Black boxes - are they worth it?

I mean in cars - not aircraft

So I think we'll be getting a used Fiat 500 within the next few months and have been checking the insurance quotes. I (just picked up 3 points in the coupe which is a story in itself ), my wife and my 17 yo daughter on her provisional have been quoted through a household name insurer £460 for a twin air and £505 for a 1.2. I was actually quite surprised how reasonable these quotes were to be honest however if I want to add a BB they want an additional £160. The blurb is the usual ie over time if careful driving is demonstrated then your premium should drop. If the data shows that you drive like a nutta then your premium will go up. If I drive the car it won't be like "driving Miss Daisy" so if I unplug the unit (don't know what T&C's are) then it would look well dodgy I'd have thought So I'm kinda thinking it's not worth the hassle so any views / experiences please?

And while I'm at it any views on the twin air?

My 20 year old has had a black box fitted since he passed his test, have been with "Insure the Box" right from the start. They do limited mileages 5000, 7500 or 10000 miles (I think) but we've only ever gone for 5000, he does hardly any miles now, but earns extra miles from "good driving" = motorway, not excess speeding, not rush hour, etc. (can't remember the criteria). I'm sure the box is smart enough to know when it's disconnected, so you will have to drive just as sensibly

No point in having a BB if it increases your premium, normally no need for a BB for provisional insurance since a "responsible/experienced" adult will always be in the passenger seat. Once your daughter passes her test then the provisional insurance will automatically cancel and you start from nothing and a BB is de rigeur in fact you will pay massively if you don't have one.

My son has a Punto Evo with a 1.2, it's a bit sluggish compared to the Coupe, or my 1.4 Multiair turbo (tuned!) 124 Spider, but as a learner / new driver even a 1.0 or 0.9 will suffice, especially if you want to encourage sensible (slow!) driving. However, my son tends to go around roundabout at 30-40mph which is quite alarming...

To be fair regarding the 500 I've never driven one,but I've read so many faults & things going wrong with this car. Now you could go to any car forum & read faults about any car, but the 500 is throwing up the likes of poor quality consumables, brakes suspension giving up in a couple of years for starters. Power problems, steering problems, the list seems to go on. Personally, the wee car sells because it's cute & fashion sells, & I'm not alone in thinking that. I'm sure there are some good stories out there, but there seems to be far more negative accounts than should be.

My stepdaughter got insurance with a black box when she passed her test, but because her job was managing a music venue, she was frequently driving late at night - times deemed "at risk". The result was that at the end of a year with zero points or indiscretions, her insurance leapt up.

Stepson Major got insurance without a box from Admiral (eyewatering £1100 for 1st year on a Grande Punto 1.4 Sporting), but halved in second year and dropped again this year, even when he swapped to a BMW 116d. And he drives exactly like a 20-year old male who loves stereotypes would do.

So, I'd say look into it carefully before choosing.

Cheers peeps for your comments and good point Dave that it's not something to consider until she passes her test.

Jimboy - fairly slammed the Fiat 500 there mate I'm not a big fan of Mr Clarkson but he said the TA was one of his favourite cars and TopGear gave it 7/10 recently but observations noted

Aye well, it's not really me saying these things, but a forum. I've never read so many things that could go wrong in any car. It's one thing having a wee ride in the wee car, but Clarkson never lived with one for any length of time. Some have said they were sorry they bought the car & were desperate to get rid. I've said that I've never driven one, but even then, far too wee for my needs. A car needs to be reliable & not depend on looks.

I better rethink my coupe ownership then Jim

Aye G_man, the Coop is one of those cars that can deliver that bit extra even with a love hate relationship in the background & vowing no more money thrown at it........

I’ve had 3 500s now (we still have 2 1.2 lounges, the other was an Abarth 595) and generally I think they’re good little cars. They’re definitely built to a price and Fiat themselves charge ridiculous prices for replacement parts which I’m sure doesn’t help. I’ve not had more issues than I’d expect though: rear shocks, exhaust stud, delaminated brake shoe, leaking gear change solenoid. Infinitely better than the Alfa MiTo we had.

I think it’s worth remembering that these cars are everywhere so there will be a lot of people who have had them and therefore had problems. They’re also popular which people who possibly know less about cars (as a gross generalisation). They are also a riot to drive which means I push mine far harder than I might something not so fun.

On Fiat parts prices, a mouse chewed through the fuel tank breather pipe so, on a full tank, fuel would spill on the forecourt. Parts to replace it would have been £350. They wanted to charge me another £250 in labour. I created my own fix and spent 10 minutes fixing it. Your average Fiat owner would be moaning about the £600 they’d spent.

Aye fair comment Richard, as I've said to be fair I haven't driven one, but I've been behind the steering wheel & I could not use this car as a daily, far too wee for me.They are fashion cars that's for sure & there will be good stories out there, but I've read/spoken quite a significant number with faults & some very pricey faults if you're not handy with the spanners like yourself for instance. Just my thoughts.

For a learner like our daughter, insured with the post office for £280 fully comp on a provisional license driving a 2009 VW Polo 1.2 Match with both parents as named drivers with no BB. We were looking at a 2009, 500 1.2 Pop, but for some reason they were 4 insurance groups higher compared to the Polo, even though the Polo has the same engine size and same 70bhp and insurers wanted £220 more...

Don’t even ask what they quoted for the daughter to be on my wife’s Abarth 500 as a named driver....

To go upmarket a bit, we have an almost 3 year old 500X POP in our garage, owned since new. It now has 40,000 km on the clock and is booked in for its 3 year/45k service next month after we return from a "road trip". It came with 3 years free servicing and we have not had any issues with it, other than regularly topping up the fuel tank with 95RON.

Not sure what engine choice you have in UK, but "Downunder" we only have one, the 1.4 16v turbo which performs quite well and returns better than 6Lit/100k on the highway. Certainly a better car than the Grande Punto Dynamic 1.4 8v we had before the 500X.