narky

I'm taking delivery of a C300 Sport in February. I have an idea about insurance rates and such.

I remember when I was younger, my parents always kept a used beater around to put my name under. That way they could claim that their more expensive vehicles were not driven too much and their insurance rates would be lower. Pre-25 years of age, especially while in high school, I had rates that were pretty crazy. What with my tickets/suspension/probation/accidents/etc. I'm still a bad driver, keep away from me.

I will be 28 this year and my record is pretty clean (now), so my insurance rates aren't too bad. But this is my first German, and I have no clue how much more it would be than my 02 V6 Altima. The C300 is about $6000~7000 more in price. What do you guys think:

I keep the C300 Sport, buy a cheap ($2500) used car, and register the old car as my primary driver.

This way, I get to have my new car, cheaper insurance rates (I hope?) AND have a toy to play with. I'm thinking weekend track setup with an old Nissan 240sx or 240/260/280Z.

Is this a stupid idea? If I won't save any money on insurance through this method, I'll have to think twice. Well... doing it at a bit of a cost to me is okay too... I've always wanted a track/drift toy...

Stick Girl

Have you called your insurance company and asked them to run a hypothetical? My insurance only went up by $10/mo. with the C300.

kimyoung_k

Big portion of the car insurance premium is to cover liability such as property damage, other people's injury and stuff($100,000/300,000 is common requirement by bank if you financed or leased). The premium to cover your car damage is minor compare to the liability ($50,000 max? because it cannot be lot more than the price of the car). Insuring cheap car as primary won't save you money because you have to pay high liability premium no matter what kind of car you drive. Not only that, Nissan 240sx or 240/260/280Z only has 2doors which considers as sport car and has even higher liability premium than 4 door cars. So, you are going to be paying same or more money for liability premium as you would have your new MB as primary, plus the premium to cover the collision damage for 2 cars. In the end, even with multiple car discount, you are going to be paying more than if you would have only 1 car insured (new MB) + $2,500 for your toy.

MBTex

You'd still need full coverage on the MB if it is leased or financed.

Even if you didn't, you'd still need to insure both cars. The cost of that would be higher than the increased cost of insuring the MB alone.

chilledbenz

Sounds like a good plan, but we all know how plans look good on paper but then never pan out. My insurance company offers something similar for classic cars and high end sports cars, but there is a mileage limit on it. So say you want to insure a Lambo but theres no way you can afford the insurance. There is a plan to allow you a some what modest insurance rate but when signing the policy you are saying that you will keep the mileage on the car under x amount of miles a year, meaning it isn't your daily driver.

Gotti78

My Insurance dropped by going from a 00 honda Civic SIR to a 08 C350.
I was paying 140/Month for the civic and now 104/month for the Benz.
This is in Canada where we get raped by insurance.

chilledbenz

Lot more safety features in the Benz compared to the Honda, thats probably why your paying less.

mosquad

Not sure if the biggest portion is a "general-not-linked-to-type-of-car"... if you lease a cheap old car, you would end up paying a very low insurance premium.

There is also the fact that it's a new car, thus, less probable of being stolen for the parts to be re-sold. As cars get older, they break down, thus, owners need parts -> demand for parts being created -> same type of cars being stolen.

Krytech

+1 on the Z cars. I owned several in my earlier days and have always wanted to get another as a project car. I like to get another 280Z and put in either a turbo engine from the 280ZX or a Chevy 350. Lots of kits available for the 350 route, assuming the frame is in good enough shape to handle it.

Sorry for going off topic...

oblu

My insurance company does mileage checks at each renewal. Of course it's filled out by me, but I do have to sign it. And each time I've ever been to a body shop, they note the mileage.

I'd imagine that if the insurance company ever pulled the record of sale from when I traded a car in they'd see the mileage also. Not sure if they can, or do.

When I was 28 I bought my first BMW. I was still driving my 84 Accord that was my beater college car. My increase was $14 every 6mo. Of all the different cars my wife and I have had since, our insurance has pretty much stayed the same no matter if it was a sports car or an SUV.

stephensong

If you have a loss and the insurance company discovers that you made a material misrepresentation they may return your premium and void your policy and not pay the loss. It is not worth the headache, you are buying a nice car so just pay for the insurance.

You can reach me at the Department of Insurance State of Washington.

Benz084

my insurance went down when I got my 05 c230. Then it went down even more when I got the 08 300. The benz is alot cheaper than an audi/bmw to insure.

Krytech

OH SNAP!

chilledbenz

Thats true..seeing how the Honda Civic is always at the top of the most stolen vehicles list every year. Benz has a great set up with the whole rolling code keys and such.

narky

hmmmm... all these reasons not to do it... yet still tempting...

I think some of you are not quite understanding my original post. Perhaps unclearly, I said I wouldn't mind paying more for insurance if only to have the 240. The emphasis was on having a 240Z (one of my all-time favorites, and yes, an engine swap of some sort would logically follow), not on saving the money, even though that woulda been awesome!

In any case, I don't think I'm gonna do the above. For now. Thanks to everyone for the various and helpful opinions. Financially, it wouldn't be a smart thing to do for me right at this moment. Buying this car would only be the beginning of something I can't afford, until a few years later

Actually, before the C-class, I had already reached a conclusion: 2008 Civic Si sedan at $21k with $3~5k allowance for mods in & out. I would then arrive at a unique car that I (still) like, bulletproof reliable, and worry-free (I would've paid in cash).

Then I saw a picture of the C by chance, and immediately, I had to have it -- kinda crazy, because I would never make snap decisions like that. And with a car? I threw out close to 6 months of research and calculations comparing almost 10 cars within just about a second.

Thanks to that picture (it was Arctic White with Pano Roof ), I'm about to pay cash for a Civic, then finance another one. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm in no way comparing or contrasting a w204 with a Civic. There can be no comparison. I think I'll wait until that special moment and hug the general hood area when the car arrives.

So I love the w204, but I still want my small, light, tuned (i.e. personalized ) Japanese car. Is that so wrong?

[EDIT] p.s. Long post, I know, but it's already so long...

What? Why would I want/need to reach you? You should've stopped after "just pay for the insurance." Solid advice, clean ending.

430752

That ain't rape, that's romance.

Come to Jersey, know rape. Still the most expensive car insurance state in the land, me thinks.

Let's see, a 5 year old ford focus, paid-off, without collision coverage for a 35+ year old driver without a ticket in 15 years and without an accident ever, married with child and own a home (all of which goes into the calculation) was $900 a year. Ouch. New 2008 C-Class with collision is near $1600/yr. double ouch. Wife's 06 Honda Pilot with same coverage is near $1300/yr.

enjoy cheap rates.

ni2mi2

AMEN to that!! I still have nightmares thinking about the rate I used to pay when I lived in NJ - I, single, under 25, new US license, paid $3000 per year for full coverage on my Jetta (new one).

stephensong

You will have to reach my counter parts in CA when you get caught doing an illegal act. If you cannot afford to insure your car you should by a Ford Focus or some other car that better fits your budget and then buying insurance will not be a problem for you.

narky

I can tell that this conversation is already turning into a b****-fight (sorry, other members), so I'll restrain myself, stephen.

But.

1. Where did you get the idea about me not being able to afford anything? As a perk of owning my own business, I get to afford whatever the hell it is I want to play with. But does making enough money make anyone dislike saving money?

2. And who said anything about my doing any illegal acts? What's with this pompous power-tripping ? With a beater around, I'd garage the C until only the weekends when I have time to take it out on better roads. Isn't that the situation for which such an insurance policy would be designed, legally?

Besides all this, I asked a simple question about an insurance situation, and many people gave equally simple, yet helpful answers -- even you. And then suddenly:

Who asked you? Do you want me to ? Why mention your job?

430752

I don't think he was being a snob, but giving his credentials so you knew he spoke with some truth, as opposed to speaking out of his butthole, which you might get on a public forum. Next, and it may have come out wrong, but ont he financial thing, I think he was suggesting that if money was such an issue, maybe you should get something else. It was an overreach on his part me thinks, but you are the one who raised the finance piece. On the illegal acts, not sure where he was coming from other than what you may have been suggesting may have been insurance fraud and thus illegal. I certainly didn't take from your original post that you would get a beater for Monday-thru-Friday and drive the C only the weekends as your later post states. I took the opposite, that you'd get a beater to game the system and drive the C whenever possible but drive the beater on track days, bad weather days, etc. (BTW, issues like this is why it is good to never put your name or true email or exact location on public forums, in case narc's want to report you or whatnot.)

Now, before you turn on me, lemme say that your original plan was okay with me as long as you knew the reprucussions (that your insurance could get cancelled retro if caught). Its your life, who am I to tell another what to do? But if I could, I would tell you to get the old datsun/nissan anyway, make the c your primary driver for insurance purposes (if appropriate) to be legit, and run the snot out of the old z car anyway, cuz 2 is always better than one, and the C doesn't drive the way a point-and-squirt car drives. I kinda miss it, the C is more a luxo-cruiser in my book.

well, whatever.

MBTex

<<<lighten up, francis>>>



Are you offering to be the Big Toe?

narky

I understand what you're saying, 430752 and I agree with you on most points. I even understand/agree with stephensong. You guys have both said nothing wrong.

I'm taking issue with only the mention of his position. Frankly, I think his job has little bearing on the question I asked. I respect and appreciate all members' replies and believe them until prove wrong. His working for the Man doesn't make me believe him any more or less, because whatever he knows is knowledge commonly available to the general public (for the most part).

I perceived his last sentence, separated from all other sentences as if to emphasize, as a very passive threat. Like a cowboy walking into a bar and tacitly showing the gun in his side. "Don't make me, boy!"

In the end, "well, whatever," as 430752 said. I'm sorry I even started this retarded thread, and I'll stop posting on it. How about if I do get that Z-car, I post pics on another thread, no mention of insurance?

Cheers.

stephensong

Sorry, I lost my head for a minute.

shaunpaulinc

my insurance with progressive, full coverage for my car is 102 a month, for my e 55 it is 140. my other car is in a different state, calif, and its not driven much so I wont go into that one.

the trick is to say you are comparing rates, and make up numbers, say company x overs this coverage, but I want to go with you guys because of your reputation etc... Initially with my e 55 the quoted me a price that came to 280 a month and I got it to 140, just by doing what I described above. I was in grad school at the time, and I told them I had a 3.9, I faxed that in and that took a lot of, but I graduated. And the rate is the same, even when I added the C they quoted my a much higher price, so I went into the whole I got a quote from geico that was X amount, but I trust your company... They can come down quite a lot... just talk to em, and keep mentioning other companies and their rates..

Hope this helps.

Oh I am 26 by the way, so I think if you are 25 or younger some other rules apply..

mbny

I'm an insurance broker and due to that type of thinking, more and more companies are beginning to have their system automatically override our quotes and change the primary vehicle to newest or most expensive vehicle on the policy. However if you are with a company that will allow you to do this, I wouldn't really worry much about it. You're not going to save much anyways though.