Oh dear...

[JoshWard]

Hi Paul, Thanks for your first hand experience on this. Looks like another car is the way to go...

Bryan, I intend to be the main driver (with car registered to me, and insurance in my name) with my dad as a named driver so that way insurance is cheaper and I can use the car every day and I think that way I will be able to build up no claims bonus.

Hi Gary- Thanks for the advice, although I think a Frank rebuild is way out of my league at the moment (and will be for several years) so it looks like I will have to pull my hands out from my pockets and finish the 1.8 myself! Storage for the 1.8 is £120 per year and insurance for my dad is £98. That means keeping it only costs £220 per year, far less than what I would lose in selling it. The money spent buying a 1.3 would easily be recovered when the time comes I can insure the 1.8 and sell the 1.3.

Better get hunting....



I will pretend I am annoyed about this but facing the prospect of two Marinas, well, how can I be annoyed?!

[mikmik]

Josh


years ago I had to take the turbo off a Mitsubishu Spacewagon to pass the emission s test. i rang the insurance company to tell them the car was now depowered and the insurance went up £150!! I rang them back to say the mechanic had fitted a recon turbo, and it went back down. they're a law unto themselves.

Your solution is the followin.

Classic car insurance allows enthusiasts to drive limited mileage to shows days out etc. the ctireria include a requirement that you have access to another car. So get named on your folks' policy. they might also require you to be 25, however...

So...you buy the cheapest car you can under 1 litre ( Micra, Vivio, Swift etc) and insure that. Apply for your test ASAP. Ensure that your insurer allows for DOC - Driving Of Other Cars, which is listed on the back of your policy document ( vehicles the use of which is covered). The requirement there is that its not YOUR car. So tranfer it to your dad's name, and get him to insure it as a classic.

The upside to all this is that you have a spare everyday car because you wont want always to take your marina to somewhere it might be vandalised, stolen etc etc


FB me or PM me if you need this explained, but I'm pretty suire it will work and is 100% legal and above board.

Have faith brother Marina!!

[JoshWard]

Great advice Mick, bit I'm going to ignore it entirely thanks to Footman James...



£1350 for the 1.8 fully comp with breakdown cover and 3000 miles per year (I will get more than this when I go to get cover as I have been doing some sums )

I'm happy now, that's less than a 1.0 modern car

[mikmik]

Good result then Josh.
Happy driving.
But the post remains for those who might follow you!

[MarinaCoupe]

Hi Josh,

I did some research a couple of years ago on insurance for inexperienced drivers.

Footman James weren't the absolute cheapest but were one of the most flexible. Personally I would go for two quotes one for a 1.3 and one for a 1.8. Take the difference between the two quotes and multiply by 3 (for the saving over 3 years) and then see what a running 1.3 engine and gearbox would cost (should be a lot less), you could fit it in a day on your drive, it's almost plug and play....ish. As far as DVLA registration is concerned you would notify change of engine capacity and engine number and then it is a 1.3 Marina.

I know that you have set your heart on the 1.8 but they don't go bad if properly stored, you could drop it back in, in say three years time.

I may be able to help with a 1.3 engine and gearbox if you go down this route. PM me if it starts to make sense financially.

[TheNostalgiaBRIT]

I feel for you Josh, the world of first car insurance for new drivers is fairly frustrating!

I remember in 1998 as a newly licenced driver looking for my first car.

There are so many factors which affect the cost so you have to carefully look at the different cars available and be prepared to compromise. In my case a common first car at that time was the 957cc MK2 Fiesta or the 1ltr Mk2 Polo. Only catch that shoved the insurance right up! A quote for a 957cc Fiesta Third party fire and theft was about £1500 but exceptions can be found, in the end my first car was a rather nice 1.1ltr MK1 Fiat UNO. The insurance for the Fiat FULLY COMP was £730 yes you read correctly £730!!!

So I had a car with a bigger engine and as it was the better 60S Elegenza it had a good spec including fairly good brakes unlike the MK2 Polos and Fiestas which were in all respect terrifying (I assure you from experiance).

The other good thing, I had proper fully comp insurance in my own name rather then in my parents. Never get yourself named on your parents insurance in my opinion, you don't build up a no claims bonus and the insurance companies are very wise to that cheat. "Oh you had a crash in your parents car at a University on the other side of the country..."

Also my next piece of advice for the first few months at least is to resist the temptation to give friends lifts, too many distractions for a new driver. Get some mileage under your belt and learn your road craft, you will feel like Lewis Hamilton sitting in your car and sense can easily fly out of the window.

Anyway good luck and I look forward seeing you at future events.

[JoshWard]

Thanks for the advice

Chris, a 1.3 isn't that much cheaper (only a couple of hundred) which I would probably save by fitting a good alarm (which I would anyway). Thanks for your offer of parts though


£730 fully comp?! I dont believe you....
My mate was quoted that third party on his Fiesta Zetec S on a provisional license. Gawd knows what that will go up to when he passes his test....

I'm happy with my quote, £1587 with 6,000 miles fully comp, breakdown cover, lovely!

[leto]

Josh ,

I'm glad you got this sorted , did you check all the insurance comparison websites ? And did you try diffrent levels of cover this year it was cheaper by £200 to insure my ital fully comp than it was third party ! Also in the past i have been able to knock extra off qoutes by explaining i have found a better qoute on line and asking my exsisting company to match this. Maybe a bit late with advice but worth taking in to consideration for next year.

Happy motoring :mrgreen:

Rob.

[TheNostalgiaBRIT]

Thanks for the advice

Chris, a 1.3 isn't that much cheaper (only a couple of hundred) which I would probably save by fitting a good alarm (which I would anyway). Thanks for your offer of parts though


£730 fully comp?! I dont believe you....
My mate was quoted that third party on his Fiesta Zetec S on a provisional license. Gawd knows what that will go up to when he passes his test....

I'm happy with my quote, £1587 with 6,000 miles fully comp, breakdown cover, lovely!

Indeed in 1998 it cost me £730 fully comp, still have the insurance certificate somewhere! :mrgreen: As said most new drivers were going out and buying Mk2 Fiestas and Polos then, when the insurance is calculated a number of factors not only the Insurance Group are taken into consideration. There were far less Fiat UNO's on the road then getting into accidents with young drivers, for the insurance company computer its instantly a far lower risk. Research always pays and it meant I ended up with a bigger engine and fully comp cover. For a young driver Fords always are going to have a higher premium due to the high number on the roads getting into accidents!

[JoshWard]

Well I havent taken out a policy yet, as I cant start driving until February and wont insure the Marina until I've passed my test so this was just me speculating.

I'd rather have fully comp, I have checked price comparison sites and they all give about £2300-£15000!

Noone was able to match FJ's quote.....

[Number 63]

I would'nt contemplate putting one of the kids on their own policy until they leave the house just because I have no intention of lining insurance companies pockets for fun. Most companies will give credit for years spent as a named driver. Obviously once they leave / get kicked out, they will be on their own policies but we were assured by our current insurers that this is all completely legal as long as the owner does actually drive the car from time to time. There is no stipulation of the time spent by each driver and TBH I don't intend to start keeping a log.. My daughter is into her second year as a named driver and all being well, will go on her own policy next year as her sister is coming along to driving age.

You appear to have gotten a decent enough deal though Josh and if you're happy with it, thats all that counts really.

[locost_bryan]

I would'nt contemplate putting one of the kids on their own policy until they leave the house just because I have no intention of lining insurance companies pockets for fun. Most companies will give credit for years spent as a named driver. Obviously once they leave / get kicked out, they will be on their own policies but we were assured by our current insurers that this is all completely legal as long as the owner does actually drive the car from time to time. There is no stipulation of the time spent by each driver and TBH I don't intend to start keeping a log.. My daughter is into her second year as a named driver and all being well, will go on her own policy next year as her sister is coming along to driving age.

You appear to have gotten a decent enough deal though Josh and if you're happy with it, thats all that counts really.

That's a good point 8) . Always worth speaking to your (parent's) existing insurance company, especially if they give discounts for bundling (house + car etc), and they should also take your (parent's ) existing claims history into account (especially if they have a very good history ). Shouldn't do any harm to ask for their advice in writing - they shouldn't be able to quibble if you follow what they recommend :roll: .

[JubileeNut]

I'd rather have fully comp, I have checked price comparison sites and they all give about £2300-£15000!

Did you mean £15,000!!! That's a lot of cash!

[JoshWard]

Yep!

[Greg Whitaker]

Don't even consider an engine swap.

Phone some of the specialist brokers in the popular classic car mags - they will give you a much better price and cover than any high St broker as they calculate risks differently.

Adrian Flux is usually the best for younger drivers. They consider all age groups and unusual vehicles.

(Of all the regular insurers Co-operative insurance is the best, if you are happy with third party only insurance)

Any car costs a few quid to insure at first - but it does come down dramatically after a couple of years, particularly with a car like the Marina. I think my last renewal when I was in the UK was about £123... and that was with business use permitted!

Good luck