First car - narrowed it down to 2

[Deific]

Okay so after having been interested in bikes, I'm now moving over to a car. I don't have a massive budget and obviously because my insurance will be high that limits what I can get in terms of performance. However I've seemingly narrowed it down to two cars which have about the best performance I can get without paying silly insurance premiums, get good writes ups in terms of practicality, handling, build quality etc. and would be a car I would be happy to own.

They are;

2003 BMW 316TI SE/ES 1.8L

and

2007 Vauxhall Corsa SXi CDTi 1.7L


The BMW costs roughly £2500 to buy and £3800 to insure, whilst the corsa comes in at a more hefty £4800(ish) to buy but £3000 to insure. The figures point to the BMW as it would be at least 3 years before the cheaper insurance on the corsa had made up for the heftier purchase cost (ignoring the fact that my insurance would go down), but I'm wondering what others think? whether you think there's anything better either, although I've checked every other car I can think of - none of which are either reasonable on purchase price/insurance or meet the performance of these two. Personally I'm leaning towards the BMW regardless of the fact it's initially cheaper, due to the fact I think it's a nicer car?

Thanks.

 

[Deific]

This is going to be a long term car so i want to get something decent rather than a run-around for a year or two, especially seeing as the insurance on even something like a 2001 clio is quoted at about £2600. That's how ridiculous insurance has become for first time drivers. It's laughable when i can insure the 600cc bike for 1400 quid - yet they're so much more dangerous. Also pointing out, I'm a first time driver - but I'm not 17 etc. lol can't imagine the insurance if I was.

 

[Deific]

Is this thread some sort of a joke?

I mean, really? Choosing between an old bottom of the range BMW that costs £3800 to insure and a much newer Corsa?

Care to give some helpful input rather than criticising? I've been riding a motorcycle for the last few years, cars and insurance is something I haven't dealt with before so I'm looking for advice based on what I've said. Thanks for showing you can be a douche though.

 

[Deific]

I haven't passed yet. I'm looking at just how practical (or not) moving over to a car would be financially as it's something I may have to face. It's not really enticing moving from a high performance sport bike to a fairly medicore car and having to pay double the insurance.

 

[Deific]

£330 every single month just to INSURE a car is completely ridiculous. It is a total waste of money - it is money thrown away that you will never see again.

Buy something much cheaper to insure or simply wait until insurance is more affordable for you. Because driving a 2003 316i is not worth £4000 a year.

So what would you suggest? Because as i said before a 2000 1.4L clio would cost me £2900 to insure. Surely paying an extra 100 is worth it for the Corsa. Okay, it's a corsa, but it's the best corsa made to date and gets great write-ups.

 

[Deific]

WTF are you worrying about performance for when you've not even passed your test yet ??

At the risk of sounding like your dad, buy yourself a <1k Fiesta 1.25, something a bit like this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2586389.htm

Get the insurance cheap, and build up some experience driving on your own, and crucially some NCB. Then instead of crippling yourself at 4k a year for a bottom of the range BMW, in 2 or 3 years time you'll be able to afford to insure something decent.

If you find it depressing, why not just keep a bike as a weekend thing. Boring econo drone box for the daily commute, bike for fun for the weekend. Buy a cheaper car and run both ? a bike doesn't exactly use a lot of fuel does it ...

You do realise that car you linked gives me quotes of £3300 (cheapest) to insure (mainly because it's old and they assume easy to steal)? I think you guys fail to realise just how high insurance premiums have become for first time drivers - hence why it's been all over the news/tabloids recently. I'm not worried about performance in the sense that i want to go razzing around, throwing spoilers on it and street-racing. However like i said, it's a long-term car and I want something decent. Surely it would be far more foolish of me to spend 300 quid extra on that fiesta to drive that for 3 years than to buy the corsa and insure it for cheaper and it last me a good 7 odd years.

 

[Deific]

I don't live in a city, I live in a small town. I live on a nice estate (full of old people and no bad areas). The town has very few bad estates, all of which are on the other side of town. it's not a crime hotspot - even they aren't that bad. I don't live on a main road. The car would be kept in a locked garage despite all of this (as i entered on the form) and I'm in my 20s. There's really no reason why they quote my insurance as being so high other than they want moneys, but just do a quick google search and you'll find reels of news articles about the situation. I recall one where a young lad was quoted something like 500 quid more than his twin sister on the same car, obviously the same age, lived in the same house etc. only difference being he was male.

 

[Deific]

You can definitely get a better quote than that. I've not paid more than £850 on insurance and I'm 19 (now driving an MX5)

Just how. How on earth are you driving an MX5 for that much? Do you have 2 years NCB? What were you driving when you started and how much were you paying? I really can't believe my area is considered that much of a risk (if that is what's pushing it up) - it's a fairly quiet market town.

 

[Deific]

You've just demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding how insurance works.

Insuring it for parking on the road is usually CHEAPER than in a locked garage. In a locked garage its going to be driven near to a wall every day, lots of people run out of talent and will scrape the car on the garage. Furthermore, if somebody breaks into your garage they can break into the car in complete cover and not have to worry about somebody seeing them.

Parked on the roads, there are no doors to come down on your car, no walls to be scraped, streetlights to light up your car and a whole streetfull of people that could be watching.

Also, it matters not a jot where you live, only what your postcode is.

Whats the first half of your postcode ?

Fundamental lack of understanding? You mean the assumption that a locked garage is less of a risk than a road side where it can get scraped by other cars and vandalised?

How does where you live not matter? You're postcode is where you live. It tells them if you live in a bad area/crime area etc. - which as I said, it's a quiet estate in a quiet town.

 

[Deific]

If you'd give the people the information they're asking for, they can help you lower those quotes.

You can get lower than those prices, forget the media, forget what you think of your area etc. etc.

If you're in your twenties and your postcode is good (if you really don't want to post the first part of it, then go to http://www.motorcarinsuranceuk.co.uk/post-code-ratings.php and tell us what rating your postcode is.

Then run a quote with admiral or elephant or bell, add two older drivers as named drivers (parents are usually good for this), say you park it on the street (garage is more expensive), set your mileage estimate as low as is reasonable, be creative with your job title as some can be cheaper than others (but keep it truthful).

Try all of that and i'll be stunned if you can't get at least sub £2000, if not sub £1500. Assuming of course your postcode isn't crap.

I was 23 in a Southampton (average rated) postcode when I got this Golf and the equivalent value (I had a polo for a couple of months then changed) for a years insurance with 0NCB was under £1200.

Using that link my postcode is rated B - so as I said very good.

I already have a parent on the insurance and he has something like 7 years NCB.

I changed parking to the road, and the cost increased by 300 quid. (so I was right, thanks)

I removed the fact that I'm a mature student and it made no difference.

Reduced my mileage by 5000 (which is probably a lie) and it came down by 100 pounds.


So please, you tell me.

 

[Deific]

Who are you quoting with?

a few sites directly, such as Elephant etc. and then at the same time I put the same info into a comparison (go compare) and that confirms the quotation with the sites that are on there and gives a similar price to the ones that aren't.

so give me some of the best/cheaper insurers you know to get quotes with and I'll do that and see what I get.

 

[Deific]

OP does not want to be helped and is ignoring requests for extra information

Answer these questions.

1 - What is your post code
2 - Your age
3 - number of years you held you licence
4 - ANY driving conviction AT ALL
5 - your occupation

I've already answered half of these. There's no point getting irate and attacking me for what I'm telling you.

my postcode is rated B - why do you need to know more than that?

I'm 21 - 22 soon.

I don't have my license yet.

No convictions of any sort.

Mature student / work part time in a sports shop. (As I said, removing the fact I'm a student had no impact on any quote)

 

[Deific]

Nobody is attacking you, they want to help you, but if you won't give them the details they need they can't do it!

Enjoy the Corsa/BMW.

I've given you that information. How is it of help to you now? What can you tell me that will instantly take a grand off my quotes from those?

 

[Deific]

If we are going to do a quote for you, for an ACCURATE result, we need your post code.

fine, CW5 7BB. if you can find something I haven't then great, but I highly doubt it. I now expect this thread to plummet into Motors oblivion when you realise you can't lower the quote. You can even include a parent with a 7 year NCB on there, like I have.

 

[Deific]

I just did a quote with Elephant, using all the details he provided us, on a 2007 Corsa SXI CDTI 1.7, applied the tips I put in my earlier post and that was the result. No lies, no jiggery pokery, no mistruths.

The only different element is I did it in a slightly worse C rated postcode, not a B rated that he's in.

You haven't. You've changed things. I put in all my information and elephant quote me at £3669. The quotes above can't be accurate information. I'm putting the car as on the drive/road (trying both), my license as being held for 1 month, additional driver with NCB, remove the fact I'm a student. TPFT cover. There's no way the quote above are accurate information.

 

[Deific]

Okay, I'll fill out each page, and take a screenshot of it. Then you can have a look at everything I'm putting in and tell me what you've put in different.

 

[Deific]

Why do people never seem to take advise / constructive criticism well in here? I love it, much entertainment!

There's been little constructive criticism for me to take. It's mostly been, "har har fool, you're doing it wrong!". Well hopfully these screens prove otherwise. Lopez, I used compare the market after you posted those screens, and obviously the details you used are substantially different to my own. *Note I misclicked 1990 as birthyear, it should be 1989 - but that won't change it to the figures you're saying. I even put my mileage as a lowly 5000.

 

[Deific]

Voluntary excess can only be included if you go with comprehensive - and then it works out more expensive than TPFT even with the excess. SDP also works out cheaper, and I don't think the fact that I only put alarm and not immobiliser is the difference. Adding named drivers onto it also brings it down, so you've obviously changed things somewhere.

 

[Deific]

^
Goes up by 300

So anyone who was openly mocking me earlier care to point out where I'm going hideously wrong?

 

[Deific]

Fine, pay your 3 grand insurance and be happy, I seriously cannot be arsed trying to help you any more.

ahah priceless? I point out that excess can only be used with comprehensive and that named drivers lower insurance and you come back with a comment like that? Farcicle.