Considering not getting car insurance

[mattmns]

I currently ride my bike to the bus stop and then ride to school on the bus, but lately it has been getting extremely cold, and I have been considering getting a cheap car and driving to the bus stop and going from there. The question I have though is about car insurance. I am 20, not married, and don't have a driver's license (meaning my driving experience would be zero), I do qualify for those good student discounts, but still my quote for a cheap car for 6 months of the minimum insurance is $940 ($240/mo). That, in my opinion, is an outrageous rip off, so I have been considering not getting insurance at all, I am going to look up what the fee is for being caught w/o insurance just to see what would happen were I caught.

My situation, more specifically is the following. I would be driving 4 days a week, less than 3 miles a day. I would be essentially driving for less than 10 minutes a day. Which equates to 10min * (~) 18days/month = 180mins/month = 3hrs a month of actual driving time, which will cost $240! I am not sure if I am missing something here, but to me that seems like a total rip off (maybe it is because I don't work). Is this really the scenario? Any advice? If insurance is really that much, and you were in my situation, would you purchase insurance at all?

 

[brewnog]

Mine's something like £800 per year (what's that, US$1400?) for a cheap 1.6 litre car, fully comprehensive. That was the very cheapest quote I could get; I got quotes of £5500 per year, which is much more than the car is worth.

No, it's not worth driving without insurance. Aside from the fact that, should you total someone's car, you won't be able to afford to buy them a new one, it's also pretty illegal, and you'd have responsible, law-abiding people like me getting really, really pissed off that my premiums are being increased by people who just want to get away on the cheap.

Yes, it's a horrendous rip off. Welcome to the highest-risk driver category! Just pay up, build up some no claims, and relax in the knowledge that your premiums will come down sharply with age and no-claims.

If you can't afford it, get a bike or something!

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Where do you live and what company are you going through with that estimate?
Mine is only about $60 a month for the cheapest insurance. Ofcourse they have me as driving since I was 18 and I'm 26 but I didn't think that would make that big a difference. Have you checked other insurance providers?

 

[russ_watters]

Did you get accident insurance, mattmns (ie, insurance for the car, not for the liability?)? That's something you don't need if the car is near worthless.

 

[Pengwuino]

Yah you always need to make sure you have liability insurance. Also, it is illegal to not have insurance in SOME states. California, for example... cought without insurance and they take your car and you're drivers license is probably taken away.

 

[JasonRox]

If you live in Canada, it's cheaper to drive without, and you normally get away with it the first time if you can show you are good and all that (good grades or volunteering).

I drive a car right now. The insurance price is ok, but if I don't drive I can cut my hours of work to one shift a week. I'm currently working three. Next term, I will take my car off the road, and take the bus. I'll save lots of money, and get to work less, and enjoy myself more because I have been stressed to the max because of work... falling behind and stuff.

Note: I worked 40 hours a week, and I just recently cut my hours to 3 shifts a week (24 hours). So now, **** WORK! I get nothing from working all that ****ing ****.

 

[Averagesupernova]

Keep in mind that if you drive without insurance and later on feel like you can afford it; what are you going to tell them about driving experience and that you cannot prove that you have ever had insurance?

 

[mattmns]

I live in New Mexico, and the quote was from Geico. Also, there was no collision included (according to geico it was the minimum plan).

 

[Norman]

i would shop around a little. Despite any companies claims, they vary extremely from demographic to demographic. You should do a fairly comprehensive search if you are seriously considering it as an option. When I looked into changing insurance before I moved to retarded Massachusetts with their government controlled car insurance that screws the good drivers like me (I'm not biter- really), there was up to $5-6,000 a year difference between them. I was the same age as you were then. If you are still in school and under the age of 25, you may still be eligible to get insurance with your parents. It may be cheaper to do it that way- you never know.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Actually I was on my grandparents plan for a couple monthes when they first sold me my most recent car. I was paying about twice as much as I am on my own because they go through AAA and they're expensive. Well relatively expensive anyway. Good insurance company though.

I don't remember who it was I went through to find the company I am with now. It was one of the cheapy deal ones. Geico isn't necessarily very low price. You can find plenty of companies in the yellow pages.

 

[brewnog]

Have you merkins not got a website which fires off all your details to 95% of the insurance companies, and returns their quotes back to you after a few minutes?

http://www.confused.com

 

[QuantumTheory]

I'm 17,and they charge me 250 dollars a month becaues I have a car made in 2003. My parents are now selling the car because its too expensive