The Irish Mitsubishi FTO Owners Club

I don't think these officially cover fto's. I think in the opening page one of the requirements is that its not an import. But having said that they give excellant quotes.

I tried a few cars that at this moment in time are attracting a bit of interest in me. Of course that changes every time I am on the road. But tried both a Volvo C70 and Audi TT. I am 29, full ncb so I just added a year to hit that dreaded 30 mark which is due to happen in the summer as my current policy expires.

Well the site deals with a lot of brokers and I got a quote back for 650 euros for the C70 which I couldn't believe. That's a 2.0L, 2000 model with a price of €20k that I put in. The TT at around the same price came in at €850.

Then to add to this, the crowd that quoted me for the C70, some broker in Carlow or somewhere like that, rang me up to say that they could actually quote me for €550.

Its on online quote system and they email you the details too. I entered in my mobile as you have to give a number and that's why they rang me. So I suppose watch that if you don't want calls although they were the only ones to do that.

But keep this to yourselfs........sounding suspiciously good...

Response from an email I sent these guys regarding insuring Jap imports:

We have a few companies that deal with japanese imports but it depends on your details. If you want a quote you can give us a ring on 0818 21 25 21.


Regards
Colette @
McCarthy Direct

Might still be worth a try.

CJ

we're part of the group, if you check out the dublin brokers.

the number up there is wrong. 01-4033700 for anyone who's interested

i tried the bestquotes online.

for a 99 gpx manual, comprehensive cover = 1,404.18

for a 98 evo 5, same details and cover = 936.14

wot the hell is going on here

AL wrote:i tried the bestquotes online.

for a 99 gpx manual, comprehensive cover = 1,404.18

for a 98 evo 5, same details and cover = 936.14

wot the hell is going on here

Nothing new there I'm afraid - I have also got much cheaper quotes on an EVO 4&5, and an STI Scooby in the past when I've been shopping for FTO quotes from any insurance company. I don't know where they get their figures from but they need to seriously review them.

Well as I said I don't think this is a solution to the fto insurance woes. But what it does give is some fantastic quotes on other cars.

i did try about a year ago to get people on here to come together so we could actually approach one or two companies with a view to getting a discount. but we needed at least 15 names and details and we got something like 5 or 6....

Based on my criteria at renewal (not long away now). They came up with a figure of €2836, a full €900 more than I paid last year, despite being a year older + having another years NCB

Dave wrote

i did try about a year ago to get people on here to come together so we could actually approach one or two companies with a view to getting a discount. but we needed at least 15 names and details and we got something like 5 or 6....

Dave this really is a nice idea but I could see it being difficult to realise.
What we really need is someone in the industry to find out exactly why the FTO is sooooo over rated (could be as simple as an administrative mistake a few years back and we're all paying the price in the meantime) and then rectify the problem. Your misssion should you accept it..............

don't think it'd make a difference, you could argue till you're blue in the face but it wouldn't get you anywhere!

Dave wrote:don't think it'd make a difference, you could argue till you're blue in the face but it wouldn't get you anywhere!

I wonder how this whole assessment business works, are there a group of risk assessors who factor in a load of statistics and then come to a conclusion on the risk associated with owning and driving an FTO? I want names, names I tell ya!

CJ

basically a bunch of nerds yeah!! actuarists!!!

Dave wrote:basically a bunch of nerds yeah!! actuarists!!!

Rich nerds too...... the feckers! IIRC when the FTO was released waaay back in 1995 people were talking about it like it was a super-car. I remember a mate I used to have who worked in Barrible motors telling us about driving one - the way he talked about it I thought it was in a league with porches...... maybe that image stuck

shane wrote:the way he talked about it I thought it was in a league with porches...... maybe that image stuck

OT, but a GPX is way above 924 and 944 teritory and will give a boxter a very good run for its money, I know you were probably talking about 911 turbos et al mind you

Actuaries are clever people, just look at the requirements for taking actuarial studies at university level. It seems that they're so wrapped up in stats that they miss the comparisons with other vehicles. You might have a point Shane as regards the impression people had of the FTO 10 years ago, in saying that, wouldn't you think that the insurance industry would update their assessments every few years? I think there still a stigma attached to Jap imports as far as the industry is concerned, that doesn't explain why you can cheaper insurance on an STI or an EVO though

CJ

CJ wrote:I think there still a stigma attached to Jap imports as far as the industry is concerned

Ya, true, but where the jap import car and native cars have different parts the jap import one is more expensive to repair.

A friend driving a Prelude (93, 2.2VTEC), jap import, needed to replace part of his exhaust system, and he ended up paying about €450 for a native €120 fix. Admittedly he had to get a second part on his that he wouldn't have had to with a jap import, but bottom line is it cost >3 times what it would have had it been a 'native' car.

Insurance guys must take that into account, so if its a jap import, its going to cost more to repair, thus bigger risk, etc etc. Going along the same lines, would I be right in thinking its prob cheaper ON AVERAGE to repair an STi or Evo than an FTO?


Dave, you might have a bit of 'insider knowledge', is that probably a large factor in the differences in insurance premiums, the cost of repairing the car?

Kev.

CJ wrote

I wonder how this whole assessment business works, are there a group of risk assessors who factor in a load of statistics and then come to a conclusion on the risk associated with owning and driving an FTO?

Surely the risk assesments are done centrally and distibuted / shared / copied between companies. I mean surely each individual company does not do their own assesment on each vehicle...this would seem to be a big waste of time.

Assuming the assesments are done centrally. It would only require one mistake (over rating or one of those smart actuaries carrying a 1 when they shouldn't have!) to drive up the risk factor and leave us all paying over the odds. Seriously, this could be a possibility...surely!




CJ wrote

wouldn't you think that the insurance industry would update their assessments every few years?

Yes you would. However for a low volume non-official import such as the FTO, I doubt that the insurance industry would expend any great effort re-assesing the car.



CJ wrote

I think there still a stigma attached to Jap imports as far as the industry is concerned

In some cases yes, however my recent quote for a levin cheaper than a bog standard 1.6 corolla would indicate otherwise.

Kevinod wrote

Insurance guys must take that into account, so if its a jap import, its going to cost more to repair, thus bigger risk, etc etc.

Point taken Kev, however surely this would only be relevant for comprehensive cover?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think that one of the biggest problems is that the FTO was never officially imported, and has no 'Irish market' equivalent. And therefore the insurance co's are probably using a default (high) rating on the car.

When a manufacturer officially imports a car into a country, do they make a submission to the insurance industry of that country? Or do the insurance industry asses the cars independently?

Getting back on topic....
Mustang wrote

Based on my criteria at renewal (not long away now). They came up with a figure of €2836, a full €900 more than I paid last year, despite being a year older + having another years NCB

Oops Just to clarify. That figure of €2836 was for comprehensive cover. Last years premium was ~€1900 3rd party F&T, windscreen, protected NCB.
Best quote have offered cover €2276 for 3rd party F&T. no windscreen cover.

So thats €2836 comp (car value €8k); €2276 3rd party F&T.

Shane wrote

I thought it was in a league with porches...... maybe that image stuck

For the sake of comparison. I got a quote on a '99 boxster 2.7 worth 35k (not sure how much these things cost)
€2301 3rd party F&T
€2868 comp (car value €35k)
Bare in mind this is a porche, and convertibles of any kind are horrendously expensive to insure in Eire.

Mustang wrote:I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think that one of the biggest problems is that the FTO was never officially imported, and has no 'Irish market' equivalent. And therefore the insurance co's are probably using a default (high) rating on the car.

When a manufacturer officially imports a car into a country, do they make a submission to the insurance industry of that country? Or do the insurance industry asses the cars independently?

I'd say the Irish Insurers just go by the UK insurance groups -
GS - Grp 17
GR - Grp 18
GPX - Grp 18-20 (dependant upon insurer)
GPvR - Grp 20

Group 20 is the max insurance group in the UK - so its thrown in with some exotic machinery (Porsche/TVR/BMW M3 & M5 /Ferrari etc) -

A hot hatch would range from group 7 (Saxo VTR) to group 16/17max (Focus RS etc)
A similar type of car to the FTO such as a Celica ('99 on) or Alfa GTV ('96 on) is Grp 15 insurance.

The comparative insurance group price for Ireland is also much higher than the UK making the FTO insurance a nonsense.

Mustang wrote:Based on my criteria at renewal (not long away now). They came up with a figure of €2836, a full €900 more than I paid last year, despite being a year older + having another years NCB
....

This doesn't make any sense Mustang - you need to shop around - Have you asked for any 3rd party quotes? With the values of FTO's at the moment and the price of insurance it is making a lot less sense to have an FTO comprehensively insured.

Still, I am get a quote for €1231 for comp. insurance which isn't too bad considering. €1032 for TPFT.