Was thinking of replacing my car with a different type and make. So before going further, used one of the 'compare' sites to see what insurance would cost. The company I'm with now - More Than - was right at the top end of prices. Over 3 time more than the cheapest. Other companies were offering prices not much different from what I pay now. So decided to go ahead and buy the car I wanted.
My current insurance runs out in a couple of months, so contacted MT to see how much to transfer it for those remaining months. If silly, I'd just start afresh.
On the phone, they quoted me only about 25 quid extra. And a quote for renewal which was competitive with the others. Like about 1/3rd of the price from them on the comparison site.
I will simply never ever understand how insurance companies reason. ;-)
If you're a 'new customer', they give you a rate depending on how much they want your business (usually low, but sometiems high if they don't really want you)
If you put in your details into a comparison site and they match an existing customer they may generate a deal tailored to you (eg take into account your history with them, or decide they'd rather not have you again). If they don't match, they'll give you the standard deal. It's handy to try with similar but incorrect details to see what the standard deal looks like.
If you go direct, they may think you're a captive customer and give you a higher quote than going via a comparison site where they know they'll show up poorly if they do that.
Renewal quotes are frequently laughably high, but more seemed to have cottoned onto the fact that people are shopping around more so they can't get away with it so much. They may take into account that you've searched through a comparison site.
If you call them up, you can haggle.
Some deals aren't on comparison sites - even at insurers who do appear.
If you have a vehicle that doesn't fit the tickboxes very well (eg modifications, imports) or a driving history likewise, they may decide you're more risky online and give you a high playing-safe quote. If you call them, they might be able to fill in more information (eg they handled a previous claim and know what it cost them).
If you click through a comparison site / cashback / affiliate link, that will affect the price too - either a discount or more likely to adjust for the kickback they have to pay.
The general insurance market goes up and down, so you can get different quotes over time (that's why it isn't useful to compare your renewal with last year's quote - only with recent quotes).
They're very odd, classic car valuations. Mine is a Rover SD1 - and a couple have sold for very high prices at a proper auction recently. But others seem to change hands at what I'd call normal prices. Ebay is no real guide as so many simply don't pay up after winning an auction there. So it almost seems that some get caught up with auction fever - and pay far more than the going price.
I've got a slight problem with it. Bound to be something on a used car.
Accelerate gently, and it sometimes appears to cut out. Doesn't stall, just ceases to accelerate. Like you'd taken your foot of the pedal, when you haven't. The natural reaction is to push harder - but you don't always want it to take off like a scalded cat. ;-) Difficult to be definitive about when it is most likely to happen - but seems to be mostly after a hot re-start. But not straight away. I'm guessing a possible problem with the drive by wire throttle. But not found anything by Googling.
Other thing that surprised after the BMW is just how low geared it is. Certainly gives it good acceleration - but I'd really prefer more restful cruising. ;-) MPG is good though - got 31.4 MPG over a day of very mixed driving and about 200 miles.
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