Good first car

theviilkas

Hello,

I've been looking at a few cars as my first choice. I've tried to ring axa and get insurance quote on 1.6 Seat Leon with having my mother as a second driver but I was offered a quote of 6000 euro, minding that I'm still on provisional licence. Could anyone tell me if Seat Leon is considered a sports car or what is the issue? Also if it is, could anyone suggest me a relatively fun to drive and a reliable/economic car to get since I just want this 3000+ insurance quote nonsense to end and get a car to drive, thanks!

wonski

You don't need fun to drive car. You need a fun to insure car.

Just being honest. Yaris, Polo, Getz etc something small engined.

Do few online quotes for few cars and see what comes as the cheapest. And start from there.

GarIT

theviilkas wrote: »

Hello,

I've been looking at a few cars as my first choice. I've tried to ring axa and get insurance quote on 1.6 Seat Leon with having my mother as a second driver but I was offered a quote of 6000 euro, minding that I'm still on provisional licence. Could anyone tell me if Seat Leon is considered a sports car or what is the issue? Also if it is, could anyone suggest me a relatively fun to drive and a reliable/economic car to get since I just want this 3000+ insurance quote nonsense to end and get a car to drive, thanks!

You add an extra €500 for every .1 of a liter you go over 1 on your first quote. With a provisional licence 3000 is completely reasonable on your own car. To get the cheapest quote you'll need to go for a nissan micra, toyota yaris or a car of a similar size. A small engined Seat Ibiza is probably the most "fun" you're going to get.

Duffryman

Your provisional licence is the obvious issue, much more than your choice of car. But even with the car - what size engine is it? I think they do a 1.2 and 1.4 litre petrol model, and a 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel. A smaller engine should be cheaper to insure, and in fairness, even a 1.2 should get you round nicely, particularly for a first car.

Either way though, don't expect to get insurance cheap. Try get your full licence as soon as possible. You could expect insurance to be chopped in half soon as you pass the test, then come down maybe another 20% a year later as you start to work up a no claims bonus.

In the meantime, don't limit yourself to just one company like Axa in looking for a quote. Try a broker instead? I've no link to the crowd I'm about to mention, and (apologies to mods if necessary!) I don't even know if I'm allowed mention it, but a friend's 21-year-old son recently got the best price possible through coverinaclick.ie - they say they specialise in insurance for young drivers. If you're not actually a young driver and are instead learning to drive later in life, I'm guessing they'll try do the same for you too.

z0oT

All the other posters suggesting a small engined car to start off in are 100% correct. The fun to drive stuff is going to have come much later I'm afraid.

Just to give an example:

My wife just got her Learner Permit for the 1st time a few weeks ago. We sourced a 2006 1L Yaris for her to learn to drive in. We got TPFT insurance in her own name with Liberty for €1900, 0 No Claims, 0 Driving Experience. Everywhere else was quoting €3k+

However she is 33, and that was with both me & my mother in her early 60's on the policy too as named drivers (both Full Licenses).

Either way, 1st time insurance is always a major hit, there's no getting away from it sadly.

wonski

Paid 2700 for Seicento 1.1 (not sporting) years ago. Not much has changed, it will come down rapidly after first year.

Seicento was a bit of fun actually

Alanstrainor

There is more to insurance than just engine size. There's nothing to say that a 1.0 Yaris will definitely be cheaper than a 1.4 focus for example. Both are slow hatchbacks, and I would expect both to have low risk profiles. I would think cars in this class are probably the best bet, the uglier the better in a lot of cases. Make up a list of cars that fit your budget, 4 or 5 different types and then go and get quotes. That's the best bet really. Cars over 10 years are generally more expensive to insure unfortunately, but how new the car will be will depend on your budget.

theviilkas

Right, well then maybe I'll just go with a 1.2 or whatever litre fiesta or corsa for my first year so I get my full licence and get some claim bonus, then get something more fun. Should I still insure it on my own or should I put it on let's say my mother's name and put meself as a second driver?

theviilkas

OSI wrote: »

This is called fronting and is considered fraud.

I really don't know what to do then, I keep getting quotes of 3000 euros a year, I mean how am I supposed to get a full licence if I can't even get a car to practice with with me ma, and she would use the car anyways. The insurance companies in here are mad in the head

irisheddie85

theviilkas wrote: »

I really don't know what to do then, I keep getting quotes of 3000 euros a year, I mean how am I supposed to get a full licence if I can't even get a car to practice with with me ma, and she would use the car anyways. The insurance companies in here are mad in the head

Does your mother currently have a car? If yes pay what ever it costs to be put on her insurance and practise in her car. You can't legally drive without being accompanied anyway so don't need your own car.

GarIT

theviilkas wrote: »

corsa

Jesus no, don't boy the number 1 boy racer's first car if you want cheap insurance.

Dravokivich

It's that you're only on a learners permit. I've only had a licence for 1 year and smaller engines lead to bigger quotes for me. So whatever they say in the press, they don't go by it.

Try to wait until you've passed before looking at them again.

bazz26

mr c wrote: »

I saved thousands in my youth doing same
my first year i insured myself @£;2500
after that then i just insured in my Mothers name and got to drive nice decent cars
its what i would do
put the car in her name
insured in her name
you as named driver

as long as she has a driving licence and no other insurance policy of her own it would certainly be worth looking at both quotes and seeing the difference at least

Times have changed and insurance companies are well versed in what is known as fronting. Now they just load whoever is the highest risk on the policy no matter who is listed as the policy holder.

kerten

Have you looked into brokers or insurers offering discounts if you use their driving instructors for driving lessons ?

theviilkas

mr c wrote: »

I saved thousands in my youth doing same
my first year i insured myself @£;2500
after that then i just insured in my Mothers name and got to drive nice decent cars
its what i would do
put the car in her name
insured in her name
you as named driver

as long as she has a driving licence and no other insurance policy of her own it would certainly be worth looking at both quotes and seeing the difference at least

She does have a policy of her own that's the issue I think.

GarIT wrote: »

Jesus no, don't boy the number 1 boy racer's first car if you want cheap insurance.

Best I could get for a corsa on axa was 3.200, and 2.300 for Seat Mii. I think I should just go ahead with it, pay 2 instalments in those 2 months and by that time I should have my full licence already and renew my policy.

U_Fig

My first car was a 02 1.0l Corsa , 1 was nearly 25 mind you when started driving but my first insurance quote was €860 TPFT on a provisional that I held for less than 1 year, part of the reason it was lower was that my driving instructor had insurance through the broker so I got a deemed 1 years no claims bonus on my first policy after doing the compulsory 12 lessons. My second was ,€1500 then third after passing my test was €800.

I went through First Ireland Broker with Kenco as underwriter, and each year since they have always been my cheapest quote. This was 4 yeard ago too.

Odyssey 2005

Get your licence first. My lad 18 yrs ,went on the Aviva young driver programme. Passed his test. First ins in his own name fully comp was 860 ish,year 2 was 720 ish and last month down to 530. 1.2 Ibiza.
Btw the Ibiza are a grand yoke. I would even drive it.