Shopping Vehicles Vs. Insurance

[Diggin It]

I don't really understand how people can afford to have multiple newer vehicles. In many urban places around the country insurance can almost double your monthly payments, sometimes running close to $4,000/year.

I have two 20+ year old passengers cars (BlueBook under $1500), live in a rural area, drive so little I'm on ultra low mileage discount programs, no citations or accidents, better than average credit and several other advantages, Liability and other required coverages only, no collision yet still play close to $100/month. Yes, that's very low, I understand. But I can't even begin to imagine what a newer $20,000 truck would cost me even with all of those other discounts. If you have any kind of loan, collision is required which can nearly double the premium, even with a high deductible.

I'm becoming concerned about the continued reliability of these older cars and potential repair costs, but I'm at a point where I can't even shop for a 10 year old vehicle without getting new insurance quotes first. I've seen decent cars and some pickup trucks in the $3-4,000 range, but they would still hike my premium considerably.

Just rambling ....

 

[George2615]

I'd start shopping around for a new Ins Co. $1200 a year (600 each) for just liability seems high. Question your Ins. Co. and ask why. Maybe they have something in their records claiming you're a high risk.
Anyone under age 25 on your policy?
In 2016 I bought a new 2500 4X4 CC ($52K) and a new AWD Equinox ($31K). I have full coverage on each which costs me around $800 every 6 mos.

 

[Bigkrank]

Your location can make a difference also. I have a 2012 car and a 2017 truck and have a top of the line full coverage policy with low deductible and am at $1200 a year. Traded a 2012 truck in on the 2017 and it went down $120 a year because I bought a newer vehicle, so the policy said.

 

[4570Man]

I have a commercial policy on both my dump trucks with full coverage on both trucks which only cost me $70 per truck more a year with an estimated value of $7,000 each. The total policy is about $1900 a year.

 

[oosik]

In my case - location is a BIG factor. Like Diggin It - I live very rural, no tickets, no claims, low annual mileage, no accidents, excellent credit. My six month premium for MAX coverage on the new Taco Wagon with State Farm - less than $500. It also helps that I've been with State Farm for 50+ years. If I were to live within the city limits of Spokane - the six month premium would be more than double.

 

[Ford850]

I have 3 vehicles (2007 Edge, 2013 F150, 2017 Escape) which are all in the upper trim limits. 3 drivers covered including a 20 year old male with a recent accident. Full coverage costs me $1800 for the year.

 

[Shaneard]

My wife and I have 4 vehicles, a new 2019 Suburban, a 2003 4 door GMC 2500HD Duramax, a 2003 Toyota Tacoma 4 door, and a 1993 GMC Sonoma. The Sonoma will come off as soon as we sell it. We have collision, comprehensive and liability on all 3 of the newer vehicles and we pay less than $1,300 a year. I think location and companies have a lot to do with it. We have shopped around and have the best deal we can get right now.

 

[Streetcar]

Switching from gieco saved me over$1000 a year. When I called to cancel they knocked $700 off their wrote. Wife had a couple of at fault accidents in last 5 yesrs

 

[4get gto]

Unaware where the OP is from I think 1200 a year for two 20 year old passenger cars is horrible. He definitely has to find different ins. companies to deal with.

 

[Reb954]

Something I did a few years ago that dropped my insurance cost a lot was to carry a umbrella liability policy. With that you can lower the liability insurance on each vehicle and your house due to them being covered by the umbrella policy. I don't remember the numbers now but overall I ended up with more insurance coverage at less cost.

 

[Bird]

We had 2 or more vehicles for many, many years, but have gone back to one car, a 2017 Ford Escape Titanium, and we have AAA full coverage with a $500 deductible and 9 months ago cost $1,079 for one year. We'll see if anything changes in 3 months.

 

[fried1765]

I'd start shopping around for a new Ins Co. $1200 a year (600 each) for just liability seems high. Question your Ins. Co. and ask why. Maybe they have something in their records claiming you're a high risk.
Anyone under age 25 on your policy?
In 2016 I bought a new 2500 4X4 CC ($52K) and a new AWD Equinox ($31K). I have full coverage on each which costs me around $800 every 6 mos.

A lot of the cost differential may depend on the definition of.... "full coverage"

 

[Snobdds]

1988 Toyota Pick-up
2004 Toyota 4 Runner (Kid)
2014 F150
2018 Toyota Land Cruiser
2019 F350

Total per year is $1,992 for full coverage insurance. I have to pay it all at once, no monthly or semi annual installments. I think that is cheap.

I'm also an Actuary and have done claims projections and pricing for auto companies before. Some notes on how the pricing works.

1. Even if you have multiple cars, you can't drive more than one at a time. So with multiple cars, there are statistics on how much each one car really be driven in a year. The more cars you have the less any one car is on the road and the pricing reflects that. Rates have a variable of miles driven per year/car. The bigger your dominator, the smaller your numerator.

2. The most costly cars to insure are the cars with the least amount of safety features. Cars with lane keeping, blind spot monitoring, etc are a lot cheaper to insure than an old truck with a lap belt.

3. The replacement cost of a car is actually pretty small in the pricing of insurance. It's the amount of medical lives that a car can hold that really impacts price. For example, what cost more to insure...a brand new Porsche or 15 passenger van? The 15 passenger van is the most expensive car to insure on the road, not because of the replacement cost of the vehicle, but the medical lives that thing holds.

4. Avoid adverse selection. Multiple cars insured are alway cheaper than a single car insured. If your married have more than two cars, if your single have more than one car. The logic here is if your in an accident and have no other car to fall back on and are dependent on long term rentals, the insurance price will reflect that.

If you know the game, you can get pretty good rates.

 

[Diggin It]

The logic here is if your in an accident and have no other car to fall back on and are dependent on long term rentals, the insurance price will reflect that.

That (and breakdowns) is exactly why I've always tried to keep two cars.

I got my numbers mixed up above also. It's around $700/year for my vehicles and coverage, $3something each 6 months.

 

[tookielee]

That (and breakdowns) is exactly why I've always tried to keep two cars.

I got my numbers mixed up above also. It's around $700/year for my vehicles and coverage, $3something each 6 months.

That's around 30 dollars per month for each car... not bad at all

 

[Diggin It]

Yes, but the point is, I'll have to check insurance rates first on anything else I look at to replace either one. Not sure if I want a P/U or not, but anything I look at (car or truck) would be at least 10 years old.

When did this TPM nonsense start?

 

[Jstpssng]

Yes, but the point is, I'll have to check insurance rates first on anything else I look at to replace either one. Not sure if I want a P/U or not, but anything I look at (car or truck) would be at least 10 years old.

When did this TPM nonsense start?[/b

After the Explorer/Firestone fiasco. I don't even notice it anymore. If the light comes on it means that a tire is low on air... like that time when I accidently ran over my pulp hook.

 

[Code54]

I went form a 2012 to 2018 truck and my insurance went up $9.50 a year. The agent mentioned it is the new safety features that helps a lot. The old truck was worth 20k less but the safety of the new one off set the higher cost so don't think an older car is always cheaper to insure. You maybe surprised.

 

[Dftodd]

We have an 09 Sierra and 2011 jeep wrangler unlimited. Both 4wd. Both vehicles, a 30ft camper, and 16ft utility trailer and the cost was around $1300 a year.

 

[4570Man]

Yes, but the point is, I'll have to check insurance rates first on anything else I look at to replace either one. Not sure if I want a P/U or not, but anything I look at (car or truck) would be at least 10 years old.

When did this TPM nonsense start?

That’s the least of your problems. At least you can drive without that working. I think vehicles got “complicated” before most people realize. My 92 truck is one of the last offered by GM with a mechanical injection pump. And guess what, every factory option except the AC still works 30 years later. And the AC would probably work if I could still buy affordable R12. I’ve got a 95 GM truck that’s computer controlled everything. Even the gas pedal only controlled wires. I used to have a 99 Silverado that was all electric everything. Most of which didn’t work. I still think the 2000 body style GM trucks are the best full size truck ever built.