Learner Car Insurance

Snegg

I'm 17 and I'm looking into buying a car.

Since I'm still on a provisional licence, I know insurance is gonna be through the roof so I'll need to buy a motor with a small engine!

I'm wondering if anyone knows how big of a difference there is between getting insured on a 1.0 litre engine and a 1.2 litre?

Sound!

dillo2k10

Snegg wrote: »

I'm 17 and I'm looking into buying a car.

Since I'm still on a provisional licence, I know insurance is gonna be through the roof so I'll need to buy a motor with a small engine!

I'm wondering if anyone knows how big of a difference there is between getting insured on a 1.0 litre engine and a 1.2 litre?

Sound!

When I was getting my first car I got quotes for a 1.0 micra and a 1.4 astra. The 1.4 was cheaper, the only way you will know for sure is by getting quotes though.

djimi

It depends on the car. Engine size is only one part of the equation and its not necessarily the case that a smaller engine will be cheaper to insure.

Alanstrainor

As said there's a lot more to insurance than engine size. Try the likes of 1.4 astras and focuses, as well as the usual micra, fiesta, punto etc.

OP what's your total budget for car, insurance and tax?

guil

i'd presume its cheaper to insure a 1.25 fiesta as opposed to a 1l starlet

spacecookie555

A smaller litre car is 9 times out of 10 going to be cheaper when you tot up tax, petrol and insurance. You should try AA they are brilliant they do payment plans even for learners so it would be X amount per month which is handy, also they are a broker which means you will get the best deal. Id highly recommend them

Alanstrainor

spacecookie555 wrote: »

A smaller litre car is 9 times out of 10 going to be cheaper when you tot up tax, petrol and insurance. You should try AA they are brilliant they do payment plans even for learners so it would be X amount per month which is handy, also they are a broker which means you will get the best deal. Id highly recommend them

I disagree. Insurance is going to be by far the biggest expense for a 17 year old when starting out. Often being more expensive than the car itself. Tax, you're talking an extra 100 ish per year, which is nothing. And fuel costs will be negligible. Ruling out 1.4 cars, or others around this size is just silly.

spacecookie555

Alanstrainor wrote: »

spacecookie555 wrote: »

A smaller litre car is 9 times out of 10 going to be cheaper when you tot up tax, petrol and insurance. You should try AA they are brilliant they do payment plans even for learners so it would be X amount per month which is handy, also they are a broker which means you will get the best deal. Id highly recommend them

I disagree. Insurance is going to be by far the biggest expense for a 17 year old when starting out. Often being more expensive than the car itself. Tax, you're talking an extra 100 ish per year, which is nothing. And fuel costs will be negligible. Ruling out 1.4 cars, or others around this size is just silly.

I dont get what you disagree with, I know insurance is the dearest thing?? Im a learner driver and I went from a 1ltr micra to a 1.4 opel astra and it added €500 to my yearly premium, also a tenner in a micra will last a lot longer than a 1.4 and the difference between tax is €170pa for a 1ltr and €396pa for a 1.4, tot all that up and thats a massive difference, thats why theres such a demand on smaller and not bigger cars nowadays. And exactly why im down sizing soon

Alanstrainor

spacecookie555 wrote: »

I dont get what you disagree with, I know insurance is the dearest thing?? Im a learner driver and I went from a 1ltr micra to a 1.4 opel astra and it added €500 to my yearly premium, also a tenner in a micra will last a lot longer than a 1.4 and the difference between tax is €170pa for a 1ltr and €396pa for a 1.4, tot all that up and thats a massive difference, thats why theres such a demand on smaller and not bigger cars nowadays. And exactly why im down sizing soon

I'm sorry, but if you search for insurance at renewal time, or before a policy has been started I can guarantee that you wont find that much of a difference in your insurance premium between the likes of a 1.4 Astra and a 1.0 Micra. Once you're already in a contract with a an insurer they can pretty much charge what they like since you're bound with them until the end of the year, hence the ridiculous price when you changed car.

You might want to do your sums before downsizing, from a 1.4 to something smaller. You might find the savings are either non existent or very small indeed.

spacecookie555

Alanstrainor wrote: »

spacecookie555 wrote: »

I dont get what you disagree with, I know insurance is the dearest thing?? Im a learner driver and I went from a 1ltr micra to a 1.4 opel astra and it added €500 to my yearly premium, also a tenner in a micra will last a lot longer than a 1.4 and the difference between tax is €170pa for a 1ltr and €396pa for a 1.4, tot all that up and thats a massive difference, thats why theres such a demand on smaller and not bigger cars nowadays. And exactly why im down sizing soon

I'm sorry, but if you search for insurance at renewal time, or before a policy has been started I can guarantee that you wont find that much of a difference in your insurance premium between the likes of a 1.4 Astra and a 1.0 Micra. Once you're already in a contract with a an insurer they can pretty much charge what they like since you're bound with them until the end of the year, hence the ridiculous price when you changed car.

You might want to do your sums before downsizing, from a 1.4 to something smaller. You might find the savings are either non existent or very small indeed.

Tax alone would be enough to make me change, saving €226 a year would mean a lot to me, I hate it though because I absolutely love my 1.4, they are much nicer to drive and are on a whole nicer than 1ltrs but atm money wise I have to change. Hopefully someday when im a multi millionaire I can buy my 1.4 back

Mister Jingles

My advice, if your working on a tight budget wait till your 18, the difference can be in the hundreds (over 500 anyway) which I discovered a year or so ago. With the savings you could put that into a far nicer car then a **** box micra or starlet.

If not then give First Ireland a shout. Got quoted €1475 on a 1.6 Focus last week. That was with windscreen cover, break down assistance and drive other cars once you have your full or over 21 yrs old. Bare in mind thats for a 19 year old but it was still the best quote I got.

dillo2k10

Make sure you check out liberty insurance. Quinn always gave me insane quotes so I assumed that it would be the same after they changed to Liberty but I got a quote (on a planned new car) and the price is about €1000 lower than everywhere else, most places wont even give me a quote online for a 1.9 golf and they are doing it for 1600 thats as a 19 year old with licence less than a year and two years as a named driver.

166man

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I disagree. Insurance is going to be by far the biggest expense for a 17 year old when starting out. Often being more expensive than the car itself. Tax, you're talking an extra 100 ish per year, which is nothing. And fuel costs will be negligible. Ruling out 1.4 cars, or others around this size is just silly.

I completely agree with you Alan that insurance is the biggest cost to the young driver. However I'd say there's a fair difference between the running costs of a 1.0 Nissan Micra and a 1.4 Ford Focus. Tax would be about another €180 a year and I reckon a decent difference in fuel economy.

Or maybe I'm just shattered tired and don't know what I'm on about as it's 2am...

dillo2k10

166man wrote: »

I completely agree with you Alan that insurance is the biggest cost to the young driver. However I'd say there's a fair difference between the running costs of a 1.0 Nissan Micra and a 1.4 Ford Focus. Tax would be about another €180 a year and I reckon a decent difference in fuel economy.

Or maybe I'm just shattered tired and don't know what I'm on about as it's 2am...

Id say the 1.4 Focus would eat a lot more fuel. Id say it would be slower too - all that extra weight.

If costs are the only thing you need to consider then go with a micra/yaris if you want something more comfortable/nicer than go with a focus/astra

Mister Jingles

dillo2k10 wrote: »

Id say the 1.4 Focus would eat a lot more fuel. Id say it would be slower too - all that extra weight.

If costs are the only thing you need to consider then go with a micra/yaris if you want something more comfortable/nicer than go with a focus/astra

Micra's don't take too well to having four or more in them really. One or two though and there nippy little yokes and grand on petrol.

At 17 the chances are that your gonna have your mates in the car with you a lot of the time and therefore more weight = more fuel being used. Just my opinion.

Redtop

Don't do it man ! For the sake of a couple of Euro per week, the 1L Micra will wreck your head and you'll regret handing over the 1.4L. Forsake one drink per week in the pub and keep the 1.4L. Easy decision. When you are stuck behind a truck and need to pass it out, the Micra will not get you there safely - you'll be forced to stay behind with the Grannies while the 1.4L guys do the passing.

BeerSteakBirds

Redtop wrote: »

When you are stuck behind a truck and need to pass it out, the Micra will not get you there safely - you'll be forced to stay behind with the Grannies while the 1.4L guys do the passing.

Or alternatively maybe stick with the Micra and stay a safe distance behind the truck at an economical speed.
Once you hit the accelerator, chances are the revenue service Gardai/heartless speed cameras will slap an unaffordable fine and penalty points (which will make insurance unaffordable) onto you for overtaking at 55KMH in a 50 KMH zone even if the road could handle a much faster speed.