Uk Car Insurance new driver Very low income?

[DayIshome]

Hey all, im 17 in august 2021 and i have nine months to cook up About £3,450 (Insurance+roadtax+car+minorrepairs+cleaningstuff)

I Do have a job but its utter s**t i get up £32 a week on a good week so about £100 a month but my parents want me to do my tests and stuff as soon as im 17 and so do i, i love cars and i love the idea of the freedom you get 

but due to my very low income and insurance being more than what i get paid in 12 months i need some advice my mum has benefits and cant contribute my dad did have a good job but recently due to covid ended up working as a delivery driver for Tesco's and makes not much im not allowed to ask for money from other family members nor am i able to.

the car I'm looking at because they have the 'Cheapest' insurance is a 2008 Ford Fiesta the road tax is about £228 rn and insurance is about £2,340  so im really worried because i have nine months we have covid so getting a different job is near impossible i will be doing a new collage course soon and that's 4 days of collage one at home over Microsoft Teams this is after Christmas Half Term,

i need some immediate advice as i have to buy the car months before mainly because I don't trust  used cars and want to do minor repairs and make sure every essence of the previous owners are gone and my busy schedule means that'll take a good 4 months to do if you can give me great advice on what to do its much appreciated

 

 

For my Americans out there the total cost translated from £3,450 is about $4,692.59

[Monkey Dust]

You're unlikely to have the funds until you're in full time employment. Unless your parents are funding your lessons, I doubt you're getting a licence on £100 a month either. Your options for making that kind of money at your age, in that timescale, are pretty limited. Buying and selling on eBay or Gumtree is my first thought, but it's unlikely to earn you enough and there is a risk of losing money. There are things, like stock market investing that you can't do until you're 18, and again there is the risk of losses.

 

And more bad news, you'll never remove all evidence of previous owners. I once owned a car that I assume had been broken into at some point before I bought it. No matter how much I vacuumed it out, there was always more chunks of glass turning up occasionally, even after owning the car for 7 years. 

[dalekphalm]

Sorry if this might be obvious as a UK resident, but why do you need to buy a car?

 

Can you not just get your drivers license and then simply buy a car in the future when you can afford one?

 

If your parents own a car already, simply use that to practice - insurance should also be a lot cheaper if you're listed as an occasional driver, rather than the primary driver. Depending on the specific insurance policy your parents already have, you might already be covered for the occasional trip borrowing the car (for example, my insurance allows me to let friends or family borrow the car every once in a while and they're covered).

[PlayStation 2]

That insurance quote is making me appreciate that I only pay ~$120 a month on my car.

[jones177]

When I lived in the UK I used a motorcycle to get to work because I could not afford a car.

Another alternative is an ebike. Mine can do 45kph.

 

6 hours ago, handymanshandle said:

That insurance quote is making me appreciate that I only pay ~$120 a month on my car.

I pay less than a $100 for a Subaru STI. One of the perks of being an old fart.

[Mling]

Wait until you finish school and get a job where they will give you a car. Petrol has always been one of my most expensive weekly item. When you get a company car and a fuel card you can save a lot of money. And you can buy yourself a fun car for the weekends as opposed to buying a crappy old economic hatchback.

 

Look at getting a toyota corrola for an economic car. Plenty of parts and they go for ages. Look for a single previous owner that is retired. They always have mint condition economic vehicles.

[porina]

If I'm reading the post correctly, the insurance cost is ball park double the car. There aren't really any easy ways to get money or save on costs. If you can find some niche to do it, great, but reality is if you can't afford it, you have no alternative other than to wait until you can. I don't know if things have changed but the insurance cost drops significantly with age, even a year or so should help a lot.

 

The other option of getting someone else to insure it (like a parent) and then get added as an additional driver could be much cheaper but not without its downsides. If anything were to happen, they will take the hit on insurance in future years. Also you probably wouldn't be earning your no claims discount which also helps to reduce insurance cost going forwards. Also be very careful about the legalities.

 

I don't know if what I'm about to say is even true or is still the case today, but once I met someone who had points on licence even before they passed their test. The only way they could afford to get anything was to buy a van and get business insurance on it. Apparently that worked out much cheaper. If it is even possible, again be careful that you do it in a legal way.

[DJSimonR]

I feel for you, my first years insurance on a £800 Vauxhall Zafira was £2.600. Fortunately i had a job so i could afford it but I couldn't afford much else.

 

If I was you, I would ask your parents to pay for your driving lessons, pass it and get it out of the way, then concentrate on finding a car when you can afford it.

 

Don't worry about owning a second hand car when you are young, trust me, you will damage it at some point and if you are driving a new fancy car you will be very annoyed. You can find some good second hand cars around. If you are worried about the car you could try and find someone who knows about cars or a mechanic who would be willing to look over the car for you. Don't worry about removing all traces of the last owner, most second hand car will have had several owners. Most private sellers will have the car cleaned anyway and you can just do it again yourself once you buy one.

 

For now, I would concentrate on just passing your test, i kept putting it off myself and I didn't end up driving until i was 26. I wish i had done it a lot sooner.

[Lord Vile]

Get a black box insurance policy, it can cut down the insurance by over half you just actually have to drive well and don’t drive after like midnight. 
 

Also maybe look for a car with a smaller engine like a fiesta. Will cut down on insurance and tax.

[DayIshome]

On 12/17/2020 at 11:12 PM, dalekphalm said:

Sorry if this might be obvious as a UK resident, but why do you need to buy a car?

 

Can you not just get your drivers license and then simply buy a car in the future when you can afford one?

 

If your parents own a car already, simply use that to practice - insurance should also be a lot cheaper if you're listed as an occasional driver, rather than the primary driver. Depending on the specific insurance policy your parents already have, you might already be covered for the occasional trip borrowing the car (for example, my insurance allows me to let friends or family borrow the car every once in a while and they're covered).

Hi my dads vehicle i would NOT get insured on at all its a 2.4L if im correct because i have 5 siblings and my mum cant drive atm due to reasons and biking my sister to a school many miles away is just urg especially when its chucking it down she is only 6 my dad rushes to much and alot of arguments are caused just due to lack of people to transport

[DayIshome]

56 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

Get a black box insurance policy, it can cut down the insurance by over half you just actually have to drive well and don’t drive after like midnight. 
 

Also maybe look for a car with a smaller engine like a fiesta. Will cut down on insurance and tax.

Yes im certain on buying a fiesta and no black boxs quotes in my area seem to do curfews and that wont really work with me as i have had cases where i have to bike at 00:33 to get somewhere its Bloody scary tbh and black boxes are still £2,000

[DayIshome]

On 12/18/2020 at 10:24 AM, porina said:

If I'm reading the post correctly, the insurance cost is ball park double the car. There aren't really any easy ways to get money or save on costs. If you can find some niche to do it, great, but reality is if you can't afford it, you have no alternative other than to wait until you can. I don't know if things have changed but the insurance cost drops significantly with age, even a year or so should help a lot.

 

The other option of getting someone else to insure it (like a parent) and then get added as an additional driver could be much cheaper but not without its downsides. If anything were to happen, they will take the hit on insurance in future years. Also you probably wouldn't be earning your no claims discount which also helps to reduce insurance cost going forwards. Also be very careful about the legalities.

 

I don't know if what I'm about to say is even true or is still the case today, but once I met someone who had points on licence even before they passed their test. The only way they could afford to get anything was to buy a van and get business insurance on it. Apparently that worked out much cheaper. If it is even possible, again be careful that you do it in a legal way.

i asked my boss at my job today and he said if any other jobs at his pub open up other than cleaning leaves like kitchen cleaning or waiting then he will fill me in but he also said try to get as many small evening jobs you can until it equals up to around 37 hours a week just under legal limit for my age

[DayIshome]

On 12/18/2020 at 11:36 AM, DJSimonR said:

I feel for you, my first years insurance on a £800 Vauxhall Zafira was £2.600. Fortunately i had a job so i could afford it but I couldn't afford much else.

 

If I was you, I would ask your parents to pay for your driving lessons, pass it and get it out of the way, then concentrate on finding a car when you can afford it.

 

Don't worry about owning a second hand car when you are young, trust me, you will damage it at some point and if you are driving a new fancy car you will be very annoyed. You can find some good second hand cars around. If you are worried about the car you could try and find someone who knows about cars or a mechanic who would be willing to look over the car for you. Don't worry about removing all traces of the last owner, most second hand car will have had several owners. Most private sellers will have the car cleaned anyway and you can just do it again yourself once you buy one.

 

For now, I would concentrate on just passing your test, i kept putting it off myself and I didn't end up driving until i was 26. I wish i had done it a lot sooner.

Hi yes, i know what car im getting i want a fiesta also my dad has a fair ammount of cleaning stuff (Honestly for a zafira as your first car thats pretty good)

i just dont like what previous owners could have done in the car im very wary of street related things aswell like i know weed can stick for months even with light cleaning

[DayIshome]

On 12/18/2020 at 3:45 AM, handymanshandle said:

That insurance quote is making me appreciate that I only pay ~$120 a month on my car.

Those numbers do not exist in the united kingdom even Europe as a whole my dad turns 40 soon and he is paying £800-1,000 with a thing called a black box for his 2.4L Hyundai  i800

[LordVetinari]

5 minutes ago, DayIshome said:

Those numbers do not exist in the united kingdom even Europe as a whole my dad turns 40 soon and he is paying £800-1,000 with a thing called a black box for his 2.4L Hyundai  i800

Your dad needs to shop around or he has something where he is deemed pretty high risk. 

 

Before I got a company car I was insuring fully comp a 3.5l AMG SLK for £42 a month at 32. Commuting and business use as well. 

 

 

[wANKER]

£2340 is high, but not totally unreasonable. 

However I'd have a look at some other options.... Sometimes the smallest car isn't always cheapest. 

My first car I started on a Focus Zetec at 105bhp, at £2100. 

Had that for 2 month before getting rid and getting a 190bhp 2l turbo diesel for £1700 a year. 

[DayIshome]

1 minute ago, LordVetinari said:

Your dad needs to shop around or he has something where he is deemed pretty high risk. 

 

Before I got a company car I was insuring fully comp a 3.5l AMG SLK for £42 a month at 32. Commuting and business use as well. 

 

 

yours was monthly, and area has a big part of it due to living right next to the A1/M1 the insurance does go up if im correct there around 4 accidents a day near me im fed up of ambulances and police cars

[DayIshome]

1 minute ago, wANKER said:

£2340 is high, but not totally unreasonable. 

However I'd have a look at some other options.... Sometimes the smallest car isn't always cheapest. 

My first car I started on a Focus Zetec at 105bhp, at £2100. 

Had that for 2 month before getting rid and getting a 190bhp 2l turbo diesel for £1700 a year. 

i like the fiesta, its easy to park agile and pretty reliable (what i have been told) and i have kind of been bought up around fords (i havent always lived with my mum) my nan has had many fords and i like ford never had an issue with them!

[wANKER]

Just now, DayIshome said:

i like the fiesta, its easy to park agile and pretty reliable (what i have been told) and i have kind of been bought up around fords (i havent always lived with my mum) my nan has had many fords and i like ford never had an issue with them!

Fair enough. 

 

Just some tips for insurance quotes: 

• Set the start date of the policy for as far away as possible - this will often result in cheaper initials quotes
• Play around with your excess - there's a thing called excess cover, where basically you pay say, £60 against a total of £1000 excess, and if you need to claim then the excess insurance policy will cover the excess. However a lot of those policies will only pay out if you pay the excess amount or MORE - e.g. if you only pay £900 excess on the claim, the excess insurance cover won't cover it 
• Comprehensive is sometimes actually cheaper 
• Play with your estimated mileage and job title accuracy etc. - tends not to make much difference but worth a go

[LordVetinari]

1 minute ago, DayIshome said:

yours was monthly, and area has a big part of it due to living right next to the A1/M1 the insurance does go up if im correct there around 4 accidents a day near me im fed up of ambulances and police cars

If I paid for the year upfront it was like £400. 

 

The area you live can make a big difference you are right, but it's very much worth shopping around, 800 seems very high for that car and age of driver.

 

As long as you aren't a dick constantly getting tickets and crashing your car then premiums drop very quickly. They suck for 1 or two years then they become very manageable.

 

Even when I passed my test (many years ago), my first car was a 1l VW Polo the same age as me - insurance was £1200 a year. 

[LordVetinari]

4 minutes ago, wANKER said:

Fair enough. 

 

Just some tips for insurance quotes: 

• Set the start date of the policy for as far away as possible - this will often result in cheaper initials quotes
• Play around with your excess - there's a thing called excess cover, where basically you pay say, £60 against a total of £1000 excess, and if you need to claim then the excess insurance policy will cover the excess. However a lot of those policies will only pay out if you pay the excess amount or MORE - e.g. if you only pay £900 excess on the claim, the excess insurance cover won't cover it 
• Comprehensive is sometimes actually cheaper 
• Play with your estimated mileage and job title accuracy etc. - tends not to make much difference but worth a go

Playing with the estimated mileage is only worth it if you aren't planning on having a black box. My nephew did that and they just increased his premiums when it was significantly exceeded. (He put in something dumb like 3000 a year, when he had done that by May, they were like yeah...no)