The Student Room Group

Bought an mx5 as first car but can't afford insurance

In june this year, i bought my first car aged 17, as the title suggests, it was a cheap mazda mx5 mk2 which was advertised for Β£600. I mainly bought it as a project car to work as i'm a huge fan of cars and love tinkering and modifying them. However, there is no way I can afford the insurance and I am wondering what my options aer at the present.

(I'm not willing to sell the car, he is my baby)

Scroll to see replies

Get a good enough job where you can insure it??
Reply 2
Original post by AlevelsMakeMeSui
Get a good enough job where you can insure it??


the insurance would be around 9000Β£ for me right now
Original post by Xsjajosa
the insurance would be around 9000Β£ for me right now


Get a black box fitted? that lowers the insurance I think or wait until you are older and just get a cheap car to drive that you can afford to insure while you wait and then you can work on the mx5 in the mean time
Original post by Xsjajosa
the insurance would be around 9000Β£ for me right now


oh **** boy wyd, did you check the insurance before you purchased it?
Reply 5
Find somewhere to store it for the next few years or get an older family member to insure it in their name, without you on the insurance. Plain and simple, you won't be able to afford to drive that car for several years.
It's an ugly base car tbh, should've got a Corolla or Cougar that way insurance should've been reasonable and they are both compatible for heavy modification.
Original post by Xsjajosa
In june this year, i bought my first car aged 17, as the title suggests, it was a cheap mazda mx5 mk2 which was advertised for Β£600. I mainly bought it as a project car to work as i'm a huge fan of cars and love tinkering and modifying them. However, there is no way I can afford the insurance and I am wondering what my options aer at the present.

(I'm not willing to sell the car, he is my baby)

I question why, but I don't need to

for now, I'd get a SORN from the DVLA for the car, that is if you want that.
Reply 8
Original post by New_to_tsr
It's an ugly base car tbh, should've got a Corolla or Cougar that way insurance should've been reasonable and they are both compatible for heavy modification.


Sorry bro, im about that jdm life
Reply 9
Original post by Xsjajosa
In june this year, i bought my first car aged 17, as the title suggests, it was a cheap mazda mx5 mk2 which was advertised for Β£600. I mainly bought it as a project car to work as i'm a huge fan of cars and love tinkering and modifying them. However, there is no way I can afford the insurance and I am wondering what my options aer at the present.

(I'm not willing to sell the car, he is my baby)


You don't have any options - you either pay to insure it, or don't drive it!
There’s nothing you can do unless you buy another car or move to the countryside or move countries.
Original post by Xsjajosa
In june this year, i bought my first car aged 17, as the title suggests, it was a cheap mazda mx5 mk2 which was advertised for Β£600. I mainly bought it as a project car to work as i'm a huge fan of cars and love tinkering and modifying them. However, there is no way I can afford the insurance and I am wondering what my options aer at the present.

(I'm not willing to sell the car, he is my baby)


I'm sorry, but you bought the wrong car. Unfortunately insurance in the UK is very expensive for young drivers(especially if you're modifying), and as a fellow petrolhead who will soon be able to drive, I feel your pain.

Really your only option is to garage the car and get a low-insurance-group car to drive for a couple of years until your insurance goes down. There's nothing to stop you modifying your MX-5 now, but you won't be able to drive it.
Have you tried Adrian Flux? Also see whether the owners' club has any deals with insurance companies. Or find a trailer and turn it into a track day machine...
So you bought an average and quite dangerous sports car without checking you can insure it because you like JDM cars? Genius.

I don't know what you expect people on here to do - you should have looked up the insurance before you bought it. For now you're going to need a runabout and tbh if you own a modded sports car you'll want a daily driver anyway - mine is very loud and very firm, long drives at normal people pace (ie not on a track) are irritating .
Reply 14
Original post by GonvilleBromhead
So you bought an average and quite dangerous sports car without checking you can insure it because you like JDM cars? Genius.

I don't know what you expect people on here to do - you should have looked up the insurance before you bought it. For now you're going to need a runabout and tbh if you own a modded sports car you'll want a daily driver anyway - mine is very loud and very firm, long drives at normal people pace (ie not on a track) are irritating .

It is not dangerous in terms of safety or reliability. I bought the car with the help of a relative who has been a mechanic for 20+ years. However, i will be spending Β£500 on a runabout for the next few years
You should have researched this before buying the car.
Original post by Xsjajosa
In june this year, i bought my first car aged 17, as the title suggests, it was a cheap mazda mx5 mk2 which was advertised for Β£600. I mainly bought it as a project car to work as i'm a huge fan of cars and love tinkering and modifying them. However, there is no way I can afford the insurance and I am wondering what my options aer at the present.

(I'm not willing to sell the car, he is my baby)


This is a classic mistake that first time buyers do. They look at cars and think "ahh how cool would be it to have this BMW" and sometimes they go ahead with the purchase without taking into account the insurance.

Personally the best advice I could give is do an insurance quote before you buy the vehicle so that you know you are able to afford the insurance and not be caught out in a situation like yours where you can't even drive the car that you bought.
A Β£600 Mk 2 MX5? I'm guessing it's a rust-bucket?

Good project cars though. Either sell or garage it until you can afford to insure. You could also get a friend/relative to insure it but you probably still won't be able to drive it without "fronting" (i.e. committing insurance fraud).
Park it up until you can afford to run it.

Just save up and get a cheap first car I:colone: vauxhall Corsa, MK5 ford fiesta, vw lupo etc etc

I have cars around me that i desperately wanted to drive when i was young but when i drew up i realised not only would i not be able to afford the fuel but the insurance would be extortionate.

A rolls royce silver shadow

Range rover p38 v8

jeep cherokee xj

jaguar STR 400hp v8

etc etc.

i have a Mini r50 as my first car, a bounus is its a fixer upper aswell !!
Original post by Starwreck
Park it up until you can afford to run it.

Just save up and get a cheap first car I:colone: vauxhall Corsa, MK5 ford fiesta, vw lupo etc etc

I have cars around me that i desperately wanted to drive when i was young but when i drew up i realised not only would i not be able to afford the fuel but the insurance would be extortionate.

A rolls royce silver shadow

Range rover p38 v8

jeep cherokee xj

jaguar STR 400hp v8

etc etc.

i have a Mini r50 as my first car, a bounus is its a fixer upper as well !!


I like your tasteπŸ™‚ and just put yourself as named driver then you can enjoy the 9mpg just like me (18btw)
Attachment not found
(edited 6 years ago)

Quick Reply

Latest