Daewoo Matiz sold so we bought a KA

[Mr Laurence]

A bit above budget I know, but have you looked at a C1/Aygo/107 yet? There are a fair few around for <£1000, and I got a quote, and it would cost me £812 to insure a 5-door 2006 107 with a black box, £881 without - by far the cheapest quote I've had for any car. The price difference in insurance between that and a Matiz would give you a bit more to spend on finding the car too.

[gordonbennet]

Insurance is a funny thing, is the girl a potential shiter who won't care what her fiends think about her car choice, cos i've heard of youngsters buying all sort of stuff that their peers wouldn't be seen in and finding insurance to be cheaper cos the car doesn't feature highly in statistics, ie bigger Volvos or anything really.

An old fashioned insurance broker might be worth a phone call.

[SiC]

Thanks for all the advice it's much appreciated we have narrowed the search down to the Ford Ka and the Matiz due everything else being too expensive to insure.

 

I did think Ka first but the problem is I can't weld and I know there's no such thing as a rust free Ka.

 

The brief I had is it's got to be cheap to insure and under £400 and the Matiz is only £200 and is the cheapest car to insure at the moment but anyone know of any other cheap little motors for insurance

 

I've tried all the normal suspects like the fiesta, corsa, Lupo, arosa etc the only one I can think of now is maybe the Suzuki Alto.

 

Any suggestions

Are Clio II in base engine and trim variety (Authentique) expensive to insure? Those came with a 1.2 8v 60bhp lump. Slower by the book, but more much more torquey than the 16v unit. The Matiz are horrible and I don't think they're any better for rust either. I'd have a rotten Ka over a Matiz any day.

[Vince70]

I guess if things get really desperate there's always the city rover lol

[dollywobbler]

My Peugeot 306 DTurbo was surprisingly cheap to insure. It ended up in a very low group for what was effectively a 306 GTi diesel. I must admit, having owned both a Matiz and a 306, the Peugeot was a much better car, even if it didn't sound as good. 

[Eddie Honda]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/insurance/car/the-five-cheapest-cars-for-teens-to-insure--and-what-they-actual/

 

Tl;dr: if they wouldn't be seen dead in it, it'll be cheap to insure.

[sierraman]

Have you considered a Fiesta mk6? Might not be that much more expensive or even a Focus.

[tooSavvy]

Window winder mech cog is *much** better quality than same part on Savvy!

 

AHIK

 

 

TS

[Brodders]

Cheapest cars for me to insure after passing my test were for some reason Rover 216s (Ghosty R8 spec) and Toyota Carina IIs. They were considerably cheaper to insure than the usual first car suspects (Corsa, Clio, 206, et al) despite being bigger and more powerful. It could be worth seeing how much insurance would be for these too.

[tooSavvy]

My C2 [...CarinaII] was vexp at first investigation...

 

Got royally ffdoff 'sir, the ONLY classic Toyota is a Celica!' = U-Y-A cockwomble....

 

DirectLine FComp £200* (and replace my ally's if nicked only)

 

*full ncd & 60 OAP.

 

 

TS

[Eddie Honda]

if they wouldn't be seen dead in it, it'll be cheap to insure.

Honda Jizz.

[Mr Laurence]

Cheapest cars for me to insure after passing my test were for some reason Rover 216s (Ghosty R8 spec) and Toyota Carina IIs. They were considerably cheaper to insure than the usual first car suspects (Corsa, Clio, 206, et al) despite being bigger and more powerful. It could be worth seeing how much insurance would be for these too.

You may be onto something here - I just got a quote for a 1993 216SLI on comparethemarket - £678. Far, far less than I was expecting.

[barefoot]

In another life when I sold motor insurance and we had a 'rate book', older cars were always far cheaper to insure than new.

[Brodders]

My C2 [...CarinaII] was vexp at first investigation...

 

Got royally ffdoff 'sir, the ONLY classic Toyota is a Celica!' = U-Y-A cockwomble....

 

DirectLine FComp £200* (and replace my ally's if nicked only)

 

*full ncd & 60 OAP.

 

 

TS

I am rather surprised that the Carina was so expensive at first, as that was the very vehicle I got my cheap insurance quote for. However Station bought it before I was even able to check the train times to where it was, and I decided to go for the 75 I have now.

 

Back on topic, am I right in thinking that the Matiz was actually designed to be Fiat's replacement for the Cinquecento?

[dollywobbler]

I am rather surprised that the Carina was so expensive at first, as that was the very vehicle I got my cheap insurance quote for. However Station bought it before I was even able to check the train times to where it was, and I decided to go for the 75 I have now.

 

Back on topic, am I right in thinking that the Matiz was actually designed to be Fiat's replacement for the Cinquecento?

 

So right that the first image you find when searching for Fiat Matiz is this one, on a forum called Autoshite.

 

[tooSavvy]

I am rather surprised that the Carina was so expensive at first, as that was the very vehicle I got my cheap insurance quote for.

Well, my Savvy ins was transferred on continuation... I had the alloy wheels fitted when I needed to reinsure... 'Non Std' alloys killed the quote on any 'web' quote.

 

I spoke to a real person at FJ (..cockwomble!) then straight £200 from a welsh lass at DL

 

TS

[vaughant]

Awful

Awful

Awful

Awful

 

Seriously, buy ANYTHING else. They're not even bad in an autoshite way, just terrible

Exactly this, no endearing features, rubbish.

 

Really strong* in a crash too, my old painter bought one to repair once, I'd fancy my chances more in a tesco shopping trolley with a Rover V8 in it.

 

Insurance will pretty much bum you no matter what you do.

 

With Jack, we used Endsleigh as they offered a fast track service in that if he avoided a crash for the first 18 months, he got 2 years NCB. Only one company ever questioned it when getting new quotes but accepted it straight away when proof was given.

Elephant were really good on his Ka, about a grand less than anywhere else but seem pricey on his a class.

 

It's a bloody minefield.

 

We paid a grand for 6 months then £1500 for a year so £2100 for 18 months.

 

Went down to £7/800 after that.

 

Don't forget the £1500 value and above trick, dropped my zafira insurance by £150.

[Cavcraft]

I like themn and one will day will have one. But if anything ever deserved the term 'rusty death trap' it's these.

[barefoot]

Don't forget the £1500 value and above trick, dropped my zafira insurance by £150.

?

 

Cheaper quotes on cars over £1500?

[SiC]

No. Cheaper quotes if you put down the car value as over 1.5k. Says to the insurance company that you value it more than a sub 1.5k banger. They'll only pay out what their book says it's worth anyway.

[Slartibartfast]

on a forum called Autoshite.

It'll never catch on

[tooSavvy]

It'll never catch on fire

EFA

 

TS

[Vince70]

Sorry for the inconvenience but she lost out on the matiz and she's checked insurance etc and now wants a Lupo/arosa 1 litre

She has seen one she likes and we have got to view one tomorrow but it looks a bit chaved as its been lowered and got some oversized wheels on it.

So is there anything to look for or does anyone know of a nice giffer owned low mileage Lupo for sale.

[HH-R]

VAG SHIT, but far better than a Matiz.

[Ghosty]

Insurance is a funny thing, is the girl a potential shiter who won't care what her fiends think about her car choice, cos i've heard of youngsters buying all sort of stuff that their peers wouldn't be seen in and finding insurance to be cheaper cos the car doesn't feature highly in statistics, ie bigger Volvos or anything really.

An old fashioned insurance broker might be worth a phone call.

 

Junkman has a story where a young bloke he knew a while ago had a Senator 3.0 24v because it was the cheapest thing for him to insure.

Those days are firmly gone though it seems, I tried a lot of executive level cars when I was shopping for something for my first car late last year. 

For reference I'm 21 nearly 22, had a licence since Nov 2013 - because it took three years for my insurance quotes to drop to an even remotely reasonable figure.

 

It seems like experience is the killer, as once I had six months driving under my belt I could get reasonable quotes for all sorts - including £750 for a 2010/60 Mini Cooper 1.6 auto that my mum had at the time.

However how long you have held your driving licence, and your age, make a massive difference regardless of experience.

 

Back when I had no experience (but age 21 and 3 years with a licence), the cheapest cars I could find to insure were the Kia Pride and Mazda Demio, at about £800 each. For an extra £200 I could get a Rover 216SLi, and if you can find a good one in terms of price and condition, I'd recommend it. Not the best on fuel, but good enough, nippy, super comfy, practical, and as well as that all my friends really liked it for some reason.

I've just sold mine because I have a Volvo 740 now, that cost £200 more to insure, but I had to change providers because of the age.

For perspective the same 740 eight months ago would have probably been about £2500 to insure, if not more - in January, a BX TZD (or any similar car, 405 GTX, etc) would have been £1800-2000. Estates were even more...

 

Bottom line, for the first car don't worry what it is, it only needs to be a runner for a few months. Just go for whatever has the cheapest premium. After that you can pretty much have whatever you like within reason.

[Arragonis]

Matiz is total shite, dent man fixed mine with his fingers - wouldn't fancy it in a crash. Hateful to drive, engine is gutless, gear change is not worthy of the name.

 

+1 for the C1/Aygo/107 option - just make sure it has had the clutch change/upgrade. Cheapest I can find is about £1.5k though.

 

Another slightly cheaper option is the Justy from about the same time, uses same engine from the Aygo and tends to be about £~800 less.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Boon

[RayMK]

Sorry for the inconvenience but she lost out on the matiz and she's checked insurance etc and now wants a Lupo/arosa 1 litre

She has seen one she likes and we have got to view one tomorrow but it looks a bit chaved as its been lowered and got some oversized wheels on it.

So is there anything to look for or does anyone know of a nice giffer owned low mileage Lupo for sale.

 

I briefly looked at Lupos and Arosas about 2 years ago.  All of them were chronically rusty underneath.  I ended up playing safe with a Pug 205 - my son had had several and I was familiar with their workings.  There are lots about, they resist rust, handle well, spares are available and cheapish and they are comfortable.  Crash worthiness won't be anywhere near modern standards but agility and structural soundness nudge the balance in their favour if compared to a rotten Ka or Arosa.  The smaller engined ones shouldn't be too far adrift on insurance costs (note: I'm using logic. Insurance companies don't).  Good luck with the search.  

[Pillock]

Go and look at the Lupo

If it's been lowered and had wheels put on, and been looked after too then that's fine. Might even be able to sell the wheels for a profit.

 

If it's been wheeled and lowered with no other money spent on maintenance, walk.

 

It's easy to imagine a careless chav owner but in reality it might be a sound car that's cheap as people are overlooking it. Heck, I think they look quite good with a bit of lowering and some nice alloys.

[Slartibartfast]

If it's been lowered and had wheels put on, and been looked after too then that's fine.

 

Only if it then gets unlowered again and put back to stock. If you have a modified car and tell the insurance company the premium will rocket to unaffordable levels. If you DON'T tell the insurance company it gives them a way to deny her cover if she's in an accident which can potentially land her in a nasty situation.

[Pillock]

Not all insurers lob that much on though, when it's non-power mods