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Car insurance...am I doing something wrong here? — Brooklynian

Car insurance...am I doing something wrong here?

carmen
carmen
edited November -1 in Park Slope
I have a 03 mazda worth about $10500. When trying to decide if I'm going to keep or sell the car, I've been checking out insurance for NY state (its currently insured and registered in the south, where I'm from.) I have a clean driving record although I am only 24 (no tickets, one hit-and-run 3 years ago, no accidents since I was 16.)

My insurance quotes are coming out something to the tune of $300 a MONTH. Is this right?! It's currently less than $60 a month, I just can't see how this is possible. Is anyone willing to share their insurance cost (roughly?)
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Comments

  • gowanuskat
    gowanuskat
    Geico - no accidents or tickets. I think it's around $130/mo. Brooklyn has very, very high rates
  • carmen
    carmen
    ok but 130 and 300 seem WILDLY different. My car is NOT that nice, its a freakin Mazda. What is going on here?!
  • new2hood
    new2hood
    If you're calling anyone other than geico, you're wasting your time. as far as I can tell, they're the only ones who can give a livable quote in the city. If I remember correctly, my insurance was around $100 a month with my old car.
  • booklaw
    booklaw
    Could it be the hit and run? Was your car hit by someone else? Were you driving or parked at the time?
  • carmen
    carmen
    ^it was parked. and it was only like, 2400 worth of damage. AND it was...3 or 4 years ago, usually it falls off by now I think.
  • booklaw
    booklaw
    I agree with New2Hood... I pay Geico less than $3,000 a year for a brand new, very expensive German car.

    I'm way older than you are, and I think there may be an additional premium for being an under-25 driver, but I think that quote is still way out of line. Call Geico.
  • stacey
    stacey
    I have Geico and have full insurance with the lowest deductible and full glass and I pay $2800 for the year.

    There is one other insurance company you may want to try - they are
    http://www.tscinsurance.com/active/default.asp

    I almost went with them (cheaper than Geico) but Geico allows me to have my homeowners plus and umbrella policy and car policy all in one.
  • longtimesloper
    longtimesloper
    Got to agree with everyone else here-GEICO is the only way to go.

    We have 2 car insured with them (one has full coverage, one has minimum required to drive), both are much older cars, and hubby and I are in our 40s, but, we pay a total of $1660.00 per year for both of them (we get safe driver discounts and various other things). We also have our coop insurance with GEICO.
  • booklaw
    booklaw
    And by the way, Geico has also been a dream to deal with over claims... both fender benders and the theft of a pretty expensive, two-year old car. They gave me no grief and wrote checks as quickly and as generously as I could have asked.

    And no, I have no other ties to the company.
  • alilbritofbrooklyn
    alilbritofbrooklyn
    You think that's bad ???

    Try this, I have a 22 year old clean licence and thought I'd get some idea of insurance prices before I went car shopping.

    For comparison I told all the insurers I tried I was looking at a five year old toyota camry.

    Geico were my BEST quote at 3800 for 6 months or a friendly 630 a month for a heap of cr*p.

    Reason 1 = no new York licence
    reason 2 = Brooklyn has a lot of uninsured drivers

    I had to learn quite quickly that insurance here is all about protecting yourself from being sued and very little to do with replacing or fixing your car in the event of theft or damage.

    Incidentally, I asked about getting my NY licence and they said I wouldn't see a significant difference in premiums for "about three years"

    I do wonder if they've made the connection between the exhorbitant prices and why people drive without insurance ??? Catch 22 I know.

    I'm still getting the subway to work.
  • raw
    raw

    Subject: Re: Car insurance...am I doing something wrong here?

    Carmen wrote: I have a 03 mazda worth about $10500. When trying to decide if I'm going to keep or sell the car, I've been checking out insurance for NY state (its currently insured and registered in the south, where I'm from.) I have a clean driving record although I am only 24 (no tickets, one hit-and-run 3 years ago, no accidents since I was 16.)

    My insurance quotes are coming out something to the tune of $300 a MONTH. Is this right?! It's currently less than $60 a month, I just can't see how this is possible. Is anyone willing to share their insurance cost (roughly?)
    That does seem high, but if you are younger than 25 and live in Brooklyn, you might pay the highest rates in the country.
  • livetotravel
    livetotravel
    also - you're under 25 which is a higher premium in NY State and Brooklyn has very high car theft stats.
  • pureistheword
    pureistheword
    I was told you would get the highest rates for the first 6 months-1yr and it can go down alot from here.

    I am not getting a car from some time due to the insane insurance prices. I am almost 30 but a new driver (a little over a year now) but the rates were so skyhigh, I dont know if I can ever get started
  • idlewild
    idlewild
    Under 25 is a no-no in the Apple. I couldn't get a Yellow Cab fleet to sponsor me until I was 25 and driving for three years with a clean license.
  • brooklynjack
    brooklynjack
    Welcome to Brooklyn. we have the highest car insurance rates in country. We lived in Manhattan and didn't even own a car but had a non owners policy. When we moved to Brooklyn THAT went up!

    If you qualify for USAA, US military or a dependent, it is cheaper than GEICO

    If you buy a share of Berkshire-Hathaway stock you get something like a 6% or 8% discount on GEICO insurance ( I think the B shares are trading around $4,500.00 now)
  • vidro3
    vidro3
    Carmen, Please let us know what quotes you end up with.
  • carmen
    carmen
    ^^I actually have USAA through my stepfather, who is a veteran, and they even quoted me $280 :shock:

    Im going to call geico this afternoon, I'll let everyone know how it goes.
  • longtimesloper
    longtimesloper
    it has to be because of your age. I am curious to see what Geico can do for you.
  • givemecandy
    givemecandy
    Do insurers change the rates based on neighborhoods or zipcodes? If you live in Bed-Stuy, it wouldn't surprise me that they'd want to charge so much for insurance.
  • robo-bot
    robo-bot
    I got the impression from Geico that it was done by county....so, lower crime areas in Brooklyn have jacked up rates because of higher crime areas in Brooklyn.
  • ace
    ace
    As an unnecessary luxury, owning and operating a private automobile in NYC should be very expensive?
  • arches
    arches
    BrooklynJack wrote: If you qualify for USAA, US military or a dependent, it is cheaper than GEICO

    If you buy a share of Berkshire-Hathaway stock you get something like a 6% or 8% discount on GEICO insurance ( I think the B shares are trading around $4,500.00 now)
    Wasn't true for my girlfriend - GEICO quote was abt 25-30% less than USAA for identical coverage (and she had USAA coverage for >15 years before that).
  • stacey
    stacey
    Carmen wrote: ^^I actually have USAA through my stepfather, who is a veteran, and they even quoted me $280 :shock:

    Im going to call geico this afternoon, I'll let everyone know how it goes.
    Just and FYI if you take a defensive driving course (I think its 4 or 6 hours) most insurance companies will offer a discount on your insurance.
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    Ace wrote: As an unnecessary luxury, owning and operating a private automobile in NYC should be very expensive?
    i can see that argument for things the state collects for (gas tax, tolls, parking permits, etc.), if the state has decided to discourage car ownership for whatever reason.

    but insurance companies don't have an incentive to have fewer cars on the road. seems to me that if their high rates are discouraging people from getting cars, they're hurting themselves -- not to mention hurting everyone else by perversely encouraging uninsured driving and out-of-state registration. but i suppose they see it differently.
  • lincolnannex
    lincolnannex
    ..... or maybe they are high to ensure a profit in a city that frowns on car ownership but has no shortage of accidents and thefts. I recently had my car totalled in a hit and run accident that was not my fault. I have a somewhat 'checkered' car insurance past; many accidents but only one or two were my fault. Irrespective, my quotes were on the order of 4k for the year, for a late model nissan maxima my folks were willing to sell me on the cheap. It was enough for me to decide against getting myself another car (i had MA insurance and license prior to the accident and looked into switching to NY).
  • carmen
    carmen
    called geico-

    Instead of 300+ a month...they quoted me $611 for 6 months. FOR SIX MONTHS!! Thats totally doable.
    Now all I have to do is deal with registering my car here (which I'm sure will be a total nightmare) and then I can finally legally drive my car. Oh, sweet escape from the boroughs for weekends..my sanity! How I've missed you!
  • livetotravel
    livetotravel
    As a much less costly alternative, a environmentally friendly solution, and much less of a hassle, two words...

    ZIP CAR

    Do it and you will forever thank me :lol:
  • longtimesloper
    longtimesloper
    Carmen wrote: called geico-

    Instead of 300+ a month...they quoted me $611 for 6 months. FOR SIX MONTHS!! Thats totally doable.
    Now all I have to do is deal with registering my car here (which I'm sure will be a total nightmare) and then I can finally legally drive my car. Oh, sweet escape from the boroughs for weekends..my sanity! How I've missed you!
    Wow! big difference! congrats!
  • pureistheword
    pureistheword
    I had thought dealing with a person might work better than the online form. My 30th birthday is a few weeks off, going to give it another shot following that
  • vanilla
    vanilla
    Ace wrote: As an unnecessary luxury, owning and operating a private automobile in NYC should be very expensive?
    this wouldn't explain why car insurance in manhattan costs way less than car insurance in brooklyn. brooklyn car insurance is even more $$$ than queens.
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