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So it is in your Dads name but you are the main driver of a 135 bhp chipped car, 18 years old and only pay £600 quid. If you are the main driver i.e. mileage per year then you have to tell the insurance company or you policy is void. Not many companies will touch a 135 BHP and an 18 year old never mine the group 5 quote. Tell us more and we can all insure our kids for £600. Peter
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Uninsured!
Car Sales is a good job for a lazy person! Lots of time leaning on car bonnets, waiting for a punter to show and hiding if a real dog of a P/X clatters onto the forecourt!
..........................................................
"Rude, crude and socially unacceptable"
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Unless aforesaid dog is arriving 'cos of a ramped up price and a grand minimum trade in deal!
Been there - done that!
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The insurance quote for you on your Mini2.com site is £3,400 so where does the £600 come from. The other very strange thing is that the picture you refer to has a hanging basket of fully flowering summer pansies and the plants have been watered, yet it is January 04 and not much is flowering right now and nothing needs watering. Wake up CarMad. !!!
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Peter, Carmad was posting about his choice of car on this site some months back. www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=11318 Perfectly possible (and I would say likely) that the pictures were taken earlier this year.
On the insurance side I have to say that Carmad is going to get royally stuffed by his father\'s insurers if there is a claim. Sorry Carmad, you haven\'t got one over on the insurers because you aren\'t insured.
Insurers aren\'t daft. If there is an accident and you are the driver of the Mini they will ask a whole lot of questions. If they aren\'t satisfied they may settle the thirdparty claim (if you are lucky) and then pursue you to recover this. What is certain is that they are most unlikely to pay out for repairs to the Mini.
There are numerous cases where indignant parents have subsequently gone to the Ombudsmand and lost......
You need to have a good think about your insurance and have a chat with your dad.
Still wishing you all the best in your chosen career/field of study, just hoping you get appropriate insurance sorted as well.
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Nice car, very nice!
Hope you're sorted with the insurance, sounds pretty scary from the descriptions above!
Check your PMs on MINI2!
Lee.
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Lee
MINI adventure in progress
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Hi,
Firstly let me explain about the insurance. My dad is the policy holder of the car and the Mini is registered in his name. He does use the car occasionally to go into the city with, but I am the main driver. My insurers are aware of this though. When we first got our quotations we made sure that all of the companies knew of this. Also, they have been kept informed of the modifications - including the engine chip. The actual price we pay for insurance per annum is about £1400 with the mods with an additional excess of £500 (so if i crash, i basically pay £900!!). I personally pay £60 a month and i paid about £80 at the start of the policy. So I pay about £800 now. I am seriously tempted to get the policy in my own name and have had a quote of £1300 with a £300 excess using confused.com. It would be good to get an NCB.
With regard to my pictures, these were taken around the end of may/early june. The one of the side of the car was taken when I got my 17inch alloys fitted. Basically, i purchased the car with the cheaper 8 spoke alloys as I could justify £1100 for alloys! - I was then offered a spotless set of these with 2 new tyres for £300, so i ended up selling the 8 spoke's on ebay for £250 and I got the 17inch alloys fitted. A good result i thought, for £50! Anyway, hence the flowers :D
If there are any other people who need further evidence that the car is mine, speak now or forwever hold your peace :D
Just so you know as well, I have paid for the vast majority of the car myself. My parents gave me £3000 towards the car when i ordered it which was really helpful, but the rest has been funded by my job. I have always been a bit of a car nut and spent about 2 years saving £9000 for the remaining balance of my car. So just incase anyone thought 'mummy and daddy' brought it for me, I thought i would set the record straight :D
I will be taking some more pictures of it very soon though as I have brought some rally lights for the front and have painted the brake calipers red to match the interior. As soon as they are available I will post them up for you.
Also, i realise you had my interests at heart when you posted your concerns about my insurance so thanks for doing so.
Cheers,
Chris
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The following is what Confused.com came back with as a quote for a mini one, chipped, non standard alloys, immobiliser no alarm or tracker. 19 years old and more than one years full license driving as a named driver. You are 18, born 3rd August 1985, driving for less than a year i.e. you passed your test on the 27th March 2003 the day you ordered your cool car. I doubt your car is insured at present even if you think it has 135bhp ( 110 tops ) and you are on your dads policy. You are right though the best way now is to get the insurance in your own name and start collecting NCD. Speak with your dads insurance company and see if they will give you the 30% NCD to retain your custom, however with the mods you have done becareful they do not laugh at you and suspend cover all together. Did you take Pass Plus as well, as this often pays dividends. Good Luck. Regards Peter
AUTO DIRECT unable to quote for modified vehicles
AXA unable to quote for modified vehicles
BUDGET unable to quote for modified vehicles
CHURCHILL unable to quote must be between 21 - 75
DIRECT CHOICE unable to quote for modified vehicles
INSURE IT ALL unable to quote for modified vehicles
ITS 4 ME unable to quote for modified vehicles
MASTERQUOTE unable to quote for modified vehicles
MORE TH>N unable to quote must be between 21 - 75
NORWICH UNION DIRECT unable to quote for modified vehicles
QUOTE-A-CAR unable to quote for modified vehicles
ELEPHANT.CO.UK insurer unable to quote for your details
DIRECT LINE insurer opted out. click name for info
ESURE insurer opted out. click name for info
This site also seems to lock out drivers with less than 1 years full licence.
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Hi,
Firstly, my reply to Aprilia:
Thanks a lot for all your detailed information regarding Uni. Its extremely useful to hear from someone who has experience in this area, and you have been much more helpful than my careers advisor.....he seemed to just agree with anything i suggested and tbh, obviously wanted to have his lunch break.
I will pursue my application with each University and go along to some of the open days. Once again, thanks for your advice.
My reply to Peter 'D',
You seem quite concerned about my insurance quote :) I hope it didnt keep you awake last night! :D
I received a quotation about 5 weeks ago based on the following:
born 03/08/85
no NCB
2003 MINI ONE with the following mods:
Engine Chip
Tinted glass (planned mod)
Spoiler (planned mod)
exhaust system (planned mod)
Alarm System - META Thatcham 1 approved (this is fitted, forgot to mention)
Your right in saying that the majority couldnt quote me - i only got about 4 responses, if that. But Admiral quoted me £1200 with no mods, £1400 with the above taken into account.
I have also had some other quotations. A friend of mine recommended me to eagle-star (i think thats what it was called!) - they quoted £1500, and I have just applied for a quote through Adrian Flux who are supposed to be excellent.
You also mentioned the engine chip's power output - it produces somewhere in the region of 125-140bhp - but a MINIMUM of 125bhp. There is a rolling road test at the site below which shows 139bhp but im sceptical of this. The majority of people on MINI2 have reported it to be around the 130bhp mark. The chip is made by a company called AMD. It is designed to be switched on and off so you dont invalidate your car's warranty (a big issue in my case as the car comes with a 5 year one!) However, there are probably better chips available with different power bands.
heres the link
new.minispares.com/One_Click_ECU_Upgrade.cfm
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Your alarm will help quite a bit as you have a very cool car. However your engine with out major changes to the throttle body, air filters and exhaust sytem will not produce the 135 BHP you quote. The Cooper S is a different build and can only produce 115 and I suspect your upload mapping cannot get near that. However my concern is your insurance and its validity in your Dads name, 8< Snip! 8< The deleted remark was NOT called for. ND I think you can do better than the Admiral price if you go to the specialised young driver companies normally not on line. You will need a Dyno chart for your modification to the car hopefully someone will insure you. Regards Peter
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This is whaty Admiral quoted against all your detailes but a year older then you.
We are unable to provide a quote for you because of the following reasons:
We are unable to insure a car with this type of modification(s)
We are unable to insure a car with this type of modification(s)
If you would like to return to your quote details to change an option, please click on the "Back" button below.
While we are unable to offer an online quote, we may be able to give you a quote over the telephone. Please call us on 0800 600 800 Mon - Fri: 8am - 10pm; Sat: 9am - 5pm; Sun: 10am - 4pm.
What can I say. Regards Peter
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I may be wrong, and I stand to be corrected on this, but are all the minis not the same 1.6 unit with different ECU's used to achieve different outputs?
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Sorry to jump on the insurance bandwagon but I would make doubly sure.
When I was learning to drive, I was insured on my Dad's car so drove it every so often. When I got my own car we were going to insure it in my mum's car and then me be a named driver. However ALL of the insurance companies we got quotes off...including the big ones stated that I could only drive the car twice a week and those journey's could not be to a place of education or work. It was lucky really because the first insurance company we tried mentioned this at the very end and we only found out about the rest when we asked them; imagine if I had crashed on the way to Uni and then discovered my insurance was invaildated!
Instead, it's probably worked out best in the long run - the car is insured in my name so at least I'm builing up a history. It's only a fiesta but it's £2000. Hopefully that should drop (crash permitting!) to £1300 in June.
Many thanks - this was just a warning
Cheers
Adam
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After death, hair grows but phone calls tend to taper off
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Hi, thanks for the advice.
I am certain that I am covered at present under my current policy. When we did the quotation on the phone my dad made totally sure that they understood it was me who was driving it, and he also mentioned I would be taking it to work with me.
I am going to make sure though as you all seem quite concerned about it. It may be a good opportunity for me to see if I can get my own insurance policy sorted out.
With regard to the Mini's output, all of the cars have a 1.6 4 cylinder engine made my chrysler. The Mini one and Cooper both have identical engines - the only mechanical differences are that they both have different ECU's and different ratio's for their gearbox's (the one has longer ratio's, and the cooper has shorter ones). The Cooper S however is a supercharged version with a 6 speed stick.
In its standard form, the Cooper has 115bhp. The ONE has 90bhp (although some claim they have got 95-100bhp on rolling roads - check out mini2.com). Anyway, there are 2 chips available for the One - one which costs about £230ish and another which is £400+. The £230ish one gets it to about 110bhp. The 2nd chip raises this to around 125-130bhp giving it more power than the cooper - however! due to the gear ratio's, it is not necessarily quicker in acceleration.
You may recall Top Gear doing a show on which is the best value Mini - they decided that a ONE with an engine chip was the better option giving it more power than the Cooper and making it a bit cheaper too. Also, they prefered the One's gearbox rating it as one of the best in the small car league.
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oh i missed this post...
Peter D posted "
While we are unable to offer an online quote, we may be able to give you a quote over the telephone. Please call us on 0800 600 800 Mon - Fri: 8am - 10pm; Sat: 9am - 5pm; Sun: 10am - 4pm.
What can I say. Regards Peter"
In the words of Ronan Keating "You say it best, when you say nothing at all" ;D
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Hi Adski, MAny insurance campanies will add a young driver as a learner i.e. always under supervision, but at the policy states you must inform them of material change. Passing your test is a material change as you can now drive without supervision and many companies will instantly hike up the cost or decline to insure you depending on the car, its mod state or the insurance group. I have heared of a lot of youngsters who were insured as a learner passed their test, not informed the insurance company has an accident and the insurance only paying out to a third party. There was one lass who passed her test, dropped her mom off at home and removed the L plates and went for a drive. The accident was at the end of their road when she pulled out of the T junction. Be very careful with regards to this issue, people forget that insurance as a leaner is completely different to having passed your test. I mentioned this some years ago to one of the guys at work and who's son had passed his test a few days earlier and he immediateley rang his insurance caompany to be told that his son was no longer insured under the terms of the policy and they would not insure him in his Dads car. Be very careful guys. Regards Peter
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Mikeyb. Hi, are they not different heads, thus the different compression ratios. Mini one is 10.6:1 and the S is 8.3:1 broader torque and highter output Regards Peter
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Yes peter you are right different compression ratios. But, above you state the mini cooper S has 115bhp, this is a slight mistake, it is the mini cooper (not s) that produces a claimed 115bhp. The Cooper S is supercharged, and hence has the lower compression you mention, and produces a claimed 160bhp. The comparision should be made between the chipped mini 1 and the cooper. I am too very suspicious of such power claims. I know of one mod the above mentioned turners sold that atually produced less power, but they just fiddled the transmission losses on the rolling road to show a slight gain. Before we can make any real judgement,we need someone to post reliable results of the power@WHEELS before and after fitting the chip. I'm not quite sure how you could reduce the power output of the engine so greatly without running the "wrong" fuel and ignition settings, can anyone tell me how this all works?
I too used to drive on my dads policy. The above thread makes me wonder what level of cover i would of had. But i did state repeatedly on the phone my dad had access to another vehicle, and i drove it just as much as he did. I must wonder, if insurance companies can get out of paying if one driveer has driven too far or more often than they think reasonable, what is the point in allowing them to add the said person to the policy as a named driver in the first place?
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Don't care about the insurance -whether you get stuffed or not is your problem... but...
You're going to uni in September and you've just spent £14k on a brand new car. Are you actually out of your mind??!
Aside from the fact that you will regret it the moment the invoices for rent, tuition fees, books etc roll in (unless mum and dad are going to cough up for that too), other students will hate you, you'll become designated taxi driver and your beloved car will have more than a few modifications by the end of the first month in the student car park. Also there seems to be a growing hatred of Mini drivers (trying just that bit too hard to be "cool"?) so I'd be absolutely paranoid about leaving mine anywhere if I had one.
Still... it's your choice and good luck to you with earning lots of cash before september. Think you made the right choice about actually going to uni by the way! :)
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yep agree with polo girl - everyone will think you are a rich poseur in that car - no one will be impressed - when I was at uni there was a guy with a brand new golf gti - nice car but everyone hated (jealousy is an evil thing) him except when they wanted to go to asda or netto.
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Don't care about the insurance -whether you get stuffed or not is your problem... but...
You would care if it was your car he stuffed into.
This is a typical case of "I want, I want, I want"
"mummy and daddy didn't pay for the car" like heck! How does a 16 year old manage to save £9000 in 2 years, most working 16 year olds don't get much more than £6000 a year in wages.
Can't get insurance for the car ? let's fiddle it on daddy's name.
Chip might invalidate warranty, lets get one that you can turn off, not really an option is it, do you think the manufacturers can't interrogate the ECU and find the chip using diagnostic equipment.
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Perhaps a touch harsh, PG!!
I would have thought that the reaction of other students to Carmad's mini will depend on the type of university he goes to.
If he goes to somewhere like Nottingham, Exeter or Bristol (especially) he will find large numbers of 'Rahs' (i.e. posh, wealthy, public school types). I imagine many such priveliged kids will receive a shiny new mini as an 18th birthday pressie from Daddy. I remember that at Bristol in the late '80s many students drove around in shiny new 205's purchased by Daddy.
If he goes to somewhere like Derby or Hull, however I agree that he may face real problems with other people's envy and resentment.
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Ben, Thanks for that, that explains the Mini One and the Cooper ( not S ) being the same unit just remapped. I even go back to building the original cooper engines for race purposes when Tony Blore Engineering was around. Regards Peter
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Hi everyone and thanks for the extra advice on the insurance side.
I took out my insurance on the Mini after I passed my driving test so theres no problem on that part. I used my sisters fiesta to learn in. You have brought up a very valid point about this though and i know a few friends who had the problem you described.
With regard to my car and the people at Uni, i really couldnt care less about what others think. I have got plenty of mates from work, college etc.. even after i brought the car (!!!). If I decide to go to my local Uni I am proposing to live at home for the first year and then move out to a flat for the 2nd and 3rd so this would not be a problem anyway.
If i do move away though I will just have to be very careful with it :D. TBH I have had another interesting proposition within the last week.....
My mum has a 2003 vauxhall astra convertible. Basically, she brought this last summer when she got an AMAZING deal on it - she got 2.5k more for her traded scenic than book price + she got £4k off the list price of the astra. It was too good to miss.
Anyway, she has found the car to be too impractical for our needs and is going to sell this in the spring when the market begins to pick up. The long and the short of it is she is interested in buying my Mini off me - for what I paid for it (12.5k roughly). However, I get to keep my stereo, etc.. - basically, it works out at a very good deal which I am quite tempted by.....what do u reckon? my car has done 11k miles now too.
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I find it really interesting how some forum members feel in a position to comment on Carmad's financial situation, and I'm afraid I'm gonna have to have a rant in his defence. (I think he's been very restrained)
I am 19, I have owned 3 cars, 2 of them brand new, I have had not a penny put towards any of them by my parents. A loan admittedly off them, which is paid back at an eyewatering rate.
In total I have bought cars totalling nearly £19K since passing my test, I'm sure some will think that I'm making this up or that I've had some kind of financial gift, I haven't.
I work all weekend, and earn just under £11K. That's a fair bit more than Kith's estimate, unfortunately I didn't have the benefit of 2 years to save up like Carmad as I bought my first car before I was even 17. I still owe a final £4,000 before I am totally debt free, but I'm not far off.
I probably shouldn't mention what I'm changing the Fiesta for next :-)
I am really disappointed to see the attitude shown towards a genuine poster who has obviously saved hard and should be very proud of what is a *very* nice car.
Blue
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november last year i brought a 7 year ond corsa and still ended up in debt after insurance with my dad being on as named drived, got quotes both dads name dad registered keeper and owner, and only worked out £250 cheeper that it in my name and my policy, i am 18 and i got royal smacked £1995 per year, with standard £350 excess. my corsa is a 1.4 16v P, and i really and stuggling to see how its £600 for you, what is your total insurace per year, is it £600 for you and you dad or more, are you splitting the cost between you?
and going to uni with that car i would strongly suggest parking the car away from uni, as polo said you will end up being hated but used to go to the town, and also to be DES when you go the pub, DES = designated driver = wont be drinking
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I'm not going to give you a hard time over insurance... (though it is something that needs to be taken seriously). And any deal with your mum is only as good as the car you replace the MINI with. Sounds a great motor; do you really want to get rid of it?
Anyway, I like those chromed indicator panels. Reckon my Cooper needs them. Where can I get some? MINI dealer or elsewhere?
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Why is everyone so hostile towards this bloke?
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God knows.
About paying £2000 insurance on a 7 year old Corsa, I paid £1300 in my own name, fully comp, at age 18, on a 16V Fiesta Ghia, which was brand new when I got it. It's not possible to use your own circumstances to decide whether someone else's quote is realistic or not.
Blue
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The One and the Cooper have the same engine with different ECU's, the S has a Supercharger.
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Blue Oval - please tell me who the hell you are insured with. I have a mark 4 16v Fiesta Ghia, am 18 and am paying 2 grand for TPFT. Believe it or not, that was the cheapest. Who insured you?
Cheers
Adam
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Adski - it was at the time Liverpool Victoria
www.liverpoolvictoria.co.uk
It was in my own name, insured to be kept on the driveway, although our postcode isn't wonderful, it isn't too bad either, I don't know if that has an effect.
Definately worth a look, mine was the 1.25 16V, group 6 insurance IIRC.
Hope you have some luck! :-)
Blue
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Cheers - I'll give them a go when I need to renew in June.
Thanks
Adam
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Blue Oval and Carmad have got very good deals
I did a huge amount of shopping around and managed £1025 Fully Comp with Elephant, aged 20, 3 1/2 years experience, No NCB on a group 7 car, £930 with a group 5.
Adski - NOTE: Declaring my parents as named drivers BELOW me ie. Still my policy reduced the insurance by £134. Worth a try for you?
Carmad especially has done amazingly well to get £1300 on a group 5 with all those mods, aged 18 with < 1 year experience
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Blue Oval - please tell me who the hell you are insured with. I have a mark 4 16v Fiesta Ghia, am 18 and am paying 2 grand for TPFT. Believe it or not, that was the cheapest. Who insured you?
You do seem to be paying well over the odds for your insurance.
I'm 19, with 0 NCB, and I am paying £1032 TPFT for my Group 9 Xantia TD. My insurance company says I will have to pay about £1100 when I move to a Group 12 Mondeo 2.0 Ghia X.
Frankly, £2000 for a Fiesta is barking.
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Guys, unless you all live in the same postcode, most of these comparisons are meaningless.
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Thanks everyone for your replies - I would agree with Nick about postcodes but not to make nearly a grand's difference. The insurance company said what made the insurance so expensive was
a) 16v (what a joke)
b) Ghia.
Now b) is what really annoys me. Surely a Ghia is less 'stealable' i.e. Deadlocks, alarms, immobilsers etc... But apparently I am more likely to crash a Ghia than an Si (which, believe it or not would have been cheaper) I despair really. I will shop around in July...especially taking on board everyone elses suggestions and see what happens. I think the only way to beat them is not to crash....sounds like a plan...
Cheers guys
Adam
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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But apparently I ammore likely to crash a Ghia than an Si
Yeah, the walnut trim in the Ghia really attracts the boy racers doesn't it? :-) Why have the alloys of an Si, when you can have a plastic wooden dashboard? I can definately see where the insurance companies are coming from!
*sarcasm off*
Blue
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Blue, you are a genius - I think you've just summed up the current state of insurance in Britain. If only you could start up your own - then I'll be sorted!
Cheers
Adam
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Right clearly a lot has happened since my last post! Excuse the length of my post but I feel i need to 'clear the air'......
Topic 1: My Supporters - cheers!
Thank you to those who have been on my side throughout this 'case'. I feel many are firing at me so its nice to get a bit of shielding.
Topic 2: How can a 16 year old afford a car like that....Explained!
I noted someone asked how a 16 year old could afford a car like mine. Well, I know where you are coming from. Several of my friends have stuck in simple, no brainer £4 an hour saturday jobs as a support to their pub fund which is fair enough. I however, have had a massive variety of jobs since I was 15.
I firstly started working to pay for a moped I wanted to buy. I started working for my dad's firm creating a computer database of customers, updating his websites, and other mundane tasks at a steady rate of £4 an hour. I did this for about 6 months and worked a 60 hour week during the 6 week holidays. I was then offered a trainee position at a computer technical support company. At £6 an hour this was reasonable too. I worked here for 4 months as the Company went into liquidation (and the owner did a runner with £200 of my owed wages - luckily got it back through the small claims court).
I then decided to get a more stable job and I went to work for Dixons group in sales. As you may know, this is a commision based job. I worked here doing a 20 hour week for 1 year and usually took home between £500-850 a month. As a result of working here, I was offered a job within a very well established Kitchens sales company. This was much better pay however required more commitment. I did 25 hours a week here while studying and took home at least £750 a month after tax - usually £1000-1200. I worked here for just under 1 year and have now moved back to Dixons group as I wanted a job with less commitment and hours when i started Uni. Im currently doing a 20 hour week. Along with this I sometimes do the odd day working for my dad updating his websites etc..
For those of you who are not satisfied by this...here is my financial analysis of the previous 2 years.
Based on my calculations at MINIMUM pay this is what i have earned from just working at dixons + my kitchen job after tax.
----------------------------------------------------------------
YEAR 1
Dixons = 12 months X £500 = £6000
YEAR 2
Kitchens = 11 months X 750 = £8250
Dixons = 1 month x £500 = £500
----------------------------------------------------------------
This alone comes to £14,750 at the LOWEST pay figure
I also sold my Moped for £1400 to go towards this
This gives you a grand total of at least £16150. Also, bare in mind my parents gave me £3000 towards my car, making my £9000 figure to find easy. I later spent a further £2000 on accessories.
So although I am young, it doesnt mean I sit behind the till at budgens every saturday. I am lucky enough not to have to pay rent, council tax, food expenses etc..as i live at home. I also received a large inheritence last year after a close relative died, however I have kept this COMPLETELY seperate from my 'fun fund' as I dont want to waste it. I plan to use this to purchase a house with eventually.
Topic 3: Insurance
I got my dad to phone up my insurers today and they said they are fully aware of our situation with me being the main driver. I still havent had my quote back from Adrian Flux but will keep you informed.
Topic 4: Uni
I really am not concerned about what people think about my car. At the end of the day I couldnt care less what people think of me, and I know the reasons why I brought it - not to pose, but to have a nice car with excellent residuals that is fun to drive. If they dont like it....tough s***.
Once again sorry for the length of this post but I had to sort a few things out.
Thanks for reading
Chris
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P.S. i forgot to mention that I got further discount off my insurance due to having 2 years NCB from owning my scooter. This gave me money off from a few of the insurers, although we had to declare this over the phone - the online ones dont allow it.
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I can't see what all the fuss is about.
I wish I could have afforded a nice car at that age but instead I decided to spend most of my time down the pub wasting all my money.
Good luck with the car.
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Postcode can make a huge difference. My wife has started working away so her car is parked near Crewe 4 nights a week instead of here in rurual Lincolnshire. This doubled her premium.
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If you want to get an idea of car crime in your area go to www.upmystreet.com and compare the crime rates between postcodes. You might be amazed.
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Hi Conmad, you don't have to explain your financial position not their business. I'm pleased your insurance position is clear and hopefully you can now get a sensible policy in your own name and get into the NCD. Still a cool car. Regards Peter
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Nice One! Good luck with it mate.
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So from the last 2 years earnings then, virtually every penny has gone on your car and insurance?
Wow, thats good going. Did you not eat, go out to enjoy yourself, buy other things, or anything like that? :)
I don't think I could spend two whole years without buying anything at all bar depositing my earnings in a savings account. Kudos to you :)
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We seem to be veering away from the original subject now.
How Carmad earns his money and what he spends it on is his choice. it is not for us to dictate or judge. Can we drop the matter now please?
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Dynamic Dave
Back Room Moderator
mailto:dave_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
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Certainly - sorry for prolonging it by asking about insurance...
:-) Sorry again...
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Well done Carmad. For the car and the dignity in the face of 'friendly fire'.
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hehe cheers.
Sorry for going into that much detail - but i felt i needed to!
in answer to someones question, basically 70-80% of my earnings went on my car. I went out a bit, but when your 16 you cant go anywhere anyway! only the cinema, bowling, etc.. pretty similar when your 17 too.
Incidently, wheres the best place to advertise a car for sale - any other good sites apart from autotrader and findit.co.uk. Dont worry! im not selling the mini, its just my dad is selling his car.
cheers,
chris
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Don't forget about the classifieds forum on this site as well.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/threads.htm?f=5
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Carmad 10000,
Just wanted to say I totally understand where you are coming from. I passed my test at 17 and bought a Xsara HDi with savings when I was just over 18, the idea being to have a nice car to go through uni. A mistake in September resulted in the Xsara being written off (my fault, but I know why). I bought a Golf TDi Auto as a replacement, but although it was an ok car it just was too thirsty and the interior stank of smoke once the cleaning prooducts wore off. Not having gotten to motorway speeds on the test drive also hid the fact that it was a slug over 50. This Christmas I have ordered a NEW Audi A3 2.0TDI as my replacement car, I have to finance this car myself whilst at uni, including insurance and everything. I have 0 NCB and I'm 20 y/o. What made me go for the Audi was the residual value in a few years time when it comes to be passed on. My uni friends have not shunned me for buying an expensive car and I'm not the only one driving a smart car on campus (University of Warwick).
Now insurance. My exisiting insurer Direct Line would cover me for £2250 on the Audi. elephant.co.uk are going to be my new insurer at a cost of £1260 on the car. To put that in perspective that is fully comprehensive cover, and when I was 17 I paid £1800 on an H-reg Rover 214 TPFT. It will come down with age. Elephant also offer a 10 Month bonus accelerator so you can accrue no claims faster.
Stick with your car, and going to uni rules, best time ever with the best people ever.
Chris
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Carmad,
Just a word of warning about Admiral, elephant.co.uk and all their associated companies, according to several people on the MINI2 site they only cover your vehicle's base value - they do not pay out on extras (factory options or post-delivery mods).
I would check (again!) with them just to make sure they cover all your extra bits 'n' pieces with their additional premium you mentioned earlier. Having a MINI Cooper with 2k's worth of optional extras I was mightily pleased to know all this!
That's one reason why they're usually so cheap for most people, and why a lot of young drivers with modified cars get stung.
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That's something that I had meant to mention, people don't really mind if you drive around in a new car at uni, my campus car park is like a car showroom, there are many students at Sunderland uni with newish cars ranging from BMWs and Mercs downwards, but no one shuns the BMW drivers. :-)
Blue
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Hehe thanks for re-assuring me guys. I am not all that bothered what they think but obviously it would be nice if they didnt care!
I actually took out GAP insurance on my car for 3 years when I purchased it. Basically, if i crash, the insurers will only give me book value for the car. However, Mini will give me the extra money so I can buy a brand new car if i crash. It cost me about £300 but i think its worth it. I believe this is the value of what the car was when I purchased it (i.e. £12,300) but tbh, that will buy me a similar vehicle with a similar spec to my current one.
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I took out the GAP insurance as well, a bit of a gamble, but I know that if it gets written off before 3 years is up I'll be very glad of it. £9,600 would come in very handy, especially considering my car is already worth only around £6,500 as a private sale :-)
Blue
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lol i can just see you on the 364th day of the 2nd year explaining to the salesman at Ford....
"Well the car just pulled right over to the side of the road and hit a tree.....i dont know what happened....honest. So can i have my £9,600 please?"
hehe
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Lol.
You gotta wonder if some people do do that.
Blue
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Just a bit of advice from someone who ran a car through university - university is a time for spending extraordinary amounts of money on beer and fags. Don't let your supply of these life essentials dwindle because all your spare cash is going on the car.
I only had mine because i was travelling home frequently (350 miles round trip) to visit a girlfriend for 2 years, when i should have just ditched her and sold the car! Inbetween trips home the car wouldn't move for days on end, but it was still costing me over a grand a year for insurance on a knackered old metro.
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The name 'carmad' says it all really. I'm absolutely fine for you to spend your money how you wish - it's yours, good luck to you etc. But MY (considerable) salary doesn't go on my car. I'm delighted to drive an ancient car. Save money on fully comp insurance. I don't care (too much) if somebody bumps it, or if somebody runs a key down the side of it (they won't).
Stick to the same 'new' car every time, go with a mass produced version, and you can have a 'new' car everytime it needs a service. I think many people would have more fun with cars if they spent their time in the cheap end of autotrader, looking for that dream car (£200 fVWsh, recent service, 12 months MOT). You can run it for 12 months (no service needed if you're really stingy), and sell it with 12 months MOT for £295 to some poor mug, or scrap it if it won't pass.
But stick to the same type each time, and then you can take your shiny new battery, ignition leads, rotor and distributor, new tyres each time you change it. Old cars go on for ever if you look after the important bits...
Oh yes, and pay for full AA recovery. With the depreciation you're not paying, you can have a hell of a time at university, and you could drive something a bit swanky too - a Granada Ghia maybe.
Save your money, uni is a hellishly expensive place. Don't be like somebody I knew who worked every hour god sent in a dreadful pizza place in order to be able to afford to run an old car. And only used the car for commuting to the pizza place as he didn't have any other free time to use it...
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Save your money, uni is a hellishly expensive place. Don't be like somebody I knew who worked every hour god sent in a dreadful pizza place in order to be able to afford to run an old car. And only used the car for commuting to the pizza place as he didn't have any other free time to use it...
You didn't go to university with me, did you?
Pretty much the mistake I made at Birmingham Uni, although I did get to drive up to the girlfriends (now wifes) Uni for a weekend every so often, so it did have it's benefits.
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I suspect you may be the victim of my story, as it related to somebody at Birmingham from 93-97. Had I written 'Don't be like somebody OF WHOM I knew who worked' then I should have been more accurate.
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Hehe - dont worry I wont do that!
My plan is to sell the Mini in about 1-2 years (unless i get a very good offer in between then!). One reason for buying the Mini was due to its high residuals and low running costs - i.e. 5 years servicing for £100 and group 5 insurance. I am going to try and 'milk' as much of the good features of the Mini as possible and hopefully sell it for a good price after good use. I will have to ensure it has 2 years/20k miles worth of warranty left to get a reasonable price.
Once I have sold it, I will have to consider my options from there, but I think I will always stick with German or Japanese car's due to their quality/durability.
I think its a very good idea buying cars cheap, running them into the ground and losing relatively little money on them. A friend of mine managed to buy a very nice G reg Golf 1.6 Driver for £100 a few months ago and hes never looked back! It was cheap due to it being a 'Cat D' car (i.e. accident damaged but fixed). It is absolutely spotless and he has added 17inch alloys, a nice kenwood cd player and some golf GTI parts - hes spent about £500 in total but the car looks worth about 3x that.
I was tempted to do the same thing, however I always wanted a new/nearly new car.
In terms of expense on my car, I dont intend to buy anymore extra's for the car -as far as im concerned, if i add extra's such as tinted glass, bodykits, clear lights, etc.. you only lose money. Currently, I have tried to stick with Manufacturer approved items to keep its value high.
If there are any car valuers out there, how much do you think my Mini is currently worth? I have been trying to get a price but its tough due to its age an extra's.
The spec is:
2003 '03' reg
12k Miles
TLC Service pack
Mini One
Air Con
Black paint - Spotless - never been through a car wash!
Salt Pack
Cooper Chrome pack
Rally lights (4 chrome spot lights at the front)
Sports suspension
17inch Cooper S alloys
Sports suspension
Mini Cooper S rear spoiler and Steering wheel
Switchable engine chip (toggle 'On' and 'off')
Kenwood flip face CD/MP3 player with upgraded Speakers (no sub)
It would be interesting to get an idea of its value just for my own knowledge. If anyone can help out it would be great.
Cheers,
Chris
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I can't stop you from spending your hard earned money - and have huge respect for you in that aged 18 you have earned £16,999.50 more than I had at that age. I'm also a stingy old thing to whom you shouldn't pay too much attention.
But (and I'm sure you know this anyway) the most expensive bit of owning a car is driving it out of the dealers when it is new. 50 yards; 2,000 pounds or more.
So, once you've got it, hang on. Don't sell until it becomes ancient. There's nothing worse than buying a 'new' old car and needing to put a new exhaust on it the following week. At least when you replace your own you feel it's done the miles for you.
You'll always be able to say 'this was the car i bought new'.
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I suspect you may be the victim of my story, as it related to somebody at Birmingham from 93-97. Had I written 'Don't be like somebody OF WHOM I knew who worked' then I should have been more accurate.
Think I'm safe actually, I only started there in 96.
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Sorry Carmad and Blue Oval but i cannot understand why you have spent money that you have spent years earning and saving on a lump of metal that does not nothing but consume money. You've effectively thrown your money down the drain wouldn't you'd rather spend the money on beer, holiday, or even a future house?? Young people should be driving old bangers!:) (By the way i am a 19 year old who drives a old nova!;)) Not having a go or anything but its just if i had that much money to spend i wouldn't have spent it on a car, probably a lifetimes supply of John Smith's maybe but not a car! By the way Carmad, your lucky your parents let you have a 135bhp car, because when i was 17 my dad wouldn't let me get a peugeot 205 1.9 turbo diesel because he said it would be too fast for me!!
Obviously its your money and your choice though but there is a sort of satisfaction in having an old banger that you look after yourself and not have to worry about expensive dealers, but anyway Carmad and Blue Oval both very nice cars you've got!!
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Thanks Stu, I know what I've spent my cash on doesn't make a huge amount of financial sense, it's cost lots in depreciation etc. But I like the car, and having it from brand new has been nice, generally I'm very interested in cars as you've probably gathered and I still have enough money left over (just!) to pay for beer and all the important stuff, so I just thought why not? :-)
I suppose it would make sense if I kept the car for years and didn't get bored so easily, unfortunately I seem to fancy a change after the first year or so, I can't afford to keep doing that with new cars, so it will be used from here on in! :-)
Blue
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Hi Blue, i guess i would like to change car too, but although i've managed to save a fair bit of money over the years since i've been working since i was 16 the sensible part keeps saying "don't do it you idiot the car you've got still works and doesn't cost anything!" and i back off, even if i did change i'd only be prepared to pay around £1500 for the car and i'd never consider getting a loan or finance, main cost of cost car for me is insurance which a nasty £750 TPFT! The old nova is giving sterling service so i'll probably keep her for a bit yet, as she's got 118,000 on the clock now and doesn't show any signs of dying yet, unfortunately the bodywork will go before the engine so may use the next mot as an excuse to get a new car (not brand new though!) Like you I love cars and driving in general but am just too tight to buy a really fancy car! :-)
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