I see a lot of people on here with multiple vehicles (like 5+) in their signature line and I'm wondering how you deal with insurance on all of them. I have two vehicles and I'm thinking about getting another one but only the 2nd one gets the multi-car discount so a 3rd (4th, etc.) adds a lot more to the policy, even if its just liability. So is there some trick to it? I know every state is different but I still want to hear how you are doing it. Thanks.

 

How do I do it? I'm single, have no kids (that I know of!) have a really good salary, play the stock market, and have a low, low mortgage... less than half of what people pay around here for a 2 BR apartment. Insurance is $1600 per year - the SuperCrew and PT have full coverage and $1000 deductibles, the convertible is with Hagerty, and the rest of the fleet are liability only.

I could get more vehicles but I'm out of garage and driveway space. I live on a sloped lot and would have to tear out several retaining walls and regrade the yard if I wanna get more toys. You should see my to-do list.. yowza.

Oh, I suggest ya shop around for another insurer.. that's ludicrous.

 

I don't know where you live, but I live in Tennessee and anytime I've had more than one vehicle, all but the primary have been dirt cheap. I have a '99 Jeep Wrangler, my '75 f250 highboy and a '95 Thunderbird. I have full coverage on the Jeep and liability on everything else and it runs me about $450 every six months. I recommend Progressive (available everywhere) or Farm Bureau, who I have now, they have both treated me well. Oh, and like HIO, I'm single with a small mortgage and a good job.

 

Just curious, are you under 25? Once you hit 25, your rates drop dramatically.

No matter what, though, as the others have said - you have to have a good income to have a lot of toys. There's really no trick to that. It's expensive to obey the law, but it's the right thing to do. A lot of people simply forgo insurance completely, and they are the scum of the earth (I've been hit by one of these people). It's ridiculous; here in Texas it's some 30%. I actually pay extra for uninsured motorist coverage. I very much applaud you for looking into this and doing things the right way. There are a lot of mongers in this world that don't let the fact that they can't pay for insurance stop them from driving on the road.

 

Ditto! Those people p!ss me off.

I drop insurance off of vehicles I'm not using during certain parts of the season. Comprehensive insurance to cover theft or fire while in storage is relatively cheap.

 

The Mustang and Triumph in my sig are both registered PNO (Paid, Non-Operational) so they are not insured at all. They don't run at the moment so its not like I'm breaking any laws. I used to keep insurance on them but it was just wasted as they sat. My daily is an 11 year old Mazda with full coverage. As my 'primary' its super cheap to insure. The F250 is listed as a "secondary" with reduced mileage (< 5k/yr) and insured at "California minimum" levels plus some extra for liability and uninsured motorist.

The only advice I can give is to be realistic with your coverage. The reduced mileage on the F250 is honest, and it helped significantly with the price. Do your research and talk to your insurance agent. They should be able to help you out. If they keep pushing top-tier plans on you, its probably time to fine a new insurer. Just my $0.02.

 

Yeah I have a good job, credit, driving record, over 25, etc. What happened recently that got me asking these questions is when my policy just renewed it went up by 50%. Yeah, fifty percent! I called them to find out why and they really couldn't give me a good answer. So I've looked at other companies and found 3 that offer slightly better coverage for a little less than I was paying before it went up the 50%.

I talked to my current insurance co. for probably a total of 3-4 hours in 4 different calls over a couple days (when they couldn't answer a question or had to run some numbers and had to call me back). It just seemed like they were charging a lot for the 2nd car, and I asked about adding a 3rd and it was more (just liability on both). Obviously I was pretty heated and posted the question above. I see people on here with several vehicles and just wondered if there was a special policy, or an insurance company that deals with multiple vehicles. You try and have a little fun with some extra toys and they got you by the short hairs. Damn the man!

After I first posted I went online and checked the number from other companies. The are all over the board, but when I found two companies that were pretty low I went in and check 1 car vs. 2 vs. 3. Company one added $75 for the 2st car and $50 for the 3rd car, Company two was more than Company one for 1 car but for the 2nd it was only $30 ($75 - $45 discount), then the 3rd car was $75, I tried adding a 4th and it was again $75 (as long as the cars were early 90's or older). So 1 car go with co. 1, 2 cars co. 2, 3 cars co. 1. Crazy right? Anyway those numbers are reasonable and a lot better than the $100-150 per extra car my current company was asking for. Thanks for all your replies.

EDIT: the above $ amounts were for 6 months

 

geico is what i have. they were by far the best deal for me. Also the zip code you live in
can cause your policy rate to climb. thats due to accidents in the area. mine went up 15
a month once i moved to a different zip code.

 

move to New Hampshire then you dont need any car insurance....also no seat belt law, no helmet law on motorcycles, no state income tax etc etc
101 Reasons to Move to New Hampshire - Liberty in Our Lifetime

 

I use collector car insurance for the older ones.

 

I just carry liability on my trucks and it's only about $200/yr for each additional. It helps that I am 50 and have not had a ticket in like 20 years.

 

Glad you got it squared away. From what I can tell insurance companies use voodoo or some kind of midieval alchemy to calculate rates. Whatever the deal is, any time they hike the rates, it's time to call around.

 

This. I've never seen a 'customer loyalty discount' that I couldn't beat by changing providers.

 

I have State Farm and I pay ~$1400/yr on 4 trucks. The 2004 Super Duty is the most expensive, because it has full coverage, but I only have liability on the 3 dentsides. I have been considering getting collector plates for my green 2wd, since it doesn't see a lot of miles, and then I could lower my plate cost and get full coverage insurance at a discounted rate.

 

My wife and I have a squeaky clean driving record, we are homeowners and 2 Suburbans and my 79 all with full coverage through Geico. I pay around $2K a year. Around here that's about average.