We all want to pay lower car insurance rates. While some factors that contribute to your automobile insurance rates are beyond your control, there are a few helpful tips that all drivers should be aware of to enjoy a great car with good insurance rates as well. In a perfect world, everyone would be driving his favorite, super sleek, high-speed sports car with a small insurance payment, but in the real world cars like these can significantly increase the price of your automobile insurance coverage. The reason for this is simple enough; cars with high speed capacities are at a higher risk of getting into an accident and require extra coverage to compensate for that risk.Newer cars also increase your car insurance rates because the damage caused by an accident would cost more for the insurance company to repair, which also puts you in a higher risk category than someone driving a 5+ year old vehicle. To keep costs to a minimum, consider the following tips for car buyers looking for comfort, practicality, and an affordable Hartford auto insurance coverage plan.
Best Ways to Find a Car
First things first, you have to find the car you want before even thinking about insurance. In the highly advanced digital age that we live in, there are a wide variety of media that buyers can explore when purchasing a vehicle. You can choose the traditional method of heading to the dealership, but you can also shop online, import a car from another country, attend an auction, go to a car supermarket, and even set up a private exchange through friends and acquaintances.
Going to a dealership is usually the safest and easiest choice for car buyers. When you go to the dealership, you can get a hands-on idea of what the car of your choice is like. You can test drive the vehicle yourself and learn valuable information through your knowledgeable salesperson. When you buy from a dealership, your new car will also usually come with a two to three year warranty to protect your investment. Although buying at the dealership may not be the cheapest route, you can usually get a good deal if you go during a slow month (such as January), and most dealerships will allow you to trade in your old vehicle towards the purchase of a new one.
Popular Cars and Insurance
You may be tempted to follow the trends when it comes to buying a car, but this doesn't always reflect positively on your Hartford auto insurance rates. In general, the best way to ensure low automobile insurance rates is to buy an automobile with a low price. On the list of the best-selling cars of the past few years, you'll find models such as the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Honda CR-V, Dodge Ram 1500, and the Ford Fusion. Less expensive models, such as the Toyota Camry and the Nissan Altima, are typically cheaper to insure because their prices are generally lower than the prices of some of the other models on the list. Because these vehicles would be cheaper to repair, they are likewise cheaper to insure.
Safety First
Aside from the cost of the car itself, safety ratings are another important factor to consider when buying a car. The overall safeness of the vehicle strongly indicates your risk of getting into a serious car accident and also reflects the damages and injuries that might result from the accident. These are all factors that your Hartford auto insurance company will take into consideration when determining your car insurance rates. Cars with high safety ratings include models such as the Acura RL, Ford Five Hundred, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, Lincoln Town Car, Saab 9-3, Subaru Forester, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Canada and the Toyota Camry. Although these models have all proven their safety efficiency, you don't necessarily have to buy a vehicle from this list. However, you should always ask about safety ratings and features when shopping for a car, and make sure to reference these qualities when meeting with your insurance agent.
New vs. Used
The new vs. used debate is a hot topic among buyers, and insurance cost is usually a main argument that separates the two. More often than not, a new vehicle costs quite a bit more than a used vehicle, which translates into higher repair bills as well. For this reason, your auto insurance rates are likely to be substantially higher with a new vehicle as opposed to a used one. Additionally, a used car might not even require collision coverage, since most used cars would be cheaper to replace rather than repair after the collision damage occurs.
Although you can save yourself a lot of money on auto insurance by remembering these factors, one of the best ways to keep your rates low is to simply make a stronger effort to maintain safety on the road. When you obey traffic laws and avoid distractions, you are doing your part to not only reduce your insurance rates, but keep the roads safer for everyone as well.
This guest post article was written and provided by David Brenner who is a freelance writer and online consultant for The Hartford and many auto industry websites.
