Passed my driving test :).. and car insurance :(

[TillyTortoise]

Originally Posted by Mrs Frog

congratulations!!! My son has a black box fitted in his car which made it a bit cheaper with the co op His premiums were £170 a monthhe got a part time job to just pay that but in his second year the cost was halved

I tried with them and they wanted £4130 £344 a month!

Originally Posted by Pussygalore

you have to be very carefull having a named driver if that driver doesn't actually drive the car and you are the main one if the insurance company found out or you had an accident your insurance would be invalid. To be honest unless you really need and not just want a car you'd be better waiting untill you are older, if you've managed to get around untill now then wait, is it really worth the cost, for less you could probably have a taxi everywhere. Now is the time that you should be having some fun, holidays with freinds etc not getting tied down with debts and commitments, once they come along you never get rid of them. My grand daughter saddled herself with buying a new car on finance, it takes nearly all her wages, one of her freinds has gone to Australia and Daryl couldn't go, she missed another holiday, can't go to concerts,festivals and even can't go out for a drink sometimes, all that because she wanted a new car, my does she regret it and she has another 4 years to go, she's only 18.

But when do I start driving? My insurance isn't likely do go down in the near future..

Originally Posted by Jess222

My insurance is with direct line, my quote when I first passed was 700 for 3rd party and 900 fully comp...for the year. 5 years on I pay 36 quid a month, still with direct line with no claims. Try them Ross x

Thanks for the advice Jess Seems things have changed a bit though, my brother paid £1800 for his first insurance 3 years ago, you probably paid less being a girl to! They bought a new rule in, in Dec 12 stating that both genders have to pay the same amount, it probably cost you a fortune now too

Originally Posted by Emilyjayne2012

Another thing to do is if you take the 'pass plus' test it brings your insurance down a lot so maybe look into that

I took me three times to pass the normal one I've got no chance

[Emilyjayne2012]

Its not really a pass / fail test, its just an additional driving course you do more for experience and it really reduces your insurance. I knew someone whos insurence was halved after they took it. You always pass its just a 6 hour course to gain more experiance

[TillyTortoise]

Originally Posted by Emilyjayne2012

Its not really a pass / fail test, its just an additional driving course you do more for experience and it really reduces your insurance. I knew someone whos insurence was halved after they took it. You always pass its just a 6 hour course to gain more experiance

Sounds promising, i'll look into it, thanks

[Pussygalore]

doesn't insurance go down with age? I don't think a new car owner has any idea of just how much it costs to run/keep one, with petrol always going up and labour in most garages up to £60 hour its quite frightening. We really noticed it when we moved here as we lost the company car, the tax alone on our escort is £120 for 6 months and its just a standard car, £20 of petrol goes no where and it costs over £40 to fill it up. We put in £20 at the weekend and its enough to do the shopping on saturday and a carboot on sunday and thats it, no pleasure running around.Its not bad on petrol but to go to my parents in cambridge and back a total of 200 miles costs us a full tank and a bit. I know there are many who just don't go far anymore or have even given up the car, we can only afford to use ours at the weekend I bike through the week if I want to go to the shops etc The dreaded MOT always comes around to fast and although its nice to have one to not have the petrol money to use it and my grand daughter is often in that position makes you wonder if its really worth keeping one. You have to sit down and really weigh up whether the cost is worth it, work out the real running costs and don't forget you still have your torts to keep and clothes to buy, plus rent if you pay it.

[TillyTortoise]

Originally Posted by Pussygalore

doesn't insurance go down with age? I don't think a new car owner has any idea of just how much it costs to run/keep one, with petrol always going up and labour in most garages up to £60 hour its quite frightening. We really noticed it when we moved here as we lost the company car, the tax alone on our escort is £120 for 6 months and its just a standard car, £20 of petrol goes no where and it costs over £40 to fill it up. We put in £20 at the weekend and its enough to do the shopping on saturday and a carboot on sunday and thats it, no pleasure running around.Its not bad on petrol but to go to my parents in cambridge and back a total of 200 miles costs us a full tank and a bit. I know there are many who just don't go far anymore or have even given up the car, we can only afford to use ours at the weekend I bike through the week if I want to go to the shops etc The dreaded MOT always comes around to fast and although its nice to have one to not have the petrol money to use it and my grand daughter is often in that position makes you wonder if its really worth keeping one.

I don't think it really goes down much until 21 and then 25. I just taxed it today and it was £170 for 12 months.. I'll probably be putting in about £30 a week petrol, If I add it up, its about £80 a week all together

[Emilyjayne2012]

Yes it does but it doesnt go down until your 25 and have been driving for about 5 years. Insuring a car yourself for the first time is always going to be costly. Mine was nearly £1000 and I have been driving for 5 years and am nearly 25. I got my first car last year as I had always been insured on my dads second car, so I have really noticed the cost. Tax is £120 and I have got my service and MOT in the same month later this year and just to fill my car up is £65 its ridiculous. The thing is you want to be able to go for drives and have the freedom that should come with owning a car but thats not possible with petrol the way it is.

[Pussygalore]

and its going to go up again

[Jess222]

Originally Posted by TillyTortoise

I don't think it really goes down much until 21 and then 25. I just taxed it today and it was £170 for 12 months.. I'll probably be putting in about £30 a week petrol, If I add it up, its about £80 a week all together

My tax is £20 for year haha x

[ibizathetort]

Classic cars are a cheaper option, I insured a 2 litre Triumph sports car for my first car at 17 , it was £600 TPFT

[wigwamman]

congratulations on passing your test,now starts the expense!!

my two lads are now 27 and 24 and have gone through the process you now face,so go on with caution because the true costs of running a car are not at all obvious.
the cost of the pass plus was not offset against a reduction in premiums.
the second years insurance is much reduced(if you don't crash/claim).
if you/father/brother/uncle can do repairs/servicing all the better,taking your car to a garage can be traumatic,££££££.
the cost of fuel has gone beyond silly and will be even sillier in a couple of weeks.
then you have all the toss pots on the road to deal with.
just my personal views of course,if i were in your position today i'm sure i would HAVE TO do things differently.
best of luck to you!