car insurance prices

[Ken H]

There’s certainly some truth in this. Fiestas in particular can be pricey to insure as they tend to attract boy (and girl) racer types. They often start off in an EcoBoost and progress to an ST when they can afford it. A car weighing just over a ton and with 200hp was the stuff of dreams when I was in my early 20s, they simply didn’t exist (in affordable form anyway). They don’t know they’re born these young’uns!

Each car model has a CAP code. Even quite small variants woukd have their own CAP code. All UK insurers use the same CAP codes and can get the CAP for a reg number from an agency.
The CAP code determines the base premium which is then modified by other factors like post code, drivers age etc.
The CAP code has a big effect on premiums. So yiu need to be sure the variant isnt a high rated CAP. A lower spec version of the same car could have a very different premium. Beware of tgat when buying a car.

 

[david1212]

Be aware- established knowledge is that you need a small, inexpensive runabout type car to keep insurance costs low.
This is no longer the case.

You can save money on insurance by buying a bigger, better, but less risky car.

Typical cheap 'first cars' eg Corsa, Yaris etc now attract higher premiums than you might expect. The problem nowadays is theft of parts or of the whole car to order. The demand for eg front bumper assemblies for Corsas is insane. The reason? 1st cars, driven by generally inexperienced drivers are more likely to have small accidents. Much more likely.. What's the part most likely to be damaged? Yep, front bumpers. So these cars attract massive amounts of claims.

Plus, the market for these little shopping trolley cars is huge, so they have inflated purchase prices. To give an example, my daughter, in her 20s, has just purchased as her 1st ever car a top spec 2009 Volvo S40. Her insurance quotes were lower than for the usual 1st cars in worse condition eg Clio, Corsa, Fiesta, Ibiza etc. Worth a look!

Interesting and when you think about it not surprising.

The reason? 1st cars, driven by generally inexperienced drivers are more likely to have small accidents. Much more likely.. What's the part most likely to be damaged? Yep, front bumpers.

Back to most cars built up to late 1980's even early 1990's they has a separate bumper which bent. Even if a harder collision still bent metal and cracked plastic grille. The metalwork could be to a point straightened and plastic repaired i.e. glue, filler and maybe some reinforcement then and a spray of black paint or the damage just ignored. While the era of standard 7" round headlights generally ended with early 1970's build still separate from indicators and rear modules were less complex so even new no so expensive.

Now bumpers are a big plastic section and light modules larger and complex. This makes these cars desireable for parts. While here the objective is of course unknown theft for parts is a possibility

Local motorists warned after car was targeted with plastic cable tie

Pembrokeshire motorists are being urged caution this week after a driver discovered an unexplained cable tie attached to her windscreen wiper.

www.westerntelegraph.co.uk

 

[philthetube]

£1714 is not for the "super rich", I had insurance of £1300 pa when I first passed and I was living in a bedsit.


36, secure off road parking, 16 years no claims, no points, full UK licence for 16 years, small, 1L VW car. £397 pa.

Citroen C1 9000 miles year £190

Phone the company who give you the best quote, sometimes their sales people can give extra discounts, or will give advice about changes you could make about your details.

 

[miklcct]

Citroen C1 9000 miles year £190

Phone the company who give you the best quote, sometimes their sales people can give extra discounts, or will give advice about changes you could make about your details.

Wow that's cheap, how many years of NCB do you have?

 

[Ken H]

Wow that's cheap, how many years of NCB do you have?

It'll be his postcode.
I run a 2l turbo diesel. Its done a shedload of miles so worth nothing. But I live in a little village miles from anywhere so my insurance is under £200.

 

[InkyScrolls]

I've found the cheapest quotes tend to pop up if you value your car at ~£2,200, which will be approximately accurate for an older car. Comprehensive is almost always cheaper, as is roadside parking (as opposed to garage or drive). If you're near a significant birthday, e.g. 21 or 25, wait until after if you can. Try having your insurance start a few weeks from now - that can take a big difference (if you need to drive the car home after buying it before then, temporary insurance for an hour or two can be pretty cheap). If you can move, go to a rural area - and I mean actually rural, so not Kent! Insure an older family member or friend as well if you can. If you can change vehicle, buy a 'calm' brand - like a Skoda (which despite being cheap are very reliable and efficient; my 14 year old Fabia will happily do 70+ mpg on the motorway). Estates are often cheaper than hatchbacks. Have a think over how many miles you are actually likely to do - I drive to work four times a week and make not infrequent trips to London (from Yorkshire) but I'm still doing less than 10k miles per year.

In short, there are plenty of little things which, when added together, can make a big difference. As an example, when I first tried getting van insurance the quotes were coming up as ~£3,000 - but jigging things around a bit, whilst remaining truthful, managed to drop that to just £990.

 

[hst43102]

I look for car insurance prices from time to time to see the affordability of a cheap car to me. Last year I entered my information and got £972 as the cheapest quote for a third-party, fire and theft insurance on a fully-depreciated used car with low tax and small power. As I have recently moved and some circumstances changed, I have tried quoting again, and the price skyrocketed, with the cheapest quote now £1714 and there is no way a car is affordable to normal people except the super rich at such premium.

What I changed in the quote was that:
* I moved my address within NW2, and changed from "street parking" to "driveway".
* I changed the use from "leisure and commuting" to "leisure, commuting and business", and mileage from 27000 personal to 20000 personal + 7000 business.
* I changed my employment status from "employed" to "self-employed", and my industry from "public transport" to "information technology".

£1714 can already get me 9 months of train travel, according to my journey records last year where the total fare is £2220 and the total distance is 27380 km.

I wonder what the circumstances are those people who get cheap car insurance, for example, in the low hundreds. At £1714 for insurance I can't see a day when I will actually buy my own car.

I'm surprised that you're being charged that much - I think we are in a similar stage of life and with similar needs from a car. I haven't passed my test yet (fingers crossed I'l pass in a few weeks' time) but I've been comparing different cars for insurance to see what would be the best option.
I've been using these criteria :
- Address is on road parking at home in a semi rural village in the Midlands (I do live in Newcastle but won't have the car with me for more than 50% of the time, at least for now)
- Driver : 21 year old male, no NCB, for these quotes I've said that I've held a license for under a month
- 10,000 miles of social/commuting driving per year (More than enough for a bit of potential business travel, few trips up/down the country although I will most likely use the railway for most of these, room for a few "large" road trips per year)
- Comprehensive insurance with a black box fitted to measure my driving

Quotes were approximately as follows:

1.0 small city car, c. 2015 (Vauxhall Viva) - £670
1.0 supermini, c. 2013 (Ford Fiesta) - £950
1.2 estate, c.2012 (Skoda Fabia) - £740
1.2 hatchback, c.2012 (Vauxhall Astra) - £1250
1.4 supemini, c.2009 (Ford Fiesta) - £800
1.6 estate, c.2006 (Volvo V40) - £1100
2.4 saloon, c.2004 (Jaguar X-Type; this was a fun choice to see what the insurance would be, would never actually get it!) - £1550

I think, along with most of the other posters on this thread, that it might be very helpful to try drastically lowering your mileage and maybe trying a 'rural' area - if you want to be near London choose a small town like Banbury or Harlow - if you're going to London multiple times a week it will be much easier to take the train than drive, especially with parking prices and traffic!
Also try a slightly more unusual car - probably not on the level of the Jaguar above, but maybe a newer or larger car than you would assume.
Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[miklcct]

I think, along with most of the other posters on this thread, that it might be very helpful to try drastically lowering your mileage and maybe trying a 'rural' area - if you want to be near London choose a small town like Banbury or Harlow - if you're going to London multiple times a week it will be much easier to take the train than drive, especially with parking prices and traffic!

The places I want to go in London are on the orbital Overground lines, which usually has bad connectivity to most of the radial lines unless the service is a stopper, which takes well over half an hour between zone 2 and the edge of the Oyster / contactless area.

Furthermore, if the train runs less than every 15 minutes, it's too inconvenient (i.e. the expected waiting time is so long that it negates any speed advantage compared to driving all the way into outer London) that the end result will be again high mileage as I drive to London and out every day.

Using Harlow which you have mentioned as an example, and Hackney as the place I want to go in London. None of the London trains serving Harlow call at Hackney Downs, so it's a change at Tottenham Hale, but the trains from Hackney Downs to Tottenham Hale is only half-hourly, which means the connection is very bad, adding an average of 15 minutes in waiting time for my journey.

Similarly, going from Banbury to Gospel Oak is a very difficult journey by train as well, as the Chiltern Railways train speed through West Hampstead without stopping.

 

[InkyScrolls]

Furthermore, if the train runs less than every 15 minutes, it's too inconvenient (i.e. the expected waiting time is so long that it negates any speed advantage compared to driving all the way into outer London) that the end result will be again high mileage as I drive to London and out every day.

Using Harlow which you have mentioned as an example, and Hackney as the place I want to go in London. None of the London trains serving Harlow call at Hackney Downs, so it's a change at Tottenham Hale, but the trains from Hackney Downs to Tottenham Hale is only half-hourly, which means the connection is very bad, adding an average of 15 minutes in waiting time for my journey.

Similarly, going from Banbury to Gospel Oak is a very difficult journey by train as well, as the Chiltern Railways train speed through West Hampstead without stopping.

I don't think you'd last long somewhere actually rural, no matter what you might think of 'rural' Kent. In rural areas, four to eight trains per day is the norm.

 

[hst43102]

The places I want to go in London are on the orbital Overground lines, which usually has bad connectivity to most of the radial lines unless the service is a stopper, which takes well over half an hour between zone 2 and the edge of the Oyster / contactless area.

Furthermore, if the train runs less than every 15 minutes, it's too inconvenient (i.e. the expected waiting time is so long that it negates any speed advantage compared to driving all the way into outer London) that the end result will be again high mileage as I drive to London and out every day.

Using Harlow which you have mentioned as an example, and Hackney as the place I want to go in London. None of the London trains serving Harlow call at Hackney Downs, so it's a change at Tottenham Hale, but the trains from Hackney Downs to Tottenham Hale is only half-hourly, which means the connection is very bad, adding an average of 15 minutes in waiting time for my journey.

Similarly, going from Banbury to Gospel Oak is a very difficult journey by train as well, as the Chiltern Railways train speed through West Hampstead without stopping.

You raise some fair points, but it's worth noting that London has by far the most punctual and frequent railway network of any UK city. Most other places are unlikely to have a 30-minute service on almost all trains!
Is there one area of London that you travel to at a much higher frequency than others? If you're looking to get cheaper insurance ir would be much cheaper if you live outside of London. Choose carefully to find a place that suits your needs and has good connectivity to the places you frequently visit. For example you mention Hackney, if you go there a lot you might want to choose a town like Hertford or Bishops Stortford, located on the WAML so just one connection (Cheshunt) away from Hacket Downs. Or if you're going to Gospel Oak then places like Welwyn Garden City, Hertford or Southend might make sense (changing at either Highbury&Islington or Barking). Obviously you won't be able to find somewhere that has a good public transport connectivity to every location you want to visit, but that's what you have a car for. As long as you're not driving into London every day you shouldn't be putting a crazy amount of miles on the car.
Also worth noting that although driving can be enjoyable for some, it is very tiring especially when doing the same journeys all the time in heavy traffic. I persinally would minimise driving in and out of London as much as possible and use the car only for reaching locations where trains or buses would either take at least double the car journey time, or are prohibited expensive. Find a good book, podcast or album to listen to and a couple of 15-minute layovers won't seem so bad - at least it's better than spending those 15 minutes in stop-start traffic!