Dropping Collision Insurance ? (1 Viewer)

[Alex S]

At what age of your car do you drop Collision Insurance ?

Mine is 8 years old and I can save about $165.00 every six months if I drop Collision.

 

[Brian Perry]

The rule of thumb I have heard is that you should drop collision/comprehensive (theft) once the vehicle is worth less than $3,000.

 

[Bruce N]

If your car is totalled tomorrow can you afford to replace it out of your pocket? If not you should think about keeping your collision insurance.

Bruce

 

[KyleS]

Both Brian and Bruce make good points. Once my RX-7 dropped below a blue book value of 4,000 I dropped the collision on it because if I were to get in anything more then a fender bender (Less then $500 damage) then the insurance company would most likely total the car and give me less then what it was worth. Of course it is still a risk but at under 5,000 if you could afford to replace it then is it worth it to you for 170 per 6months? Although I don't have Collision I do keep uninsured motorist in case the guy that hits me doesn't have insurance. Other then that I would chalk up an accident that is my fault as a lesson learned on my cheap car.

KyleS

 

[MarcVH]

There are a number of factors, not the least being whether the original poster lives in a no-fault state (and, unfortunately, his profile doesn't indicate a location. )

In general, if totaling the car in question would not cause you too much financial burden, and you (and anybody else who drives your car) are a cautious and safe driver, it's something to consider. Also a factor is what you would do with the $165 saved by dropping the coverage -- use it to bolster your emergency savings, or blow it?

 

[Masood Ali]

I dropped collision on my car a year and a half ago because the KBB was right around $3000 when I did it. That has saved me about $2500 to date.

 

[Alex S]

I live in NY and the blue book value for my mini-van is 8,000.

 

[KyleS]

Well if the Blue book of your car is $8,000 could you replace that 8K without problem if you were to cause an accident or be forced into one? If no is your answer then I would keep the collision on your car. Since you would only be saving $330 per year by dropping your collision it would take you 24 years to hit that amount. If it was me I would wait a little while before dropping your collision but it is your money.

KyleS

 

[BrianW]

What Kyle said. Unless you have thousands in the bank for just such an emergency, you should probably keep the collision insurance on an $8000 vehicle.

The rule of thumb I have heard is that you should drop collision/comprehensive (theft) once the vehicle is worth less than $3,000.

This sounds reasonable. My problem is that when the gas tank is full, my car is worth just over $3000, and when the gas tank is empty, the car is worth just under $3000. Furthermore, if I fix something, then I'd have to add collision insurance, and if anything breaks, I'd have to drop it again.

Aw, what the heck. I just got new windshield wipers and a pine-scented air freshener. I'm keeping the collision insurance.

 

[Alex S]

Thanks guys.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

'94 Toyota Carolla here. I dropped collision/comprehensive the day I paid it off from the bank. That was almost 2 years ago. I've saved plenty. My car is 9 yrs. old and only has 60K. I'm the second owner. I figure the car has another 150K at least.