I’ll be 16 on July 6 on this year, and can get my driver’s license 4 months after that. I’ve been saving my money like mad, and want to buy a new Nissan 350z sometime around November/December. The thought occurred to me recently that I’ll be paying sky high prices for insurance, but no insurance company will give me a quote since I don’t have my permit or license yet.
So, could anyone give me a ballpark figure as to how much I’ll be paying? I have an A average, and plan to take one of those defensive driving classes. I live in CT.
This really can’t be answered here as we don’t have your zip code, gender and such.
Just out of curiosity, I plugged some rough guess numbers into www.Progressive.com, and assuming you’re male, turned 16 yesterday (they won’t give a rate if under 16), live in Hartford, are willing to accept the risks of your state’s bare-minimum coverages and will be making payments on that 350Z, your premium will be $7,004 for six months. $14,008 for one year. Plus the car payments.
Do you honestly expect to be able to earn that much per year to be able to afford about $20,000 just for having a new car? Never mind food, movies, clothes, video games, etc. Do you really expect a dealership and/or Nissan Finance will allow you to buy a new car at your age? Hint: Can you legally sign a contract yet?
Progressive says your premimum may, repeat, may, drop by 35% when you turn 19. Do yourself a favor, and drive something boring at first. I did a re-rate, switching out the 350Z and replacing it with a '93 Ford Taurus that you own outright with no payments and no collision/comprehensive coverage, and your six-month rate drops to $2,659. Still staggering, but at least vaguely affordable.
Best bet - have your parents check with their current insurance agent what it would cost to add you to their existing policy and car. I know the desire to have your very own new car is irresistable at your age. It’s just not realistic.
A teenager with a high performance sports car is usually placed within what is commonly known among insurance salesmen as “The Infinity Bracket.” This nomenclature does not refer to any specific car model. It is merely a direct reflection of the billing structure and policy pricing.
If you want affordable coverage, I’d strongly recommend that you begin with an “ultra safe” car like a Volvo. Sexy? Not necessarily. Dependable and designed to save your life (and others)? An emphatic yes!
Asuming you can afford to make the down payment, the monthly payments, and everything else a typical 16-year-old thinks they really need to have right now, why not get your parents to buy the car, in their name, insure the car in their name, and list you as an occasional driver? You pay back your parents the monthly the monthly note and the cost difference between what their car insurance rates are right now and what they will be after you do all of the above.
Do not try this at home. If you are the sole operator, it will be apparent and the suggested fraud involved in this recommendation will come back to bite you on the @ss, and BITE YOU HARD!
Well, crap. I should actually have enough money to pay for a new Z in full by November, but I forgot to take insurance costs into account (and incomes taxes too, but that’s another story).
I can’t believe they can get away with charging such obscene rates. Is there anything I could possibly do (without committing fraud) that would lower my payments, or should I just forget about buying a sports car for the moment. I’ve worked really hard to get enough money to buy a Z, and I’m more than a little disappointed that I won’t be able to get one because of insurance.
Welcome to the real world. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that insurance costs so @$#@ much, and I’m 33 years old.
I drove a POS when I was 16/17 years old, and insurance costs were STILL skyhigh. This was in 1986 and 1987, and I remember paying about $100/month for insurance. In comparison, my car payments on my POS were $150 a month. Never seemed fair to me. Unfortunately, until you turn 25 or so, insurance rates are high. Best to just accept that and get on with life; no amount of bitching and moaning is going to change that.
That said, with some research you might be able to find a better rate than 14K/year. Do what gotpasswords did - go to the different insurance sites on the Web and look up some rates by putting in a different birth date. If you have good grades and are a non-smoker you may be able to get discounts. Also have your parents look into what it would cost to add you and your car to their insurance (with you as the primary driver - I agree with everyone else, don’t commit fraud.)
One word of advice - insurance companies compete for business. When I was your age and a little older, I was very, very poor. I shopped around for insurance all the time. On more than one occasion, I’d find someone who’d quote me an INCREDIBLE price. WAY cheaper than everyone else. Invariably when I’d go for it, a month or two later I’d find that they put my age down wrong, getting me insurance for a 29 year old instead of a 19 year old or something like that. It’s the classic bait-n-switch technique, since as soon as they get you in, they send a letter going “Oh, that was WRONG, the new premium is now $1K/month” or something like that.
Whenever you get a quote, look closesly at all the details. If there’s anything wrong with it, make them change it. Insurance companies can and will change the rates or drop the policy at the drop of a hat. Just because the agent told you it was going to be $20/month to insure your car doesn’t mean that it really is. At best, you’ll have to pay the real premium when they figure out that you’re not 35 years old. At worst, you’ll try to make a claim on your insurance and they’ll figure out that you’re not 35 and refuse to pay.
You seem like a reasonable kid unfortunately you get to pay for every trust fund spoiled brat that likes to crash mommy’s beemer into guardrails.
There’s a lot more to owning a car than just the car payment. I applaud the fact that at your age you can buy a new car outright but the money may be better saved until you’ve got some extra experience under your belt. Not only is insurance on a new car sky high so are the excise and sales taxes.
Shop around for the best rate/coverage ratio. Also make a list of cars you’d consider buying (include your Z) and find someone who will talk to you. A really good place to start is your parents insurance company since they have an investment to protect. Then weigh having that car vs the others and decide what’s worth more to you… the car or some other car and money to spend on other things.
Here, come sit on my lap Mister V. Let me give you a little advice. You shouldn’t be buying a new car, let alone a new sports car when you are 16. Hell, I wouldn’t even do it at 29 and I make 6 figures and love cars too. Even if you have the money saved up, you shouldn’t do it. It is a collosal waste of money for just the car, let alone the insurance and taxes. Don’t forget that baby isn’t going to be worth jack shit in 5 years so there goes all your hard work. I also guarentee that one of your friends is going to puke in it or spill something in it and you are going to be pissed.
I am not saying to buy a POS. You obviously like cars and I know a nice car is an important asset in the high school status hierarchy. There is no reason for you not to have a cool car. However, you need to be looking at something more practical. Have you checked out a really cool used car. There are tons out there and you can save money coming and going if you take that route. Remember, that Nissan 350z is going to be used the day after you buy it anyway. That new car feeling is nice but it goes away fast and it certainly isn’t worth the price. You can get a great used BMW, Mustang, hell even a used Porshe for a fraction of what you would spend on that new car.
In my experience, not having any previous insurance really jacks up your rate as a young male. Like 100% more. If you go on your parent’s insurance for a couple of years, it will be much cheaper when it comes to getting it on your own when you’re self-supporting.
Get a nice, used car. Put your research and brains to use and invest the remainder so that nice chunk of cash can take you to Europe for a summer (or something). Cars are cool, but when you’re 26, you’ll value your experiances more than a ten year old sports car. (and if you care, so will any hot girls. 16 yr old girls may like cars, but classy 26 yr old girls want men with some life they have lived.)
Get on your parent’s insurance as a primary driver of your nice, used car. You’re already planning to take a defensive driving course, and that will help. So will not smoking or drinking. (I know you’er underage. I also know that sometimes that doesn’t matter.)
You’ve done good, sorry insurance is a pisser. (Not that it helps, but it only gets worse if you screw up and damage your nice, used car.)
My father was in the insurance business (corporate level - home office) and told me this was a standard practice. Our auto insurance agent said the same thing. Be it a fraud or not, the practice is very wide-spread.
Did I do this with my first car? Yup. The only difference is I was listed as the primary driver and I paid the insurance difference. Our insurance company knew about it and approved it.
Trust me, do not buy a new car, let alone a sports car, as your first car. My first car has been through a lot, one low speed, head on collision, scraped against a concrete barrier, knocked off the side view mirror, etc. All first drivers, especially male, will fuck up their car someway or another, it’s best to trash a beater instead of a shiny new car. Plus insurance will be a lot cheaper.
I have to agree with that. My first car had all kinds of weird stuff happen to it. It got caught in a flood, it kicked into reverse while I had the door open on a hill and the door dug into the ground and nearly ripped itself off the car, it got dented and dinged all to hell…
Besides, if you don’t get a crappy first car, how will you tell stories about your crappy first car?
If you have $30,000+ at 16, it’d be dumb to blow it on a car, unless you’re always gonna have that kind of money. I’m almost 35, I have a good job and a family and my used car cost $5000, and I’m mad I spent that.
There were a couple guys I worked with when I was in high school. One guy had a 280Z and the other had a Mustang GT. They both worked two jobs and all summer to pay for their cars. They seemed to enjoy them. But they had little free time to actually drive the damn things because they were always working. I always thought that was amusing.
Not only might he thank you later, but he’ll be much more likely to be around to thank you later
I fully agree with the above posts - if you have that much cash lying around, buying a car outright is basically throwing it (or a very large portion of it) away. Unless of course you are able to come up with that much money all the time, in which case it doesn’t really matter if you throw it away. But more importantly, for safety reasons, do yourself a huge favor and listen to these people. Few kids your age have a chance to own a car like that, and much much fewer of them actually keep it (or themselves) in one piece for any length of time. There is a reason insurance is that expensive.
Damn, I sound all old now, talking about safety over fun :dubious: funny how things change with time I guess!
