Poo help please!

[Cinnamon]

My eldest is 17 next week & I have just booked her first set of driving lessons

 

Nothing like doind that to make you feel old!

 

We are sort of looking for a car for her too,any tips on what to go for & the best way to insure it?

Should it be in her name or ours?

I have tried some price comparison sites,but they all seem to assume that you have the car already - I need to know what will be cheapest to insure before I buy it.

Thinking of a KA or something.....

 

All advice greatfully recieved - there is just so much to consider that its giving me a headache

[abwsco]

The car doesn't have to owned by her but some insurers won't insure unless it is. Our local broker gave me a good idea of what cars were lowish to insure before DD bought her own. Churchill get a BIG thumbs up from me as DD passed her test last week and her premium has fallen by £150 for the year whereas most increase it! Don't touch Quinn with a bargepole and there's also loads of others who will bump up premiums by an awful lot when they pass. Oh, and don't rule out fully comp as it was only £30 more a year for DD when she first insured her car. I think the general rule is to allow £1,000 for car insurance.

[Redwing]

A Parkers guide (about £4 from a newsagents) will give you the insurance groups for all cars and a bit of info on each car too and it tells you what you should be expecting to pay trade/private/auction too, it was permenantly glued to my hand when I was looking for my first car. you can get the same info on line but the book is handy and portable as its A5 size (the bigger versions dont have all the cars in)

 

KAs are nice, Fiesta chassis and engine so pretty reliable, different shape so a bit more trendy

 

I ended up with a Fiesta and thought it was the best thing ever

 

I moved on to a Clio (diesel engine) that did an astonishing 75mpg and was very reliable

 

I used Churchill for insurance too, I got a good deal with them, they were very good as I had to cancel the premium almost straight away as I got a company car after a few months and their customer service was A1 and very fair.

 

Nothing like your first car

[Chickendoodle]

Use this for the car groups - it will cost you nothing

 

http://www.thatcham.org/abigrouprating/

 

Don't try to put too much info on the search questions as it will throw a wobbly - make model and year will be enough. I will give you an idea of what car to look for and what to avoid (the letters GTI for instance should be a red flag!)

 

The grouping used by most insurance cos is the groups 1-20 column and you should aim for about a group 3 or lower for a young driver

 

If the car is going to be registered in her name then she should have her own insurance. If you register the car in your name and insure it with her as an additional driver then you will have to declare her as the main driver anyway.

 

Avoid Quinn Insurance - they quote a very low rate for learner drivers and then increase it astronomically when they get their full licence.

 

The online price comparison sites are pretty good and CIS (Co-op) were always good for young drivers - don't know if they still are.

 

The insurance premium will shock you so be prepared !!!

[Nicola H]

I bet she can't wait to start driving Sarah....Tom has been driving for nearly 2 years now and the insurance hasn't come down by much it cost over £2,000 when he first passed his test and we used Quinn without any problems. We now have a multicar policy with Admiral which means that OH and I get cheaper insurance but Tom's has stayed the same but over all of course this works out cheaper.

 

The only advice I can give about a car is to make sure it has airbags and lots of safety features for your own peace of mind, I was on pins at first every time Tom went out in his car and sure enough in the first week he had a bad accident the airbags saved him from serious injury the car was rebuilt by my OH and we didn't put a claim in through the insurance.....

 

I have to say since then he has calmed down a lot and has taken his advanced driving test, this is also worth doing as it can knock as much as £150 pound of your insurance premium and i think it gives them more confidence on the motorways and in towns.

 

Good luck Sarah....

[Chickendoodle]

Re Quinn Insurance

 

I work in an insurance brokers and we have had a few people coming in moaning about Quinn recently - they have more than doubled the premium when the driver has gone from a learner to a full driver. Assume they are OK if you get the quote with a full licence to begin with or if you ask the right questions when you get a quote - don't want to slander them!

 

Can't get you a quote myself as we do farm insurance!!!

[Rhapsody]

I put Aidan on my insurance (£1500) when a learner (in the old A-Class), we got him to do Passplus and bought him an oldish VW Polo 1.2 (NCAP 4 and extra airbags) and insured him through Adrian Flux, for £1300 they threw in me and OH as named drivers, breakdown and legal cover. Putting myself and OH on the policy saved us £200 Passplus can save you up to 30% and if you ask your instructor nicely they can do most of it concurrently which saves alot of expensive instructor hours.

Girls also get better premiums!

As for what car to buy it really is dictated by what you can get a quote on that isn't sky-high, and getting the best safety rating for your money, we ONLY looked at cars with drivers airbags and ended up with a shortlist of

Polo

Aygo

Fox

Lupo

107

207

Fiesta

Corsa

 

Hope that was all a help to someone!

[Cinnamon]

That was all a great help - thanks.

 

Am off to brave the comparison sites again

[Seagazer]

I'm another who says not to use Quinn- went from £1200 for me, DD and ES on a Corsa to once ES passed something like £2,400 We changed to Directline and its about £1200 again.

 

We're now at the stage of selling the corsa as ES would like his 'own' car, we have another car that we use as a family. DD just wants a share of the money

 

It feels like another stage, moving on

 

I hope your DD enjoys her driving lessons.

[Cinnamon]

Got a good quote from GreenBee, & Devon can also get a further discount there as they are part of the John Lewis partnership.

 

£000, for her & me,fully comp in a 1997 KA ...she should get a further 10% off of that too.

[The Dogmother]

Got a good quote from GreenBee, & Devon can also get a further discount there as they are part of the John Lewis partnership.

 

£000, for her & me,fully comp in a 1997 KA ...she should get a further 10% off of that too.

 

 

that's very cheap, Sarah!

[Cinnamon]

 

£1000

[Geoid]

I was checking my dad's insurance details, as he is fully comp, it said that 'we will insure anyone who drives your car with your permission as the same as you.'

[Old Speckled Hen]

Got a good quote from GreenBee, & Devon can also get a further discount there as they are part of the John Lewis partnership.

 

£000, for her & me,fully comp in a 1997 KA ...she should get a further 10% off of that too.

I'm watching this thread closely for a friend.

Does she start building up her own no-claims-bonus on that?

If she has a claim do you lose yours?

[ubereglu]

I too wouldn't go for a Ford KA either, they're quite expensive to buy and rust out within about 10 years or so. They're also TINY and only really suitable for two people.

 

I'm not even thinking about learning to drive as I just don't have the money-I would have to pay for everything myself if I wanted to drive.

[whoopsie]

Lucky children having parents who will buy them cars/pay for insurance/driving lessons. I hope they appreciate it.

[Lewis]

The way I know a lot of people do, parents buy the car and insure the car, then put them (the teenager) on as a named driver.

Its cheaper that way - the only thing being not getting no-claims I think

 

A friend also has cheaper insurance if he doesn't drive from 11pm-7am, probably to avoid driving after going out

 

Lewis can't drive the parentals cars to learn, or once passed for a year, as they're work cars - been told to put in for test, but not in a rush to pass

[Clash City Rocker]

I've added the "Brat" as a named driver on my insurance for 3 months while she's having lessons, cost about £100.00.

 

If you think the price of insurance is "scarry" wait until you get into the passenger seat and go for a practice drive with your daughter at the wheel for the first time !!!!!!!!

 

Scarry, very scarry.

[Cinnamon]

Got a good quote from GreenBee, & Devon can also get a further discount there as they are part of the John Lewis partnership.

 

£000, for her & me,fully comp in a 1997 KA ...she should get a further 10% off of that too.

I'm watching this thread closely for a friend.

Does she start building up her own no-claims-bonus on that?

If she has a claim do you lose yours?

 

Its all in her name, so yes, she will gain the no claims on that policy.

 

Clash,I am dreading going out with her in the car

She wants to drive to college/boyfriends/work & have me drive back...cant wait (not!!!)

[abwsco]

The way I know a lot of people do, parents buy the car and insure the car, then put them (the teenager) on as a named driver.

Its cheaper that way - the only thing being not getting no-claims I think

 

They can't be the main driver though as that's illegal.

[Lewis]

The way I know a lot of people do, parents buy the car and insure the car, then put them (the teenager) on as a named driver.

Its cheaper that way - the only thing being not getting no-claims I think

 

They can't be the main driver though as that's illegal.

I know

The parents are main drivers I assume

[abwsco]

Lucky children having parents who will buy them cars/pay for insurance/driving lessons. I hope they appreciate it.

 

We are really proud of our DD as she saved up her part time earnings and bought her first car when she was just over 17. We agreed we could afford to go halves on the insurance for the first year but she has paid for last years insurance and is also paying for this years.

[abwsco]

The way I know a lot of people do, parents buy the car and insure the car, then put them (the teenager) on as a named driver.

Its cheaper that way - the only thing being not getting no-claims I think

 

They can't be the main driver though as that's illegal.

I know

The parents are main drivers I assume

 

Glad you know Lewis as it's surprising how many people don't.

[patsylabrador]

hey're also TINY and only really suitable for two people.

Sorry to quibble but I've seen three lads go off in one of these for a camping trip with ALL the equipment.

KA's are not bad little cars.

[ubereglu]

They're also TINY and only really suitable for two people.

Sorry to quibble but I've seen three lads go off in one of these for a camping trip with ALL the equipment.

KA's are not bad little cars.

 

I'd disagree, as they really don't make the best use of space in them. If you're like our family you'd have to chop back passenger's legs off to make them fit into the car properly and comfortably, same with Clio's.