Ouch. Serious insurance quote means I need to get a small car. But which one?

frobisher

Getting re-insured on my Merc 190 is coming in in at €7500 :eek:
My only ever small car was a wee micra when I first started driving and..... I hated it. I don't like small cars in general but I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go with low cc and insurance group in order to be able to afford it.

I want a car that while it has low cc (1.4 is the absolute max) but is as far from a biscuit tin dinky car as possible and as far under €5k as possible. I was considering a 1.4 Civic coupe. Any thoughts or sugestions?

mike65

Cough! Thats impossible! Well unlikely, which engine is it and who are you with?

Mike.

colm_mcm

You'd prob get a 00 Octavia 1.4 in the auctions for around that price

cantdecide

what did you hit, the space shuttle??
i sincerely doubt it's as bad as that. try for a different 1.8 or 2.0. if you're used to a merc and hate small cars how could you bring yourself to buy one. if they are penalising you for having an old car what about it's successor- a C180. you can definitely get one for €5k.
i always tell people this- irish insurers don't use groups but individual car ratings. ratings aren't really based on cc's but on stats. you can get a low rating decent car and you shouldn't have to even think about 1.0s.
have you tried checking around for a better insurance deal?

frobisher

The problem is that I have endorsements. The ocktavia sounds like a good possibility. Any problems or quirks to watch out for with them?

frobisher

cantdecide wrote:

i always tell people this- irish insurers don't use groups but individual car ratings. ratings aren't really based on cc's but on stats. you can get a low rating decent car and you shouldn't have to even think about 1.0s.
have you tried checking around for a better insurance deal?

The quote was from ARB through a broker who said that they are a UK based insurer, that they do use groups and also that because of that I'd have to pay the lot up front as they don't accept installements. I tries xsdirect but they only accept endorsements over 5 years old. Someone suggested St. paul's, so I'll try them too.

colm_mcm

nothing unusual to report, generally similar to Bora

5500

Civic coupes only come in 1.6 so it'd have to be a saloon or hatch if you were looking for a civic,5k i think would get you a 97/98

John R

frobisher wrote:

The problem is that I have endorsements.

I was going to suggest the €990 high excess fixed premium policy from www.123.ie but one of their qualifiers is that you have no serious driving convictions. I suppose whatever you have endorsements for would come under that category.

bazz26

frobisher wrote:

The problem is that I have endorsements. The ocktavia sounds like a good possibility. Any problems or quirks to watch out for with them?

The Octavia was only available in 1.4 from 2001 and very unlikely you'll buy a 2001 model for under €5k. Pre 2001 Octavias were 1.6 and up.

Have a look at the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Almera and Opel Astra as alternatives. All these are available in 1.3/1.4 litre.

Dilbert75

I'd agree on the price of the Octavia - though you might be surprised. Got a 00 1.6 Octavia from a Merc dealer earlier in the year, €4.25k, when other garages were looking for €5.8k for essentially the same car. Keep your eyes open, they're good cars. Check out www.briskoda.net for owners' advice and things to look out for, along with the usual www.honestjohn.co.uk, etc.

ninty9er

Dilbert75 wrote:

Got a 00 1.6 Octavia from a Merc dealer earlier in the year, €4.25k, when other garages were looking for €5.8k for essentially the same car.

You'll find Merc dealers do this a lot as they don't want anything "unbecoming" on their yard