Auto Insurance - did you carry full coverage on older cars?

[Antonia]

Just taking stock of ways we could save a little money. We have 4 cars fully insured. The two older ones are a 1999 Yukon and a 2001 Dodge Ram. The other two are newer and one is still financed. Just pondering dropping comprehensive and collision on the two older ones. Do people typically not carry this coverage on older cars especially if they have mileage in excess of 125,000 miles.

We are also insuring a motorcycle and a boat!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to have enough insurance - just not too much. LOL

 

[Nie0214]

I would drop collision coverage on the older cars because chances are they'll probably total the car because it's worth less than the damage will cost to repair. Figure out what your car is worth and go from there. The money you're saving can go in the bank toward a new car / minor repairs.

My old car was a '99 Oldsmobile and to have full coverage on it would have been an extra $1200/year for a car worth something like $2.5k.

 

[jen0610]

DH drives a 96 Dakota pick up that has just over 100,000 miles on it and looks great and runs wonderful. Once we got it paid off, he dropped full coverage, but it has had two damage claims filed on it. Both times were due to successful deer death runs. We kept the extra "acts of god" coverage on his truck. I would much rather pay a little more each month on a policy that will only charge me a $50.00 deductable for the repair cost involved with hitting a deer, then the $750.00 deductable we would otherwise be looking at.

If we hadn't already had claims for this type of damage, I am sure he wouldn't have thought to ask and then made sure to keep that as part of our policy.

 

[Imzadi]

I would drop collision coverage on the older cars because chances are they'll probably total the car because it's worth less than the damage will cost to repair. Figure out what your car is worth and go from there. The money you're saving can go in the bank toward a new car / minor repairs.

My old car was a '99 Oldsmobile and to have full coverage on it would have been an extra $1200/year for a car worth something like $2.5k.

DITTO. The collison should have been dropped on these cars years ago.

If you need a "new" part for older cars, you can often get them from auto salvage yards. They usually have everything inventoried on computers nowadays and a listing of what condition it's in. It's amazing how you can get cheap replacement parts and simply have a mechanic put them in. You don't need a brand new radiator that will last another 15 years on a car that is already 10 years old.

I found an old, used digital speedometer for my car, online at a salvage in Alabama, and had it shipped to CA, so I could replace it in my car. A new speedometer would have cost about $400 + $75 installation. The old one was $120. I actually found instructions on how to unscrew the dashboard and simply insert the replacement into the slot.

 

[JMD]

The question is whether or not you would be able to replace these cars if anything happened to them. If you drop comp and collision you will have no coverage if your car is stolen or if you are hit by an uninsured motorist. If they are extra vehicles that may not be an issue. But if you depend on them everyday you will have to replace them completely out of pocket.

 

[Imzadi]

For your motorcycle and a boat, check to see if they offer seasonal or 6 month insurance plans - that is if you only use them during the good weather months. The insurance companies may not openly offer this unless you ask or press them about it. Shop around. Some companies make you pay premiums in 3 -6 month increments, and you may be able to drop the insurance after 6 months, and store the boat. Next spring, get insurance again.

 

[manning]

Unfortunately I have full coverage on a '93 Lincoln. When we go down to florida in january I have to rent a car for more than 30 days. That knocks out all coverage offered by credit card companies and our auto insurance thus I have to get a renter rider from the insurance co and the requirement is I have to cover my car fully. Hopefully I will have a new car this year and will drop the rental coverage as I will not be renting anymore.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would not drop full insurance on the trucks. They are very expensive to repair.

Plus if you are pulling a boat with them I would not drop it.

We have 4 cars, 1 boat and 2 Jet Ski's, plus we carry umbrella insurance.

We do have 1 car with liability only but that is our old Pontiac Bonneville that we don't drive.

 

[tonilea]

My rule of thumb is if the car is valued at less than 3 or 4 thousand. We have full coverage on my '00 van, but it is low mileage.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My rule of thumb is if the car is valued at less than 3 or 4 thousand. We have full coverage on my '00 van, but it is low mileage.

Yep. Those trucks are about 10,000 right now. No way should you lower your insurance on them.