Oh dear - insurance

[AnthonyH]

Some companies won't entertain discounts over the phone but some still will like the old days over the phone. My insurance company gave me my renewal last year when I still had the Panda which was something like £350 with 12 years no claims, I couldn't find any cheaper so I rang them & I was quite blunt with them as I stated it was slightly more than the previous year with an extra years no claims & I said them I'll put it straight & simple I'm not paying it so I threatened to go elsewhere & they knocked of nearly £50. I'll be getting my renewal this week so I wonder what it's going to be

My old insurer was a bit sneaky, I turned auto-renew off in my settings the moment i got the policy a year ago. But...not long ago they sent me an email saying my insurance was going to auto-renew for £360, so I had to turn it off again. In a lazy moment I thought i'd let it pass and do nothing but it didn't take me long to get a quote for £215.

If I'd accurately kept track of my no claims bonus i'd have 25 years. But at various times in the past insurers have said they don't go passed 10 years, so I've been stuck around that for 15 years now. From what I can gather most don't offer any extra discount between 11 and 25 years anyway.

Its going to be a lot of effort to get a half decent quote for my son, but considering the amount of money at stake I'll have to put in the leg work.

 

[AnthonyH]

I checked my emails a moment ago and the specialist young person insurer that couldn't give me a price (Adrian Flux) had sent an email saying their quote was............£15,308.91.

Its so ridiculous i'm laughing!

Can you imagine driving a 2008 Grande Punto worth £800 and paying £15k insurance?! lol

 

[FiatMatt94]

My old insurer was a bit sneaky, I turned auto-renew off in my settings the moment i got the policy a year ago. But...not long ago they sent me an email saying my insurance was going to auto-renew for £360, so I had to turn it off again. In a lazy moment I thought i'd let it pass and do nothing but it didn't take me long to get a quote for £215.

If I'd accurately kept track of my no claims bonus i'd have 25 years. But at various times in the past insurers have said they don't go passed 10 years, so I've been stuck around that for 15 years now. From what I can gather most don't offer any extra discount between 11 and 25 years anyway.

Its going to be a lot of effort to get a half decent quote for my son, but considering the amount of money at stake I'll have to put in the leg work.

I hate auto renew, my breakdown cover I always have to turn auto renew of every year as well, on this renewal I'll have 13 years NCD as that's how long I've been driving & I've never lost any, I noticed after 10 years the discounts on renewals pretty much stopped, one year when I had my first Classic Mini so in my early 20's I had the renewal from Admiral & it was nearly £500 so I shopped around & got a quote for just over £200 fully comprehensive so rung my insurance up to say I was changing unless they could match or better the new quote, sat on hold for a few minutes & they came back with like £11 discount & asked if I still wanted so I said "well obviously not if I can get it nearly £300 from another well known provider" & the woman on the phone got moody & went "how did you get a price that low" & I went "It's called shopping around & not being stitched up", I hung up & went for the lower quote.

 

[AnthonyH]

I'm coming to the conclusion that i've got a lot of that kind of thing on the way

But maybe without the nice outcome lol Even £500 is going to be a long way off!

 

[Dan at Adrian Flux]

I checked my emails a moment ago and the specialist young person insurer that couldn't give me a price (Adrian Flux) had sent an email saying their quote was............£15,308.91.

Its so ridiculous i'm laughing!

Can you imagine driving a 2008 Grande Punto worth £800 and paying £15k insurance?! lol

Hi.
I'm sorry we were unable to offer you a competitive insurance quotation.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[AnthonyH]

I found a car insurance group checker that allows you to put in a registration number and it'll give you the group from 1, the cheapest, to 50 the most expensive.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/car-insurance-group-checker-tool/

From what I can gather Pandas are in the lowest groups, followed by the 500, then the Punto.

I might buy him a Panda.

 

[bugsymike]

I found a car insurance group checker that allows you to put in a registration number and it'll give you the group from 1, the cheapest, to 50 the most expensive.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/car-insurance-group-checker-tool/

From what I can gather Pandas are in the lowest groups, followed by the 500, then the Punto.

I might buy him a Panda.

Tell him to feed it Bamboo shoots.

 

[AnthonyH]

Tell him to feed it Bamboo shoots.

Can we make petrol from bamboo now? Wouldn't that be great, no need for electric cars then!

 

[bugsymike]

Can we make petrol from bamboo now? Wouldn't that be great, no need for electric cars then!

Judging by the EV sales figures , most people don't feel the need any way!

 

[The Panda Nut]

ALWAYS haggle and keep the pressure on. I always do and always get quite a decent improvement on the first offer. It saved over £300 this year off the three cars which I negotiate as a package.

My old insurer was a bit sneaky, I turned auto-renew off in my settings the moment i got the policy a year ago. But...not long ago they sent me an email saying my insurance was going to auto-renew for £360, so I had to turn it off again. In a lazy moment I thought i'd let it pass and do nothing but it didn't take me long to get a quote for £215.

If I'd accurately kept track of my no claims bonus i'd have 25 years. But at various times in the past insurers have said they don't go passed 10 years, so I've been stuck around that for 15 years now. From what I can gather most don't offer any extra discount between 11 and 25 years anyway.

Its going to be a lot of effort to get a half decent quote for my son, but considering the amount of money at stake I'll have to put in the leg work.

True, re Ncd. Watch how fast it goes to zero if you have to claim. All a bit of a rip off.

 

[AnthonyH]

ALWAYS haggle and keep the pressure on. I always do and always get quite a decent improvement on the first offer. It saved over £300 this year off the three cars which I negotiate as a package.

How did you manage synchronising all 3 insurances to end at the same time, so that you could start them at the same time?

True, re Ncd. Watch how fast it goes to zero if you have to claim. All a bit of a rip off.

That'd be a bad day, and expensive...I could try to pay in bamboo shoots

 

[AnthonyH]

Judging by the EV sales figures , most people don't feel the need any way!

I don't even own an electric scooter, not yet anyway, they look fun tho!

 

[The Panda Nut]

How did you manage synchronising all 3 insurances to end at the same time, so that you could start them at the same time?


That'd be a bad day, and expensive...I could try to pay in bamboo shoots

The speed these insurers go to write off a scratched car suggests you would still be the loser. Im going to seek out a specialist classic insurer this year.

 

[Johnbee]

I’ve just renewed my Panda fully comp insurance on auto renew as it came in at £117.46 for the year, which includes breakdown, legal cover, broker fee and an agreed value on Manda of £3,500. Allowed mileage of 3,000, which is ample for me.

The policy is through Aviva, the broker is Grove and Dean. My California is also insured through them, though it cost considerably more than Manda’s (but still good value)

 

[AnthonyH]

I’ve just renewed my Panda fully comp insurance on auto renew as it came in at £117.46 for the year, which includes breakdown, legal cover, broker fee and an agreed value on Manda of £3,500. Allowed mileage of 3,000, which is ample for me.

Blimey thats good. How much no claims have you got?

 

[Johnbee]

Blimey thats good. How much no claims have you got?

I have maximum no claims on both Panda and van. 20 and 34 years respectively, though I think they only take into account the first 9 years.

I chose to give up work early, which confused the insurance companies as their computers didn’t accept a 45 year old retiree, which always made renewal time awkward. But now I’m officially retired at 55 the system now accepts it

 

[AnthonyH]

I have maximum no claims on both Panda and van. 20 and 34 years respectively, though I think they only take into account the first 9 years.

I chose to give up work early, which confused the insurance companies as their computers didn’t accept a 45 year old retiree, which always made renewal time awkward. But now I’m officially retired at 55 the system now accepts it

I told my son I'm going to get him a car like in your icon/picture, he said ok!

Which model/engine/trim is it?

 

[Johnbee]

I told my son I'm going to get him a car like in your icon/picture, he said ok!

Which model/engine/trim is it?

Good choice, though good luck searching for one as there’s only a dozen or so Auto’s left.

It’s a 1993 Panda Selecta (CVT Auto) 1108cc. There’s one on eBay at the moment, in red - £2500

 

[FiatMatt94]

I told my son I'm going to get him a car like in your icon/picture, he said ok!

Your son sounds like he has good taste I remember going to look at an old Panda once but a 750 version on eBay at Kingswood Tyres in Surrey on the A217, it was on £75 with no bids & near the end of auction so I went to have a look, the body was really clean but it had a knackered gearbox caused by an oil leak out of the inner boot. I should of had it but I wasn't sure how difficult it would have been to source a 750 gearbox so I left it

 

[AnthonyH]

Good choice, though good luck searching for one as there’s only a dozen or so Auto’s left.

It’s a 1993 Panda Selecta (CVT Auto) 1108cc. There’s one on eBay at the moment, in red - £2500

Ah yes, i hadn't considered the practicalities of finding one, it just looked nice. How many miles are on the clock? Any signs of trouble from the gearbox or have you already had it reconditioned?