Have anyone out here ever tried to insure a Transit sized van on a private motor policy?

My efforts to insure my Renault Trafic Van have finally paid off with a £360 TPFT premium inclusive on an introductory discound on the strength of my NCB on the main car. I was hoping for a cheaper quote.

I use the van to renovate my own house (We're moving to a place that needs a lot of work. I have worked out that it is just about cheaper to run a 2nd car to cope with all the mess etc, saving money on skip hire, material delivery costs, soiling the car etc. And we will use it to move house, thereby saving money on hiring a van.

When I have run two cars, the second had usually attracted a 2nd car discount, roughly equivilent to full NCB on the first. The only proviso was that I had to demonstrate that I ran two cars, and had the NCB. This doesn't work too well with vans, unless they are car derived vans (eg Ford Escort van).

Now I come to a vehicle that is still PLG class and can be driven on a car licence and only one insurance company was prepared to give an introductory discount.

Many commercial vehicle insurers did not wish to quote for privately used vans, despite what is surely a much lower risk.

Many main stream car insurers would not quote for vehicles of this type at all.

Often insurers that would quote seemed to put a loading on for the fact that I am not self employed and will be using the van for private use only, despite the fact that I am intending to do less than 10,000 miles per annum, as opposed to the average commercial milege of 30,000+.

Excuses that I have received include:-

Private policies have been abused by people using these vehicles for gain. - So why don't you treat everyone as self employed and we can all benefit from the discount?

People who drive vans up to 30,000 miles per year are less likely to have an accident that those people who do 5,000 to 10,000 miles per year. - WHAT????? - Run that past me again! So White Van Man who doesnt give a damn is a better risk than someone who is basically using the vehicle as a second car and will drive it as such?

This all seems a bit bazarr.

Is there anyone out there that can explain the logic behind all this?

Is there anyone out there that has got this problem or has found a way around it?

The problem is, what do I do next year when my intro discount is not there?

H Read more

HJ,
With regard to your article on the contract for Vauxhall Rental cars. 66,000 cars for £900M = £13,636 each average cost - as you say at list prices.

Any idea what ANC are paying for them? £500-600M?

They are to sell them at 6 months old. Will they sell them for more than they paid for them?

C Read more

how do you tell the difference between a low pressure turbo and a normal turbo on a 1994 astra 1.7 TD intercooler? Read more

Dear all,

Hope you all had a great Christmas. There is a running problem with my engine. When starting from cold, it starts straight away with no throttle but would cut-off straight away. I have to blip the throttle to keep it running for a few seconds then it idles at 1200rpm. I have changed all the plugs and leads but no improvement (I did not think it would improve as it did not misfire but I thought I would give it a try anyway).

No engine light but could it be ECU problems or anything else?

Thanks,
Garrison Read more

Hi


Does anyone know if an import eg VW has 1 or 2 years full
warranty from UK main dealers. I get conflicting advice from some dealers
thanks
alan Read more