finally bought a car. I know the economy is rough and gas is rough, but it will be necessary for me soon so I took the leap before it was a dire need and could control the circumstances. that being said, I'm new to car insurance and don't know what is considered a "good rate", things to look out for, and things I shouldn't skimp out on.
for reference I'm a single driver with one other driver in the house but I'm the only one on the car payment. been driving many years with 2 prior accidents but they are getting close to 10 yrs away from now so idk if they still count towards anything. the car is a 2021 Mitsubishi hatchbacks style with decent mileage and no accident history. Can anyone give me info like I'm a 5yr old on where to start? trying to keep payments as low as I can without being stupid about it. thanks!
New to car insurance, looking for a good place to start
byu/WorryStoner inFrugal
Posted by WorryStoner
2 Comments
Here is what I did, all the various companies will give you an online quote. I started shopping around and just put my info into various companies (I think I used an e-mail I have for spam, but I can’t remember). They will give you a quote. I think I tried 4-5 different companies. What shocked me, is one of them was twice the price of the other three. This really gave me the idea that somewhere around what the 3 who had a similar number quoted is what I should be paying. I ended up just picking one.
Then, after a year of insurance, I did call an insurance agent (but this was a bit confusing tbh, because it was like an agent for “that” brand, and they are just a salesperson and I’m already a customer so what would they be selling me?) BUT they ended up signing me up for a bunch of discounts like 7 years safe driving, etc etc and the next year my rates were lower for the same coverage. I’m guessing they did something a little fishy on their end (but I did have that record, just not with that company, not sure if that makes a difference it kind of reads like I was driving with them for 7 years) but they got their commission and I got cheaper rates.
I say all that to say, insurance agents aren’t horrible they are trying to make a sale but they also want to work with you so they may be able to help but I like my idea of online shopping yourself so you get at least a ball-park idea of what you should be paying.
Id try USAA if you have any family or yourself that served in the military. Their rate beat AAA when I last switched.