper than anywhere else we tried and no black boxes or restrictions, and adding me and dh as named drivers to their cars brought down the costs too.

If you want to try out different cars if you go to say the vw/ford website etc and look at their used cars they often advertise the number plates of the cars so you can use that to get quotes

hellojelly · 29/12/2023 11:39

Don't get a van, even a small one. It's usually a commercial insurance policy so any no claims etc when they pass don't "usually" pass over to a car policy.

rainpleasestop · 29/12/2023 11:42

I have a fiesta I'm 40 passed a year ago insurance is £1,190... black box can make it cheaper

Blankscreen · 29/12/2023 11:52

We went through a broker to A Plan insurance and it was about £600 cheaper than anything we could find online.

Dss has a Volkswagen up. It's group 1 insurance.

The Aygo, c1 and Peugeot used to be also be group 1 (pre 2012) but the newer models no longer are.

There seems to therefore be a bit of a premium for a 10 year old car with loads of miles.

We went for an VW up because we could get a newer car and it would still be group 1.

BaileysAllRound · 29/12/2023 11:55

We have a ~ 10 year old fiesta for my Dc but echo the other posters comments that it's not the learner insurance which is pricey, but the new driver insurance so make sure you look at quotes for that.

ShowOfHands · 29/12/2023 12:04

I'm watching with interest as I have an about to turn 17yr old who desperately needs to learn asap (rural living, nightmare getting to college ATM). I'm toying with letting her have my 13yr old basic Fiat 500 (reliable and well maintained).

Angrymum22 · 29/12/2023 12:12

We used Marmalade while DS was learning. The car he now has use of is an automatic VW Polo 1.0. It is insured under our multicar insurance with LV=. LV do not use black boxes.
Insurance for an automatic Polo was less than 1k. This is because underwriters work out the costs based on the number of claims made by that specific demographic in specific cars. The most expensive car to insure for a 17yr boy is a Fiesta or Corsa because these are the most popular cars in that age group. Not many 17yr old boys drive automatic Polos so not many have accidents.

In addition newer cars are cheaper to insure because they have more safety features such as driver assisted stopping which prevents you from rear ending the car in Fri t if you in slow moving traffic. This is probably the most common accident for which people make a claim.

Original poster

Bankholidayhelp · 29/12/2023 12:17

Thank you every one. Some great comments/advice
Esp about the new driver costs!

OP posts:

Kalevala · 29/12/2023 12:24

Toddlerteaplease · 28/12/2023 21:01

I wouldn't get In A car with a learner, without dual controls.

I want my child to have as much experience as possible as a learner, to keep him safe once he is driving on his own. I have personal family experience of the consequences of a serious driving accident, so this is something that is hugely important to me.

Kalevala · 29/12/2023 12:27

It is funny to see our family car listed as a learner car, DS is just learning in mine and the instructor's car.

Angrymum22 · 29/12/2023 12:43

Kalevala · 29/12/2023 12:24

Show quote history

I agree with you. I taught my DS to drive ( did a lot of research and planned lessons etc) the most important part of learning is time behind the wheel at all times of the day and night. DS had over 150hrs of practice before passing his test.

He failed his first test due to a parking fail, the testers try to catch them out at some point and DS made the incorrect judgement call. He was asked to pull over when safe in a street where every car was parked on the pavement, he thought that because everyone was on the pavement he was ok to do the same. This was a major so instant fail. He sailed through his second test.

Ds had a 10mile journey to school every morning so for 4months he would drive into and out of the city at rush hour. For me this was the most important driving practice since once he had his license this would be his daily journey. We live rurally so he had plenty of diversity.
He’s been driving for nearly two years now and we have recently done some long journeys on the motorways. He’s done some motorway driving on his own and I wanted to check whether he was slipping into bad habits. He moans like mad but I remind him that despite being his mum I have successfully driven on motorways for over 40 yrs. Like most teenagers he thinks that you just stay in the overtaking lanes.
He has been unable to drive for the last 2 months due to surgery on his shoulder. I’m planning a few days out on the motorway and roads he’s no familiar with to check his skills again.

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