First ever post - be kind to me!
Im getting a 172 next week (a 53 plate 172). I currently drive a Dynamic (sp?) 1.6 which I was paying about £500 for (Im 30, full no claims, though I live in North London and have to park in the street - gulp!) with Tescos. They are charging me £60 to change to the 172 and it looks like a full year will cost me about £700 - not bad for London. Anyway, Ive been dealing with the sharks that are insurers for years, as Im sure others here have, so some tips might be:
1. Phone around, and then phone around again, and then again until you are happy! I do this every year and as they usualy want your business you should be able to beat them down a bit. Play the insurance companies off against each other. Its amazing how the phrase "Well I have the Direct Line quote here and its chaper than yours" can save you money.
2. If you are young (or not that young!) have you tried Endsleigh? They specialise in Student insurance and I was with them for a few years. They can be quite cheap.
3. Limit your milage on the policy - not always an easy option but it helps saves pennies...
4. As people have said above, try to include a femail relative/partner as a named driver. Having my girlfirend as a named driver saved me about £60 a year on my insurance and it means she can drive it if she needs to (if I have a few drinks in the pub she can drive home!).
5. Protect your no claims as soon as you can. Costs more but saves you a lot if, like me, you smash up the front of your 6 month old Clio! (I had jet lag...)
Sorry if thats stating the bloody obvious!
Ive been convinced for years that insurance is a cartel - all the companies collude to make prices higher. Me, paranoid?
Insurance is a pig until you hit 25, where it gets a bit better, but when you get to 30 it drops way down (though you do feel very old!). The difference between my 172 quote now and when I was 28 is a few hundred quid (which is why I didnt get the car in the first place!)
Anyway, back to my life as a ClioSport lurker...
[Edited by SimonD on 7/29/2005 6:06:18 PM]