Last year a car insurance firm published a list of its cheapest cars for a 17-year old to insure. Unsurprisingly, most are old and all are small.
The information within isn't unwarranted; I’m all too aware of the cost of insurance. It has just become more expensive for women due to an EU ruling that insurers can no longer offer them reduced rates.
But I think choosing your car purely on the basis of insurance cost is a dangerous game to play.
Of the top 10 cars mentioned by Adrian Flux Insurance as the cheapest to cover, half are classics. And the last time I checked, it’s this kind of old tin that’ll leave you digging deep to fix, weld and replace parts. So what you’ll save on insurance, you’ll be forking out to fix.
Safety standards have improved enormously over the past couple of decades, and the only cars here that have certainly been tested by EuroNCAP are the three star-rated Peugeot 107 and Hyundai Atoz. It took the Vauxhall Corsa four generations to gain a five-star rating, with a star added each time. It is unclear which generation the report focuses on. The same is true of the Vauxhall Agila.
In 2007, Which? magazine described the original Mini and Citroën 2CV as offering “frighteningly low” levels of protection. And as much as I love classics, there are few cars I’d rather crash than the tin-thin Fiat 126, original VW Beetle or Ford Anglia.
Yes, running costs are expensive. But there’s no way I’d let my 17-year old hoon around in a old motor built before the invention of the three-point seatbelt. Or a car with less than three NCAP stars, for that matter.
I prefer to think of a safer car – and those increased premiums – as an insurance to help them see their 18th birthday.
Model - Average insurance cost
Volkswagen Beetle - £1450
Peugeot 107 - £1880
Ford Anglia - £1890
Citroen 2CV - £1950
Vauxhall Agila - £1980
Vauxhall Corsa - £1980
Hyundai Amica - £2030
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Haven't insurance costs
Haven't insurance costs always affected car choice for new drivers? If it didn't then I'm sure my seventeen year old brain would have opted for a dillapidated old 3 series and not the 2cv I bought which was cheap to insure, fuel and service.
Not that I'd recommend the 2cv to a 17 year old in 2013 as a daily driver. Safety-issues aside, driving an old car isn't just about doing without ABS and many other comforts we take for granted in modern cars (e.g. Decent lights and a heater) but the performance difference between a 2cv's 27bhp 602cc engine (and I'd include the other classics on the list) and a modern turbo diesel is absolutely enormous and not something to be experienced daily as you take on modern traffic.
Which makes me think the original list was a bit of tongue in cheek self-promotion...
How come every time older
How come every time older cars are discussed the point is always made that they cost lots to repair, in general this is untrue as they are simpler to fix than modern cars with any competent mechanic able to do the work free from the expense associated with needing to get a dealer stamp. I read the long term tests and some of the money spent on fixing minor items on new cars is outrageous. Regarding the insurance, I believe that young drivers should buy their first car themselves as those that have spent their own money tend to more careful
Heh heh we could do what the Saudis do
Insuring a car is considered haram ( forbidden) as you are pre predicting the will of Allah .
Their hypothesis goes if you are going to have a prang it is pre ordained "it is written " which in some respects is pretty true . Has any male not had an accident when young .
All the above is fine till a Saudi drives into you and legs it !
If you see how Saudis drive they will all have accidents the best policy is if you see a Saudi number plate dont get anywhere near em as they are bound to do somehting daft . Not many of em actually take a driving test either .
One of the joys of driving in Bahrain . The death rate here is about 10 a month in RTAs and only about 500k drivers . Scary stuff !