New Polo Colours - Ascot Grey or Blue?

[35mphspeedlimit]

Hi All. Not owned a Polo for around 15 years but looking to order a new Facelift R-Line when the order books open. Colours on the German site are hard to get excited about but I quite like the look of Ascot Grey. Currently only seems to be on Camper vans. Otherwise maybe the blue?

[SRGTD]

Not a particularly inspiring colour palette IMO, but that tends to be the norm for VW with many of their car models.

Ascot Grey is the free colour for the facelift Polo R on the German website. VW have a tendency to use an unpopular colour for the free colour - probably a deliberate tactic to get customers to pay for one of the alternative (extra cost) colours. From the German configurator, and YouTube videos of other VW Camper Vans in Ascot Grey, it looks a bit like an off white. I think I’d want to see an actual car in that colour in the metal before choosing it.

The blue on the German configurator is Reef Blue, which was available on the pre-facelift model. IMO it looks good in bright lighting conditions - especially bright sunlight when the metallic flake in the paint ‘pops’. I don’t think it looks as good in dull, overcast lighting conditions, but then the same could be said of most other paint colours.

[35mphspeedlimit]

Cheers. I’ll probably end up with white again then as seeing one in the flesh here before placing an order is virtually impossible!

[OomStu_ZA]

Cheers. I’ll probably end up with white again then as seeing one in the flesh here before placing an order is virtually impossible!

Not sure if it's the same in the UK but here in ZAR white cars are cheaper to insure than cars with different colours.

[Andy Beats]

Not sure if it's the same in the UK but here in ZAR white cars are cheaper to insure than cars with different colours.

WTF?
Why?

[SRGTD]

Not sure if it's the same in the UK but here in ZAR white cars are cheaper to insure than cars with different colours.

WTF?
Why?

I don’t know if UK insurers use car colour as a risk factor, but the article below in US publication Cash Cars Buyer about which car colours are considered to be the safest makes for interesting reading;

https://www.cashcarsbuyer.com/safest-car-color/

If insurance companies have statistical claims data that shows there’s a lower accident or theft claims frequency associated with cars of certain colours compared to other colours, then they might well use (or consider using) vehicle colour as a risk factor.

[OomStu_ZA]

Not sure if it's the same in the UK but here in ZAR white cars are cheaper to insure than cars with different colours.

WTF?
Why?

Darker vehicles are harder to spot on the road and statiscally more likey to be involved in an accident (afaik).

[lancslad1985]

Not sure if it's the same in the UK but here in ZAR white cars are cheaper to insure than cars with different colours.

WTF?
Why?

I don’t know if UK insurers use car colour as a risk factor, but the article below in US publication Cash Cars Buyer about which car colours are considered to be the safest makes for interesting reading;

https://www.cashcarsbuyer.com/safest-car-color/

If insurance companies have statistical claims data that shows there’s a lower accident or theft claims frequency associated with cars of certain colours compared to other colours, then they might well use (or consider using) vehicle colour as a risk factor.

Considering white, black, grey and silver are the four predominant colours in the uk, you’d think they’d be more likely to be stolen as more people want those colours.

[SRGTD]

Considering white, black, grey and silver are the four predominant colours in the uk, you’d think they’d be more likely to be stolen as more people want those colours.

If cars are stolen and broken up for parts - as many are apparently - then colour won’t be as relevant.

[Andy Beats]

I don’t know if UK insurers use car colour as a risk factor,

When you go onto UK insurance comparison sites, you're only asked for the usual make/model/year etc.
Colour is definitely not requested, on comparison sites or the insurance companies' own quote sites.
Therefore it's evidently of no consequence to UK insurers.

[SRGTD]

I don’t know if UK insurers use car colour as a risk factor,

When you go onto UK insurance comparison sites, you're only asked for the usual make/model/year etc.
Colour is definitely not requested, on comparison sites or the insurance companies' own quote sites.
Therefore it's evidently of no consequence to UK insurers.

Just because car colour isn’t requested doesn’t mean insurers can’t obtain it and use it as a risk factor.

Insurers use other data sources in addition to the specific information supplied directly by existing policyholders and prospective new policyholders for validation purposes - e.g. DVLA (vehicle information from registration number and motoring conviction information from driving licence number), credit reference agencies, insurance fraud database etc. I agree that car colour isn’t requested, but it’s information DVLA hold about your car, so it could well be information that comparison sites and individual insurers have agreed with the DVLA that they will send them via the DVLA data feed. If so, then it’s available for insurers to use or not use as they see fit.

I have a friend who worked for an insurance company that were looking into reducing number of questions they asked new customers to speed up the premium quote process. Just because they removed certain questions from their question set didn’t mean they did without the information - they obtained it from other sources, and in the declaration and statement of fact that the customer signed up to, the customer gave their permission for that information to be obtained and used.

[Andy Beats]

Just because car colour isn’t requested doesn’t mean insurers can’t obtain it and use it as a risk factor.

I'm aware they can obtain the colour any time they like, no argument there at all.
But if particular colours are deemed more risky, they would ask for the colour in advance and they would charge more.
I can't see that insurance companies just swallow the extra risk of certain colours, that's not in their nature.

[SRGTD]

Just because car colour isn’t requested doesn’t mean insurers can’t obtain it and use it as a risk factor.

I'm aware they can obtain the colour any time they like, no argument there at all.
But if particular colours are deemed more risky, they would ask for the colour in advance and they would charge more.
I can't see that insurance companies just swallow the extra risk of certain colours, that's not in their nature.

If UK insurance companies do use car colour as a risk factor (and IMO it’s a big ‘if’), why would it be necessary for them to ask for this in advance if that information can be obtained almost instantly from an existing DVLA data feed that’s used to validate other risk data (e.g. car make and model)? It would be just one of many data items used as risk factors in an insurer’s premium calculation algorithm, and no need to get it in advance of other data.

Whether any UK insurance company uses car colour as a risk factor is anyone’s guess. However, the means to do so exists without insurers having to ask for the information in advance.

Back on topic, I think it’s a shame that VW have dropped Energetic Orange from the paint colour choices for the facelift Polo. It was one of my favourite colours for the Polo, and a refreshing change from the usual (IMO) dull, boring colour palette. Energetic Orange probably wouldn’t work particularly well with the red accents on the GTI though.

[Andy Beats]

I'm aware they can obtain the colour any time they like, no argument there at all.
But if particular colours are deemed more risky, they would ask for the colour in advance and they would charge more.
I can't see that insurance companies just swallow the extra risk of certain colours, that's not in their nature.

If UK insurance companies do use car colour as a risk factor (and IMO it’s a big ‘if’), why would it be necessary for them to ask for this in advance if that information can be obtained almost instantly from an existing DVLA data feed that’s used to validate other risk data (e.g. car make and model)? It would be just one of many data items used as risk factors in an insurer’s premium calculation algorithm, and no need to get it in advance of other data.

Whether any UK insurance company uses car colour as a risk factor is anyone’s guess. However, the means to do so exists without insurers having to ask for the information in advance.


[/quote]

If we ignore 'how' they obtain the colour, it then comes down to whether the cost of insurance is then affected by the colour.
In the UK, the answer is clearly no.
This is obviously barring mega-special paint jobs that would cost a fortune to repair etc.

[Andy Beats]

If UK insurance companies do use car colour as a risk factor (and IMO it’s a big ‘if’), why would it be necessary for them to ask for this in advance if that information can be obtained almost instantly from an existing DVLA data feed that’s used to validate other risk data (e.g. car make and model)? It would be just one of many data items used as risk factors in an insurer’s premium calculation algorithm, and no need to get it in advance of other data.

Whether any UK insurance company uses car colour as a risk factor is anyone’s guess. However, the means to do so exists without insurers having to ask for the information in advance.

If we ignore 'how' they obtain the colour, it then comes down to whether the cost of insurance is then affected by the colour.
In the UK, the answer is surely no.
I know I've never, ever heard of someone getting retrospectively contacted by their insurer saying "now that we know your car is red, we're charging you another £75"
This is obviously barring mega-special paint jobs that would cost a fortune to repair etc.