The Irish Mitsubishi FTO Owners Club

Hi all,

Just after joining, site looks really good!loads of info

Have a good few questions that hopefully you will be able to help me with.

Model\Year: 96-97 GPX
Age: 22
License Type: Full 5yrs
Cover Type: TPF&T
NCB: half way through 2nd year
Named driver experience: 3yrs
Insurer: ????
Policy amount: ????

Curently driving a phase 1 megane coupe 1.6
fully comp-1300 with axa(last year 2300 with quinn Direct)

Got myself a decent job and its time to get a faster car. so am thinkin between an integra or fto. I know i am going to get nobbed with insurance but it has to be done!!


So what do you recon??
Also, generaly how accurate is tax books on import modles?
for example is Mivec, gpx, gs etc always mentioned?? or is just 2.0 on them sometimes??

One of my mates has a 97gtr celica import, just 2L on the tax book and thats wat it is insured as. also another mate has an impreza sti (300bhp) and again 2L on tax....
I know this isnt legal etc...
Oh and just has a point of note-both are younger than me!!

Anyways sorry about the rant, but need some help!
thanks in advance
cheers
John

Really don't envy you looking to insure an FTO if you are 22.
Nice choice of car - but you are gonna find it tough to get a competitive quote. From what I've seen - insurers don't seem to really differentiate between the various FTO models - I've never been asked what type of model I drive when I've enquired with regard to a quote - when I had my first FTO I was 25 years of age and when I asked my broker to quote on a GS (out of interest) and a GR/GPX the quote came back the same - 3,600 Irish Punts for TPF&T.

You best bet is your current insurer as they are obliged AFAIK to issue a quote - but I'd suggest you sit down before you hear it. I know you mentioned your mates cars but I think you'll find the FTO has at least as high if not higher rating than the Impreza or Celica GTR.

Good luck - hope you go FTO - let us know how you get on. I'd be particularly interested to know if there is any differnce between a GR and GPX on the Quote.

MfFTO

J,
Suggest you try to get a quote from your current insurer first.
It looks like Quinn direct provide the cheapest cover for FTO's for existing FTO owner/ policy holders. For some reason they have stopped taking on new FTO business.
AFAIK the main insurers offering cover for 'performance' cars (with young drivers) are Lloyds, St. Pauls & ARB. You'll have to go through a broker though. Also ring a few different brokers, the variation in quote price for cover with the same insurance company, but through different brokers can be huge.
Like Myfeckinfto said, a lot of insurers here rate all the fto's the same.
That means you'll pay the same to insure a 1.8 automatic, as a 2L manual mivec, even though in performance terms these cars are worlds apart.
BTW Axa currently hold the record for issuing me with my most expensive quotation ever! €5k for a GPX that was last Dec (25yrs, 3yrs NCB, full license, male).

Mustang

Hate to say it J, but the fto may not be the car for you. My cousin is 22 or so I think and he looked into getting one. In the end he got a Honda Prelude 2.0. He was quoted 2,600 I think with Hibernian when he was paying 2,300 for a fiat bravo. I think they gave him much of the same quote for a 2.2 Vitec vti prelude as well. They wouldn't quote him on an fto though.

Its very difficult to find insurance and I am not sure why, maybe its because its an import but some other cars may offer a better alternative especially if you're going on your own name at your age.

Cheers for all the quick replys


This is really what i didnt want to hear but kind of expected it!!
will still look into it and will get back to let ye know.
however if i can manage a 97 integra type R i wont complain!!! A bit down on the styling compared to the FTO but .1sec to 60 better on the straight. but from what i have been reading(havnt driven 1 yet) on coners the fto will fry it!!!!

again thanks for the info! watch this space!!!

Good luck with your search J, make sure and let us know how you get on.
The ITR is a quick car, a manual GPX will give it a run for its money, but it will be close. IIRC, the ITR has an LSD which will help in the cornering department, but an FTO will still have the edge, at that stage, its down to driver experience.

CJ

CJ wrote:Good luck with your search J, make sure and let us know how you get on.
The ITR is a quick car, a manual GPX will give it a run for its money, but it will be close. IIRC, the ITR has an LSD which will help in the cornering department, but an FTO will still have the edge, at that stage, its down to driver experience.

CJ

I have an LSD, strut braces and coilovers on the 98 mazdaspeed RS MX5 and my GPX will still hang on longer than it in the corners - much better composure as well. Maybe the LSD will come into its own on a very tight track - but in road conditions it doesn't seem to offer any advantages - except when I try drifting on the roundabouts - its a lot easier with LSD - not that I do that too often

Ivan E wrote:Hate to say it J, but the fto may not be the car for you. My cousin is 22 or so I think and he looked into getting one. In the end he got a Honda Prelude 2.0. He was quoted 2,600 I think with Hibernian when he was paying 2,300 for a fiat bravo. I think they gave him much of the same quote for a 2.2 Vitec vti prelude as well. They wouldn't quote him on an fto though.

Its very difficult to find insurance and I am not sure why, maybe its because its an import but some other cars may offer a better alternative especially if you're going on your own name at your age.

Yea, I also know someone who's 22 and has had a '97 facelift FTO for the past 18 months which he has so far been unable to insure - he's kept the car on the drive (covered) and has been quietly modding it until he's old enough to get a quote - he said he's tried everywhere and no-one will even quote him. Apparently the FTO is classed with the likes of the Elise, VX220, Boxster etc.

Yeah the FTO seems to be one of the highest ratings I get no hike in premium when i get quotes for much faster cars

Yeah the FTO seems to be one of the highest ratings I get no hike in premium when i get quotes for much faster cars

FTO ownership is a vocation! (expensive one at that) I beleive the car is definitely 'over rated' from a insurance point of view.
This happens though. A few years back I was intent on getting a honda CRX Mark II. At one stage got a very high quote. Even the broker I was talking to thought it seemed high. Basically he said that as it was a Jap import the specs were not clear and so it was rated as a honda civic VTi instead. That was the end of the CRX dream

A few years back I was intent on getting a honda CRX Mark II.

Funn you say that I was actually close to buying one just before I got the FTO then I realised that the insurance was the same as an FTO

Well after days and days of giving my details to loads of people over the phone i have came to the conclusion that I wont be driving an FTO!
€4667 TP on a GR is the best I could do, and thats a little too expensive for me.
Britton by far seemed the best to go with, they will quote for almost anything and there website is good too.

Just a quick question-If i put my father on as a name driver on my policy can I use his NCB aswell as my own???
I know this a bit of a stupid question but on the britton insurance web site it dosnt say either way.
Also if you are currently with an insurance company are they legally supposed to quote on any car you ask?? (Axa wouldnt quote me on most cars- ie 1.6 integra etc)


cheers

Also if you are currently with an insurance company are they legally supposed to quote on any car you ask?? (Axa wouldnt quote me on most cars- ie 1.6 integra etc)

Yeah i had this argument with an insurance co before they are legally obliged to insure what ever car youve bought, and it has to be a "fair" quote.

QD once told me the only way they would quote me on an FTO was if i bought one, So i told them i did

Speedyboy wrote:Yeah i had this argument with an insurance co before they are legally obliged to insure what ever car youve bought, and it has to be a "fair" quote.

Thats what I thought, and what about using my dads NCB??(Grasping at straws here!!!)

J wrote

€4667 TP on a GR is the best I could do, and thats a little too expensive for me.

Ouch! A little too expensive isn't the way I'd describe that quote.


J wrote

Britton by far seemed the best to go with, they will quote for almost anything and there website is good too.

Agreed. Just spent the last 20mins or so on their site. Came up with the following 3rd party F&T quotes: FTO GR €2k; MR2 GT Turbo €1500;
Integra V-tec (no type R option, or nowhere to specify the engine size) €1k, very (pleasantly) surprised at this .

Speedyboy wrote

QD once told me the only way they would quote me on an FTO was if i bought one, So i told them i did

Brave move to make! You'd want to be sure you know waht you are doing!


J wrote

Thats what I thought, and what about using my dads NCB??(Grasping at straws here!!!)

J if the car is registered in you dads name and he is the policy holder then he should be able to insure the car and cover you as a named driver. I see no problem with this especially as you have an NCB yourself!

However if you are talking about taking the insurance out yourself, then any NCB earned by your Dad would only serve to reduce the portion of the additional premium being levied to cover him as a named driver in the first place. As a slight quirk some insurance companies will actaully charge you a lesser total premium if you add a female to the policy
I guess the logic being that the "young, high risk" male gets to drive the car less

Welcome to the minefield of Irish car insurance!

J wrote:

Speedyboy wrote:Yeah i had this argument with an insurance co before they are legally obliged to insure what ever car youve bought, and it has to be a "fair" quote.

Thats what I thought, and what about using my dads NCB??(Grasping at straws here!!!)

You Dad's NCB won't do you any good, it has to be your own, under policies under your own name. Not all companies will give you credit for named driving, some will, some won't, depends on their mood that week I think.

I have heard on lots of occasions that if you name a female driver - girlfriend/wife/mother/etc they can reduce your policy a little. <start rant> Doesn't work the other way around, if a female driver names a male driver under her policy it would put it up. More blatant sexual discrimination but thats Irish insurance for ya. I'm sure it MUST be illegal but govt not doing anything about it. *deep breath* <end rant>
Wouldn't make enough of a dent in the quote for you though I'd say...

Kev.

I heard that before too, tried it but no difference.
I also heard that in some cases some companies offer younger drivers a lower quote when you add older name drivers to the policy. Because they recon the younger driver will be driving the car less.......everybody start adding your grannies to your policy!!!

I am getting a quote of 3k fully comp on a 98 type R as a name driver under my father, but my father has 2 cars already(1 everyday driving and 1limited mileage vintage). Is there any reason he cant have another policy???

kevinod wrote: More blatant sexual discrimination but thats Irish insurance for ya

Ya don’t get me started on that!!!! In Holland (and im sure other countries too) insurance companies are not allowed to quote males and females different

I am getting a quote of 3k fully comp on a 98 type R as a name driver under my father, but my father has 2 cars already(1 everyday driving and 1limited mileage vintage). Is there any reason he cant have another policy???

Well the way I'd see that is the everyday car is likely using his NCB. The vintage car is a special case. But most insurance companies will only allow an individual to use their NCB on one policy at a time. So therefore if he was to insure the FTO he would probably have to do so, without an NCB.