First-time buyers are becoming more savvy to the cost of cars; looking at the full cost of motoring rather than just the cost of buying a car, new findings from Confused.com have revealed.
Cars are one of the biggest expenses that people make in their life time, with 76% of respondents to the Confused.com survey stating this. However people are having to compromise on the cars they drive with big engines and car modifications no longer the new driver’s prerogative because of the cost of insurance and overall rising cost of motoring.
According to Confused.com’s research, car insurance is viewed as a ‘huge expense’ by 66% of people. This is because the cost of an average comprehensive policy is £1,869 for women aged 17-20 compared with £3,635 for men4.
Confused.com’s research showed almost 70% of people chose their first car with an engine size of 1.3 litres or less with 15% of under 24’s citing insurance cost as the main reason for choosing a smaller engined car.
To keep costs down, new drivers are opting for the Ford Fiesta which was voted the most popular first car, followed by the mini one in our poll of 2,000 drivers (selected from a list of 52 different makes and models).
For a 17 year old male to insure a Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3 litre engine, the insurance premium would cost on average £5,372.96. This compares with the cost for a first-time buyer purchasing a Volkswagen Golf GTI 2 litre engine which would cost £12,144.75 for insurance cover; this is more than double the cost of insurance for a Ford Fiesta, the first-time buyers’ car of choice.
Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, says: “Car insurance is a huge purchase for young drivers. However our research tells us that these drivers are adapting to pressures and opting for smaller, cheaper cars, in order to minimise their insurance premiums.”
“Buying your first car is a really exciting purchase. For the first-time buyer, cost is an important factor with 50% saying that price affects their purchase, and 35% of first-time buyers paying £500 or less for their first car.”
“Here at Confused.com we want to offer first-time buyers the chance to find the perfect car with the cheapest insurance. Price comparison sites are great for helping customers understand the full motoring costs and therefore we would encourage people to use a comparison site to understand their insurance costs before they buy the vehicle.”
To help young drivers, Confused.com has put together some tips to give first-time buyers a helping hand:
– First of all decide how much you can afford to pay for your first car; not just the sum to buy the car itself but also the running costs -insurance, MOT, vehicle excise duty, petrol, repairs and servicing.
– Shop around on a price comparison site.
– Add an experienced named driver onto your insurance.
