Model 3 Insurance - Young Driver

[Lasairfion]

Definitely shop around. Try independent insurers and specialists to see if they can help out.

As an observer for the Institute of Advanced Motorists I highly recommend an Advanced Driving course to improve your observation skills and driving prowess. It's simple fact that under 25s have more accidents. The course will help you to drive safer (about twice as safe as the average driver) and it will help your confidence in dealing with the myriad of situations out there of which, as a young driver, you may not yet have experience.

However, don't expect it to necessarily save you money on your insurance. Some insurers will cut you a deal for it others won't. IAM does have its own insurance for members, but it doesn't always work out the cheapest. Being a member of a car club can also get you an insurance discount. I got a discount with Adrian Flux by being part of the 406 Coupé club.

Please do not go down the Black Box route. I'm saying this from 2 viewpoints. The first is as an advanced driver. The boxes are not programmed by people who know how to drive to an advanced level. They punish strong braking and acceleration (which are natural parts of three-phase braking manoeuvres and making progress) and they emphasise slow driving, which in some circumstances can actually be dangerous or cause problems with the flow of traffic. Other parts of the advanced driving style seem to trip the boxes a lot too. Essentially you couldn't do an advanced driving course with one in your car.

Secondly, there are also limitations such as mileage allowance (which will cost you extra for more), times of the day you cannot drive (i.e. late at night or early mornings) and even limits on going out during times of heavy traffic (if you work normal hours you'll obviously hit rush hour traffic). It's not going to save you a great deal in the long run, but it is going to impact any enjoyment of your vehicle, which I assume is why you're buying it.

As for the whole 'should you get a Tesla' thing, it's a non-discussion: it's your decision and your money. If I had the chance to buy one as a first car, I'd have taken it. The only valid advice is to learn how your car performs, and drive safely.

 

[m3gt2]

Definitely shop around. Try independent insurers and specialists to see if they can help out.

As an observer for the Institute of Advanced Motorists I highly recommend an Advanced Driving course to improve your observation skills and driving prowess. It's simple fact that under 25s have more accidents. The course will help you to drive safer (about twice as safe as the average driver) and it will help your confidence in dealing with the myriad of situations out there of which, as a young driver, you may not yet have experience.

However, don't expect it to necessarily save you money on your insurance. Some insurers will cut you a deal for it others won't. IAM does have its own insurance for members, but it doesn't always work out the cheapest. Being a member of a car club can also get you an insurance discount. I got a discount with Adrian Flux by being part of the 406 Coupé club.

Please do not go down the Black Box route. I'm saying this from 2 viewpoints. The first is as an advanced driver. The boxes are not programmed by people who know how to drive to an advanced level. They punish strong braking and acceleration (which are natural parts of three-phase braking manoeuvres and making progress) and they emphasise slow driving, which in some circumstances can actually be dangerous or cause problems with the flow of traffic. Other parts of the advanced driving style seem to trip the boxes a lot too. Essentially you couldn't do an advanced driving course with one in your car.

Secondly, there are also limitations such as mileage allowance (which will cost you extra for more), times of the day you cannot drive (i.e. late at night or early mornings) and even limits on going out during times of heavy traffic (if you work normal hours you'll obviously hit rush hour traffic). It's not going to save you a great deal in the long run, but it is going to impact any enjoyment of your vehicle, which I assume is why you're buying it.

As for the whole 'should you get a Tesla' thing, it's a non-discussion: it's your decision and your money. If I had the chance to buy one as a first car, I'd have taken it. The only valid advice is to learn how your car performs, and drive safely.

I agree with all what you say but the black box should be considered, depending of the savings. I know one youngster that passed his test, normal insurance was around £2500 on a normal run of the mill golf without one, but £1000 with. He had the box for a year and the price did go up with his use/driving style, but only by about £100. At renewal time he dropped the box and paid around £600

 

[Homer's Dad]

I echo a lot of the more positive comments here... Shop around and see what you can get.
I don't need to know any of your personal circumstances to offer that advice.

FWIW I am 44, have 9 years NCB and had one insurer offer me £12,000 for an SR+ whilst others were closer to around £2000. I tried all of the comparison sites to no avail BUT then tried the official route via Churchill and I now have my SR+ insured for £700 p/a and an excess of £500.

So keep trying. And as an old fart my only real piece of advice would be to occasionally step away from the binary world of online and to pick up the phone to a specialist broker and see if they can listen to you and your circumstances and give specific help.

Good luck - I am sure you'll enjoy the car... I'm genuinely loving mine.

Psst - lemme know if you need any floor mats; I know a guy

At the ripe old age of 44 you really are most certainly NOT an old fart - these words come from someone who can make a legitimate claim to that title!

 

[Mark_T]

Please do not go down the Black Box route. I'm saying this from 2 viewpoints. The first is as an advanced driver. The boxes are not programmed by people who know how to drive to an advanced level. They punish strong braking and acceleration (which are natural parts of three-phase braking manoeuvres and making progress) and they emphasise slow driving, which in some circumstances can actually be dangerous or cause problems with the flow of traffic. Other parts of the advanced driving style seem to trip the boxes a lot too. Essentially you couldn't do an advanced driving course with one in your car.

I’d have to agree, we had one of those on a car I was using in Texas. It encouraged poor driving and punished safety sadly.

You ended up approaching traffic lights slower than the normal flow of traffic because you could neither accelerate nor brake strongly to react to a change, and merging onto freeways became almost impossible to complete safely without getting dinged.