Car insurance
I know that this thorny issue has been covered many times over the years, but I wish to get up to date thinking here please.
I am currently with the Post Office and they've just upped their premium from its present £460 to £730 for renewal this month🤬
A simple 'compare the market' search shows loads of better offers. One, from Churchill Plus, which is nowhere near the cheapest, looks OK at £550 for full comp with all the trimmings except breakdown cover (I'm with Green Flag for that).
So, FL2 Metropolis, Nov '14, value £13.2k with annual (true) mileage of c4k, 78 year old driver, no convictions and 9 years NCD. Kept on private, rural property.
Your thoughts please, gentlemen (and ladies too!) I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.

I do know there has been a massive hike in insurance (probably the floods)
but mine went up to £460 in 2023 and I had a quick look the comp sites were
I'm now seeing the same as you £500>£730,
with the hike in road tax by another £20, I guess it's time to change motors
shame the Freelander 2 ticks all the boxes.
I'm leaning to a potential classic car probably a Rover as I'm only driving around 3500 MPY.

worse than I though.....My renewel has come in at £1202.
I've just changed to 1st Central at £459. DAVE.
I.A.M. F1rst Driver.
Gone 2003 Discovery TD5 Auto,
Gone 1986 Defender 90 Station Wagon
Gone 1984 Range Rover 3.5 Vogue Manual.
Gone 1970 Series 11A/3 SWB 3.5 V8 Hybrid
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Van
Gone 1966 Series 11A SWB Van
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Station Wagon,

Last edited by Dave47 on 12th Apr 2024 6:11 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Yep I have a MGB no tax no MOT though I do put one on it £80 year full comp insurance max 4k a year milage,

Like the idea of a Rover too 3500 v8 P6 would be good but parts now getting a bit thin on the ground. 2013 FL2 XS.
Defender 90 300 TDi.
Defender 90 300 TDi CSW.
1964 MGB Roadster.
1944 Willys MB "Jeep" with bullet holes. (gone)
17 hand Irish Drought Thoroughbred (mostly lame)
Nagging Old Boiler.

I fear age is not on your side. My Mum (early 80's) had her premium go up by over £400, to just under £1000 for a 1.5 Golf at her last renewal. I could not find a cheaper quite though ( she is with LV).

I agree with the classic car idea. I have a Jaguar XKR (4.0 supercharged) soft top. I pay less than €300 a year (6000 km) for me and the wife to drive. Unused km roll over, so at present I have over 20000 km allowance.

I recently insured our 2014 Se Tech , 5K miles per year , fully comp, Both drivers 65. no convictions nor claims , max NCD, protected NCD, rural property, stored on gated drive. SDP only. Motor legal cover. Uninsured driver cover.

NO breakdown cover needed - have that through Nationwide bank.
No courtesy car needed.

Went with Churchill at £307


Last year paid £198 with Halifax but they wanted 80% more this year. Jules

Mine went up by £120.00, checked others and most were more, phoned my insurers and told them i had been with them a long time, my wife's car is with then also the house cover and it would be a shame to move, dropped the price by £77.00, result. Common sense isn't very common.
_______________________________
2007 Land Rover Freelander2 I6 hse Auto

I raised the same issue a few months back when my insurance went up by a lot. I was told be the insurers that it is down to the slow supply of parts keeping cars off the road and increasing hire charges. I was told by a local garage that it took them 2 months to get replacement springs for a Toyota Rav4 recently, so it is not just JLR it appears everyone is being hit by the lack of supply especially from Russia where a lot of the steel comes from. MY13 HSE Lux Santorini Black
MY11 HSE Santorini Black Gone
MY08 SE Blue, Gone
Alfa Romeo GT Gone
Alfa Romeo 156 Space wagon Gone
Volvo V40 Gone
Volvo 480ES Gone
VW Sirocco GTX Gone

My advice would be to stick with the FL2 at this point, as the Disco Sport insurance has gone through the roof.
Yes there have been increases due to long waits for spares, but the DS and other newer LR products have been high up on the stolen lists.

Mine was roughly £650 last year with Churchill, this year they wanted £2,400 with 15 years no claims. Eventually went elsewhere for £980 Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Thanks to all for the info, comments and advice. I have just switched to Churchill for c£550 - with all the bells and whistles except breakdown cover. That's nearly £200 cheaper than the Post Office. I now await their renewal quote on my wife's car (Toyota Corolla vvti) with interest!
Once again, thanks. I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.

Dave47 wrote:

I do know there has been a massive hike in insurance (probably the floods)
but mine went up to £460 in 2023 and I had a quick look the comp sites were
I'm now seeing the same as you £500>£730,
with the hike in road tax by another £20, I guess it's time to change motors
shame the Freelander 2 ticks all the boxes.
I'm leaning to a potential classic car probably a Rover as I'm only driving around 3500 MPY.

This is what you need Dave 👍


 Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

That's a Vitesse model, I believe. I had an SD1 from new for 3 or 4 years. Brilliant car - if it had been made by Mercedes. Sadly, it was 'built' in UK at Longbridge as I recall. The steering pump/ram was a frequent fail, minor switches etc from an Allegro or similar and the paint job was appalling. But... to drive and use, a joy! Big lazy auto gave very relaxed drive and excellent mpg, but if you gave it some, it had a similar 0-60 time to a Saab Turbo. The David Bache design, with a wheel at each corner, huge hatchback and loads of interior space was a classic. It also handled beautifully too. I remember taking my brother (a dyed-in-the-wool Beemer fan) out on a wet horrid night on the A24 near Horsham. When we arrived, he said that if he'd 'tried that' in his 323i, he'd have been decorating the hedges.
Very sad really. I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.

Yes Gav, cool motors indeed,
both sons run them back in the day,
1 vitesse and 1 V8 with a very tweeked engine and running gear,
which was an experience to drive.
had 2 P4 and a P5b, but now I'm "thinking" a nice clean 75... DAVE.
I.A.M. F1rst Driver.
Gone 2003 Discovery TD5 Auto,
Gone 1986 Defender 90 Station Wagon
Gone 1984 Range Rover 3.5 Vogue Manual.
Gone 1970 Series 11A/3 SWB 3.5 V8 Hybrid
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Van
Gone 1966 Series 11A SWB Van
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Station Wagon,

theglassman wrote:

That's a Vitesse model, I believe. I had an SD1 from new for 3 or 4 years. Brilliant car - if it had been made by Mercedes. Sadly, it was 'built' in UK at Longbridge as I recall. The steering pump/ram was a frequent fail, minor switches etc from an Allegro or similar and the paint job was appalling. But... to drive and use, a joy! Big lazy auto gave very relaxed drive and excellent mpg, but if you gave it some, it had a similar 0-60 time to a Saab Turbo. The David Bache design, with a wheel at each corner, huge hatchback and loads of interior space was a classic. It also handled beautifully too. I remember taking my brother (a dyed-in-the-wool Beemer fan) out on a wet horrid night on the A24 near Horsham. When we arrived, he said that if he'd 'tried that' in his 323i, he'd have been decorating the hedges.
Very sad really.

I'm in the 80-85 age bracket and I am noticing that on any comparison sites I am getting fewer and fewer quotes from companies, and I am informed that most companies will not take on drivers over the 84 age.
Plus I notice that my existing policy is increasing well above inflation.

(Yes, Rover, Triumph, etc did produce some lovely cars, but we failed to invest in the future, and the money they did have was diverted to non production items.) FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

Last edited by IanMetro on 2nd Apr 2024 1:01 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Welcome to (late) middle-age!  I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.