17 year old (Almost 18), new job, looking for a car

HecFam · 8 Sep 2017 at 10:42

I was in a similar boat years back when i passed my test. I didn't go uni, did an apprenticeship, then had a stable job with decent pay.

You're going to get fleeced on insurance on any car really, you're going to have to keep £1500 aside for any car, of course it does depend where you live and other factors for insurance, but my first car was a Renault Clio 1.4 04 reg, and the first years insurance was £1800. (in london, parking on driveway)

Everyone wants a nice car, but i dread to think of the insurance on a new BMW for a first time driver. Probably a boring answer, but you haven't even started your job yet so i'd imagine you don't have much saved already. If you commit to a lease and something goes wrong with your apprenticeship, then you will have these monthly payments that you potentially cannot pay back. You may also be blowing all your monthly income on just one car so can't spend it as you should... on beer and games.

I'd go for a cheap first car, 1.2 or a 1.4. Make a list of what you are looking for in a car and see if any fit the bill. I personally wanted aux radio, electric windows, things like that.

Then once you have a bit saved for the year or two, a bit of surplus in the bank then have another look. If you have 2 years NCB then insurance should be cheaper so the higher price of the car (hopefully) should be offset by the cheaper insurance.

cheesyboy · 8 Sep 2017 at 10:45

Six6siX said:
I have experienced this too. Besides the obvious higher value, I felt that it could be influenced by going from a car you've had x number of years experience with to something new that you are not as familiar with. If I remember correctly on some of the quotes I played about with a while back, regardless of years of NCB, the longer you said you had owned a car, the cheaper it became.

There's no fixed rule though, obviously. It depends very much on the car(s) in question and risks for a given area etc etc. Too many variables to generalise.

My insurer, Elephant in common with the other Admiral insurers, asks how long you've owned the car and your premium reduces the longer you have it.

flibbage0 · 8 Sep 2017 at 10:46

Daaaavvveee said:
A lot of the quotes when I was looking a few years ago the newer car was cheaper than the older car.

That was personal to me, but I know a few people who have seen the same.

If I damaged a lease car, I would repair it, same as if I damaged mine.

I must be doing something wrong then, because every time I run a quote for a 2009/2010 ford fiesta 1.4 to replace my current 2003 Ford fiesta 1.4, the 2009/10 one is considerably more.

Leasing your first car does not make sense unless you live in a really bad area and they chuck in free insurance.

Nasher · 8 Sep 2017 at 10:49

Some new cars are in lower insurance groups than the older models. Because many got slower as they gained weight. At the same time as being lower risk with things like parking sensors and automatic braking etc.

But new cars aren't just cheaper to insure because they are new.

Dav4 · 8 Sep 2017 at 10:59

cheesyboy said:
My insurer, Elephant in common with the other Admiral insurers, asks how long you've owned the car and your premium reduces the longer you have it.

Why? what is the length of time u have owned the car got to do with anything?
Maybe that's why my premiums are always high because i never keep a car longer than 12 months lol

balky12 · 8 Sep 2017 at 11:20

Spunkey said:
Leasing and financing are literally the most expensive ways to own a car. Don't get me wrong - I have done it before and am doing it on my current car for similar reasons to yourself. However I'm under no illusions that the convenience costs extra, and would certainly not recommend either to someone as being a 'cheap' way of owning a car.

Well I guess it all depends what your view is. Over the 10 years I have probably spent around £200 a month on average on the finance so £24,000. Plus grand or two here or there for deposits. Plus occasional service, lets call it £30,000 in 10 years.

Owned 5 brand new cars, mixture of Fiestas and Fords and their ST variants... it's not cheap admittedly.

Yes you could go and buy a cheap car for a few grand. Will it last 10 years? Possibly. How much would that cost in repairs, services, MOTs? Probably less than £30,000, unless ofc you have to buy another car because that one completely does on you.

But then you have been driving around in a car worth a few grand compared to brand new Fiesta's/Focus' (ST's). Not saying either one is right or wrong...

Just depends on your priorities. I wanted relative hassle free motoring in a car that is comfortable with decent tech.

theaterix · 8 Sep 2017 at 14:15

Thinking about it, saving up for a few months to get 1000-1500 seems like a reasonable amount, then paying insurance off over a year seems like the best option to me, the cheapest I found was a 1.4 Seat Ibiza Sport which is decently appealing to me, found that your Mondeos, Octavias, tried everything with 1.6<, got the 30+ emails to prove it lol and found they sit around 2300-3000, cant remember what it was, but it was a turbocharged 1.8 and came out at 2500 which shocked me a bit, and proves how random the quotes are made...

My mate for example had 1 year NCD on a Volkswagen Lupo at 18 that was modded to the absolute ground (literally, was sitting on tennisballs on the suspension) and got insured the next year on a brand new Volkswagen Polo GTI for £1000 with no black box, albeit he thinks this was a mistake on their part but they honored it the 2nd year after he turned 19

adolf hamster · 8 Sep 2017 at 14:20

Dav4 said:
Why? what is the length of time u have owned the car got to do with anything?
Maybe that's why my premiums are always high because i never keep a car longer than 12 months lol

guess the logic is the longer you've owned it the more proficient you'll be at controlling it?

very subjective though, some folk can hop into a new motor and be comfortable handling it in a matter of minutes, others take months to get used to a new clutch.

aside from that the only other point would be if they factor in the depreciation of the car for each year you've owned it into the quotes

cheesyboy · 8 Sep 2017 at 14:22

Dav4 said:
Why? what is the length of time u have owned the car got to do with anything?
Maybe that's why my premiums are always high because i never keep a car longer than 12 months lol

I'd imagine they have statistics that suggest people are more likely to crash their cars the shorter time they've had it. Or perhaps that those who change cars more often crash more regularly.

IC3 · 8 Sep 2017 at 14:34

Just tried this, I did that I had a car for 6 months and it brought my insurance down by £400

Six6siX · 8 Sep 2017 at 14:58

You get more used to the size of a car, the way it drives, handles and responds etc. the longer your have it/use it.

I guess the less familiar you are with the car the more likely you are to do something silly.

adolf hamster · 8 Sep 2017 at 15:18

Six6siX said:
You get more used to the size of a car, the way it drives, handles and responds etc. the longer your have it/use it.

I guess the less familiar you are with the car the more likely you are to do something silly.

tbf the opposite can also be true, if you have a new car and you don't know how it handles you'll be more cautious until you get the feel for where the limit is.

Bickaxe · 8 Sep 2017 at 15:52

^ I'd agree with that. Am getting a new car which is smaller but more powerful soon and despite my 20 odd years of driving, I'll be careful with it.
I knew the limits of my previous car and cars before that.
Even when i was 17, my 1.3 Escort never had a prang (insurance and fuel were much cheaper then.)

xs2man · 8 Sep 2017 at 16:29

MissChief said:
Generally I'd expect, and have seen rates for newer cars to be higher when changing cars in the past. Of course I've never gone from the same car older to newer, but IMO it stands to reason. If a £10k car is involved in an accident and the car written off the insurance company is in the bag for £10k. Even if it's not written off they could be looking at £3k+ in repairs whereas if a £1.5k car needs £3k repairs, it's written off and then the insurance company is only out £1.5k. The prices SHOULD be different, but if they're not then the drivers of older cars are being ripped off.

But conversely, perhaps there are a lot less 17 year olds driving the newer, more expensive cars. And as a result, statistically there are less crashes, thus premiums being cheaper. My sister, for example, got a brand new Corsa for her 17th, as it was the cheapest way to insure her.

Bickaxe · 8 Sep 2017 at 17:17

Are there less 17yr olds learning to drive in general? Costs have increased and fewer jobs available as well as them being laz...less motivated.

adolf hamster · 8 Sep 2017 at 18:23

Bickaxe said:
Are there less 17yr olds learning to drive in general? Costs have increased and fewer jobs available as well as them being laz...less motivated.

I'd say it does seem to be dropping after its peak, guess costs being the major factor in their decision.

Likely more prevalent in cities though, i'd say the countryside will still have high levels of young drivers.

jigger · 8 Sep 2017 at 23:00

I'd be tempted to buy something cheap and run it for a year or so. Keep your cash in the bank.