What do you pay a month in car payments?

[SoCalGirl]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Try Progressive and esurance. They both quote other companies for you as well.

I think the biggest strike against you is that you've had your license less than a year, so they kind of see you like a 16 year old.

My insurance is only affordable because I'm female, married, have a clean record, have been driving for 8 years, and have a multi-car discount.

Could you possibly check with your mom's insurance (if she drives) to see if you could get on with her for a multi-car discount?

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Nope. I've just had the pleasure (ha!) of shopping in multiple states several times for several different cars. I've shopped for/insured a Plymouth Sundance, Pontiac Bonneville, Chrysler Cirrus, Chevy Aveo, Chevy Tracker, Pontiac Montana, Ford Ranger, and compared rates for my parents' motorcycles. I've gotten tons of tips on how to save money from our Nationwide agent, who we're now using. I got us a package deal, and we save a ton of money because all of our cars/motorcycles are on the same plan, we're all married, and we all have clean driving records. Well, except the ticket my mom got last month. That's probably going to jump her insurance up.

Ok, now that I've just rambled on like a Progressive commecial, I'll stop.

So you realize that your advice, in green, doesn't hold true everywhere? In certain states age matters over experience, in other states experience is the most important. When I was a licensed insurance agent and had to occasionally do quotes in NY, age mattered more than experience. In CA the opposite is true.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

So you realize that your advice, in green, doesn't hold true everywhere? In certain states age matters over experience, in other states experience is the most important. When I was a licensed insurance agent and had to occasionally do quotes in NY, age mattered more than experience. In CA the opposite is true.

I would think that it would depend more on the insurance company than the state...are there state mandates for that sort of thing? It doesn't seem like something a state would regulate.

But, then again, NC is the only state in the union where your health insurance can't be changed during the year due to your age putting you in the next bracket, it can only change at contract renewal time. So, I guess states choose to regulate random things all the time.

[KSUViolet06]

My car was a gift so 0$, but my insurance is $120/month.

[SoCalGirl]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I would think that it would depend more on the insurance company than the state...are there state mandates for that sort of thing? It doesn't seem like something a state would regulate.

But, then again, NC is the only state in the union where your health insurance can't be changed during the year due to your age putting you in the next bracket, it can only change at contract renewal time. So, I guess states choose to regulate random things all the time.

Yeah the states mandate that. In CA the theory is that driving experience is obviously a better indicator of your risk factor than your age. IMO, the eastern and especially north eastern (NY,NJ and further north) are insanely up the insurance companys butts about how to do anything and everything.

Another interesting state is Montana. We were forced to rate EVERYONE as a single Male under 25! Even playing field is one thing but should your married mother have the same rating factors as you 18 year old brother???

[tld221]

Progressive was $180/mo! no way to that!

but, i went back to Geico's site and clicked off the minimum for everything and if it allowed me to decline, i did. so now my quote is down to $94/mo, which is doable, since my gym membership is around the same and i dont even use it. sigh.

but i dont know if that was the best thing to do - i was told that all i'd really need is liability (not by Geico but from asking around).

so

[SoCalGirl]

Comprehensive and Collision pay for repairs that cost more than your deductible but less than the value of your car. If your comfortable paying out of pocket for repairs or replacement of your vehicle, and you don't have a lienholder, then comp and coll are not the best choice.

Another thing to keep in mind is picking a deductible that you could afford to pay out of pocket. I handled countless claims where someone picked a $500 deductible because the premium was cheaper but could not afford to pay it and get their car fixed.

When I purchased my own policy I went with a deductible that was half of the max I was willing to pay out of pocket because I also handled many claims where people seemed to have accidents back to back. If $500 is difficult to come up with what are you going to do if you need $1000?