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[tigers_gonads]

Okay, just started getting car / van quotes for my lad
He is 19 years old and only has a provisional licence.

The cunning plan was to buy a van with 2 seats only and insure it with dad (me) as the named 2nd driver.
My lad is at collage doing painting and decorating 2 days a week, the rest he is doing any small painting jobs for my customers that I can get him.

Just been on various comparison sites and the best we can find is 2 grand for a 10 year old corsa van worth about 1200 quid 

Is this about right ?
I honestly though that being a van with only 2 seats and having "dad" as the named other driver, it would have been cheaper then that 

Any of you lot being in a similar situation and found a cheapish way around this ?

[Diamond Black Geezer]

You've not done too bad, in that my quote the day after I passed my test for the lady (The V6) was something like £2600   

Be aware that, incredibly, once he passes his test, the quote will go up - mine did. (though it had come down significantly from the original £2600, because by then I'd had my licence for a couple of years - though hadn't actually driven a car in that time, and therefore most likely a worse driver than when I passed my test two years previously, ain't the system great  ) I imagine the reason it goes up after passing is that as a provisional driver you're supposed to have someone in there with you at all times, correct?

All I can say is try reducing the value of the car, as that also has a fair knock-on with insurance cost. Also The other thing is there'll be a 'sweet spot' on mileage. I went through literally dozens of online quotes, to find the mileage that is the cheapest. Again, bizarrely, saying I was only going to do 500 miles per year was a fair whack more expensive than saying I was doing 4k. So that's 3500 more miles I'm on the road and technically more likely to have a crash?!? Weird! I think my eventual sweet spot was 6000miles per year. The indicated mileage on the speedo ....um... can be changed, not that I'm suggesting such a course of action, as 'twould be illegal, of course...

Hope you get somewhere. The best you can do is get something which won't have lost much value when he comes to sell. In the case of a brand new car which is very cheap on insurance/tax but you lose so much in depreciation/extra you're paying on the finance. But at a £1200 Corsavan I think you're already pretty much there.

[aaronjb]

Any of you lot being in a similar situation and found a cheapish way around this ?

Don't bother with a license or insurance, the fines are probably less than the cost of insurance?

Seriously though I suspect you'll find quotes on small hatches (Micra, Polo, etc) will be cheaper than the quotes on a van but either way it's not going to be cheap and as DBG says it will get a lot more expensive once he passes his test!

[tigers_gonads]

So the cunning plan for a 2 seat van with me as second driver wasn't as cunning as I thought 

[aaronjb]

Having recently insured a van for non-business use, they seem to be harder to insure than cars.. 

[Andy B]

So the cunning plan for a 2 seat van with me as second driver wasn't as cunning as I thought 

From what I've heard, insurance companies don't like vans ....... they think business use & possibility of tools etc being left in them.

LV was the cheapest for my son a few years back on an Astra F, though when my (about 23 at the time) daughter got behind the wheel of a car, it was cheaper to insure a Seciento than a similar aged/spec'd Corsa.  Have you tried an Astra or Corsa on comparison websites?

[tigers_gonads]

So the cunning plan for a 2 seat van with me as second driver wasn't as cunning as I thought 

From what I've heard, insurance companies don't like vans ....... they think business use & possibility of tools etc being left in them.

LV was the cheapest for my son a few years back on an Astra F, though when my (about 23 at the time) daughter got behind the wheel of a car, it was cheaper to insure a Seciento than a similar aged/spec'd Corsa.  Have you tried an Astra or Corsa on comparison websites?

Next on the list after i've eaten this bacon buttie 
On the quote, we put him down as a painter and decorator which isn't telling porkies because he is BUT he is also a student.
Would him being down as a student raise or lower the quote ?

[Andy B]

....
Would him being down as a student raise or lower the quote ?

Don't know, but just guessing ......... I'd say raise because they'll consider him to be partying & ferrying his mates about    ..... and because it's 'Heads we win - tails you lose' 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

I've tried various occupations, as I could technically put down a variety. I have a BA Hons in Transport and Product Design, work as a graphic Designer for a Bathroom sales company, that have a showroom as well as sel online, so could put down a whole range. I'm technically trained in Engineering, Ergonomics and computer modelling, I tried sales, retail, design, graphic design, warehouse, office job, you name it. It didn't seem to alter anything by a penny. So not sure how much this whole 'your occupation affects the cost of insurance' maybe an element of urban myth about it - or perhaps when it comes to online quotes not included?  I think I even tried Doctor for a laugh. (wouldnt mind a phd one day) Didn't make a difference on mine, anyway.

To be honest I also found that a Nova 1litre banger was something like £80 more than the Omega V6. Yes, I said more. Incredible, I know. No radio, 900kgs & 60bhp vs electric everything, airbags, 1500kgs & 170bhp. Presumably factored into that is the chances of theft etc.. it's not just about how powerful your car is, but all manner of things that dictate insurance - A cheap n cheerful Smarts use the front wheels as part of the safety cell - which impacts on the sill = the front wheel is actually part of the crash structure, this however means that in a relatively minor impact, the sills need replacing, meaning repair bills are higher, meaning higher insurance. So ignoring Imprezza WRCs and Lotus Carltons, the car doesn't really impact that much on the cost of insurance, or perhaps a better way of putting that is to get something decent isn't the vast expense you'd image. 

[tigers_gonads]

Well I just changed the details to a 54 plate Corsa 1.3 cdti car and the lads occupation to live at home student.
Fully comp price drops down to less then 500 quid 

Much better 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Well done - who's that with? 

[tigers_gonads]

Well done - who's that with? 

Collingwood
500 quid excess

[Diamond Black Geezer]

That was online price comparison meerkat, not ringing around, then? (I tried a bit of ringing around, found online far easier and overall less stressful than talking to a teenage boy telephone oerative who spelled 'Vauxhall' 'Volks-all', that sort of thing) 

[RossPhim]

Well done - who's that with? 

Collingwood
500 quid excess

Don't forget to allow for the extra £300-400 after the youngster passes the test!