# Help with insurance for a 17 year old!



## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

My son is turning 17 in December and he has been saving for a car so he can start commuting to work and college after passing his test. I told him if he purchased the car I would pay for the insurance. He has his heart set on a Polo TDI and I am happy with his choice as its safe and economical. But the insurance is a killer. I've got a quote from insure the box for £3K - the car he is buying is £2.5K, is there any other companies that you have used that have been relatively cheap? Or should I tell him that I will buy the car and the £500 I save I can spend on detailing gear?  

Any help appreciated!


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## Jjhart (Jul 7, 2012)

Try premium choice? They were pretty good with me, they specialise in young drivers


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

Thank you, what was the customer service like as whole, do they fit any kind of telematics box in to track the vehicle?


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

Only advise I can give is to ring all the companies you can. Shopping round yourself will save you lots of money than doing online comparisons etc...

Also I would be careful about the telematics box as to me (and its only my opinion) if your son is involved in an accident (I hope he isn't) then the insurance company can use the data to avoid a claim very easily if they wanted to.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

He might have his heart set on a Polo, but rule with the head and look at alternatives.

Someone on here recently got their freshly passed daughter an A-Class worth about £6k, iirc, insured for around £1k.

Smaller, stereotypical new driver, cars are often more to insure than less obvious alternatives. Stuff like a Mondeo, Vectra, etc can sometimes chop massive chunks off insurance prices in comparison.


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## Fiesta-125 (Mar 18, 2012)

Is it the 1.4TDi or the 1.9TDi?

The 1.4TDi should be okay, insurance is still fairly high, when I was 17 looking to replace mine for that, it was a extra £200 for about 8 months. So not bad. Try admiral, get a quote for 10 months. This gives you 1 year NCB with Admiral, then renew and then after 22 months he will have 2 years NCB! Just tell him to not have a accident. Or insurance is a *****. Admirals insurance drops by a hell of a lot after 1 year driving experience and then with 1 year ncb even more! 

Also have you considered multi car? It may not be the cheapest overall(should be) but if you have more than one car, it should outlay the savings on the others etc etc
Good luck


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

m1pui said:


> He might have his heart set on a Polo, but rule with the head and look at alternatives.
> 
> Someone on here recently got their freshly passed daughter an A-Class worth about £6k, iirc, insured for around £1k.
> 
> Smaller, stereotypical new driver, cars are often more to insure than less obvious alternatives. Stuff like a Mondeo, Vectra, etc can sometimes chop massive chunks off insurance prices in comparison.


This. Look at other, less kiddie/new driver cars. I paid less insurance on my 2.0 petrol Rover 400 than my mate did on a ****ty 1.4 Golf, and my Rover was newer!
Besides, little cars are for girls anyways! He secretly wants a 406 or a Mondeo.


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## MEH4N (Mar 15, 2012)

elephant is good for students


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

Thanks guys, it's for the 1.9 TDI, it came up as £200 more than the 1.4 but around £500 less than a 1.4 and he would keep it for longer. Hey! I'm a big boy and I drive a Polo lol  he won't change his mind about it being German, classic example of a badge snob, I could try and persuade him to try a Bora or something similar but it's whatever he feels comfortable driving. I don't want him feeling more insecure because daddy wanted to save a bit of money on insurance! I will have a word with him tomorrow and see if he would change his mind on engine, he could switch over to the insurance friendly non turbo 1.9 diesel. The SDI, which was slow as horse sh**e when I had one!


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

My cousin was a prime example.

17 (so about 8 years ago) he got an £800 1.0 Corsa. Cost him £2000 & a bit to insure.

At 18, he found places that would insure him on a 1.8T Mk4 Golf GTI for £1100 with 1yr NCB.

At 20 he needed something more economical, enquired about my car (e46 320D). Checked insurance and managed to get cover, with 3years NCB & 3 points on licence, for £500 & coppers! It was a bit of a fluke quote, but even the next cheapest wasn't shockingly bad at just under £900.


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## Fiesta-125 (Mar 18, 2012)

JA0395 said:


> Thanks guys, it's for the 1.9 TDI, it came up as £200 more than the 1.4 but around £500 less than a 1.4 and he would keep it for longer. Hey! I'm a big boy and I drive a Polo lol  he won't change his mind about it being German, classic example of a badge snob, I could try and persuade him to try a Bora or something similar but it's whatever he feels comfortable driving. I don't want him feeling more insecure because daddy wanted to save a bit of money on insurance! I will have a word with him tomorrow and see if he would change his mind on engine, he could switch over to the insurance friendly non turbo 1.9 diesel. The SDI, which was slow as horse sh**e when I had one!


IMO not the 1.4TDi, it;s pretty gutless and it sounds like a bag of spanners lubricated with a gallon of diesel. Was smooth to drive, just sounded horrible.

SDI are horrible, really stay away.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

JA0395 said:


> Thanks guys, it's for the 1.9 TDI, it came up as £200 more than the 1.4 but around £500 less than a 1.4 and he would keep it for longer. Hey! I'm a big boy and I drive a Polo lol  he won't change his mind about it being German, classic example of a badge snob, I could try and persuade him to try a Bora or something similar but it's whatever he feels comfortable driving. I don't want him feeling more insecure because daddy wanted to save a bit of money on insurance! I will have a word with him tomorrow and see if he would change his mind on engine, he could switch over to the insurance friendly non turbo 1.9 diesel. The SDI, which was slow as horse sh**e when I had one!


That's fair enough, but is he choosing a Polo over, for quick example, a Ford Ka, Nissan Micra and a Corsa.

If he's got a wider choice of vehicles above a supermini class he might find he has different fancies.


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

Fiesta-125 said:


> IMO not the 1.4TDi, it;s pretty gutless and it sounds like a bag of spanners lubricated with a gallon of diesel. Was smooth to drive, just sounded horrible.
> 
> SDI are horrible, really stay away.


I've had all three of the engines and found the 1.9 TDI the best, the turbo in the 1.4 was welcome after 6 years of N/A derv! 

He will not go anywhere near Fords at all, he has looked at other cars but feels that he will get better quality for his money from a VAG group car. He's a confident driver as I've taught him since the age of 11 (private road of course) so wants a ar he will keep for a few years, not one he will write off. That's why I'm looking for alternative insurance companies.


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

I had powerful cars when I was young and admiral and elephant were the cheapest by far for me.

Little tricks with them I found, obviously dont do this if its not true as can void your insurance. The old your parents insure the car and your a named driver doesnt work anymore as the insurance companies have figured out this trick. The trick I used was the 17 yr old insures the car but adds middle aged women to the policy as named drivers, I added my Mum which brought it down by about 1k and then added my Aunty which brought it down another 600quid, I wasnt lieing as I said they dont use the car very often. The great thing about getting quotes online is that you can keep making slight changes and see if the price goes up or down. I added my Dad and it increase by about 8 quid so I put him on there just incase he ever needed to drive my car, worth it as it makes him insured fully comp instead of 3rd party from his insurance.

Also see if theres another name for his job as jobs are risk assed as well. At the time I was a QS/Site Manager and QS was cheaper to insure than a Site Manager.

Elephant and Admiral are sister companies but I still played them off each other so most years I would change between the 2 as they fight for your custom and both offer the 10 month plan.

Also never ever ever take your renewal price. Think my renewal price for my Subaru STi when I was 21 was over 2k, did a quote online as a new customer, came out at 1,400 after playing them against each other I ended up paying 1,080 which isnt bad for a group 20 at 21.


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

Bod42 said:


> I had powerful cars when I was young and admiral and elephant were the cheapest by far for me.
> 
> Little tricks with them I found, obviously dont do this if its not true as can void your insurance. The old your parents insure the car and your a named driver doesnt work anymore as the insurance companies have figured out this trick. The trick I used was the 17 yr old insures the car but adds middle aged women to the policy as named drivers, I added my Mum which brought it down by about 1k and then added my Aunty which brought it down another 600quid, I wasnt lieing as I said they dont use the car very often. The great thing about getting quotes online is that you can keep making slight changes and see if the price goes up or down. I added my Dad and it increase by about 8 quid so I put him on there just incase he ever needed to drive my car, worth it as it makes him insured fully comp instead of 3rd party from his insurance.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the useful info buddy, if I was to put my son on mine and my wife's policy would he be covered to drive our car and his own as he will be fully comp.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

JA0395 said:


> He will not go anywhere near Fords at all, he has looked at other cars but feels that he will get better quality for his money from a VAG group car. He's a confident driver as I've taught him since the age of 11 (private road of course) so wants a ar he will keep for a few years, not one he will write off. That's why I'm looking for alternative insurance companies.


if this bit was a response to my post, you've missed my point.

The brand wasn't what I was getting at. I'm saying, has he looked at a Polo (or just a Supermini as in my example) because that's where he thinks the cheapest insurance is when in fact he might've found cheaper looking at a Golf, Bora or even a Passat.

When I was learning I looked at Corsa's & Tigra's. Then my dad lost his licence just before I passed my test and we rang up the insurance on the off chance found it was cheaper for me to get insured on his car, a 2.0 8v Calibra, than either of the afore mentioned.


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

m1pui said:


> if this bit was a response to my post, you've missed my point.
> 
> The brand wasn't what I was getting at. I'm saying, has he looked at a Polo (or just a Supermini as in my example) because that's where he thinks the cheapest insurance is.
> 
> When I was learning I looked at Corsa's & Tigra's. Then my dad lost his licence just before I passed my test and we rang up the insurance on the off chance found it was cheaper for me to get insured on his car, a 2.0 8v Calibra, than either of the afore mentioned.


Nope I understood what point you were making, but I'm sure I answered in another post that I didn't want him feeling uncomfortable with what he drives, he has an unlimited choice as to what he buys as its his money, he has decided to invest in a Polo as he has driven one and feels comfortable driving it, unlike when driving his grandfathers C5 which is also similarly priced and in no doubt, if what you're implying is true, will be cheaper to insure than the supermini class

I'm also sure that with it being a supermini it will be much more economical to run as a commuter car to and from college and work and evetually going to and from university.

I will have a word tomorrow and see if there are any other cars that he fancies and take it from there... Thank you everyone, I will be giving Admiraland Elephant a call soon! :thumb:


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## jcf1966 (Jul 21, 2012)

Get him to do the advanced driving test this should help a lot and if he likes driving he will love it. You may know that road craft is the police method of driving. £139 for a 12 weeks of training, good value.

Hope this helps


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

PugIain said:


> Besides, little cars are for girls anyways! He secretly wants a 406 or a Mondeo.


When I was about 18 we were partexing my first car for my second one. The salesman was trying to get me into a mk3 Astra or a Daihastu Cuore (this was 1999 and they were mid-franchise change from Vauxhall to Daihatsu!) and he was quite baffled when I said I wanted a Vectra :lol:


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

m1pui said:


> When I was about 18 we were partexing my first car for my second one. The salesman was trying to get me into a mk3 Astra or a Daihastu Cuore (this was 1999 and they were mid-franchise change from Vauxhall to Daihatsu!) and he was quite baffled when I said I wanted a Vectra :lol:


Mmmm a Daihatsu Cuore. Nearly as bad as a guy I know who has a Perodua Nippa. Think early 1980s tech and comfort..grim.
I remember a salesman somewhere trying to get me into one of those Suzuki X90 things! Urgh. No thanks, Ill buy the big shiney red Rover up the road.


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

JA0395 said:


> Thank you for the useful info buddy, if I was to put my son on mine and my wife's policy would he be covered to drive our car and his own as he will be fully comp.


Need to watch it now days, in the good old days if you were fully comp you automatically got 3rd party but when I last checked all companies except one put in the terms and conditions that you have to be 25 to get 3rd party on other peoples cars. Catches a lot of poeple out.

Every car has to have insurance so if you put him on your policy, you would still have to insure his car and I cant see that working out cheapest.

It may be slightly different now but if I insured the car with 2 middle aged ladies named on the policy, it was far cheaper than me going on my mums insurance. Also my next door neightbors daughter got their car broken into and trashed one night, she rang the insurance company and said she was the main driver but they had taken the insurance out saying the mum was the main driver and she used it every so often, they didnt pay out.


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

As stated above, most policies now require you to be 25 to drive other cars, it scares me at the thought of how many people must have driven cars uninsured with this. I've had SO many of my mates go "I'm fully comp" but only be 21-24. It should be made more clear imo, since insurance is such a serious thing to get wrong.

As for the price, my only recommendation would be to try the comparison sites. I've heard of a lot of people getting good prices from quotemehappy lately. I've also had good quotes from Elephant and Admiral in the past when I was a young driver.

No harm in trying all the comparison sites you can mate, sometimes you end up getting a pleasantly surprising quote when you've just about given up all hope!


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2012)

Have you tried putting yourself on as a named driver? This should drop the price considerably if you have a good stack of NCB. You list him as the owner / main driver and yourself as a named driver. If you've got more people in the house with lots of NCB, adding them would reduce the premium no end.

I only started driving this year, but found Admirals multi car policy best for me. My best quote started off as £2300 with Admiral on a single car policy, and adding one vehicle, it knocked it down to just shy of £1700 (I was 24 at the time of the Policy being issued on a Peugeot 207 Sport).

My brother is 18 and paying £2100 on his £500 W Reg Fiesta with ingenie (that was his cheapest quote as a new driver, by £2000 odd).


Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk 2


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Try quinn,cheapest my sister found.


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## TheGooner84 (Jun 29, 2010)

adding your sont to your policy would allow in to be covered in your car but its generally only the policy holder thats insured 3rd party on another car - thats on to of the 25+ year old rule that i was nearly caught out a few years ago with.

when i was 18 bell and admiral were the cheapest using their 10 month accelerator plans. 
added my mum as a named driver on the policy and it brought it down around £500
also get him to do the past plus, wish i did. wife was a named driver the 1st year on her dads car then bought her own couple of companies wouldnt insure her due to the past plus but the ones that did gave her close to 1 years NCB as discount so saved around 20%. saved alot more than the £80 it cost her at the time


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## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

Ross L said:


> Have you tried putting yourself on as a named driver? This should drop the price considerably if you have a good stack of NCB. You list him as the owner / main driver and yourself as a named driver. If you've got more people in the house with lots of NCB, adding them would reduce the premium no end.


+1 Even at almost 30 it made £200 difference to my 350z insurance just by putting my mum on. Its a valid move. just in case I want her to drive it home from the pub  Much cheaper than trying to ring up and get them insured on spec.


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## martin_46 (Aug 7, 2012)

Yup I would say try Tesco, Admiral and possibly even Aviva - these are the 3 I've been with since being 17 and have all been the best price at some point for me.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Surely it would be best to get him to get the insurance and you buy the car? Make him appreciate the need to get value for money, and protect his outlay by not crashing the car and protecting his insurance NCB's?


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

bidderman1969 said:


> Surely it would be best to get him to get the insurance and you buy the car? Make him appreciate the need to get value for money, and protect his outlay by not crashing the car and protecting his insurance NCB's?


That was what I was thinking, and I'm saving a few bob for some detailing gear which can only be a good thing, he's walked it college today and it's pi**ing it down! :lol: I will try ringing up the companies rather than just using online as I'm sure that there is room for negotiation, I have 15 years of NCB and my wife has 12. So it could be worthwhile trying to add us to it as well as maybe my mum who has 25 years NCB! :doublesho


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

JA0395 said:


> That was what I was thinking, and I'm saving a few bob for some detailing gear which can only be a good thing, he's walked it college today and it's pi**ing it down! :lol: I will try ringing up the companies rather than just using online as I'm sure that there is room for negotiation, I have 15 years of NCB and my wife has 12. So it could be worthwhile trying to add us to it as well as maybe my mum who has 25 years NCB! :doublesho


Dont know your ages but I found there seems to be a perfect range that the insurance companies like. If the added drivers are to old or young it wont help but middle aged women definitely help the most. My Dad was quite annoyed that his 15+ NCB put my insurance up if I added him :lol: But again this is why online sites are great, just keep throwing in different details and see what they do to the price.

Definitely ring them as well, I remember ringing admiral and saying your slightly more expensive but I would like to stay with you, what can you do expecting maybe 20 quid off, the lady came back and offered me 240 quid off just like that, I snapped her hand off as they were already the cheapest I was just telling a little porkie.


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## JoshG1992 (Aug 16, 2011)

Try knocking down the annual mileage if you can, took a bit off mine, also saying its parked on a road outside rather than a drive can help, apparently its easier to steal a car off someone's drive.


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## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

I check insurance for lupo as second car with 1.0l engine and it come back £540 and yesterday I done quote with same insurer for bora 2.8l V6 and comes at... £668


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