alphanumeric

well I am searching this forum for my gf as she is the owner of this car.. she is searching esurance.com and they are quoting her something like $2000 + for every six months!

my question is how much should we be paying, how much are you paying?


on another subject.. I used the search and read people are paying $1500 on a C230!! every six months.. does anyone else think something is wrong with how much insurance companys are charging?

JBRhee

That's ridiculous. Try AAA. I'm paying $1920 for the entire year with the Good Student + Good Driver discounts.

alphanumeric

hmm... I will get a quote from AAA, hopefully she can get the same quote..

I guess more things depend on rates but she is 24, good driver, (no tickets or wrecks) and lives in CA also the car is NOT paid off, not sure if that has anything to do with anything lol..

comments of your rates and insurance company are welcomed , thanks =)

Beleriand

Get ready for a lecture . . . You aren't going to like this much, but here it goes . . .

Like you say, insurance rates are dependant on a mulitude of variables. 24 years old is still too young to get the best rates. I am much older than her and have every conceivable discount - good driver, multiple car, all the safety features, etc. My insurance costs are pretty reasonable but won't relate well to you or your gf because you don't have the same circumstances as me. I would not have bought the car if I couldn't afford the insurance and you can bet that I didn't walk into that dealership without knowing what my expenses would be under the best and worst circumstances. I knew I could afford the insurance because I had shopped around BEFORE buying the car and knew what my exposure was. She shouldn't be stepping up with the big boys and buying a car nearing six figures without doing her homework. Not smart.

The best thing to do is shop around. If your gf didn't even call AAA then she wasn't really trying. Call all of the big insurance companies first - Farmers, Progressive, AAA, Travelers, etc. Then, call some of the discount insurers like GIECO, Eastwood, 21st Century, etc. You will find a variety of rates. Never use a broker - that is a waste of time (do they even exist any more?). Shop that price until it hurts and you will find the best deal. Don't just take a friend's word (or someone on this board for that matter). The insurers plan on you being young and impatient. Try accepting a high deductible then drive more safely. If you use your car insurance more than once every 3 years then you need to learn how to drive.

Then again, if you have the extra dough to buy an SLK55 then insurance should not really be a problem. If you are going to stretch to pay your insurance then you can't afford the car. I am suprised that your gf bought the car without having the insurance price already worked out. But then again, who finances an SLK55? Does your gf realize how much she will pay for that car by the time her term is up??? Enough to pay cash for a much nicer car in 5 years if she had invested the interest in even a marginally appreciable asset (try a REIT for example). Not smart to finance a non-essential and steeply depreciating asset. Can you even classify a luxury car as an asset? NOT. Man, your gf needs financial advice - not insurance.

WTF are 24 year old kids driving around in $80,000 cars for when they don't know what the insurance rate will be. Better yet, what the hell dealer or bank financed it? That dealer or bank could not possibly have had any confidence that your gf could pay off that loan. Without knowing anything more about her I can tell you that the bank would consider her a bad risk based purely on her age. They are going to get that interest for the first 12 months and then write that baby off. That is their game man. Tell her to watch out - not starting out financially sound.

Damn . . . that was harsh. I'm a real *******.

alphanumeric

well I will take your good advice about shopping around for insurance and keep our life stories out of this as it seems like it would lead to an argument. lol


okay okay okay....
no doubt she would of went with this insurance company but I know there is money to be saved.. I am not the kind of person that likes to give away money to companys. btw yes the car is financed but.. there was a nice down payment with good intrest rates.

oh ya.. never judge a book by its cover

Beleriand

You claim in this post (https://mbworld.org/forums/kill-stories/111563-slk-55-vs-ls1-camaro-ss.html) to already OWN an SLK55 - for nearly a year. Why can't you advise her on what you pay?

Large down payment and low rates - that is music to the bank's ears my friend. You've been had. If your gf put her payment to work for her, she could buy any car she wants in shorter time than she would ever imagine. It is never too early to start building wealth. Weath = time - Rich = money. Wealth means you don't have to work any more. Rich means you have an SLK55 and can't pay the insurance.

Best of luck though.

xaveon

Hey Hey Hey, nothing wrong with young people driving nice cars!

xaveon

But I do agree that you shouldn't purchase a $80k car if you can't afford the insurace.

I'm younger than your gf and I'm paying $1200/year (for the SLK55), but I also have a CLK and a Durango under the policy. It's tied into my home insurance too so I get discounts. I'm using Allstate.

If your gf is hesistant about the insurace for the car, her back end ratio is too high. She should really try to keep her back end ratio at 45%, max!

Beleriand

Absolutely not. I applaud anyone who can get to the point where they can purchase this kind of car at an early age. But when you are financing without even knowing what you insurance is going to be when you go in not a symptom of youth - it is a symptom of dumb.

I think you would agree that while there is no problem with young people driving nice cars, there is a problem with stupid people driving them.

Agree???

alphanumeric

lets get some facts straight here without getting to personal... first I never said we cant afford the insurance.. I just wanted to come on here to get some advice.. not advice on how I should live my life.. I dont need you attempting to cloud my thoughts.. because its not going to work..

I can already tell the type of person you are.. 1 thing we have in common is that we are both a$$holes but the main difference is you are almost 40 years OLD driving around in a chicks car when it should be an SL or CL55 or better yet 65 AMG....

To dig up someones old post just shows you take the internet too serious.

xaveon

I am driving a chick's car? Man, should have gotten the M5 instead!

xaveon

Personally I think the SL55 is not worth it's price. I think the only thing better about the SL55 is ABC and the supercharger. Performance wise, the SLK is not that far from the SL and is half the price. If you throw on a Kleemann supercharger, nothing can touch the SLK. I would only get the SL for the name, but when you get up to that price ($130k) might as well get a Bently.

fredfromny

If you marry her the insurance cost would decrease considerably

anissut

Beleriand, I personally don't think you have any right to question how alpahnumeric chooses to buy a car and inusre it. He was simply asking for a little bit of help from forum members. I think Alphanumeric has shown a great deal of restraint when replying to your extremely judgmental posts. I find it amusing that you lecture him about financing a car and how he is doing the wrong thing and how you seem to believe it is completely the wrong thing to do. Just because you do finance a car does not mean you can't afford that car and I find it quite amusing that a successful man such as yourself can't see that. I know people that earn 100 times more than I do (and probably more than you do as well) who finance their cars and have no issue with it at all. I know very very rich people who borrow to purchase property, cars, businesses and a lot more and trust me when I say they know what they are doing.

And I still don't understand where you got the impression that he or she couldn't afford the insurance, he never once said that in his original post.

It's all good having opinions but lets not be overly critical of people who are only asking for a little advice.

LETO

But then again, who finances an SLK55?

- i have financed all my cars. I dont keep them for more than a year and the loss I take is mininiscule in the grand scheme of things. My dealer who I have gone back to for (8 cars...MB's since 2000) knows he has to help me sell my car or trade it in well....or he loses me as a customer)

WTF are 24 year old kids driving around in $80,000 cars for when they don't know what the insurance rate will be. Better yet, what the hell dealer or bank financed it? That dealer or bank could not possibly have had any confidence that your gf could pay off that loan. Without knowing anything more about her I can tell you that the bank would consider her a bad risk based purely on her age. They are going to get that interest for the first 12 months and then write that baby off. That is their game man. Tell her to watch out - not starting out financially sound.

Damn . . . that was harsh. I'm a real *******. [/QUOTE]

That was really harsh man. It is one thing to go parental on someone's *** but when it is not your parent........

I think if anyone is looking for this advice, they are better off being on Dr Phil. ....are you having a bad day? did you just need to rip someone a new one?

take care

LETO

I get it....you have a pair and your are standing up for yourself....no reason to call the SLK55 a chick's car cause someone decided to tell you how to live your life.

As far as saying that the SL, CL etc are better, there are always cars that are going to be better......it gives you something to work toward.....

silver_metallic

So much drama in this thread....

Dude, you need to get a multi-car discount. I'm 31, I have a few speeding tickets and I drive a C32. My insurance is $900 per year. Go with progressive. They have the best rates. My 2004 S4 was $700 per year because it was considered a "safer" car.

Ppower

Beleriand- good posts, the truth isn't always kind and those that deny it tend not to want to hear it. Question I noticed in your post you run 19x9.5 rear rims what size tire do you run?


alphanumeric- you not only insulted yourself(if you do even own one like posted in your old post, unless of course you just lied about owning one) by expressing some lame opinion that some how the SLK55 is a "chick's" car you also insulted all the other male owners on this forum.

I tend agree it is pretty stupid to go buy a car and not have a clue how much the insurance is going to cost before you get it. Like buying one with really bad MPG and you having to drive 100+ miles one way each day and then complaining about how much the fuel is costing you...

Beleriand

I see your point about ripping into the kid. I was probably being a bit too onery. And I was certainly overcritical. I doubt alphanumeric lost any sleep over it though. He seems like a tough kid. Sounds like you took it harder than he did. Some hidden issues there maybe????

We will have to agree to disagree on the financing issue. I work in an office with 40 partners - all of whom have at least one exotic in their garage - and we sit and laugh at anyone that would finance a luxury car. Financing your first couple of cars while you are getting established may be a necessity and is a part of growing up. But to finance a car that is going to run you $20 - $30 in interest over the term of the loan is ludicrous - no matter how long you plan to own the car. Never sign a contract that binds you to pay more interest than most people pay for a new car. Just a good rule of thumb.

What possible rationale could all of these wealthy people you know have in financing cars? They don't appreciate. They are ultimate high risk. Expensive to maintain. And resale value is crap. There could not possibly be a worse investment. But, you are entitled to your opinion and I can respect that.

Your friends who borrow to finance property, businesses or cars that are being used in the business (tax deductible cars) do know what they are doing. Property is an APPRECIATING asset - so is a business if you know what you are doing. They are INCOME PRODUCTING assets. If alphanumeric's gf was buying this car to go around and deliver Mary Kay or Avon I might understaind borrowing the money. It would help her earn money and would be tax deductible. But to finance a car just to drive around in and feel cool is silly. If you absolutely must finance a car, then you need to get the cheapest car that can fill your needs. That is just my take. Financial strategies are very personal - I realize that. But this is what has always worked for me and my opinion is shared by nearly every great economist that has ever lived. First establish wealth which = enough reserve so that you never have to work or go into debt; avoid being rich which = having a lot of disposable income but living paycheck to paycheck. Financing luxury cars nearly always leads to the latter.

I never said that his gf couldn't afford the insurance. If that's what it sounded like then that was not my intent. He never said they couldn't afford anything. I guess I was just going off the fact that she really couldn't afford the car - the whole financing thing again. My main point was that she went to buy the car without first checking out what her insurance costs would be. I think we can all agree - not a smart move.

I knew that post would work everybody up! It's good to get the blood flowing in the morning. It's cool though. I will calm it down.

Beleriand

Alphanumeric, I want to thank you for this post. I really thought that my first post was too harsh and I was even thinking about editing it down a bit. Now I am glad I didn't - gauging from your putrid response, you needed some of that medicine.

When you come into a forum like this and post, you can't control how people will react. You have to deal with whatever people want to say. I may have been being an a$$hole, but that is part of posting on the Internet. Suck it up. Once you get your *** in the real world, you will find that people will often not act just like you want them to.

Yes, I am nearly 40 years-old - and I assume that to you that is really ancient. The bottom line is that I have won the financial "game" in the second quarter of my life. I have acquired enough wealth so that I no longer HAVE to work. I also am married and have 3 children. You can only hope for as good an outcome when you are my age. But dating girls with expensive tastes they can't afford won't help. Oh, I'm sorry, was that another unsolicited reality check. I guess I really am an a$$hole.

I chose to buy an SLK55 because I like the car. I had an SLK350 before that. I own 3 MB total. If this is a "chick" car I can handle it. I am secure enough in my manhood to drive a chick car. Hell, I use my wife's Secret deodorant - strong enough for a man, but made for a woman. Also, my BRABUS enhanced B55 will just about take a stock SL55. Think of the power to weight ratio and you will begin to see the light.

In the end, you never told us whether you really own an SLK55 - as you claim - or not. I guess it doesn't matter.

Best of luck.

anissut

Noone is denying the fact that financing a depreciating asset is stupid. I completely agree with you. BUT if like lots of people (me included) you earn a good wage but may not have a large chunk of cash lying around, or you do have that cash but would prefer to keep it for other possible things, then financing isn't as ridiculous as you may think. The SLK55 is around 55k (GBP) here in the UK and if you were to finance it you would eventually pay 61k for the car (including the payments). Over 3 years thats 2k more a year. Now if you're earning good money and you wanted to save for a car anyway why not just get the car earlier and use your earnings to cover the interest for 3 years and live life for today. Enjoy while you can, you never know you could die tomorrow. I wouldn't personally say that's a stupid thing to do. Also, equities are doing great here in the UK, funds are doing well and are all achieving well over 10% with the emergence of China, Eastern Europe and India so I would prefer my money sitting there (which it is, rather than in a depreciating car) where for the next 18 months I am confident with the way the markets are going. Yes, that is a risk, but I enjoy risk and if I didn't I wouldn't be where I am today.

I am happy for my home to be mortgaged as I know it's going up every year, and over 10-15 years it's a good play. I wish I had the luxury of being able to afford $1million to buy it outright, but I don't have that cash but am saving for the fact that by 40-45 my house will be paid off.

And I know you partly wrote the post to cause a bit of heated debate but I just don't think the OP deserved such criticism considering who knows what he has or doesn't have.

Peace.

alphanumeric

I hope I dont offend others on this forum about a male owner of an SLK.. as another forum member already spotted I was just "trying" to defend myself.. I do have a couple of mercedes myself, nothing special like an SLK55 amg! so I am pretty much a fan of anything AMG especially the slk55



Beleriand - "I knew that post would work everybody up! It's good to get the blood flowing in the morning. It's cool though. I will calm it down."

sounds like you do this kind of stuff on a regular basis you sick man! who do you think you are, Donald Trump? lol

Beleriand

anissut, I can respect that. Point taken. Variety is the spice of life.

alphanumeric, I am mainly just playing with you man. You are a pretty ballsy kid. I like that. Truce.

Let's all just relax and enjoy our lives - we are all doing pretty well.

Peace.

northbenz

Actually there are a lot of good points made by both sides and the generation gap simply adds a little focus and perspective. While I could do without the name calling on any thread, kudos go to both sides for taking the time to express some meaningful perspectives.

Ppower

So how do you feel about people who lease exotic cars instead of buying them?