Insurance nightmare for 3.5L AH20/Gen2 2008 in London

[Babu]

Hi,

 

I've put a deposit down on a 3.5L Alphard 2008. I've been calling around and the mainstream insurers don't have the 2008 Alphard on their system, they have the Gen1 2002-2008 (3L and 2.4L) and they have 2010 onwards, but not the 2008/2009 Alphard. Annoyingly, they have the 2008 Vellfire with 3.5L engine.

 

I've even tried the specialist insurers like Brentacre, but they won't insure in my postal area (London). Adrian flux is 2k. I'm getting desperate now, I don't really want to have to cancel the purchase.

 

Any ideas?

Edited February 17, 2023 by Babu

[skippy992]

Forget the main insurers call Adrian flux when I lived in the Uk used them they specialise in imported and hard to insure cars.

I have a 2008 Alphard GL you won’t be disappointed are you buying from a dealer or importing can recommend a good importer in the Uk will save you dealer prices but you would have to wait if it wasn’t in the Uk yet.

[Gheorghe Ciuperca]

Call this number 

[skippy992]

I must apologise about my previous reply full message didn’t open on my phone see you had already contacted Adrian flux surprised there quote was so expensive.

[Babu]

I've tried Adrian Flux and Advance. Advance was cheaper than Adrian flux, but still too much to keep paying every year.

 

I've had to cancel the purchase, really disappointed as the Alphard had every dealer option, low mileage and was cheap. But I guess other people might have had problems insuring it too.

 

I'm happy to wait for an import; @skippy992who did you use?

Edited February 18, 2023 by Babu

[Charlie Brown]

Hello 

There is a whole section on this forum about insurance with many contacts with different  insurance brokers going back quite a while. Look for the insurance tab at the top. That is where I found our insurer, Lifesure, but many other owners have found satisfactory deals with other insurance companies.

Good Luck

[Babu]

I've decided to go for a vellfire, insurance databases have all versions and years of the vellfire so insurance should be cheaper. 

 

I'm planning to import a Vellfire and save about £5k

[skippy992]

Hi Babu

i used Jap auto agent speak to Paul Bowden charges a flat fee on a sliding scale depending on auction price in Japan very knowledgeable and always secures the best cars he can.

[Babu]

I spoke to Paul Bowden. To be honest he was quite rude. Sent an email ranting about "I get this all the time" when asking beginner questions and enquiring on what spec I could get for my budget and going on about how people don't work for free (never even suggested anything of the sort - was happy to pay their commission and any other ad-hoc fees). That really put me off.

 

That aside, he basically said I wouldn't be able to get the spec I want unless I was willing to pay the kind of money that dealers would sell that spec for. If it's just as expensive to import from Japan as to buy from a dealer, why on Earth would I bother importing and take a personal risk??

[Aftab]

Hi Babu

 

Have you tried Admiral? I found them less than half the price of Adrian Flux. 

 

I had the same issue of the insurer not finding the 2008 Alphard over the vellfire. Apparently it did come up as a Alphard as soon as the registration was typed in.

 

I hope it helps