cheap

[Trillipse]

having squandered my wealth and driving privileges when a callow youth, and carless for a while now, having had a couple of drink related incidents a few years ago, i've put of getting hold of a new motor due to the expense of insurance. soon (having long since changed my ways) i will need one again. i am 32, and soon to be a qualified mental health nurse. at the moment i'm only insured on my wife's insurance. what's the cheapest half-decent runaround to insure, and ***'** the cheapest people with whom to secure such an insurance?

[Trillipse]

ps: additional quiz - guess the innocent asterisked word! fun for all the family.

[apex204]

You're a bit vague in your search Trillipse. Are you looking at brand new cars? How long ago were your convictions? What's your budget for a car? What are your requirements?

For an stylish, practical, and ultimately uber-cheap runaround on a budget of less than �7000, haggle hard on a Fiat Panda 1.2 Dynamic and, depending on the date of your convictions, call Direct Line. If you've had no convictions in the past 5 years, and no claims in the past 3 years, they'll give you 35% off in lieu of your lack of NCB. They'll normally make it cheaper if you add your wife on and she's been a good girl too. Plus if you get a quote before the 30th June they'll give you a quote with interest-free instalments which is valid for 3 months, no matter how many different permutations you get a quote on!

Happy motoring fella!

[AllYourBase]

I found a way out of a similar hole by buying a car that came with free insurance. It wasn't the car I would have chosen first in the queue, but the free insurance got me a record that gave me a no-claims after a year and made the costs much better. Many small mass produced cars have these offers periodically.

Honest John in the Daily Telegraph swears by the Panda.

[apex204]

I bought a Micra 12-months ago with a year's free insurance, and would advise against it. In hindsight I'd have bought a cheaper car and paid for the privilige of being with a decent insurer that doesn't close at 1pm on Saturdays, 6pm in the week and doesn't open AT ALL on Sundays. And amendment charges on free insurance policies? Upwards of �40, thankyou.

AVOID.