michele Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Can anyone enlighten my husband and I about van's . By this I mean VW transporters or the Mercedes . The reason I ask is we would like to buy our daughter a van . Again the reason is a tool of her trade she need's to fit in a portable forge Anvil and all her tools to go to work. When we looked we found a little ford van that wouldof done the job . Phoned the insurance company they did not want to know . I said to the insurance company we have a VW Caravell could she drive that?.No came the reply not until she is 21 . I asked was that because it had 8 seats . yes & no came the reply they wouldn't want her driving an 8 seater nor would they want her driving a van. I said surely the van was slower ? going by experience I would rather have her driving a plodder like our van than something fast like a car. So what is this law is it compulsory or is it just the insurance companies we choose . How do you do work if you need a van ? and I am sure that half the kid's driving around london for work don't look 21. Can anyone help shed some light on this matter. Will her licence cover her Help confused. *-) *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hi Michele, its not a law at all, just that particular insurance companies own rules. Shop around and you're bound to find a company with a more sensible attitude. Sometimes these insurance companies set some ridiculous rules, several years ago I bought an old Mk2 Escort. It was a tidy little motor and after some work ran really well but it had originally been a 1.6 Ghia and somewhere along the line the engine had been replaced with a 1.3. Swintons wanted an engineers report on the conversion before they would even quote. The 1.3 and 1.6 engines are virtually identical but the 1.3 quite obviously has less power but they insisted on an engineers report. I went to an alternative company, told them exactly the same details and they insured it as a 1.3 with no further quibbles. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Intriguing. My children have always driven vans. I bought them a Fiesta van (supposedly my business vehicle) to have as their own vehicle. Never had any insurance problems. My son was driving our Merc Sprinter as soon as he passed his test and it was alot cheaper than him driving the family car. The van I always considered more dangerous than the car. It was turbo charged etc. and I'm sure if it went out of control it would be worse than a lot of cars. The limit is up to 3.5 tonnes on their licence nowadays. Daughter passed with the old test and son with the new. Big nuisance, I would trust son many more times than daughter to tow the horse trailer etc. Mind you that was all 8 or more years ago. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Try Bentley Charles insurance brokers at Peterborough they insured the vans my son owned ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hi Michele, Welcome back, sorry to read about the dog. Insurance not until she is 21, I wonder where the new Age Discrimination law comes into this? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Insurance companies have limits to risk that they will insure, in your daughters case this would be 1 young driver-bad risk 2 van-bad risk(they are always getting broken into) 3 essex!-nuf said (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Thank's everyone I will try other companies at least I now know that it is not law. David , thank you for your kind words she is really missed. colin , Not all Essex is bad admittedly some like anywhere but they tend to be places like Romford Dagenham not that I am dissing them I think they tend to have a problem with the youngsters and all the clubs on the doorstep . we are more stuck with the countryside snobbs ha ha...the hoitey toitey horsey lot ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W3526602 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Hi, My mate (mature) had this problem. Insurers don't like insuring vans for private use. So he told them he was a Civil Servant/Bee Keeper.....no problem. Later I bought a van, and called myself a Civil Servant/Land Owner....cos I had 7 acres and some horses. I understand CIS will insure vans for private use. Also think about an ancient Land Rover, pre-1973, and it tax exempt. Plenty of younsters driving Landys on www.DIFFLOCK.com, so come and ask for advice. If she is well-heeled, she could buy a Dormobile Landy, get best of both worlds. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Hi michelle I am guessing from your description of what your daughter will be fitting in the van that she is a farrier? If so, try the National Farmers Union (NFU) when I had a horsebox, 4x4's and trailers to insure they were usually very competitive and know the market very well. Regards, david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrie w Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 hi, two points that may be of use ! have a look at the web site for e bikeinsure, have my vespa covered by them at half the cost of carol nash et all.they do car & home insurance as well. it's worth a trawl of the web anyway. small vans :- i'm in the motor trade & have worked a long time mobile,carting around loads of heavy kit,from a renault extra van,brilliant vehicle.the first one i bought for £150,it lasted me 12 years & i still got £25 for it when i changed to a diesel.you can find the petrol models with 1.4 lt engines so less insurance & road fund. good load carriers,don't rust as much & nicer to drive than an escort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Michelle Try One of the comparison websites like "confused.com" they will do all the research for you and find a reasonable quote. well they did for me and fiesta courier. Good luck Docted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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