Car Insurance, Loan, Purchase, Lease Decisions http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:26:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 en Which Cars Have the Lowest Insurance Costs? http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/28/which-cars-have-the-lowest-insurance-costs/ http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/28/which-cars-have-the-lowest-insurance-costs/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:44:31 +0000 ken automobile purchase automobile insurance http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/28/which-cars-have-the-lowest-insurance-costs/ Out of the nation’s 20 best-selling vehicles, the cheapest car to insure is the Chrysler Town & Country with the average insurance premium of $940. That’s according to insure.com. Other cars on insure.com’s list include the Ford Escape, GMC Sierra pickup and Chevrolet Impala. Insure.com also has the top 10 list for the most expensive models with the Dodge Ram pickup as the most expensive to insure with an average premium of $1,336.

According to insure.com, the differences in premiums are due such factors as histories of theft, repair costs and safety.

One thing interesting to note is the differences between the most and least expensive ones are not huge. If you exclude the two cheapest ones and the two most expensive ones, the differences are less than $200. So the differences may not seem that significant. But it may be more than other factors that effect the cost of a car like fuel efficiency. For example, the yearly cost difference between a car that averages 30 mpg compared to a car that averages 25 mpg is only $200. This assumes that you drive 10,000 miles a year and the gas price is $3/gallon.

]]> http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/28/which-cars-have-the-lowest-insurance-costs/feed/ Useful Resource Before Shopping for Auto Insurance http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/04/useful-resource-before-shopping-for-auto-insurance/ http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/04/useful-resource-before-shopping-for-auto-insurance/#comments Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:37:12 +0000 ken automobile insurance http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/04/useful-resource-before-shopping-for-auto-insurance/ Before you going shopping for car insurance quotes, you should check out auto insurance resources from your state’s website. In addition to providing basic insurance info, many states conduct yearly surveys of auto insurance premiums. You can use this to find some key auto insurers who might have the lowest premiums.

For example, here’s California’s auto insurance survey tool. You enter some basic info about yourself and the coverage that you’re looking for, and it’ll show you premiums from several insurers. These are not premium quotes, but you can use these to quickly find the best insurers. And unlike the private insurance websites, you don’t have to provide any personal identification.

Here are some of the best rates I found when I used this California tool. I specified Los Angeles in Burbank, basic liability only, 7,600 to 10,000 miles driving per year and no violations or accidents. Some of the best premiums included:

  • Wawanesa $463
  • Pacific Specialty $653
  • Amica $699
  • USAA $707
  • Mercury $718
  • Geico $767
  • AAA $799

Here’s a list of states with links to their auto insurance premium comparisons:

I’ve left out many states, but I’ll keep working to expand it. If you have a link for a state that I haven’t included, please leave a comment.

]]> http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2008/01/04/useful-resource-before-shopping-for-auto-insurance/feed/ Renting a car overseas and dealing with car insurance http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2006/12/02/renting-a-car-overseas-and-dealing-with-car-insurance/ http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2006/12/02/renting-a-car-overseas-and-dealing-with-car-insurance/#comments Sat, 02 Dec 2006 02:45:29 +0000 Administrator automobile insurance http://site.chinafinds.com/autodecide/2006/12/02/renting-a-car-overseas-and-dealing-with-car-insurance/ If you travel overseas you may need to rent a car. I have dealt with this problem in several countries - both in Europe and Asia.  The process of booking a rental vehicle could be pretty confusing — much more so than if you are doing the rental in the US.  So here are some things to watch out for:

1) If you are trying to rent from a US rental company overseas be sure to check if the rental company you are renting from is truly a US company or a representative.  This summer we rented a car in Bulgaria.  Initially we thought we are dealing with a US car rental company — we booked the car via the Web by using the US car rental company web site.  Once we researched the options we selected the vehicle — a Grand Vitara SUV — and reserved for a rental fee estimate of about US$750 (for 10 days).  Then a few days prior to the trip my wife was smart to actually call the company in Bulgaria to confirm — then the trouble started. The company in Bulgaria was just a rep — and No, they did not have our car…. Long story short we had to call on another (local) company to find a vehicle.

2) Make sure you understand if the price you are being quoted includes insurance or not.  In most cases when renting in Bulgaria (or other countries) the mandatory insurance is NOT included.  So you will need to negotiate that.  The insurance (at least in Bulgaria) was mandatory and we had to purchase it from the rental company.

So all in all, always call the local number for the rental agency and confirm that you have a car waiting for you.  Make sure your insurance is taken care of.  Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!

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