Teenage insurance?

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

One way to lower your rates: dont have collision on your car. Get an older car that is paid for, then if you wreck it your insurace does not have to pay for your mistake.

I don't understand this. Why would the insurance not pay me if the car is wrecked? I would certainly want them to cover the damage to my car and whatever I wrecked into, regardless of if I or the bank owns it.

Wetzel

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Mike -

I know it seems unfair to you that the insurance you'll have to pay is so high. However, it won't change the situation for your company. I started on an older used car, and insurance was ok. Remember that you're going to be driving with a lot of crazy teenagers, and even if you are an extremely safe driver, others won't be, and as somebody said above that car may not survive your teens.

Are you paying for this yourself? Or are your parents paying? Remember that you have college to pay for ahead, and even regardless of scholarships there can be big costs for that as tuition rates skyrocket. I hate to be a killjoy, but the decision is really where you want your money - a sports car now, or an even better sports car later .

- Geni

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

I don't understand this. Why would the insurance not pay me if the car is wrecked? I would certainly want them to cover the damage to my car and whatever I wrecked into, regardless of if I or the bank owns it.

Wetzel

If you have an older car with a blue book value of let's say $700 (aka my son's '95 Saab) and your insurance deductible is $500 and you total the car, all they will give you is at the most $200. That's $17/ month for a year. So if your collision part of the car insuance is greater than $17/month, and it usually is, drop the collision and put that money in the bank for the fund to replace your car when you need to. You keep the liability on the car, that protects the people part of the accident and the other car.

And to answer the original question...We have a 17 year-old with a 2005 Masda RX-8, (her choice, she earned it) she is on our insurance and its about $1100 for six months (She also has a job, and pays for half of the cost). I know she is cheaper than if she was a teenage boy, but other than that, I can't imagine having to pay much more than that. So I think the $450/month estimate is way off base. And I think NY has one of the highest rates in the country.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by mocat1530

I know she is cheaper than if she was a teenage boy ...

Maybe, maybe not. Some places have embraced gender equity in law, and insurance companies cannot charge different rates for males and females. I also suspect that the accident rates between teen girls and guys has converged.

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by GaryV1188

... I also suspect that the accident rates between teen girls and guys has converged.

why do you think that now, after people have been driving for approximately 100 years, that teenage boys no longer like to hot-rod and show off once they get behind the wheel?

or is there some other reason behind your suspicions?

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

why do you think that now, after people have been driving for approximately 100 years, that teenage boys no longer like to hot-rod and show off once they get behind the wheel?

or is there some other reason behind your suspicions?

LOL! I think the shrinking difference between teen girl and guy rates may be because the girls have finally realized how cool it is to "hot-rod and show off once they get behind the wheel."

Originally Posted by mocat1530

I know she is cheaper than if she was a teenage boy ...

I was basing this on the disparity between my son's initial rates for driving one of the family cars, vs my daughter's rate two years later. His rate was about 30% higher.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

My sister just got her insurance yesterday. I think she might be a guy because she now pays more than I do with the same plan. She drives a '97 Hyundai Elantra. 4 door whatnot. $750 every 6 months. Mine's only about $500 every 6 months. I would check my bill but I just threw it out.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

why do you think that now, after people have been driving for approximately 100 years, that teenage boys no longer like to hot-rod and show off once they get behind the wheel?

or is there some other reason behind your suspicions?

It's not that the boys are less reckless, but that the girls are more.

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

I don't understand this. Why would the insurance not pay me if the car is wrecked? I would certainly want them to cover the damage to my car and whatever I wrecked into, regardless of if I or the bank owns it.

Wetzel

Two types of insurance, comprehensive and collision, insure your car against things not involving other drivers: if you wreck your own car, if your car is stolen, if you set it on fire while messing with a 1000 W amp in the trunk... then C&C insurance gives you the blue book value of the car when its totaled.

If you dont have "C&C" coverage and someone else damages your car, then they have to pay for the damages (covered by their liability insurance).

If you dont have C&C and you wreck your own car, or you leave your keys in it and it is stolen, or you screw up repair work and the engine catches fire... then you have to pay for your own mistakes.

I think this is the better path for new drivers, older (less expensive car) and no C&C - it puts the responsibility on your own shoulders, and for most people it means if you do something stupid and wreck your own car, you will be using public transportation for the next year or so. When you know that if you wreck your car nobody is going to buy you another one, you tend to be a little more carefull.

If you buy a car with a loan, then the bank will require you to have C&C insurance, so the loan will be paid if the car is destroyed.

If you work out the rates, the amount you pay for C&C on your car will usually pay for a brand new car every 10 or 12 years, which means if you saved that money or invested it, instead of giving it to your insurance company, then every 12 years or so you will have enough cash to buy a new car (if you do total one eventually).

Statistically only one in four people will have a serious car accident during their lifetime. If the other 75% have C&C coverage they are handing the insurance companies a ton of money.

[Cody Carey]

No, really... Vespas are great, and they cost next to nothing to insure each year

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Cody C

No, really... Vespas are great, and they cost next to nothing to insure each year

Why not get a Segway? You can certainly take them into a lot more places (I've ridden mine through supermarkets and Home Depot) and people just love them. I've lost track of how many employees have told me "That's a great idea! We should get some of those!" at Home Depot.

Average people in these stores seem to love it too. (When the inevitible "How much does it cost?" question comes up, more and more people are thinking that $5,000 "isn't that bad of a price", expecially with gas being the price it is.)

I brought mine to my job (Department of Public Utilities) last week, and after letting almost everyone there ride it, my boss' boss was convinced to buy the Golf one when he retires in two months, the Electric Division employees wanted to buy several for their electric meter-reader employees, the Water and Sewer Division employees wanted to purchase one for zipping around the water treatment plants, and several employees who work within a few miles of the Water/Sewer/Electric Division offices were seriously considering buying one for commuting to and from work. Talk about viral growth!

[Wetzel]

Ken,

I missed the "don't have collision on you car" in the first post. In my head I made it "don't have a collision". Whoops.
That is about what I did with my first few cars. I had collision, which covered my liability if I hit someone, but not comprehensive, which would have covered damage I did to my own car. I did work out the rates, and 6 months of comprehensive premiums was greater than the cost of the car.

Wetzel

[KenWittlief]

Maybe your insurance company calls the coverage by different names than mine. At Travelers:

Liability: Required by law. Covers any damage you do to other peoples property, and personal injury to yourself, occupants in your car, and anyone else in an accident you cause.

Comprehensive: Covers fire, theft, vanalism, broken windows... but not damage resulting from an accident that you cause.

Collision: Covers damage to your car in an accident that you caused.

Some companies wont give you comprehensive coverage unless you also have collision coverage. Over the years they have learned that people will wreck their own cars, then report them as stolen - so most require you to have both, unless maybe the car is off the road (a collectors item stored in a garage).

[Greg Perkins]

I pay $300.38 a month and drive a 2001 focus zx3.

I know mine is high, from two accidents and a speeding ticket.

[Mike]

Thanks for the help everybody.

I talked to a boss of mine whos owned 7 Audis over the past 8-9 years (long story) but he said the average insurance for a mid 90s A4 is $150-$250, right around where I expected.

Originally Posted by Eugenia Gabrielov

Are you paying for this yourself? Or are your parents paying? Remember that you have college to pay for ahead, and even regardless of scholarships there can be big costs for that as tuition rates skyrocket. I hate to be a killjoy, but the decision is really where you want your money - a sports car now, or an even better sports car later

I've worked on computers on/off since I was 14, washed dishes (20 hours a week) under the table coming up 9 months now and just got back from a job interview at Staples (I got it!) for another 15-20 hours a week. I'm the person that when you go out with your friends, goes to the matinee cinema (unless its snakes on a plane, tonight!) to save money. I've wanted a nice car since I was like 8 and now that I have the money, I want to buy something nice.

It'll also be paid off in full the day I buy it, but I'm still debating C&C coverage. I'll have to see how much extra it would cost me.

Vespas are a good idea, I'm actually planning on getting a sport bike if I move somewhere with a nicer climate for college. The problem is the New England winters, if you don't have 4 wheel drive (or quattro awd ) don't expect to go anywhere.

I was also considering a cheaper car, like the VW Jetta or GTI. However the awd, leather seats, moonroof and overall luxury of Audi switched me over. They also aren't tooo expensive. A '98 A4 Quattro with a V6 2.8l (174hp) and about 100k miles on it can be had for around the $8,000 mark.


Thanks again for your help
-mike