Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    Tricky1549's Avatar
    Tricky1549 Posts: 126, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
     
    #1

    Jan 8, 2013, 03:40 AM
    Collision part of insurance?
    Hi all, at what value of a car do/should you drop the collision part of insurance?
    smoothy's Avatar
    smoothy Posts: 25,492, Reputation: 2853
    Uber Member
     
    #2

    Jan 8, 2013, 05:38 AM
    That depends on your ability to buy another car if you have an at fault accident. And even then it's a gamble... balancing between the cost of covering replacement your own car via insurance vs. assuming the full cost of it yourself if you screw up.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
    Expert
     
    #3

    Jan 8, 2013, 06:13 AM
    That is just a person choice,

    I keep collision on my 1989 car for years, I dropped it, and ( yes) three days after I dropped it, I totaled it out. So I had no car and had to write a check to either buy another one or fix that one.

    I did fix it, with used body parts to save money, but it would have been totaled at 3000 dollars damage.

    So that is the question, do you have money in the bank to write a check to either fix or replace the one you are driving ?
    joypulv's Avatar
    joypulv Posts: 21,591, Reputation: 2941
    current pert
     
    #4

    Jan 8, 2013, 06:32 AM
    I have never in my life (I'm 66) bought collision, but I also have never bought a new car. I think for a typical low to low-mid priced car, I would drop it when it is 4 or 5 years old. It all depends! I consider myself a good, defensive driver, and I don't drive anywhere near the average 12,000 miles a year (these days about 3,000).
    My current yearly insurance premium on a 2008 Chevy Malibu is $230. Yes, that's for the whole year, minimum coverage. A risk I am willing to take by being prepared for the car being totaled and having to buy another.
    Tricky1549's Avatar
    Tricky1549 Posts: 126, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
     
    #5

    Jan 8, 2013, 08:11 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck View Post
    That is just a person choice,

    I keep collision on my 1989 car for years, I dropped it, and ( yes) three days after I dropped it, I totaled it out. So I had no car and had to write a check to either buy another one or fix that one.

    I did fix it, with used body parts to save money, but it would have been totaled at 3000 dollars damage.

    So that is the question, do you have money in the bank to write a check to either fix or replace the one you are driving ?
    Fr Chuck, it's funny but when I started to think about this question I just totaled out my car, so I still have collision on it. But just put $300 in new brakes and other front end work on Friday and done in on Sunday. Thank God no one was hurt.
    Tricky1549's Avatar
    Tricky1549 Posts: 126, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
     
    #6

    Jan 8, 2013, 08:15 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by joypulv View Post
    I have never in my life (I'm 66) bought collision, but I also have never bought a new car. I think for a typical low to low-mid priced car, I would drop it when it is 4 or 5 years old. It all depends! I consider myself a good, defensive driver, and I don't drive anywhere near the average 12,000 miles a year (these days about 3,000).
    My current yearly insurance premium on a 2008 Chevy Malibu is $230. Yes, that's for the whole year, minimum coverage. A risk I am willing to take by being prepared for the car being totaled and having to buy another.
    Well I wish I drove the average, I finished up with 195,346 on Sunday before I totaled it out. It was 7yrs 2 1/2 months. And I put 34,956 from last January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2013
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
     
    #7

    Jan 8, 2013, 08:32 PM
    With 195K on it there was likely little worth to the car so you may have wasted your money in the past few years. I buy insurance primarily for the liability and drive defensively but you never know about the other guy. When/if my car value drops below $10K I would drop collison, liability is mandatory in my state.
    joypulv's Avatar
    joypulv Posts: 21,591, Reputation: 2941
    current pert
     
    #8

    Jan 9, 2013, 02:00 AM
    Let us know what you get from your insurer?
    Tricky1549's Avatar
    Tricky1549 Posts: 126, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
     
    #9

    Jan 9, 2013, 02:19 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by joypulv View Post
    Let us know what you get from your insurer?
    Sure thing.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
    Expert
     
    #10

    Jan 9, 2013, 06:57 AM
    Ok I will say that my 1989 car had 82,000 miles on it, I had new vinyl on roof a year earlier and except for one piece of side molding I could not find, it was all original and looked like it came from the show room.
    Tricky1549's Avatar
    Tricky1549 Posts: 126, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
     
    #11

    Jan 31, 2013, 12:27 PM
    Just got call from insurance co. they will give me $5,200.00 for the car.
    Tricky1549's Avatar
    Tricky1549 Posts: 126, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
     
    #12

    Apr 30, 2013, 07:57 PM
    $5,200 for the car.
    Quote Originally Posted by joypulv View Post
    Let us know what you get from your insurer?
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
    Expert
     
    #13

    May 4, 2013, 03:02 AM
    5200 for your totalled car, wow, what kind of car was it? That is a lot of money for a totalled car. I gets towed to a junk yard and used for scrap. I don't know what they would get out of it for that money.

    Smoothy, your thoughts ?
    smoothy's Avatar
    smoothy Posts: 25,492, Reputation: 2853
    Uber Member
     
    #14

    May 6, 2013, 05:21 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by tickle View Post
    5200 for your totalled car, wow, what kind of car was it? That is a lot of money for a totalled car. I gets towed to a junk yard and used for scrap. I dont know what they would get out of it for that money.

    Smoothy, your thoughts ?
    Had to go back through the thread... they never did say what kind of car it was... thus its hard to guess if that sounds anywhere right.

    Must have been a pretty nice or popular car to get that much on a totaled car with 193K miles.

    Junkyards are all networked together these days knowing who's got what and where so thre is likely someone somewhere else needs what they have... its not been a local business in many... many years... (many used to have telex machines putting out requests long before computers and shared databases because the rule) What happens is it gets parted out... major mechanical assemblies resold... certain other things like master cylinders computers, etc. get sold to companies to be remanucatured... interior parts unless someone local needs them in a real hurry... end up as trash after the weather gets to them... whats left gets crushed and sold for scrap... so in many cases there is deceptive value in even totaled cars... most value if the body took the bulk of the damage and left all the running gear intact. Like a rear impact. A(irbags if undeployed are very valuable for one thing)

    Yes I know that industry fairly well, but I don't want to go go into how. Lets say college and people I know well... besides spending enough time working with them as an owner of serveral anitque cars looking for parts for restorations. My hobby.

Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions

 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search


Check out some similar questions!

Part Time vs Hourly Insurance benefit [ 2 Answers ]

I am the administrator for a small company (6 employees) that offers their health care plan to all employees except my question is, can I pay for the premium of the one employee who is an hourly employee with varying weekly hours (6 to 12 hours per week) but deduct the premium from the PT employee...

Rear End Collision - Insurance won't pay fair amount [ 14 Answers ]

Hi As the title says and I am sure no one is surprised. I was rear ended while waiting on a red light. I had an old car which must now be totaled. The car is worth around $2500(KBB). My medical bills were $570 (most covered by my BCBS health insurance). The other party's insurance company wants...

Car collision:vehicle I hit has no insurance [ 3 Answers ]

The car that I hit was parked behind my vehicle.She wasn't parked directly but her left headlight was toward the center of my rear end . There is nearly no visible damage to my car but rather "scuff marks" on my tire. Her drivers side door at the front of her car has a small visible dent. I am...

Auto Collision with no license or insurance [ 10 Answers ]

I have not had a license or insurance for many years. I was suspended in my late teens, and to stay out of trouble just don't drive while paying off the fines I racked up. I do own a car that my girlfriend likes to drive, a 99 Cadillac STS, and often drive it around the block to shuffle...


View more questions Search