Re: car insurance
 

The reason your rates are much higher are for two main reasons.
1. Your driving expeirence is only a 1/2 year.
2. No prior insurance.

With the few months you have had a lic. the ins companies do not have much of a window to see how your driving record will be and to get a perfered rate most want 2 to 3 years driving experience. With prior or current insurance they can look at your prior claim history which you do not have. You will have to bite the bullet for maybe 6 months to maybe a couple of years depending on your state. I would suggest that after you have had insurance for the first 6 months shop your rates again and see if you can get a price break for having the prior ins. Your rates may drop when you turn 25 depending on the ins co and your state ins regulations.

Re: car insurance
 

The best service out there (IMO) is USAA - however, you (or your parents) have to have been military at some point. The rates aren't bad - I think we're paying $1100/year for 2 cars with variable deductibles (depending type of incident).

Re: car insurance
 

As everyone else said, check out the biggies. When I was 16, I got plunked onto my Dad's State Farm account, which he has had forever. Converted to my own when I graduated from college, and have been going ever since. I think right now I'm paying less than $1200/year for 3 cars. Since you aren't over 25, and have only been driving for a short amount of time, it's going to cost you.

As far as car goes, I've heard really mixed things about CarMax. Some people have enjoyed the experience, while others have been completely screwed. Instead of the 05 Mazda, look at a slightly older Honda or Toyota with less than 100k miles. You'll be able to put at least another 100k miles on it (6-8 years, unless you're me, and that's 4-5 years), and as long as you do all the scheduled maintenance, you'll be good to go. And, if you've got 12,000 to spend, I'd spend 8-10k and use the rest towards the car insurance.

I have a 2001 Honda Civic with 135,000 miles, runs great, and I get 34-36 MPG mixed.

Re: car insurance
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;347364]I second that. That's the biggest pain in the ass of car insurance: being FORCED to have full coverage until you pay it off. I had something happen to my car and they still were BSing me saying that what happened was a collision even though I didn't run into anything![/quote]
What happened to your car?

Re: car insurance
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;347250]I've had State Farm for about 7 years and been fairly pleased with the rates and the service. The most important thing though is to pay that friggin' car off asap. Drop the full coverage down to liability.[/quote]


PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!!! I don't know what the min coverage is in VA, but in WVA its 20/40/10, meaning 20 thousand per accident, 40 thousand per occurence. Sooo, if you cause an accident, they only pay the injured party up to 20 grand, which comes really really fast if anyone is hurt. THE MOST IMPORTANT INSURANCE TO GET IS UNDERINSURANCE. That means if the yahoo that hits you has minimum coverage, your own insurance kicks in. Sooo, lets say some idiot runs a red light and T-bones you. You're in the hospital with 15k in bills, and he's got the min coverage. He coughs up his 20k, and then your insurance will cough up some as well, but ONLY if you have underinsurance coverage. I hear what you guys are saying about "full coverage" but with some of the idiots out there, I wouldn't risk not being covered in the event of an accident. Medical bills and lost wages pile up pretty darn fast.

Re: car insurance
 

I agree with PSF, minimal coverage might save you money now but god forbid if you ever wrecked and needed the coverage, especially medical.

After working in no-fault for a year, I now max out my coverages and encourage everyone I know to do the same.

Re: car insurance
 

[quote=Mattyk72;347473]I agree with PSF, minimal coverage might save you money now but god forbid if you ever wrecked and needed the coverage, especially medical.

After working in no-fault for a year, I now max out my coverages and encourage everyone I know to do the same.[/quote]

+1 and Underinsured/Uninsured Motorists Coverages are PARAMOUNT!

Re: car insurance
 

[quote=firstdown;347414]What happened to your car?[/quote]

It was sitting in a parking lot and pieces of branches fell on it in a storm leaving a couple nice dents in the side.

Re: car insurance
 

I just bought a new truck and switched from Progressive to Geico. Geico is offering this new (to me) option where your vehicle is covered against mechanical breakdown. The deductible is like $250 but it would easily pay for itself the first time something breaks that isn't covered by the warranty...

Re: car insurance
 

As far as switching from Full Coverage to Liability only, DON'T DO IT. Here's what happened to my brother two months ago...

He had his car paid off and decided to save a little cash by switching to minimum coverage. 3 days later he's driving on the PA state turnpike late at night and has to pull off the road. When he pulls off, he does so into a massive sink/pot hole about 3 feet deep and the width of his car. Needless to say, his car was F'd up. So he calls the insurance company and reinstates full coverage before he reports the accident. Two days later, he tries to report the accident with the whole, "this is so strange. I'm lucky I just switched back to full coverage..." routine and they immediately tell him they'll be doing a full insurance fraud investigation and are going to be pulling his phone records... So... needless to say, he dropped that claim pretty quick. I'm sure his account at Progressive has a flashing FRAUD ALERT for anything he reports in the future and he had to pay the $3000 in repairs.

Moral of the story: Get the best coverage you can afford, because as soon as you don't have it, you'll need it.

Re: car insurance
 

[quote=BleedBurgundy;347501]As far as switching from Full Coverage to Liability only, DON'T DO IT. Here's what happened to my brother two months ago...

He had his car paid off and decided to save a little cash by switching to minimum coverage. 3 days later he's driving on the PA state turnpike late at night and has to pull off the road. When he pulls off, he does so into a massive sink/pot hole about 3 feet deep and the width of his car. Needless to say, his car was F'd up. So he calls the insurance company and reinstates full coverage before he reports the accident. Two days later, he tries to report the accident with the whole, "this is so strange. I'm lucky I just switched back to full coverage..." routine and they immediately tell him they'll be doing a full insurance fraud investigation and are going to be pulling his phone records... So... needless to say, he dropped that claim pretty quick. I'm sure his account at Progressive has a flashing FRAUD ALERT for anything he reports in the future and he had to pay the $3000 in repairs.

Moral of the story: Get the best coverage you can afford, because as soon as you don't have it, you'll need it.[/quote]

LOL trust me Progressive goes through every claim with a fine toothed comb.

Besides, any claim right after a coverage change is a huge red flag to probably any insurance company.

Re: car insurance
 

If you eligible you can't beat USAA. Besides that Progressive is alright.

Re: car insurance
 

I have GMAC insurance, and I pay $1100/year. I'm 25, have a full size pickup with full coverage ($1000 ded.), and I have a pretty good driving record (no accidents in the past 3 years, no points).

When I was looking for insurance, I got an agent to do all the shopping for me. She got quotes from several different companies, and just sold me the cheapest policy. Granted, I'm sure I paid some markup, but I doubt it gets much cheaper than $1100/year for a guy like me.

I have only been with them for a few months, so I cannot attest to their customer service ability.

Re: car insurance
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;347481]It was sitting in a parking lot and pieces of branches fell on it in a storm leaving a couple nice dents in the side.[/quote]
Thats a comp. loss who's your insurance co.?

Re: car insurance
 

The reason you're hearing people throwing out names of all different companies is that no one company dominates any area. Car insurance is very regional; each company has their own price points based on certain areas. State Farm might be the cheapest in one area, and one county over, the most expensive. Really, you just have to shop it around to find the lowest rate.

I'd be very hesitant to drop coverage. Certainly, never ever ever drop the underinsured coverage, the non-insured coverage, and keep your medical limits nice and high. I work at a chain of hospitals; trauma bills get VERY high. If they get high enough to clear your coverage, you can be financially ruined.

I'm also always hesitant to drop collision coverage. The worst thing is if you total your car and don't get any money back for it - forcing you into having to buy a new car. At least if you have the collision coverage, you get the blue book value on your totaled car, and you can put that towards a new one.

In the end, you're going to have high rates because you're young and male. Hang in there, the rates only go down from here.