Neighbour's son was given a Fiesta as his Gran has decided not to drive any more and he needs transport for Uni.
Neighbour - "Free car and she taxed it for 6 month!" - " I'll have to get the insurance sorted!"
I said he would have been better buying a car and getting his Gran to buy Insurance!
He had thought he'd get the laddie insured for £500 -Dream on I said - probably £1200+.............
The neighbour paused for thought/breath.........How much?
Anyone know of any brokers offering cover for under £1000? - 1.4 Fiesta/18 yr old soon to be student.
|
A 1400 fiesta for an 18 year old is usualyy $1800 up here,unless a parent fronts it.
As you say unfortunately as nice as the car may be he really needs something like a corsa or punto to start at the bottom of the affordable level INS GROUP 1 OR 2
|
|
There is no wand-waving broker who can magic a sub £1000 quote for an 18 y/o boy with no NCD, driving to/from uni (which will load the premium). Worth trying lower-rated Gp1/2 cars on confused.com to see how much he could save by selling the Fiesta and getting say a 1.2 8v Corsa, which is Gp2.
|
I agree. If Gran didn't want to drive any more and didn't have a grandson who "needs" a car for uni, she'd have had to sell the Fiesta.
So I suggest FB's neighbour tries trading it for something that will insure at some halfway reasonable cost.
|
Even with a Group 2 Ford Ka2 - the best my 18 year old could get was £1220 TPF&T via Adrian Flux (insurer is Norwich Union).
And we live in Gloucestershire which I would guess is one of the lower rated locations.
J
|
|
My insurance company came up with an excellent quote for my daughter(as long as she did not take it to university).
|
How old is the car? If got no imboliser then it could get very expensive, Joy riders love easy to steal Fords :(.
In 2005 I was offered a few car, it was my late grandads I turned it down for two reasons a) it didn't feel right b) I could not afford the insurance or driving lessons. I was sad because it ended up being given to one of my uncles neighbours who ended up selling it (my uncle went mad when he found out).
One of the main reasons I didn't get serious with passing my test until my mid 20's was because of insurance. I don't get why so many people pay £2k a year on a car, I know of people who spend 80% of their wages running some clapped out 106.
|
How old is the car? If got no imboliser then it could get very expensive Joy riders love easy to steal Fords :(.
>
Its a 2004 1.4 3 door Fiesta Zetec
|
I'm not trying to be offensive to the OP, but why does he "need" a car for uni?
Is it simply a case of getting to & from home a few times a year or is their something in his course content that requires him to have a car?
|
I'm not trying to be offensive to the OP but why does he "need" a car for uni? Is it simply a case of getting to & from home a few times a year or is their something in his course content that requires him to have a car?
Uni is 20 mins by car from his home - Public Transport is poor - 10/15 min walk to station, 15/20 min on train (passing Uni), the 20 min bus back in roughly direction he has just come from. - so about 2.25+ hrs travelling rather than 45 mins by car
|
When I went to university it was just three miles from my house but there was a very very rough part of Manchester inbetween which meant walking wasn't really save. No direct buses as its technicaly a different city so had to get one bus into Manchester and one into Salford it could take an hour it was quicker to walk.
Even if I had a car I would have left it at home, £3 a day to park and in the rush hour it probably was no quicker than the bus anyway.
Also because campuses are an easy target many insurance policies won't allow you to park the car in the campus.
In fact it would be cheaper for your son just to get a taxi contract when you think about it. Its going to cost at least £1k and probably much more for the insurance so thats at least around £3 a day, then there is petrol, repairs, MOTs etc etc.
The university I went to was less than a mile from Manchester city centre so I am not sure if that affected parking but I believe for tax reasons the universities have to restrict and charge for car parking.
All my uni mates own a car now but we have all agreed a car at university would have been a hinderence.
|
|
Its a 2004 1.4 3 door Fiesta Zetec
>>
>>>>> the 3 door is unwanted in the trade, but i might come and give a grand for it to take it off your hands ;-0
|
Say he getys the insurance for £1500, thats a lot of dosh.
However, a 5 year old Fiesta plus insurance for £1500..... thats a different matter?
|
|
|
"Uni is 20 mins by car from his home"
20 mins by car sound like about 6-8 miles to me, assuming typical suburban traffic.
Lad could use a push bike, most days, certainly when daylight permits. Eight miles will take him about 40 mins - though when I was that age I biked 26 miles each day to/from work...
|
Lad could use a push bike most days certainly when daylight permits.
As a cyclist, I worry about encouraging anyone else to cycle on the roads due to the not insignificant risk that they might get badly injured or worse, which AFAIK is quite a bit higher than the risk if taking a car (anyone got figures?).
|
"Uni is 20 mins by car from his home" 20 mins by car sound like about 6-8 miles to me assuming typical suburban traffic.
It is 18 motorway miles + 1 mile at each end.
|
|
I used to be able to do the 4 miles to/from Uni in under 15 minutes in Leeds, always beat the buses (which took about an hour). Until I got squished under a car, mind you, which ruined the average time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just a thought,, If Gran can afford to give him her car she could probably pop for the insurance as well.
|
|
|
|
|
I had a 1.4 Zetec a couple if years ago & had no end of problems with it with leaks & elctrical problems.
I think you'd far better off with a MK2 Fiesta ;) at least the insurance would be cheaper.
|
I loved my MK6 Fiesta Zetec, a very good car
Don't think about suggesting selling it, the car is a known good vehicle rather than buying a stranger's cast off. The insurance may be a little steep but it won't be impossible and will come down quickly after the first year.
|
Having had my car at uni for the duration of my degree, i would have to say that whilst being a luxury, it wasnt the massive hinderance everybody is making out.
Made shopping trips infinitley easier, and also gives the oppotunity to recoup some money by charging people for the inevitable taxi journeys... And if living at hoem with an 18 mile motorway commute then surely a neccescity?
With regards to insurance, the sky high figures that Rattle often bands around are not a true reflection of Insurance premiums for the whole country. Im sure i remember reading that you're 13x more likely to be a victim of crime in some areas of Manchester than anywhere else in the country, which justifies his postion. Counter this with the fact that my my sister (18) has just got insurance of a Polo 1.4E for £690, and you will see what i mean.
As stated above, even if it is £1500, a 2004 Fiesta for less that £2k...... Bargain.
|
Is he the only student living in his town and going to the local university? Surely there must be ample opportunities for car sharing?
Years ago six of us shared an Austin A40 which cost £5, and then split all the costs on an agreed basis, fixed plus an individual mileage basis. We kept a book in the car and each user, or shared users for a particular trip, wrote down the mileage and we did a grand reckoning up at the end of each term.
|
|
As a current student with a car i can say that it does make trips to the shop a dam sight easier and getting home (about 45 mins away) is a lott less hassle as i dont have to wait for my parents to help me with my things (we used to have to clear our rooms out every term so that businesses could use them over the holidays) and it means i can actually carry on doing judo as there are no clubs with any remotely decent transport links. However i have never ever used it in two years to actually drive to uni i always either walk or bike...its almost impossible to park at universities nower days anyway so i just dont bother
|
|
Am I the only one to wonder why he's living so far from the Uni... they can't be Halls of Residence that far away, and most people get their digs a lot closer if my daughters' experience at Leicester is anything to go by...
|
|
I guess it's down to whether the lad lives in a hall of residence (about £100/week) and pays no travel costs, or lives at home and has to pay to get in each day. Most live in hall in year one, and then live out in years 2/3. Living out costs are about the same, depending on city/house standard and food bills.
|
|
The cost of running a car in those circumstances won't be cheap, though, and what if something goes wrong with it....
|
|
He'll do at least 8,000 miles to/from Uni, and he's got to spend 25p/mile on fuel/repairs/depreciation plus insurance, so I think it's pretty close as to whether he lives at home or at uni.
|
Ah, but to be factored into that decision is the cost free joys of living at home. Free food, lodging, bills, washing, ironing etc etc :-)
Not that i ever abused my parents facilities before i entered the world of mortgages, you'll understand. ;-)
If I was living at home now, the TVR Tuscan I hanker after would no longer be dream land..............
|
Reading the OP, as far as I can see, the question seems to be along the lines of asking if anyone knows who is good for cheap insurance for youngsters?
And this is not unique to this thread, but how do we all manage to then get onto subjects of alternative methods of transport, is he really not capable of cycling, the cost efficiencies of halls of residences etc etc???
That wasn't the question!!!! :)
|
That wasn't the question!!!! :)
>>
Well answer it then!!!! :-)
|
|
Whilst the OP did ask for cheap insurance he also discussed costs... which is why a discussion on Halls of Residence vs Home came into it... does beg the question whether it was a local Uni to the lad's home... I think that we were assuming it was!
|
|
yes halls can be £100 a week but thats generally catered where you get breakfast, dinner, no electricity or gas bills, hot water on demand and its generally only 32weeks of the year anyway and tbh out of all my friends who went to uni the ones that stayed at home thinking it was cheaper badly regretted it. You actually get more maintenance loan as well if you live away from home as well. But its up to individual choice
|
|
