Your car expenditures and insurance

[Clausius2]

I would really want to know how much do you spend each year in your car and in your insurance, including gasoline, repairs, fines, and so on.

Please detail what kind of car and what kind of insurance. This data could avoid me to buy a car in US, or to buy it indeed.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

 

[cronxeh]

depends on city, state, car manufacturer and year of production, your drivers license (which has to be state-issued), any additional courses you've taken (evasive driving, etc), and the last but never least - your driving experience in years (or your age if over 25)

 

[russ_watters]

It varies vastly (I live in suburban Philadelphia, PA). My last car was a 1993 Eagle Talon that I had until last year. My insurance was about $75/mo and I only had a couple hundred dollars worth of maintenance a year. I bought it with 125,000 miles on it for $1200 and sold it as a trade-in for $500, with 175,000 miles on it.

My current car is a 2004 Mazda 6i. I pay about $100/mo for insurance and $335/mo for the car (5 year loan). I have yet to have any unscheduled maintenance on it.

The difference in insurance is all collision (I didn't have any on the Talon).

Gas varies the most. Most cars get between 20 and 30 mpg, and with gas prices at ~$275, you can calculate for yourself how much that'll cost you. I drive about 15,000 miles a year, but some people drive 10,000 and some people drive 50,000.

 

[Moonbear]

Yep, insurance is incredibly variable. In Ohio, my car insurance has been a little over $400/6 months, but will be nearly double in WV if I stay with the same insurance provider on the same car (though, I'm shopping around and think I can find a cheaper rate...I have no idea why WV is so expensive...I understand more in states that are heavily populated and just more chance that you're going to be in an accident based on density of cars on the roads).

 

[brewnog]

I'm currently paying, annually, for my 1.6 Citroen Saxo VTR:

£890 insurance, fully comprehensive
£180 ish road tax
£38 MOT, assuming nothing needs fixing
£50 ish on servicing (I do it myself)

Tyres are £50 a corner, and being front wheel drive and rather nippy, it eats them. Petrol is obviously heavily dependent on mileage, I get about 40mpg at about £4.10 per gallon.

I've just renewed my insurance, so I shopped around. I took the cheapest quote I could get, and I was being quoted up to £4,000 for identical cover. Serves me right for being a 21 year old male with a relatively-powerful car.

 

[Evo]

Insurance varies greatly. I have full coverage on two cars, collision, comprehensive, etc... (Pontiac Firebird (don't ever let a 13 year old pick out your car) & a Toyota 4 Runner) and pay approximately $51 per month each).

When you buy a car there is a lot of tax, title & license fees. Some states require annual car inspections, some cities require that you buy city permits also. I've lived in a number of states and they're all different.

 

[Clausius2]

Thanks all for posting here, and sharing your personal hell about mantaining your car .

I see the average of insurance could be in $75/mo, and you could buy a car with 160 kmiles for $2500 or so. The cost of mantaining your car could be around $75x12=$900/year plus gasoline and inspections, maybe all around $1500-2000 in total, am I right?

 

[imabug]

I see the average of insurance could be in $75/mo, and you could buy a car with 160 kmiles for $2500 or so. The cost of mantaining your car could be around $75x12=$900/year plus gasoline and inspections, maybe all around $1500-2000 in total, am I right?

for a car with that many km, i'd probably budget closer to double that for repairs and maintenance, unless the car has been properly maintained by its previous owner(s) (a very rare beast in the US these days where cars have almost become disposable items). And if it has, you'd probably be paying quite a bit more for it anyway.

insurance costs will also vary significantly with the amount of coverage you purchase, with most (if not all) states requiring a minimum amount of insurance coverage.

 

[cronxeh]

Thanks all for posting here, and sharing your personal hell about mantaining your car .

I see the average of insurance could be in $75/mo, and you could buy a car with 160 kmiles for $2500 or so. The cost of mantaining your car could be around $75x12=$900/year plus gasoline and inspections, maybe all around $1500-2000 in total, am I right?

I absolutely love how you just ignored my posts, but regardless

What state and even city are you thinking of moving into? You should realize that people who posted here have had licenses for many years, are over 25, and that seriously cuts down their insurance costs.

Not to mention that the insurance rates vary enormously across the US - from $50/month in some craphole, Arizona to $350/month in NYC! Even gasoline varies - from $3 bucks a gallon in California to $1.92 in remote parts of NJ or PA.

You should check out www.geico.com[/url] and [url]www.progressive.com[/url] and [url]www.allstate.com[/URL] to get an idea of what it might cost you for any particular location. Just give them a fake address and zipcode and use some email that you barely use, and you'll get a quote either instantly or within 24 hours

 

[russ_watters]

for a car with that many km, i'd probably budget closer to double that for repairs and maintenance, unless the car has been properly maintained by its previous owner(s) (a very rare beast in the US these days where cars have almost become disposable items)...

...and before you buy it, there is pretty much no way to tell.

 

[Clausius2]

I absolutely love how you just ignored my posts, but regardless

Never! I've never ignored your post!. Just read again mine's last one. I was greatful of all of yours.!

What state and even city are you thinking of moving into? You should realize that people who posted here have had licenses for many years, are over 25, and that seriously cuts down their insurance costs.

I'm thinking about San Diego. I am 23, and I've driven here (Spain) sometimes without license (oppps!), but I do know how to drive. The spanish license is not valid in US anyway. Do you think an insurance company will take my situation into account?. I think they will have some standards for inmmigrants.


Thanks for your links, cronxeh, your comments are always welcome. I wanted to extract some average data of all of this. Maybe it's impossible.

 

[FredGarvin]

Don't forget plate registration fees.

 

[Evo]

Do you think an insurance company will take my situation into account?. I think they will have some standards for inmmigrants.

Having been to Europe and seen how people drive there, I'd say they'll probably charge you at least quadruple the normal rate.

 

[Clausius2]

Ok. I will use the bicycle, it seems less problematic... Definitely you've discouraged me to buy a car.

 

[Clausius2]

Having been to Europe and seen how people drive there, I'd say they'll probably charge you at least quadruple the normal rate.

I don't know what you saw, but here obtaining a driving license is very more difficult than in US, due to fees and the proper exam difficulty. It seems a monkey can also drive in US .

 

[Evo]

I don't know what you saw, but here obtaining a driving license is very more difficult than in US, due to fees and the proper exam difficulty. It seems in US can drive also a monkey .

Monkeys drive better than the average driver here because they don't drive while on their cell phone and eating, reading and applying makeup.

 

[FredGarvin]

I don't know what you saw, but here obtaining a driving license is very more difficult than in US, due to fees and the proper exam difficulty. It seems a monkey can also drive in US .

Getting my license when I lived in Germany was a very tough endeavor. It was not a simple test. I was actually kind of proud when I did get it (I failed the test the first time). The other aspect of having a car there was keeping it in shape for the yearly inspections. They went through everything! It wasn't just taking an emissions test. The first renewal I went for I failed because of a quarter sized hole in the trunk and uneven braking on the rolls.

In a lot of ways, I wish they did the same thing in the US. Half of the vehicles on the road today would never pass.

 

[Andy]

I drive on 16 year old, peugeot 405 with a 2 litre engine, average about 40 miles to the gallon. Costs me about 1000 pound to insure and another 1300 pound on fuel. The car itself isn't worth anything though.

 

[Kerrie]

I have a 2000 VW Golf that I pay about $110/month for insurance here in Oregon, and that is with a ticket and an accident. My car payment is just above $300/month, maintenance, well I would advise to NOT buy a VW They are ridiculously overpriced in parts, even if you can do it yourself. My gas costs are reasonable, as my commute is not bad-we spend for two of us using the car twice each day (i work days, he works nights) maybe around $150 a month on gas.

Come to think of it, I can get a much better and newer car for the same amount of money I spend on everything and not have to hassle with maintenance so much.

 

[loseyourname]

You can try going to www.insurance.com. I tried going there and estimating what you would want, but it said that it couldn't give me a quote. I had your birthday, had you living at San Diego State, driving 5 miles to school every day, and owning a 2000 Honda Civic EX with 50,000 miles on it. I got you the minimum coverage on everything. You might want to try running something a bit different to see if it can give you a quote. You're going to have to lie about at least a couple of things, though. For instance, you are not licensed to drive in the US and you don't know the make, model, or mileages of your car, as you don't have on yet.

 

[Clausius2]

You can try going to www.insurance.com. I tried going there and estimating what you would want, but it said that it couldn't give me a quote. I had your birthday, had you living at San Diego State, driving 5 miles to school every day, and owning a 2000 Honda Civic EX with 50,000 miles on it. I got you the minimum coverage on everything.

It sounds good! An Honda Civic...well I would prefer a convertible. Anyway I like your future forecasting for me.

I'm clicking on your link.