Credit rating is not the primary like this poster thinks but a higher factor recently. It has been proven apparently people with lower credit scores also have the most paid outs and the converse for higher credit rating.
Doc, You Are Correct When You State …
“I was under the impression that insurance rates were a funtion of who you are (gender, marital staus, age) and where you live, as well as what you drive.”
Your Corvette/Corolla illustration makes it look like people “are guilty until proven innocent” by insurance ratings. My homeowners insurance took a bigger than normal hit, lately. When I inquired, I found out that they go by Zip Code. Although I live in a county that had smaller increases, they go by the town’s rating where the post office that delivers my mail is located, over ten miles away. I can throw a stone into the other Zip Code that has lower rates, same county, same township, same fire department, etc. I even have a “dry hydrant” on my 800 foot long road, fed by a 10,100 acre lake. When I announced that this wasn’t fair, they informed me that the were certified to do this. They said that they are working on using actual GPS coordinates instead of Zip Codes. Good luck when it comes to insurance.
My point is that the “what you drive” part of the equation is probably the easiest to adjust on a short term basis and this does also apply to credit sccores. Also, I don’t necessarily advocate not buying a particular car because insurance is more costly. The thing for me is to know before I get the first premium notice what to expect. Too much of an increase can influence my buying decision.
Good post. I was also reminded of a lottery a few years back in Canada where a young soldier in the Canadian Army won a Lamborghini Diablo! The car at that time was worth $185,000 or so, and lottery winnings in Canada are tax exempt. However, even though the army camp was located near a small town, the insurance compny still wanted over $11,000 per year to insure it. The soldier was under 25, male, and unmarried.
He sat in it, drove it around town to show it off then sold it and bought a Mazda Miata,I believe, while investing the rest! Smart kid!
I had never heard of Kia until I worked in South America for a few years. There are some Kia cars and trucks that are 50’s models still in service.
A historic point on “Rust Belt”. It has nothing to do with rotting cars. It has to do with the closing of steel factories and manufacturing industry leaving that area with rusty old machinery.
UM…WRONG…the term Rust Belt was coined back in the 30’s…LONG before the steel factories and manufacturing plants closed…It HAS been adopted as a second meaning to the closed factories…but the REAL AND TRUE meaning has been to the way cars rust have always rusted out much sooner then any other area in the country because of the amount of snow and subsequent salt use.
There might be something to this credit rating being used as a rate determinant. I belong to a professional group (not lawyers) which gets a preferred group rate on car and home insurance. We pay just over $1200 per year for good coverage for two cars in a large city. My wife and I have a clean driving record. The home insurance is also very cheap at $900 per year on a 4 bedroom house.
NEITHER.
“UM…WRONG…the term Rust Belt was coined back in the 30’s…LONG before the steel factories and manufacturing plants closed…It HAS been adopted as a second meaning to the closed factories…but the REAL AND TRUE meaning has been to the way cars rust have always rusted out much sooner then any other area in the country because of the amount of snow and subsequent salt use.”
There were so few cars until the 1950s. Your reasoning seems flawed. Another possibility is that until the 1970s, the area surrounding a steel mill was perpetually red from the iron oxide dust. Well, the dust did wash off during a good rain, but it returned in a few days. That would have been the case throughout the first two thirds of 20th century.
Well, I bet the Chrysler V-6 will wear out 2 Kia 4’s.
Wow, this person asked about 2 cars and the discussion went to “rust belt” to “insurance costs”, then to “credit ratings”. I am sure he/she is well informed by now!! ’
Well... 1) Lots of the 80s GM vehicles had carbureted problems. If I were buying an 80s GM product I'd MAKE SURE it was fuel injected.
2) A lot of people with Hondas, Toyotas, etc. talk about how cheap the repairs were *except* for regular maintenance. That's the trick; GM for sure uses a timing *chain*, no belt replacement required. The normal maintenance cost on a GM behicle is oil changes, brakes, and tires (with other fluids at like 100K mile intervals). But, during timing belt replacement, the Toyota or Honda mechanic will replace the water pump and a bunch of other stuff whether it's worn out or not (preventatively), and possibly catch other lose plugs, worn wires and hoses, etc. Result? A lot of the stuff that is considered maintenace on the Honda is considered an expensive repair on the domestic auto.
There's lemons on both sides.
I'm personally not a Chrylser fan though and would go for the Kia. But keep this in mind, the difference overall is probably not large.Is the '04 the previous gen or current? The current gen is the same as a Sonata from Hyundai, but I think that was new in 2006. The previous generation model is not as good as the latest. The Sebring, however, is not very good at all.
I know that my father had a 2000 sebring. He never had any issues with it. Well when the people replaced the brakes…but that’s just a moron mechanic.
My father is also known for doing regular oil changes and regular maintenance. His cars tend to last forever because of it. Is yours a convertible by chance? (no worries no issues with a leaking roof)
I would suggest going to consumer reports and looking into the information that way. It helped me narrow down my search for a car. They also have issues where they rate used vehicles too. Also, my father refused to get me a Kia as my first car because he didn’t think they were made well enough (so, I ended up with a toyota corolla with chevy stickers, instead).
they don’t go by just zip codes…also villages. Yes, if I state in my town that I’m part of one village over another it could be a huge difference with how much I pay.
I bought a Kia Sedonna used. It had a truck frame but was back to the dealer 8 times to have the brakes fixed. When we sold it two years later I only got 1/3 of what I paid for it. I found out the hard way they do not hold their resale value. They come with a lot of good ideas but they are on the cheep side. Less than 60 K I had to do an alternator and a steering pump. Hope that helps