U.S. insurance tricks?

nosispower · Nov 24, 2004

I might be getting my first car, a 1998 Nissan Maxima GLE. We already have a verbal agreement to buy the car and have a money order written up already. When we went to get insurance, we found out that the rates for me would be close to 1800 a year.

I offered to pay for the insurance with my CVS money but my parents don't want me to work so much. I also have a 1998 Toyota Sienna which my dad would drive?

Do any of you guys know any loopholes that would lower my insurance rates? Anything is helpful (and I know stuff like raising deductible or lowering coverage helps).

Remember, 2 cars 2 drivers. One is a 9 step (my dad) and I have 15.

Ultra_Kool_Dude · Nov 24, 2004

I know a thing or two about this. My quoted insurance for me on my bike was $11 thousand for a year!

What I did was put my dad as the driver, and me as an occasional driver.

Another thing to look into is State Farm. If you insure your house, and other things with them, then they will give you a really good deal on your vehicle.

Also taking a driving course/safety course can lower the insurance.

Beyond that - maybe think about getting married? :mrgreen:

zenon · Nov 24, 2004

I'm not sure of any loopholes other than what Ultra Kool Dude said (have a parent registered as the owner, and put your name down as a secondary driver), but nice choice of car!

I drive a 1999 Nissan Maxima EuroSport.

Renesis · Nov 25, 2004

yeah.. pretty much all I can think of unless you can get married... that would lower your rates if you're under 25 :wink:

nosispower · Nov 25, 2004

Fake marriage? Sounds good to me!

Well, I don't know about the car now. With the insurance thing, they're starting to have second doubts and I'm....heartbroken. I don't want to drive a minivan anymore. I can't do it anymore, after watching that minivan race on Top Gear, all I want to do is....smash my Sienna into a guardrail.

ESPNSTI · Nov 25, 2004

Perhaps you could ask the insurance guy what other cars (aside from minivans) have cheap insurance on them (maybe he can give makes and models).

zenon · Nov 25, 2004

Ya, I'll tell you right now that the insurance isn't going to be the only thing that will cost a lot with a Maxima.

They are amazing cars and perform and handle really well for being front-wheel drive, but because of that the cars are extremely complicated and parts aren't cheap. I need to replace the coils on mine (they don't use a distributor like a normal engine, they have coils on each cylinder), and that is going to be about $100 a coil. I put new tires on the car that were only slightly higher quality than what came stock, and that cost a small fortune. Just by looking at the wiring harness and multiple fuse boxes on my Maxima I've got myself dreading any electrical problems. It has cost me a lot less per month to keep up than my old Oldsmobile, but that's because that thing was suicidal and was trying to implode its own engine. I absolutely love the car and think it is more than worth it to spend a bit of money on it every now and then to keep it up, but it's definetly not the cheapest car in the world.

If you're worried about cost, a Maxima may not be the best purchase unfortunately.

Overheat · Nov 27, 2004

Still think that insurance on cars is absolute bollocks. Should be optional, like with everything else, dammit!

andyhui01 · Nov 27, 2004

insurance here is calculated differently... they just look at cc of the car and driving experience... so cars like the RX-7 and RX-8 are really cheap to maintain becuz its counted as 1.3l over here

Phix · Nov 27, 2004

andyhui01 said:
insurance here is calculated differently... they just look at cc of the car and driving experience... so cars like the RX-7 and RX-8 are really cheap to maintain becuz its counted as 1.3l over here

Did I say I wanna move to Germany? F that! TO MALAYSIA! ROTARY-HO!

andyhui01 · Nov 27, 2004

... thats why I wanted to move here... used to live in Hong Kong where maintaing a car was a bitch and speeding cameras everywhere... plus they take away points from your license if you are caught speeding

zyran · Nov 28, 2004

Hahahahah yeah the poor fuel economy balances out because of the road tax based on the displacement of the car's engine. Last I checked the 1308CC Renesis has a road tax of MYR220 (58USD) as compared to a car with 3 litres which would have a road tax of MYR2000(530USD). If you ask me, the money you save could be used to pay for fuel.yayy

nosispower · Nov 28, 2004

Honestly, insurance is taking a gamble on yourself. The only way you can benefit from the 4 thousand a year that you spend on insurance is if you fuck up or if someone else fucks up and hits you. You can't win unless you're a bad driver.

When I think about it, the thousands I or my parents have spent on insurance over the years more than covers the one or two fender benders we have. Insurance sucks and insurance salesmen deserve to die a horrible death that involves castration.

Sucks to pay to live in America.