Buying and Insuring a first car for £3500-4000

geekman said:
Mazda 3 Sport 2.0, Toyota MR2 2.0, Mazda MX5 1.8, Volvo 850, Mondeo 1.8.

All of those gave me very cheap quotes as a new driver.
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Are you telling me these cars gave you cheaper quotes than lets say a Fiesta or Polo?

I remember trying numerous number of cars when I got insured for the first time last year, Mondeo 1.8 was about 3x what the Fiesta cost to insure.

EDIT: Ignore what I just said, just read the post above.
 
Well I guess it depends on how long you have been driving as well, for someone with over 10 years behind them for example, a 1.0 car will cost peanuts to insure
 
flibbage0 said:
Are you telling me these cars gave you cheaper quotes than lets say a Fiesta or Polo?

I remember trying numerous number of cars when I got insured for the first time last year, Mondeo 1.8 was about 3x what the Fiesta cost to insure.
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The Mazda 3, MX5 and MR2 were cheaper for me than a Fiesta or Corsa. Never checked a Polo but I'd be surprised if it was that cheap. I posted my car history above, and all were very easy for me to insure as a main driver, despite having a crap postcode and a non-fault claim. It's all about running as many quotes on as many cars as possible: I reckon if everyone did that, the vast majority of people would be able to find a cheap to insure car that isn't a C1/Aygo/107.
 
geekman said:
The Mazda 3, MX5 and MR2 were cheaper for me than a Fiesta or Corsa. Never checked a Polo but I'd be surprised if it was that cheap. I posted my car history above, and all were very easy for me to insure as a main driver, despite having a crap postcode and a non-fault claim. It's all about running as many quotes on as many cars as possible: I reckon if everyone did that, the vast majority of people would be able to find a cheap to insure car that isn't a C1/Aygo/107.
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Do you mind me asking which comparison tool you use?
 
flibbage0 said:
Do you mind me asking which comparison tool you use?
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I used to use confused.com and then ring the company who offered me the cheapest quotes, but once I started running more than one car, the only choice for me was admiral multicar. I started my current policy when I was 18 and paid £1750 FC with them on an XJ6 and MR2, expecting the next policy to be around £1000-£1200 for both cars.
 
Insurance is a PITA. I'm looking at Mk8 Polo's but I've got a while before I'll commit to buying. R-Style's are costing about £200 more than S Polo's but I think that's down to the trim level. Means they cost more though about 10k for a decent one. So bare that in mind too, it's not all on the engine size it can be the cost of the car.

e; Just go on auto trader, select your filters and tap the reg into comparison site, takes time though!
 
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The engine size doesn't make a huge difference for me at 28 looking to insure my first car, up to a reasonable size of course. Sport options tend to bump the price more, and if you hadn't already see if you can add an additional driver like a parent.

My mates 06 Fiesta 1.25L cost £950 to insure the first year when he was 26, a quote for a BMW 3 series Saloon 2L is around £850 for me this many years later. It seem's like age really does affect it more and sub 25 your looking at £1k easily for a general hatchback.
 
geekman said:
The Mazda 3, MX5 and MR2 were cheaper for me than a Fiesta or Corsa. Never checked a Polo but I'd be surprised if it was that cheap. I posted my car history above, and all were very easy for me to insure as a main driver, despite having a crap postcode and a non-fault claim. It's all about running as many quotes on as many cars as possible: I reckon if everyone did that, the vast majority of people would be able to find a cheap to insure car that isn't a C1/Aygo/107.
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I did a similar thing (but a lot longer ago!).

I insured a Volvo 440 1.7 for about half the cost of an Astra 1.3 - because the latter was a known car for young drivers, where the former they thought a young driver would never go near.
 
Richeh said:
The engine size doesn't make a huge difference for me at 28 looking to insure my first car, up to a reasonable size of course. Sport options tend to bump the price more, and if you hadn't already see if you can add an additional driver like a parent.

My mates 06 Fiesta 1.25L cost £950 to insure the first year when he was 26, a quote for a BMW 3 series Saloon 2L is around £850 for me this many years later. It seem's like age really does affect it more and sub 25 your looking at £1k easily for a general hatchback.
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Wut

A 'general hatchback' (1.4L 106) cost me £450 to insure at 20

Because what's more important than age is postcode and years since passing driving test.

Age is rather secondary but since you don't see many 17yr olds who passed their test three years previously they get a double whammy.

I'm guessing your mate also passed when he was 25/26? You must have a rubbish postcode btw :p
 
geekman said:
Mazda 3 Sport 2.0, Toyota MR2 2.0, Mazda MX5 1.8, Volvo 850, Mondeo 1.8.

All of those gave me very cheap quotes as a new driver.
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I remember a few years ago running a load of quotes to see whether this is a myth or not and generally, it was. A 2 litre Mondeo is not the worlds cheapest car for a new driver to insure, infact if was pretty much exactly as you'd expect, more expensive than a small engined Corsa.

As will all of those cars except in the odd rare circumstance.

And if the cheapest car for you to insure is a 5.7 Jeep you are not doing particularly well at shopping around :p

The sad fact is that the cheapest cars to insure *are* the the 1 litre Polo's etc.
 
[TW]Fox;26156674 said:
I remember a few years ago running a load of quotes to see whether this is a myth or not and generally, it was. A 2 litre Mondeo is not the worlds cheapest car for a new driver to insure, infact if was pretty much exactly as you'd expect, more expensive than a small engined Corsa.

As will all of those cars except in the odd rare circumstance.

And if the cheapest car for you to insure is a 5.7 Jeep you are not doing particularly well at shopping around :p

The sad fact is that the cheapest cars to insure *are* the the 1 litre Polo's etc.
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I guess it depends on the individual. For example, I've got a friend who's a year older than me, and can insure a TVR Chimaera (a car I can only dream of insuring) for £1100. He tried a quote on my Jag and it came back at £2500, whereas for me an individual policy on my Jag is sub £1000.

That makes absolutely no sense, just as it made no sense that an Astra 1.4 was cheaper for me to insure than a Corsa 1.0 when I was 17. But it was, and that suited me just fine!

I'm not the first person to have found that, and I doubt I'll be the last. If you go on retro rides, pistonheads or suchlike, you'll find plenty of 17/18 year olds who have had the same experience. The reason there are so many conflicting opinions is that every person's situation is different: I remember being told that classic car insurance would be by far the cheapest way of getting on the road, and yet all the companies refused to quote me. But go on some forums and you'll see 17 year olds driving around in Minis and Morris Minors, having obtained classic insurance with no issues at all.
 
Just remembered this thread. Thanks for all the advice!

Ended up with a 2001 Lupo 1.0 ;)

Came up as one of the cheapest options during my searches. (Around £1100 fully comp). I want a year or two of no claims bonus before I start looking at E30's/MX-5's ect (both of which were £2500+ for me this time around). The urge is there to have something nippier and even though the Lupo is very slow, it'll do for now.
 
[TW]Fox;26156674 said:
I remember a few years ago running a load of quotes to see whether this is a myth or not and generally, it was. A 2 litre Mondeo is not the worlds cheapest car for a new driver to insure, infact if was pretty much exactly as you'd expect, more expensive than a small engined Corsa.

As will all of those cars except in the odd rare circumstance.

And if the cheapest car for you to insure is a 5.7 Jeep you are not doing particularly well at shopping around :p

The sad fact is that the cheapest cars to insure *are* the the 1 litre Polo's etc.
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I'm in the same boat as Geekman, parents wanted me to be in a 1.2 corsa/polo. Found a 2.0 Focus for the same price, and insurance was over £700 less than any supermini.
 
I nearly bought a 1987 E30 316i as a first car.

There are many very good reasons why I bought a 2002 VW Polo instead.

The E30 is terrible on fuel and has no performance to show for it, it is unrefined because of its age, it is unsafe, most examples will be rotting away to the point at which they can only be saved by someone with a lot of experience repairing rust, any that are in good condition mechanically and have little rust will be too expensive.

One day I'll get an old BMW which I really want, not some old E30 316i. Something like an E21 323i. It won't be my only car though. I'll have something modern as well.

Again, there are many good reasons for this. :)
 
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MORE SPEED said:
I'm in the same boat as Geekman, parents wanted me to be in a 1.2 corsa/polo. Found a 2.0 Focus for the same price, and insurance was over £700 less than any supermini.
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If you continue to shop around, you WILL find insurance on a little supermini that isn't £700 more than a 2 litre Focus.
 
[TW]Fox;26530828 said:
If you continue to shop around, you WILL find insurance on a little supermini that isn't £700 more than a 2 litre Focus.
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Tried, and when you're 18 and have held you licence for under 6 months you can't get insured on a supermini for under £1600
 
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