NFU are an anomoly; they can be incredibly tolerant of some things, and Land-rovers are one of them, but they dont like young drivers, and wont give a 'named' policy to any-one under 25, and I believe they'll only put an under 25 yr old on a policy of a 'long standing customer'..... though they do make exceptions if you are a farmer and / or member of the National Farmers Union.
Insurance for young drives is a minefioeld whatever the car. Landies are no better or no worse than most; but you do have to do the leg work to find a reasonable 'deal'.
Insuring on a parents policy iIS a bit 'iffy'.... legitimate, but iffy.
There have been instances where 'kids' have had an accident and the insurance co have actually gone and checked ho many miles each driver have done in it; and used things like CCTV footage from college car-parks to see if its regularly used by the 'second-driver' as thier main vehicle. Couple of instances even where its been the named driver made the claim...... (mummy taking the rap fro a fully comp 'prang', as then the applicable XS is lower and the NCB 'Protection' limits the penalty)
For a 17year old, on ANY vehicle, an annual premium of around a grand is 'typical', anything less is a good deal, and few manage, even going second named driver to get much under £500 a year.
Ways to get lower premiums are pretty simple, and the first two are paramount:-
1/ Pick a low risk vehicle to begin with; something mundane and boring, not what all the other 'kiddies' want, like a Saxo! (Land-rover is an inbetweenie!)
2/ Keep it STANDARD.
After that, a specialist policy can be helpful; something like a classic or cherished vehicle one; though many wont offer these to under 21's.
Reducing cover to 3rd Party or TPFT rather than 'all-risk' Fully comp; and accepting higher policy XS's, or limiing permitted miles. (Down side of this you need to realise, is that lower premium comes from you accepting greater share of the 'liability', and if you have a £1000 collision XS, you need to be reasonably confident that you can AFFORD to pay out a grand if you hit some-one!)
If you are set on a Landy, it is doable; but they aren't a 'cheap' car to run, and they demand a lot of maintenence. The 'system' is geared towards the mainstream, and favours things like Micras and other 'uncool' far eastern micr-cars.
Probably the 'best' Landy for a teen-ager to go for is a SWB Series III Deasil, as they dont ring too many alarm bells in the insurance companies offices; and of all Landies, they are the mones that are most easily and most ecconomically maintained, in a standard condition....... but you'll get to college quicker, more comfortably, and come winter, with less risk of frost-bite, on a moped!
A Series Landy, is a great learning tool, though, in its a car that you really HAVE to drive, it doesn't do ANYTHING for you, there's no power steering, crunch gears, and wobbly steering; demands 100% concentration from the driver, and a lot of mechanical empathy, which you HAVE to aquire and aquire quickly to actually get anywhere.
This is not often apreciated, though, and I have to say, that the flip side is, getting your first couple of years in teh drivers seat in in a eruro-box, gives you a LOT less to worry about.... and theres MORE than enough to worry about going on outside the car than in it!
So its swings and round-abouts, and the bottom line is; if you look at it practically and logically, a Land-rover very RARELY makes sense for ANY-ONE, least of all a new driver....
If you take on board that, and have the pasion and enthusiasm for one, then nothing else will really do, and you are going to have to tackle each 'problem' as it arises, and where needed, bite whatever bullet needs biting, be that finding the money for insurance or repairs, or getting your hands dirty fixing stuff, and catching the bus when the cars up on ramps waiting for a part you cant get or afford right now!
Only other suggestion is; tempered enthusiasm; perhaps getting a Series III as a 'project' to fix up over a couple of years, and in the mean tiome, get a cheap micro-wotsit from Korea to get you about, in reletive ecconomic peace, while you crank up some No-Claims Bonus, and get the Series ready for the road.
Have to say, my eldest... when he was old enough, HAD to have a motorbike..... I'm a biker, and probably to blame, used to drag the kids out with me every other sunday when I competed in trials!
Anyway; ALL the logical argument chucked at him was that JUST to throw your leg over the saddle of a moped, costs more than buying a car! Compulsary Basic Training, road training, tripple tests, 125cc limit at 17, then 33bhp limit for two years after that..... inordinately high insurance, need for helmet, safety wear, limited practicality, list of downers to the persuit is pretty much endless.....
But, nothing would dampen his enthusiasm, and he's now 21, and learning the hard way, having gone through all the hassles of getting past the young rider restrictions, being off the road with a knackered old bike he cant afford a new chain & sprokets on, becouse of the exhorbitant insurance he's got himself a 900cc Suzuki..... which in the nine months he's had it, has been off teh road for a third of that time, waiting for him to save up the money to sort stuff, and now, heading back to uni for the autumn..... had a shock when he realised the insurance was double what he'd anticipated, becouse putting policies on hold, or gaps between policies while he's been saving for them..... never completed a full 12 months to get a bonus!
But.... he'll be eating pot noodles for the next three months while his mates are pigging burgers and kebabs to cover the gap in his finances, but to him its worth it.....
What's a Landy worth to you?
