New cars vs old cars - how does the insurance compare?

by lilacsigh » Sun Dec 16, 2007 09:04 am

I know it's not comparing like for like and everyone's policy is different depending on their age, driving record, any previous claims, etc etc but bear with me on this. :) I'm looking for an answer in very broad terms.

My dad has always swore that an old car will cost you more than a new one in insurance premiums because it doesn't have all the safety features or sophisticated anti-theft devices a modern one does. Basically he hates old cars overall lol and this gives him another reason to dislike them.

His logic is that in the event of an accident you're likely to have more damage suffered to your own car and the other person's vehicle if it's an old one - not forgetting personal physical injuries to you, your passengers and the other driver too if you don't have something like an airbag for example. He also thinks an old one is easier to break into as well and therefore has an increased chance of being stolen. Old car=more risky in his mind.

I assumed that the insurance premiums on an older car would be cheaper because it's ...well, it's old lol. It's not going to be worth nearly as much as a newer one if it gets into a wreck, which means it's not going to cost the insurance company as much in a claim. Anyone wanting to steal a car isn't going to target an old runabout. They'd want something worth having, would they not?

Plus wouldn't a nice shiny new car be more likely to be pushed to the limits and therefore stand a bigger chance of being in an accident than a beat up old car? And the fact that you'd pay much more for it must increase the insurance, surely.

As you can see, we're in opposite camps over this. I'm looking forward to see what responses I get. :) Thanks!

Total Comments: 9

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 03:10 pm Post Subject:

Hate to tell a girl that her daddy is wrong, but he is on the main point...

Typcially your insurance premium would be less on an older model...dependant of course on the vehicle an 01 Benz will still probably have a higher than a 05 kia...but apples to apples 05 kia, to 01 kia, the 01 will be cheaper..

But he is also correct on a couple other points. Depending on the age, of course no air bags and they do save countless lives, thus reducing bodily injury claim...however, I would say that i have seen many old 'tanks' 79 LTD, with little to no damage after they hit a 2007 cavalier and totaled it!

He also thinks an old one is easier to break into as well and therefore has an increased chance of being stolen

He's correct about this one too..

There are many plusses to newer vehicles but lower rates aren't one! :wink:

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 06:52 am Post Subject:

As you can see, we're in opposite camps over this. I'm looking forward to see what responses I get.


His reasoning was quite right but the conclusion was way too different..am I right!

Partybeast00

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 07:00 am Post Subject: The life- factor

Hi lilacsigh,

I do feel that we need to understand one basic difference between cars & us human beings. Cars have a body & so do we but we have a life, which they don't have (Yes, I agree that they too have an age-factor). The worth of bodies would fall with its age but the worth of lives don't fall. As the worth of bodies fall the cost to cover them would also fall. Thus it is the 'life' factor which makes it different for human beings. With age, our lives get enriched in terms of values & experiences & hence they have to preserved in a better way, since the bodies containing lives have become weaker with time. :)
Toraborathacker

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 09:55 am Post Subject:

His reasoning was quite right but the conclusion was way too different..am I right!

Yes, you are Partybeast00, and nice/good way of putting it as well!

Interesting analogy Toraborathacker. Vehicle bodies age and cost less to insure. Human bodies age and cost more to insure! But both bodies as they age cost more to maintain!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:38 am Post Subject:

Hate to tell a girl that her daddy is wrong, but he is on the main point...

Oh not at all I'm glad to hear it and will take great delight in telling him! :lol: You have no idea how many times we've went over this same ground.


But he is also correct on a couple other points.

Say it ain't so, Lori!! :lol:


Depending on the age, of course no air bags and they do save countless lives, thus reducing bodily injury claim...however, I would say that i have seen many old 'tanks' 79 LTD, with little to no damage after they hit a 2007 cavalier and totaled it!



Reeeeallly! I'll be telling him that too. Funny thing is, he loves Cavaliers and has been buying them off and on for years, ha!

Quote:
He also thinks an old one is easier to break into as well and therefore has an increased chance of being stolen
He's correct about this one too..

SShhh, I was way ahead, Lori, don't spoil it!

There are many plusses to newer vehicles but lower rates aren't one! :wink:



That's what I said! I may need to print this as evidence because he won't believe me. :lol:

Thank you very much, Lori. I think I'll be kind and call it a draw. I'd hate to see a grown man cry. :wink: Cheers, thank you kind lady!


His reasoning was quite right but the conclusion was way too different..am I right!

Absolutely, Partybeast, it sure was. :lol:


I do feel that we need to understand one basic difference between cars & us human beings. Cars have a body & so do we but we have a life, which they don't have (Yes, I agree that they too have an age-factor). The worth of bodies would fall with its age but the worth of lives don't fall. As the worth of bodies fall the cost to cover them would also fall. Thus it is the 'life' factor which makes it different for human beings. With age, our lives get enriched in terms of values & experiences & hence they have to preserved in a better way, since the bodies containing lives have become weaker with time.
Toraborathacker



True... I like that analogy too. :) My mum's always said at the end of the day a car's just a hunk of metal and not worth getting upset about. It's the people inside them that matter and as long as they're ok, that's what counts, no matter whose fault it is.

Believe it or not, she told me this when someone had totaled our old car which was parked outside our house on a Sunday morning when we were in bed sound asleep (drunk driver who managed to bounce off 4 cars before he stopped).

We borrowed her car a few days later to go round the car lots to look for a new one and someone smashed into the back of us while we were stopped at traffic lights! So we had to go back and tell her we'd had an accident in her car that we'd borrowed for a couple of hours. :?

Talk about unlucky...and neither of them were our fault. Thank goodness she still maintained that opinion about it just being a hunk of metal lol. True story. :)

Thank you all for the input!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:45 am Post Subject:

Funny thing is, he loves Cavaliers and has been buying them off and on for years, ha!

He reallllllllllllllllllllllllly doesn't want my opinion on those or other vehicles of that type ha ha

Thank you very much, Lori. I think I'll be kind and call it a draw. I'd hate to see a grown man cry. Cheers, thank you kind lady!



My pleasure, and you are 100% correct on the main point/disagreement re: premium or rates....... :wink:

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:21 am Post Subject:

There is a lady who comes into where I work, she has a cavalier with over 200,000 miles on it, I could not believe it, and you should hear the thing run, it sounds darn good, LOL. I could not believe it. LOL.

Lori, how are you, I haven't been here for a while back has been acting up, hard to sit for long enough periods to read and then post. Hope all is well with all of you and that you all have a nice holiday.

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:23 pm Post Subject:

Those older cavaliers will run forever and take a beaten, there are tons of them around in the junk yards if you need parts. I used to have a few of them, not all at once, but they have put quite a bit of rubber on the highway for me. I don't know what the newer ones are like, but the older ones would take a lickin and keep on tickin, hee hee

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 01:23 pm Post Subject:

Lori, how are you, I haven't been here for a while back has been acting up, hard to sit for long enough periods to read and then post. Hope all is well with all of you and that you all have a nice holiday.

I'm fine, and know your pain sister! Have bad neck/back issues myself... :(

Those older cavaliers do take a beating, problem is they just arent' worth much (ACV wise/totaling wise)....

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