2006 Fairlady Z (Z33) - insurance trouble!

[Waifujitsu]

Hi guys,

 

I just bought a 2006 Fairlady Z (Z33) and I'm super excited about it. However, I'm having a lot of trouble finding an insurer that'll cover it due to it being an automatic. As the UK 350Z was never made as automatic, all the insurers seem to think it doesn't exist! I'm trying to get coverage starting from tomorrow, but every company I've tried is either a 'no' or a 'maybe, we'll call back tomorrow'.

 

For anyone who owns one of these cars or similar, it would be great to get your recommendations! So far I've tried:

 

• Admiral (no)
• Sheilas' Wheels (no)
• Adrian Flux (no, then sent me to a convicted drivers specialist???)
• Greenlight (no)
• Japcover (maybe)
• Brentacre (maybe, not in their database)
• Performance Direct (maybe)

 

I will need to be able to drive this car to get to the office (great commuter, eh?), so I'm getting quite desperate!

 

To be clear, I'm in my early 30s and I've held a license for 10 years with as many years of NCD. I'm also facing the "first RWD car" paradox, to make matters worse. And I live in London. I can only guess it's a combination of all of the above, plus the fact that an automatic Fairlady Z is considered a unicorn.

 

Thanks,

 

Lexi

[marzman]

I never had an issue when i used to have a 2003 JDM auto back in the day... although i guess that was 15 years ago now so maybe they were in the database back then, but they've since been removed?  

 

I assume you're manually entering the vehicle rather than relying on the auto lookup of your registration?  Is there an option for a Fairlady Z perhaps instead of a 350z...?  This may work as thats the Japanese version...

 

If really stuck, and for the short term, you might be able to get temporary insurance for a few days whilst you continue your search... usually about £20 a day but they seem less stringent on specifics!

[CK@Chris Knott Insurance]

14 hours ago, Waifujitsu said:

Hi guys,

 

I just bought a 2006 Fairlady Z (Z33) and I'm super excited about it. However, I'm having a lot of trouble finding an insurer that'll cover it due to it being an automatic. As the UK 350Z was never made as automatic, all the insurers seem to think it doesn't exist! I'm trying to get coverage starting from tomorrow, but every company I've tried is either a 'no' or a 'maybe, we'll call back tomorrow'.

 

For anyone who owns one of these cars or similar, it would be great to get your recommendations! So far I've tried:

 

• Admiral (no)
• Sheilas' Wheels (no)
• Adrian Flux (no, then sent me to a convicted drivers specialist???)
• Greenlight (no)
• Japcover (maybe)
• Brentacre (maybe, not in their database)
• Performance Direct (maybe)

 

I will need to be able to drive this car to get to the office (great commuter, eh?), so I'm getting quite desperate!

 

To be clear, I'm in my early 30s and I've held a license for 10 years with as many years of NCD. I'm also facing the "first RWD car" paradox, to make matters worse. And I live in London. I can only guess it's a combination of all of the above, plus the fact that an automatic Fairlady Z is considered a unicorn.

 

Thanks,

 

Lexi

Hi Lexi,

 

That car won't be an issue for us, we have many such vehicles on cover. As you say though, the issue might be a combination of factors including experience, your location and any convictions.

 

If you want to speak to us, please call 0800 917 2274 and be sure to mention those issues first. We might be able to ascertain quickly from a few initial questions if we are able to help.

 

Regards

 

Chris Knott Insurance 

[Waifujitsu]

14 hours ago, marzman said:

I never had an issue when i used to have a 2003 JDM auto back in the day... although i guess that was 15 years ago now so maybe they were in the database back then, but they've since been removed?  

 

I assume you're manually entering the vehicle rather than relying on the auto lookup of your registration?  Is there an option for a Fairlady Z perhaps instead of a 350z...?  This may work as thats the Japanese version...

 

If really stuck, and for the short term, you might be able to get temporary insurance for a few days whilst you continue your search... usually about £20 a day but they seem less stringent on specifics!

 

Thanks for the reply! I have indeed been using manual entry where applicable and I've spoken to most of the companies over the phone. Wasted a few hours yesterday getting nowhere, so I was quite stressed.

 

However, Direct Line surprisingly have the Fairlady Z import as an option and I was able to get a quote via their website. It didn't even ask about the transmission. Price is okay considering the car and where I live, but I'm waiting for the other insurers to call me back this morning.

 

So I can at least breathe easily now that I've got one decent option saved. If it comes to it, I could do a year with Direct Line and then switch to a specialist after gaining experience with the car.

Edited October 4, 2022 by Waifujitsu

[Waifujitsu]

5 minutes ago, CK@Chris Knott Insurance said:

Hi Lexi,

 

That car won't be an issue for us, we have many such vehicles on cover. As you say though, the issue might be a combination of factors including experience, your location and any convictions.

 

If you want to speak to us, please call 0800 917 2274 and be sure to mention those issues first. We might be able to ascertain quickly from a few initial questions if we are able to help.

 

Regards

 

Chris Knott Insurance 

I'm actually already waiting for a callback from you guys this morning. Thank you!

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

On 03/10/2022 at 19:33, Waifujitsu said:

Hi guys,

 

I just bought a 2006 Fairlady Z (Z33) and I'm super excited about it. However, I'm having a lot of trouble finding an insurer that'll cover it due to it being an automatic. As the UK 350Z was never made as automatic, all the insurers seem to think it doesn't exist! I'm trying to get coverage starting from tomorrow, but every company I've tried is either a 'no' or a 'maybe, we'll call back tomorrow'.

 

For anyone who owns one of these cars or similar, it would be great to get your recommendations! So far I've tried:

 

• Admiral (no)
• Sheilas' Wheels (no)
• Adrian Flux (no, then sent me to a convicted drivers specialist???)
• Greenlight (no)
• Japcover (maybe)
• Brentacre (maybe, not in their database)
• Performance Direct (maybe)

 

I will need to be able to drive this car to get to the office (great commuter, eh?), so I'm getting quite desperate!

 

To be clear, I'm in my early 30s and I've held a license for 10 years with as many years of NCD. I'm also facing the "first RWD car" paradox, to make matters worse. And I live in London. I can only guess it's a combination of all of the above, plus the fact that an automatic Fairlady Z is considered a unicorn.

 

Thanks,

 

Lexi

Hi.

I'm surprised we couldn't offer some kind of premium. Did we advise you why we couldn't help?

Regards,

Dan.

[Waifujitsu]

On 04/10/2022 at 19:45, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

I'm surprised we couldn't offer some kind of premium. Did we advise you why we couldn't help?

Regards,

Dan.

Hi Dan,

 

The advisor wasn't terribly clear and didn't really give me a reason. She then transferred me to another insurer who told me they couldn't help because they specialise in convicted drivers... bit strange!

 

I ended up going with Chris Knott in the end.

 

Thanks,

 

Lexi

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

On 06/10/2022 at 10:21, Waifujitsu said:

Hi Dan,

 

The advisor wasn't terribly clear and didn't really give me a reason. She then transferred me to another insurer who told me they couldn't help because they specialise in convicted drivers... bit strange!

 

I ended up going with Chris Knott in the end.

 

Thanks,

 

Lexi

Hi.

Ok thanks for letting me know.

Glad you managed to get it sorted in the end though.

Regards,

Dan.

[Ardesco]

On 04/10/2022 at 09:46, Waifujitsu said:

 

Thanks for the reply! I have indeed been using manual entry where applicable and I've spoken to most of the companies over the phone. Wasted a few hours yesterday getting nowhere, so I was quite stressed.

 

However, Direct Line surprisingly have the Fairlady Z import as an option and I was able to get a quote via their website. It didn't even ask about the transmission. Price is okay considering the car and where I live, but I'm waiting for the other insurers to call me back this morning.

 

So I can at least breathe easily now that I've got one decent option saved. If it comes to it, I could do a year with Direct Line and then switch to a specialist after gaining experience with the car.

 

I wouldn't trust direct line, I used them many years ago when I first got my import and after insuring me for 2 years they told me on renewal that they didn't insure imports and I had told them it was a UK spec 350Z (I had been very clear it was a Fairlady Z and not a UK spec 350Z every time I talked to them) and if I had suffered an accident I would not have been covered.

 

Haven't gone back to them since as I just don't trust them any more.