New to forum, not to triumphs.

[louisw]

Hi everyone,
I currently own a triumph spitfire which I started restoring just over a year ago. I'm now 18 and learning to drive before I head off to university in September. After checking with insurance etc I believe that to get insured on the spit it will be far more than I can afford/ worth paying thus I'm looking elsewhere for another car. This has led me to look at the Toledos/ Dolomites which I believe will give me a lower insurance price?
I am unsure on which to go for, the Toledo or the Dolomite. What are the pro's and con's for a new driver with either?
I am not afraid of a project to get it running but would prefer something I can drive and restore at the same time.

Thanks in advance,
Louis.

[TrustNo1]

If you are sticking with the 13 or 1500 engines there isn't really any difference between the Toledo and Dolomite in terms of driving, the Toledo is slightly shorter with the main difference being the trim and headlights.
Engine, drivetrains and suspension are basically the same.

[Toledo Man]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm afraid you're going to have to bite the bullet and pay for the insurance. There are means and ways of legitimately keeping the premium down. Whatever you do, you must be 100% honest otherwise it WILL bite you on the arse if things go tits-up. When I first got my Astra just over 18 months ago, I was struggling to get a reasonable quote (even at my age - early 40s) because of my lack of no-claims (I'd been using my Triumphs daily on classic car insurance so the Astra was my first modern for quite a few years). It does get better over time. Try getting a few quotes from the various insurers. You should get a discount if you're a member of one of the Triumph clubs. There's plenty of us more than willing to offer useful advice so please ask away.

Good luck in your search.

[louisw]

Thanks for the replies. I quite enjoy reading all the threads of different resto's so seeing this forum had a section just for that led me to reading about 5-6 already! I think I am swaying more towards the toledo as it being slightly smaller appeals to me due to not needing the extra space that a dolly would provide!

In regards to insurance... Yeah, I will have to bite the bullet. No getting round that Fingers crossed I will pass my driving test soon so it's one less thing to worry about.

[Jon Tilson]

IIRC the toledo and dolomite 1300 are in lower insurance groups.

The 1500 and 1850 are the same but slightly higher.

Jonners