Astra OPC Insurance...

Donnelly117

Hi Folks,
First of all sorry if this has been done to death but I have read all the previous threads about OPC's and other "high performance cars" as insurance companies have called them (over and over again!).
Anyway, I am in the market for an Astra OPC but I am finding getting a quote for it impossible! I have contacted five or six of the biggest companies and not one of them will provide a quote, with liberty telling me to wait until im 30 (:rolleyes: ffs). So my question is does anyone know of any less known insurance companies which might quote me on an OPC. At this stage I just want an quote regardless of how high it is just to get a ballpark figure.
Im 23, male with 2 years NCB and a full license for 5 years...and a claim (From 2010 which will be gone in September provided the company looks for 3 years history as opposed to 5)

I've had a look on XS-Direct and they gave a resonable quote, but it seems a bit shady as they look for very few details to provide the quote. Does anyone have any experiance dealing with them?

Sorry for writing so much, and thanks to anyone who bothers to read it all

Alanstrainor

XS-Direct are fine if you're prepared to pay the large excess should the worst happen.

Get in touch with a broker, or a few and see what they can do for you.

shinkansen

2 yrs NCB, 21yr old male, insurance for a 200bhp hot hatch.

luck with that sir.

Donnelly117

shinkansen wrote: »

2 yrs NCB, 21yr old male, insurance for a 200bhp hot hatch.

luck with that sir.

23... and its 240bhp

EazyD

Being realistic, your going to be paying serious money if you actually get a quote, and with the likes of XS Direct, the excess will put you in very risky territory should things go sour...nonetheless if you have the funds and the desire, I'd go the broker route

Donnelly117

EazyD wrote: »

Being realistic, your going to be paying serious money if you actually get a quote, and with the likes of XS Direct, the excess will put you in very risky territory should things go sour...nonetheless if you have the funds and the desire, I'd go the broker route

I have the funds so I have no problem paying for the insurance...within some reason obviously! I see your point about XS Direct so I was hoping to stay away from them if possible. Ill give a few brokers a try tomorrow. Cheers!

Alanstrainor

Donnelly117 wrote: »

I have the funds so I have no problem paying for the insurance...within some reason obviously! I see your point about XS Direct so I was hoping to stay away from them if possible. Ill give a few brokers a try tomorrow. Cheers!

I wouldn't discredit XSDirect, you can choose your excess generally. An excess of 1000, although very high, if it saved you a lot on the premium it would be tempting.

biko

Try quoteme.ie and see if one of their companies will accept.
Brokers is best though.

shinkansen

get back to us with your quote... should be interesting.

be surprised if anyone touches you. not enough ncb and a claim would have most companies alarm bells ringing straight away.

Ardennes1944

How about corsa opc op? Look nicer IMO and are cheap to insure

Shane732

shinkansen wrote: »

2 yrs NCB, 21yr old male, insurance for a 200bhp hot hatch.

luck with that sir.

It's doable. It all depends on the category the insurance company have the car in. I was being told a 1.6 Mini was a high performance car at one stage and yet the same company didn't have any problem with a 335i.

Ri_Nollaig

Did you try FBD? they were the only ones who gave me a reasonable (in comparison) quote on a golf gti.

djimi

Definitely try brokers; with that sort of car Ive found that calling the main insurers directly is a totally pointless exercise. Especially given your age, relative inexperience and the claim against your name.

Mar4ix

try find arachas brokers, they only was, who gave me insurance (good 7 years ago) on foreign license, no ncb ,in Ireland first car (now ex car) nissan skyline 2.5 turbocharged. even xs-direct was refusing , was high excess (3k)alright, but i got it road legal on my own name first premium was 2.1 k, second 1.6k, 3rd was 800 .

dar83

*Awaits OP torquesteering into nearest ditch* :pac:

I'd also second the Corsa OPC, much nicer looking than the Astra. But if you do get someone to insure you, please do let us know how much they're charging.

Veloce

Liberty will quote under 30 year olds on "high performance cars" if you put them under pressure. I had to ring twice and e-mail to get a quote on a 350z: fully comprehensive 2,221 euro :eek: (27, second motor policy so NCB is nil).

XS Direct through First Ireland have quote me 1,039 euro on the 350z with a 1,000 euro excess.

gollywog

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

Did you try FBD? they were the only ones who gave me a reasonable (in comparison) quote on a golf gti.

They ****in robbed me when I bought my gti and transferred insurance. Went from 560 on a 2.0 tdi a4 to 960 on my gti.

I'm in same boat now, shopping for quotes before the 10th

biko

Try Britton, I just insured a 2L Subaru for 400 with them.

Donnelly117

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

How about corsa opc op? Look nicer IMO and are cheap to insure

dar83 wrote: »

*Awaits OP torquesteering into nearest ditch* :pac:

I'd also second the Corsa OPC, much nicer looking than the Astra. But if you do get someone to insure you, please do let us know how much they're charging.

I would defiantly go for a Corsa OPC, I think they are a great looking car and I'd say they go like s*** off a shiny shovel!! Only thing is they seem to be really rare here, I know there are 3 for sale at the moment on DoneDeal but the two blue ones (which is the colour I'd love to get) have massive mileage for cars of their age. There also a red one (which has been for sale for ages) but its a bit out of my price range. I want to spend about 10k max on the car. Apart from those 3 I've never seen another one on DoneDeal, Carzone etc...

And as for the torque steer...I found a good method to counteract this is to simply hold onto the steering wheel :pac:

Ardennes1944

I hear ya OP I'm looking at them myself but they are very rare. I drove one a few months ago and it didn't feel that quick tbh but I'm sure it was knackered. If you ate buying either opc watch out for the gearbox. Listen for any knocks or any roughness and also make sure the gearstick doesn't move when you're driving. The 6speeds in the, are very weak

Veloce

biko wrote: »

Try Britton, I just insured a 2L Subaru for 400 with them.

What excess do you have on that policy?

dar83

Donnelly117 wrote: »

And as for the torque steer...I found a good method to counteract this is to simply hold onto the steering wheel :pac:

You say that now, wait till you try planting your foot in 3rd.

If you're looking to spend €10k overall, then you'd potentially be better off looking at some of these and then adding some shiny bits to them...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4456237

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4730988

Ardennes1944

Orange is the only way to go

dar83

Five door there though, unfortunately. There is another one in Cork that has the proper amount of doors!

Ardennes1944

I think I know the one. Used pass it everyday on the way to school years ago

Donnelly117

dar83 wrote: »

You say that now, wait till you try planting your foot in 3rd.

If you're looking to spend €10k overall, then you'd potentially be better off looking at some of these and then adding some shiny bits to them...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4456237

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4730988

Lovely cars and looks awesome in orange, but the 2.5 tax is a killer at €1080. I'm defiantly open to suggestions for other cars but apart from the GTi I haven't come across many hot hatches, one Megane 225 and one Cupra but they sold quite fast. I'm looking for a hatch/coupe, petrol and under 2.0 for tax and insurance reasons. I do like the Mini Cooper S but they are more expensive. An RX-8 would be nice too, and they are cheap...but the fuel consumption makes it a non runner.

biko

Veloce wrote: »

What excess do you have on that policy?

€0, it's a sub 2K car and I have tons of NCB and long clean history.
Still, others were twice as much or crazy terms. Britton was cheaper that the cheapest option from quoteme.ie so happy days.
I'm still waiting for the paperwork so hope I haven't jinxed it now

Ardennes1944

Donnelly117 wrote: »

Lovely cars and looks awesome in orange, but the 2.5 tax is a killer at €1080. I'm defiantly open to suggestions for other cars but apart from the GTi I haven't come across many hot hatches, one Megane 225 and one Cupra but they sold quite fast. I'm looking for a hatch/coupe, petrol and under 2.0 for tax and insurance reasons. I do like the Mini Cooper S but they are more expensive. An RX-8 would be nice too, and they are cheap...but the fuel consumption makes it a non runner.

The tax for the ST is like €1,200 cos it's 2.6lt for tax. But OP, if your spending almost 10k on a car, 500e in tax shouldn't make much difference, especially when the ST is more cheaply available. It's also a better car than the Opc if a little boring IMHO .
You can pick up an immaculate rx8 nowadays for not much more than 5k. That's a lot of petrol! And the tax is only ~500 odd too.

Alternatively, buy my car below and bobs your uncle

dar83

Donnelly117 wrote: »

Lovely cars and looks awesome in orange, but the 2.5 tax is a killer at €1080. I'm defiantly open to suggestions for other cars but apart from the GTi I haven't come across many hot hatches, one Megane 225 and one Cupra but they sold quite fast. I'm looking for a hatch/coupe, petrol and under 2.0 for tax and insurance reasons. I do like the Mini Cooper S but they are more expensive. An RX-8 would be nice too, and they are cheap...but the fuel consumption makes it a non runner.

If you're looking at hot hatches, then running costs shouldn't really be coming in to it much. They're not a car to buy if you're concerned about tax/insurance/petrol costs, as you'll only end up not enjoying them as you should.

The tax is closer to €1300 (Pre 08, €1200 post 08) on the ST these days as well, unfortunately.

If you're going for under 2L, then the Cooper S is your only man.

Supergurrier

OP in a months time

Donnelly117

Supergurrier wrote: »

OP in a months time

I think Jeremy Clarkson single handedly ruined the Astra OPC sales because every post on every forum even slightly related to an OPC has a load of torque steer bs posted all over it. Simple fact is, in that video when it torque steers hes sitting there with his arms folded ffs, hold the bloody wheel and it will be fine. :rolleyes:

dar83

I think the poor chassis, bad power delivery and overall handling did a lot more damage than Clarkson did.

Donnelly117

So I got an online quote from aviva for €1086 tpft, or 1300 fully comp. My first reaction was that it was too good to be true so I rang and went through all the details with them and they verified that the quote was infact right! While this quote may seem mad for some people I was willing to pay far more!!!
Aviva won't quote someone with a claim against their insurance within the last 3 years so I will have to wait for about 6 weeks until it is 3 years to the day and then they said they will honor the same quote they provided today.
Happy days

I'll give XSDirect a ring now just to see what they can offer...

Donnelly117

dar83 wrote: »

I think the poor chassis, bad power delivery and overall handling did a lot more damage than Clarkson did.

I've driven far worse... on all 3 fronts

Mint Sauce

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

The tax for the ST is like €1,200 cos it's 2.6lt for tax. But OP, if your spending almost 10k on a car, 500e in tax shouldn't make much difference, especially when the ST is more cheaply available. It's also a better car than the Opc if a little boring IMHO .
You can pick up an immaculate rx8 nowadays for not much more than 5k. That's a lot of petrol! And the tax is only ~500 odd too.

Alternatively, buy my car below and bobs your uncle

I thought you drove a GTC?

Donnelly117

Veloce wrote: »

Liberty will quote under 30 year olds on "high performance cars" if you put them under pressure. I had to ring twice and e-mail to get a quote on a 350z: fully comprehensive 2,221 euro :eek: (27, second motor policy so NCB is nil).

XS Direct through First Ireland have quote me 1,039 euro on the 350z with a 1,000 euro excess.

Did you go with XS Direct for your policy? XS quoted my 1300 with the 1k excess.

Ardennes1944

irish-stew wrote: »

I thought you drove a GTC?

Nope, have a look in my sig that's my car for sale.5 door

djimi

Donnelly117 wrote: »

Aviva won't quote someone with a claim against their insurance within the last 3 years so I will have to wait for about 6 weeks until it is 3 years to the day and then they said they will honor the same quote they provided today.
Happy days

Take that with a massive pinch of salt. Quotes are good for 30 days; after that all bets are off. Ive been told the same only to have been left disappointed.

Mint Sauce

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

Nope, have a look in my sig that's my car for sale.5 door

I took a look, just thought I read GTC in another Opel Thread. Nice car, but too many doors as well for me.

Ardennes1944

irish-stew wrote: »

I took a look, just thought I read GTC in another Opel Thread. Nice car, but too many doors as well for me.

Looks better than 99% of the boggo spec 3doors in Ireland anyway :)

Donnelly117

djimi wrote: »

Take that with a massive pinch of salt. Quotes are good for 30 days; after that all bets are off. Ive been told the same only to have been left disappointed.

Yea I was definitely keeping that in mind...but even if they dont honour that quote there shouldn't be any reason why they would put it up by a huge amount I wouldn't think? Even if it does increase its still a very reasonable quote!