insurance in the UK

[MetalHeadZaid]

hey, it's possible i may have to move to the UK some time in the next year, and the first issue that comes to mind is if i'll be able to drive the same stuff i drive here in New Zealand. i'm assuming insurance is compulsary in the UK, so will i be paying some insanely large fee to drive older turbo nissans? 200SXs and skylines, 1989 - 1997 are what i'd be looking at and i'm 16 years old. will insurance be crazy expensive for me with these cars? i dont have insurance here to avoid the otrageous "street racer" costs that go with anything turbo.

[fredjacksonsan]

I'm good at US insurance, but not UK. I'll post up a thread in Off Topic referencing your thread here, hopefully a response will come back shortly.

If you don't get an answer in a few days, go ahead and post up your question in Off Topic.

[drunken monkey]

hmm... check that you are even allowed to drive here.
In the UK, the minimum age for applying for a provisional license and hence minimum age to drive a car is 17.
Following from that, the first thing I would check is if your driving license is classed as an international one (i.e sort of transferable) to the UK.

If all is ok and seeing as you'll probably be older than 17 by the time you get here, then I have some bad news.
Insurance is going to cost you.
Lots.

My first insurance on a Peugeot 106 GTi when I was 18 was about £1600.
The car isn't exactly fast and it only cost me £8000 in the first place but the rates are calculated from factors that range from liklihood of it being stolen, the records of that type of car being in accidents, where you live, your age, profession etc.
Young people get shafted here.

For some comparison.
For me, a 28 year old Architect's Assistant living in London, parking off road, to cover a Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo costs about £1600. For a RX8 costs £1400. S1 Elise costs £1400. Alfa 147 GTA costs £1700. Ford Puma 1.7 costs £800.

I don't have a perfectly clean record though as someone hit my car and disappeared and before that, I had a small accident on a roundabout as well....

[MetalHeadZaid]

damn. in that case there's no way in hell i'm going there. i'm not giving up my nissans for nothing.