Drives Me Mad! - The Drivers' Thread

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12824940
A teenager has described his amazement after being quoted almost £33,000 to insure his second-hand car.

Jake Redshaw, 17, from Salford, bought a six-year-old Vauxhall Corsa for £3,000 after he passed his test earlier in March.

He told the BBC he expected comparison website insurance quotes to reach about £3,000 - but received a headline figure of £32,819 from the AA.

The company said the figure was a mistake and should not have appeared.

 Jake, from Eccles, was hoping to use his car to travel to Pendleton College, where he is studying IT, and his part-time job in a warehouse.

"The average [price] was probably about £12,000, £13,000 and the cheapest was £5,700. And I got £33,000 from AA," he told the BBC.

"I was amazed because I was expecting to pay £3,000, £4,000, but not that high.

"I can't insure it. If I want to go out I'll have to get my mum or dad to drop me off to go out. I can't be independent as I wanted to be.

"At 18 it apparently goes down, so I'll have to wait until then. But it's only a couple of months away so it's not that bad."

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), 12% of drivers are aged 17 to 24 - but they are responsible for almost 30% of accidents.
 
In that age group, drivers are 10 times more likely to be involved in an accident than drivers aged over 30.

A spokesman for the AA said the high risk associated with young male drivers meant the average industry quote for a UK male aged 17 to 22 was £2,750.

 
The AA said the figure was a mistake "Sometimes insurance companies would prefer not to have that business and rather than not quote they quote figures they do not expect to be taken up," said the spokesman.

"One of the insurance companies on our panel has produced a quote that just should not have appeared."

Last week, the Manchester-based Co-operative insurance launched a product that offers reduced rates to young drivers if they install a device to their car which monitors their driving.

The AA said it would be offering a similar scheme later in 2011 and believes such products could boost the number of quotes for young drivers.

How much?

Admiral once quoted me £4800 to insure a 1.4 Golf when I was 21.

Anybody else's car insurance gone through the roof this year? My renewal quote is a joke and talking to people at work, it seems most people have experienced a hike this time around.

I dropped my car off for it's MOT on Sunday and it was tested yesterday at 11. I knew it was going to need stuff doing, after all, it's an MG and it's been sat motionless since May.

At 14:00, I still hadn't heard from the garage so called to ask what needed doing. Just as I feared, it needed work...








2 bulbs 

2 bulbs

Are you sure it only need two bulbs and they didnt mean the two bulbs were OK and the rest of the motor failed

My Daughter is doing her theory test today good luck Zoe.

Anybody else's car insurance gone through the roof this year? My renewal quote is a joke and talking to people at work, it seems most people have experienced a hike this time around.

Shop around Rep, we had some outrageous quotes and couldn't believe the difference in the more sane ones.

Are you sure it only need two bulbs and they didnt mean the two bulbs were OK and the rest of the motor failed

Haha, definitely right, I've collected it and everything. You should have heard the conversation when I phoned.

Me : "Hi Mark, I dropped my MG off for it's MOT at 11, I was just wondering how it went"

Mark : "All done, mate."

"Oh good, how has it gone."

"Fine, all done. Let me see (paper rustling) you just needed a couple of bulbs, I told them to put them in so it's done now."

"Ah right, thanks for that.... (pause)... anything else??"

"Has it been stood still?"

(Oh hear it comes) "Yeah, for a good 6 months now."

"That explains it then, just a bit of surface rust on your brake disks, go steady and it'll rub off, nothing to worry about. Also your handbrake was on the limit but it passed."

Even after he'd said all that, I was still expecting bad news! I originally took my car off the road because road tax, insurance and MOT were all due at the end of May and I couldn't afford it. I sorted out my insurance a while back but kept delaying my MOT because I was worried about the cost. The back brake pads and disks were shot and I replaced them myself in April but I was concerned that the fronts might need replacing as well.

Me : "So it's done?"

"Yes, mate. Just the 2 bulbs, that's a fiver plus the MOT fee"

"  " 

Happy Days I am dreading doing the Daughters in Feburary

I am dreading doing the Daughters in Feburary

This is one of those occasions where the slightest slip with your puncuation makes a sentence sound oh so wrong! 

I am dreading doing the Daughters

I am dreading doing the Daughter's

This is one of those occasions where the slightest slip with your puncuation makes a sentence sound oh so wrong! 

I am dreading doing the Daughters

I am dreading doing the Daughter's

Well spotted that man.

Hey Rep, I'm made up for you that your car passed its MOT, are you getting it back on the road now then?

Good luck to Zoe, Ian, fingers crossed that she passes 

Mark was on his way to work this morning, stopped at a junction, icy road, low sun, woman comes up and crashes right into the back of him and shunts him into the car in front of him, her car is so badly damaged, you can't tell what it is from the front  Marks is also badly damaged at the back, possible write off  hassle, police and paramedics were marvellous.....Mark gutted now he hasn't got a car, wasn't hurt fortunately, just banged his head on the steering wheel 

Hey Rep, I'm made up for you that your car passed its MOT, are you getting it back on the road now then?

Good luck to Zoe, Ian, fingers crossed that she passes 

Mark was on his way to work this morning, stopped at a junction, icy road, low sun, woman comes up and crashes right into the back of him and shunts him into the car in front of him, her car is so badly damaged, you can't tell what it is from the front  Marks is also badly damaged at the back, possible write off  hassle, police and paramedics were marvellous.....Mark gutted now he hasn't got a car, wasn't hurt fortunately, just banged his head on the steering wheel 

Don't forget about the whiplash Cas    it does go unnoticed at first. Most of all tho' glad your lad is not hurt.

Cheers Stuey, he'd only put £50 worth of petrol in it last night as well 

Good luck to Zoe, Ian, fingers crossed that she passes

She passed so is well happy.

Glad Mark was OK Cas.

This is one of those occasions where the slightest slip with your puncuation makes a sentence sound oh so wrong! 

I am dreading doing the Daughters

I am dreading doing the Daughter's

You sick puppy Rep.

She passed so is well happy.

Glad Mark was OK Cas.

Pass on our congratulations to her Ian 

He's sufferting a bit tonight with a bad back and headache.

Hope your lad feels better soon, MsGerrard; back pain can be an awful hindrance. Hope he sleeps it off tonight.

She passed so is well happy.

Well done on passing the driving test, I bet she's made up.

You sick puppy Rep.

I didn't say WHO'S daughters :p

Yes, MsG, just waiting for my tax to come through!

Sorry to hear about your son MsG. Hope he recovers quickly.

Rep-Great news about your car. It is about time your luck turns around.

Thanks, Firepool but I'm afraid my luck hasn't changed, it was just a slight bonus :

http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,6628.msg1162014.html#msg1162014

My list could be so long, it could get boring......
My top 2.

Lorries that pull out to overtake another lorry that is going 0.1 mph slower.

My biggest bugbear is drivers not indicating at traffic lights, when they are turning right.

Any BMW drivers (sorry had to put that one in).

Agreed.

There's a thread here though:
http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,2773.msg34663.html#msg34663

Not trying to be a smart-arse, I just know because I've posted in it before.

^^^ Cheers Rep, topics merged.

My list could be so long, it could get boring......
My top 2.

Lorries that pull out to overtake another lorry that is going 0.1 mph slower.

My biggest bugbear is drivers not indicating at traffic lights, when they are turning right.

Any BMW drivers (sorry had to put that one in).

In defence of lorry drivers, trucks have cruise control and are all supposed to be limited to 56 mph. Where one truck will be limited to 51 mph at the hauliers request another will be limited to 56 and if you're in one that's limited  to 56 and you're on timed deliveries the last thing you want to do is get stuck behind another truck. Lorry drivers would love to overtake faster but the law won't allow it. What feels like 0.1 mph to you can be 5 mph but your own impatience and frustration makes it seem slower as 5mph in an overtaking manoeuvre can take a truck a couple of miles easy to get past the other truck. Try and remember that these lads eat, sleep and live in their cabs all week and they don't do it to annoy you, they do it to get the day over and park up and sleep.

Agreed.

There's a thread here though:
http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,2773.msg34663.html#msg34663

Not trying to be a smart-arse, I just know because I've posted in it before.

Well that killed what I thourt was a good thread.