Excessive insurance quotes?

[Sindri]

I have recently passed my test and have been looking at 1.6 Renault Clio's - mainly 03/04 plates as they fit to my budget.

I'm 22 and am living in outer London in a reasonable area.

So far i haven't ventured beyond the comparison websites and have been getting quotes in the region of £2,200 for fully comp.

Is this about right? Bearing in mind it's 'relatively' quick for a first car.

 

[Luke]

Year 1 insurance? yes. This is what 1.2 litre cars are for.

 

[Sindri]

Well as quotes for the 1.2 litre cack 8v fall at around £1600 i would prefer paying the extra for something that won't roll back down any hill I attempt to climb.

 

[DiG]

Buy something with an old man image, someone a boy racer would never been seen in and you might be surprised with the results

Cars like this are written off less often by young drivers (because less young drivers own them) as because of this, are seen as a lower risk. Crazy I know but when I was doing my first years insurance getting a Rover 220 was cheaper, despite having a 2.0L engine (albeit a diesel)

 

[mufc802]

Good that you haven't bought the car before sorting the insurance. If you get a 1.2 their not that bad like a Fiesta 1.25 Zetec is pretty quick off the mark.

Where are you getting quotes from because for a 1.2 you should get it cheaper than £1600, I got mine for £1700 and I'm 18.

 

[Sindri]

Thats the frustrating thing, i have tried to pick various cars - even undesireable ones, and none seem to give me a decent quote.

Admittedly though I haven't rang up any insurers yet to see if I can get a better price direct as I haven't had the time, I just tried out the price comparison sites as its made checking a wide variety of cars pretty easy.

 

[matt_fsr]

A lot of insurance companies simply dont want year 1 drivers on their books at all, hence stupidly high quotes.

Think of it in terms of a business model - you'll make far more profit insuring huge numbers of drivers who never crash, than a few young drivers at £2.5k a pop, but that on average crash once a year.

That said, my first car was supposed to be a 1.25 Zetec, 75BHP. Ended up getting a 1.8 16v Merc instead

 

[SoundsGood]

Try some direct quotes on Admiral Group, Aviva, Bell. I've just renewed last night and found Admiral and Aviva to be ~£300 cheaper than anything on the comparison sites.

 

[Mikey]

Try some direct quotes on Admiral Group, Aviva, Bell. I've just renewed last night and found Admiral and Aviva to be ~£300 cheaper than anything on the comparison sites.

Interesting, I'll check these out as my insurance has gone up by some £200 for no bloody reason

 

[Flibbles]

If you want a car with plenty of kick then have a look at diesel Focuses- they start at insurance group 6.

 

[Sindri]

Try some direct quotes on Admiral Group, Aviva, Bell. I've just renewed last night and found Admiral and Aviva to be ~£300 cheaper than anything on the comparison sites.

Thanks will have to have a look. Insurance seems to have rocketed though as I was getting quotes of about £400 less when i was checking 6 months ago

 

[ubersonic]

ahh I remember passing my test back when I was 16, my first car was a Proton Persona 1.5 worth about £400 and my insurance was £800 TP lol