VW Polo 1.4 Diesel Insurance for 17 Year Old

[ryang148]

Hello there!

I am looking for a first car and really want a VW. I have been looking at the Golf, 1.4 Petrol and Polo 1.4 diesel, but the insurance on a Polo is nearly £4000!

What would you guys recommend!?

Thanks!

[zollaf]

welcome to the forum.
£400 isn't bad for insurance really you know. (you did put £4000 but i presume thats a typo)

[ryang148]

No, its £4000!

[amjidkhan1982]

Get insured with a parent or someone older as the policy holder. Also ask them to maybe get a multi-car policy as they may also save money on their policy.

[ryang148]

If im main driver though, isn't it illegal?

[gupsterg]

Something to consider.... Link:- Curfew car insurance aids young drivers - November - 2009 - Which? News (http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/11/curfew-car-insurance-aids-young-drivers-188137/)

Some comparisons of other cars... Link:- Teens pay £11,500 for first year on road | News | Auto Express (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/35112/teens-pay-11500-first-year-road)

Extract from above linked page:-

Five cheapest cars to insure (17-20-year-olds)


Make
Annual premium


Ford Ka MkII
£1,651


Ford Ka
£1,781


Peugeot 107
£1,994


Daewoo Matiz
£2,258


MINI One
£2,269



(Based on cars costing £600-£10,000. Source: Confused.com)

Five most expensive cars to insure (17-20-yr-olds)


Make
Annual premium


Honda Civic
£4,516


VW Golf
£3,928


Vauxhall Astra
£3,723


Ford Focus
£3,677


Renault Megane
£3,327



(Based on cars costing £600-£10,000. Source: Confused.com)
Since I read above in Auto express I'm dreading when my eldest wants a car... :yikes:

[chody]

i found that a renault clio was one of the cheapest cars to insure for my daughter but if you are determined it has to be a vw try getting a quote for a 1.0 litre petrol polo and make sure you add your parents as additional drivers even if they never do it will bring the premuim down, auto express did a test with adrian flux and they said a 1.o toyota yaris was the cheapest car to insure for a 17 year old

[ryang148]

Hmm okay, i defo want a VW. I really want a diesel, from what all my family say, diesel is a lot better...

[davemidd]

What age is that car you've had the quote for? A mates brother had a quote for a petrol 1.3 Escort, S or T reg and it was over £3000, far more than the car was worth. In the end it was cheaper to buy a Fiat Sciencento/Cinqecento or whatever funny named thing it was, 07/08 plate i thnk, for less than £2000. Ok the engine is smaller, poss a 1.2 but the difference ininsurance was ridiculous.Neither car was amazing, speedy or such like. Apparently the newer the car the (insurance company assumes) more responsibilty the young driver shall have for the car, as they would have shelled out more cash for it.

[JimC64]

Hey there.....I went through this issue with both my sons a few years back and the OP is about spot on £4000 NOT £400

For my 17 and 18 year olds just passed, I was getting quotes back in the region of anywhere between £2900 - £6000 or more, and this was on a Renault Clio 1.2 W plate ( around 10 years old ).........The cars were only £1000 for gods sake!!

To the OP - No offence meant here buddy, but it depends on what kind of guy you are?

Are you looking for the absolute best deal, best price no matter what OR are you going to be running around at 3am with 4 mates in the back of the car?

The reason I ask is as follows..........

My 2 sons went with a company called Ikube ( you'll have to look them up on the internet )

They attached restrictions that meant they could not drive between 11pm and 5am.
They enforced this by fixing a tracker to the car, included in the cost of the premium

My 18 year old son paid around £1100 iirc and my 17 year old paid £1500

I do know its still a lot of money but much more achievable than £4000

Just a thought and hope it helps

Good luck

[ryang148]

I am a bit weary of the box, i don't want to be limited and not a fan of the whole idea. I really want a golf, i want a 55 plate, and i can pick one of them up for around £2500, £3000. It's just insurance that i am worried about. I would pay up to £2500 for insurance, but no more.

The quote i had for £4000 was for a 1.9 Golf TDI Match, 07 plate. I wish they did a smaller golf diesel. :(

[Eshrules]

You'll need to compromise on one or the other sadly, a diesel 55 plate golf would be expensive for me (albeit not £4k) to insure with my NCB and I'm 10 years on from you.

Perhaps forget the diesel golf idea for the next couple of years, get a small(er) engined polo or similar and earn some NCB, ready for the larger car.

You'll be a better driver for it too, starting with a lower powered car is definitely the way forward.

PS - you're right in that amjidkhan1982's is illegal - it's a practice known as fronting.

Fronting: car insurance costs drive parents to break the law | Money | The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/oct/14/fronting-car-insurance-costs-parents)

[ryang148]

Hmm, maybe so. I don't really want a 1.9 car, 1.4 or 1.2 would be fine, but i really want a diesel. Polo 1.4 TDI is really expensive to insure, just as much as a 1.9 Golf.

[Eshrules]

hence my post above ;) Diesels are more expensive to run all round than their petrol counterparts. Unless of course you intend to do 20k+ miles

[ryang148]

Okay, diesels to tend to have more miles in them though. I don't plan to do loads of miles, but everyone i have spoke to basically say get a diesel, a lot better than petrol. My ideal car is a Golf Match... :/

[zollaf]

its no wonder there are so many people driving around with no insurance when they are charging these sorts of premiums. make something compulsory then don't regulate the private companies selling it. its about time the system was changed, its just madness....
anyway, define 'better'. i.e whats better about a diesel over a petrol.

[Eshrules]

If you don't intend to do a substantial amount of mileage, paying the premium (both for the car and insurance) is foolish, IMHO and would be a poor decision financially.

Being the age you are, I think you need to be more realistic with your choice of car. If you can afford the £4k insurance, by all means go for a golf - but it's the same story for thousands of young people in the same situation. Insurance is high for certain vehicles for a reason, statistically you're the highest risk road user.

[ryang148]

Okay. Any cars that you recommend?

[zollaf]

crikey, bored one day, in my youth, a couple of us decided to investigate insurance premiums. we choose a porsche 911 turbo and got phoning. 18 years old, they would do it for £2k. we laughed and said that was ridiculous.

[Hex69]

Unless you're doing more than 15,000 miles a year, forget diesel, get a petrol, they will be cheaper to run and insure.

You're a 17 year old boy, you have to understand that this is the highest risk category for insurers, so whatever you buy will be expensive to insure.

You're better off, as Eshrules says to get a 1.0 - 1.2 litre petrol supermini, drive very carefully for a couple of years, and then your insurance will fall dramatically.

Then you'll be able to get a more powerful car, and still have your premiums fall.

At your age, you can't have your cake and eat it, sorry :(

[zollaf]

what about one of these brand new euro boxes made in france that come with free insurance.

[ryang148]

Haha, is it easier to stall a petrol? Is it true that you need acceleration when taking off using a petrol? I'm learning to drive in a diesel, and i just use clutch to edge forward/backward. :D

[Eshrules]

Have you not got a license yet then?

It's easy to stall a petrol if you can't control your clutch, yes.

[ryang148]

Not yet, jut looking round at prices and what I want.

Can you just use clutch when taking off on a petrol?

[Eshrules]

I can't imagine a situation where you would 'take off' using the clutch only.

[Hex69]

No, and neither should you on diesels either.

Part of learning to drive is clutch control, and whilst you may be able to slip the clutch on a diesel to get moving, on a gradient you'll have to modulate throttle and cluch, ans you would on a petrol.

The reason that your instructor has a diesel, is probably that he's doing 20,000 miles per annum or more and it makes financial sense for him.

[zollaf]

of course you can. a diesel has more low down grunt (torque) generally, so a petrol does require more throttle and clutch control, but they are just as easy to drive as any diesel. yes you can stall a petrol engine, easier the smaller it is, but with a bit of practice you would soon get the hang of it. smaller engine = slower = cheaper to run and insure. i would get some quotes, speak to insurers and find the cheapest. if you want a vag, then probably a polo or lupo, even an older one might be a lot cheaper for you.

[ryang148]

Okay. Thanks guys.

[zollaf]

i only do low mileage, probably 10k or so, but have a diesel because it was cheap and does 45 mpg, but its on my trade policy so costs me nothing to insure. i hate spending money on fuel and it slows me down a bit.

[ryang148]

So how about a 1.4 petrol golf?

[gupsterg]

To check car insurance groups :- http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/advice/car-insurance-groups/

Besides engine size, certain levels of equipment and engine bhp will make difference...

ie there can be a 2.0 140 BHP vs a 2.0 170BHP so the one with more BHP will be higher ins.group so more to insure...

So you would ideally want a small engine, low bhp, bland trim/exterior = lower insurance group = lower cost insurance

With perhaps an insurer who does curfew... :)

[Hex69]

To check car insurance groups :- http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/advice/car-insurance-groups/

Besides engine size certain levels of equipment and engine bhp will make difference...

ie there can be a 2.0 140 BHP vs a 2.0 170BHP so the one with more BHP will be higher ins.group so more to insure...

So you would ideally want a small engine, low bhp, bland trim/exterior = lower insurance group = lower cost insurance

With perhaps an insurer who does curfew... :) and a black box recorder....

Basically anything in group 1 insurance.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/advice/car-insurance-groups/?ig=1

[Sam]

Find a VAG car you like, then look to see if it has a commercial (Van) counterpart.

Vans are (were?) typically cheaper to insure than cars, you don't have to give anyone a lift, you have your own portable accommodation and Old Bill doesn't give you a second look.

A mate of mine had a mk1 Golf 'van' as his first car which only cost him £250 to insure <cough> years ago.

[ryang148]

Haha. Thanks for your help.