Classic car insurance for young drivers

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 00:19
Classic car insurance for young drivers - iltym

It’s coming up to the time when I’ll be getting my first car at 17. Obviously the first year of insurance is my main cost, so I was thinking of getting classic car insurance, as a friend who used to work for an insurance company says it is way cheaper. I was just wondering if any of you know any particular insurers that would offer classic car insurance to first time drivers. Also, how old would the car have to be to count as a classic with the insurers? I’d love an e39 5 series because you can get 1998 examples for around £1000, but if the cars needed to be 25 years old, I’d have to look at something like a cavalier, merc 190, Volvo, Saab, or any other car that’s fairly safe. If anyone knows anything, that would be really helpful.

Thanks!

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 08:48
Classic car insurance for young drivers - SLO76
Every insurer is different but the only option here is to find cars for sale that tickle your fancy and use the reg numbers to get insurance quotes. I tried a while back to see if a 1993 Rover 200 I’d been offered would qualify and every insurer I spoke to said it was too new for classic cover which I completely disagree with. Not a big worry for an old f*** like me but it would make a difference to you.

Get a few quotes but it’s very likely you’ll need to downgrade your ambitions a bit to something smaller and unless you’re quite handy on the tools and happy to spend a fair bit of cash on hard to come by parts it would be wiser to stick with something more modest.

An old Golf Mk II/Mk III, Rover 216 (Honda engine) Ford Escort Mk IV/V, Mondeo Mk I, Vauxhall Astra/Cavalier etc etc all would make for good but cheap retro motoring. A Volvo 850/S70 is cheap to insure and actually was every bit as good to drive as a 5 series of the same era.

Just remember that this won’t save you any money, older cars like this are a labour of love. They’ll require almost constant repairs and often challenging searches for rare parts. Plus they’re far worse on fuel than an equivalent modern motor. My first car was an MG Metro and it struggled to better 30mpg. An old 5 series BM will drink fuel, ditto the Volvo or Saab. If you’re just aiming to save a few hundred quid a year on insurance then I’d possibly think again as it’ll cost you more than that on fuel alone but if you want to go retro I’d totally get it. I love a bit of old school too.

Edited by SLO76 on 22/08/2019 at 08:49

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 09:13
Classic car insurance for young drivers - Vitesse6

Another point to consider is that generally classic policies don't build up a no claims bonus so when you come to insure a more modern car you will still probably face a hefty premium.

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 10:30
Classic car insurance for young drivers - iltym

I was considering a Volvo or Cavalier, and I think that the cavalier would probably be cheaper to run?

I understand that it wouldn’t be a massive money-saver, but as long as I could still afford a classic I would go for it. I am hoping to do a classic car restoration apprenticeship, and I’ll get my licence within three weeks of starting it, so having a classic at home to work on would be a great advantage so if and when it did go wrong, at least it would be good experience.

Do you have any idea what sort of economy the cavalier would do as a 1.6 petrol or 1.7 diesel? I’ve seen over 40 mpg thrown around on other forums, which would be great.

However, if I didn’t get any no claims from the classic insurance, then I just wouldn’t be able to afford it I don’t think. I’ll see how much being added as a named driver on my parents car would be (thankfully it’s a Skoda Fabia Greenline - so should be fairly low) and if I’ve got apprenticeship money left over, I could consider getting my own car, but I’ll probably have to stick to taking the bus for a year unfortunately.

I’ll ring up the company my friend used to work at and ask about whether the classic cover builds up no claims. They’re not a very good company but then as long as I’m legal I’m happy.

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 11:41
Classic car insurance for young drivers - 72 dudes

Do you have any idea what sort of economy the cavalier would do as a 1.6 petrol or 1.7 diesel? I’ve seen over 40 mpg thrown around on other forums, which would be great.

I had a 1989 Cavalier 1.6 for two years and although I used to do a lot of motorway journeys, it consistantly returned high 30's to low 40's (and I used to travel at silly speeds very early on each Monday morning before rush hour)

The 1.7 diesel used an Isuzu motor IIRC, so pretty robust but very much a first generation clattery old thing.

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 14:23
Classic car insurance for young drivers - SLO76
“Do you have any idea what sort of economy the cavalier would do as a 1.6 petrol or 1.7 diesel? I’ve seen over 40 mpg thrown around on other forums, which would be great.”

The Cavalier Mk III was a very efficient and robust model for its time. A 1.6 petrol will do 40mpg without much effort if it’s running right and even the 1.8 and 2.0’s will beat 35mpg easy enough. The 2.0 8v was the pick of the range for me with loads of go but decent economy and the simple non-interference engine could do huge mileages if cared for.

The 1.7 Turbo diesel will be very rare now as they were all taxied to death. It was a hugely tough engine, capable of 500k upwards and 50mpg on a run yet it had just enough power to keep it in the fast lane. I doubt you’ll find one and for the sake of reliability and simplicity I’d go for petrol, probably the 1.6 which was a very sweet revving little motor with just enough power. Even the 1.4 was acceptable but again very rare. I had one as a company car which ran to well over 100k without trouble.

Don’t get the excellent Isuzu turbo diesel mixed up with the old GM 1.7 non-turbo diesel. This was a slug with only 57bhp it took 19 seconds to hit 60. I doubt any survived past mini cab status.

I flogged loads of them in the 90’s and the only reoccurring fault was the hazard warning light switch which always failed leaving the hazards stuck on. The cure beyond replacing the switch was to stuff a piece of card down the side of the button to hold it in place. Look for it when viewing but don’t rule out a car for such a minor issue. Parts like this and body panels are hard to come by now however so it’ll be a hassle but an enjoyable one to keep it going.

Other great cars from the era I’d look for include...

Mk I Nissan Primera - nicer to drive and well made. The post facelift 1.6 or 2.0 LX was a good model with sporty looks but cheap insurance.

Peugeot 405 - post facelift cars are much better made and these are a joy to drive. A bit more fragile though.

Peugeot 306 - great fun and mechanically simple.

Citroen ZX - as above but pig ugly.

Rover R8 - especially the Honda designed 1600’s.

Edited by SLO76 on 22/08/2019 at 14:30

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 19:48
Classic car insurance for young drivers - badbusdriver

You may well be able to get an E39 5 series for a grand, but that definately does not mean you should. Ask yourself, what kind of owners would such a car have had? (probably young, male, heavy right foot, lots of showing off), how will the car have been driven?(hard, all the time, no warming up period, absolutely no mechanical symathy), will it have been serviced as it should?(unlikely), will it have been in an accident?(probably).

Assuming you are asking this through a genuine interest in (modern) classics (as opposed to siply trying to find an insurance loophole which will allow you to drive a car more powerful than you'd otherwise be able to), then good luck to you. But you should be looking at cars which wouldn't have been considered desirable in their day as they will have a much greater chance of being in reasonably fine fettle and not have been thrashed to within an inch of their lives!. Something like this,

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-440-52k-MILES/22362592511...Z

The reason i used the Volvo as an example is because back in the early-mid nineties, i was visiting a family fiend on the Orkney Islands. On the driveway in front of the house was a Volvo 440 with L plates. The car was for a son who was learnig to drive and when i queried the insurance costs, was told that, despite being a 1.8, was cheaper to insure than a 1.0 Corsa!. Also much safer were the lad to get a bit over ambitious and crash!.

But on the specifics of insurance, i have another bit of info regarding the Skoda Fabia. Last year my nephew turned 17 and wanted to start driving immediately. He did the rounds on the phone to insurance companies getting some horrific quotes for a 1.4 Fiesta. Next thing i heard, he had bought a Skoda Fabia VRS (130bhp 1.9 turbo diesel), and this was way cheaper to insure than the quotes he got for the Fiesta. Apparently, the Fabia is considered a 'family car', and as such (despite the specific model, and power) cheaper to insure!. Couldn't figure that one out for the life of me!.

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Thu 22 Aug 2019 23:11
Classic car insurance for young drivers - iltym

That’s useful information about the economy of the Cavalier. I thought that the 1.6 petrol wouldn’t have abysmal economy and that is good as that is what I’ll probably end up getting, considering the diesel is so rare. I’ve been having a look around at cavaliers for a few months and have only seen one diesel during that whole time.

My first thought when it crossed my mind that my first car could be a classic was to buy a Volvo as my family has had them for years. However, up until the S40 and V40 diesels, I’ve always just written them off as too expensive to run. This was because my mum always told me her 340 did something like 25mpg, and has only recently told me she thinks it had a fuel tank leak. Don’t know how they couldn’t be bothered to look into it. I was also put off the 340 by reading it had some carburettor issues on one of the engines. Anyway, as a Volvo is a car that the average 17 year old wouldn’t choose and also would hardly go wrong, it would be ideal. Do you have any idea what sort of economy a 2.0 440 like the one you linked could get?

I suspected that the Fabia would hopefully be reasonable to insure and as ours is the estate that would maybe confirm to the insurers that it is a family car for middle aged safe drivers? I’ve always hated the car but I guess it could come out good for me in the end.

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Fri 23 Aug 2019 01:22
Classic car insurance for young drivers - SLO76
Got me looking now.

Ooh, poverty spec too. I love it.


www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/classic-199...l


No pics but sounds good.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/vauxhall-ca...l

Great to drive and 50mpg too. Cheap insurance on these.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/peugeot-306...l

Edited by SLO76 on 23/08/2019 at 01:26

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Fri 23 Aug 2019 01:33
Classic car insurance for young drivers - SLO76
Rare old thing and I’ll bet no one is even looking at it so a cheeky bid might get it.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/rover-620-g...l
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Fri 23 Aug 2019 10:22
Classic car insurance for young drivers - Andrew-T

... my mum always told me her 340 did something like 25mpg, and has only recently told me she thinks it had a fuel tank leak. Don’t know how they couldn’t be bothered to look into it.

If a car has a serious leak from the tank I should think the smell would have made it impossible to live with. Perhaps a more likely cause was a faulty automatic choke, which can send fuel consumption through the roof. My daughter's first car was a Swift which did just that. Simple fix for a knowing garage.

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Fri 23 Aug 2019 01:08
Classic car insurance for young drivers - SLO76
Good point BBD, I sold several 440’s to younger drivers back in the day thanks to the low insurance putting it on par or cheaper than Novas and Fiestas. The Nissan Bluebird was another example with even the top ZX Turbo insurable for younger drivers. Neither were exactly drivers cars even the sporty versions but I always had a fondness for the 440/460/480 range.

The 1.6 goes ok, the 1.8 offers a bit more torque and the later 2.0 is quite lively yet will still do mid 30’s to the gallon with care. There was a 1.9 turbo diesel but it’s rare now. They’re all Renault engines but date from the days when Renault made very robust and simple motors. Personally the pick of the range was the older 1.7 GLT which was sporty looking and quite lively. My Dad has the Turbo which was substantially dearer yet offered only 13bhp more. I ran loads of them as company hacks on account of the heated seats. It’s cold up here in Ayrshire.

As you can tell I have a hankering for something from this era too. I sold all these cars used back in the 90’s and have many fond memories of the time.

Another good car to seek out would be a Rover 600. This was basically a Honda Accord underneath but with a splash of wood veneer inside and a nicer grille. Great old cars, mechanically bulletproof and buttons to buy. Bit greedy though, 30mpg at best from a 1.8/2.0 petrol but there are a few diesels running about yet and they’ll touch 50mpg on a run. Tough old Perkins design too but you can’t best the Honda petrol motors for reliability.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/08/2019 at 01:20

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Fri 23 Aug 2019 10:25
Classic car insurance for young drivers - Andrew-T
I ran loads of them as company hacks on account of the heated seats. It’s cold up here in Ayrshire.

SLO, do you think heating the seats has any impact on fuel consumption? Electrical heat doesn't come cheap - tho I suppose it's only like an electric blanket ....

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Fri 23 Aug 2019 00:00
Classic car insurance for young drivers - Andrew-T

My very recent experience is that while I could get Classic insurance for a Peugeot 205 (just 30 years old), when I wanted to switch my policy to a 306 (almost 25) the broker said it didn't qualify and offered a ridiculously high premium.

Another problem you may have is that if your classic is to prove reliable (i.e. not costing a lot to keep running) it will need to be a well-maintained example and therefore not especially cheap.

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