Thoughts on car insurance - multi car

[moneybags]

I had 4 cars insured. We sold one (an older van) and our insurance didn't drop as much I thought it would. Since I no longer had a 4 car discount, only a 3 car discount, the insurance went up on the other 3. This got me thinking - what if I bought a $100 car, parked it in my garage, and used it to lower my overall insurance rates. I haven't run the numbers on this, but has anyone here done this?

[Jluke]

I would shop around for insurance first, then see what to do about adding a beater car if another company doesn’t give you the savings you are expecting.

how much were you paying per car when you had four?

maybe your insurance provider knows you can afford the payment and is now spreading it over 3 cars.

[disneysteve]

I had 4 cars insured. We sold one (an older van) and our insurance didn't drop as much I thought it would.

what if I bought a $100 car, parked it in my garage, and used it to lower my overall insurance rates.

With a 4th car, won't your total premium be higher than it is now for 3 cars? You did say your premium dropped when you went from 4 to 3 cars. It will go back up if you add in a 4th car again. You will be spending more, not less, plus you'll have to register and inspect another car.

[bjl584]

I'd shop around before buying another car

[moneybags]

Thanks for the comments. I actually did shop it around & ended up saving $1000 for the year on 3 cars, renters', and umbrella policies. I was just throwing out the 4th car option as a what if.

Here were my numbers (6 month policy):
insurance on 4 cars $1000 (car 4 for $175)
remove car 4, insurance on 3 cars $885, not the $825 I expected

It just got me wondering if there was a loophole to have an extra car & decrease your overall insurance costs. In my case, it would cost $120 in insurance and another $125 for state plates/fees to keep the 4th car. But I think you could have a scenario where cars 1,2, & 3 are expensive to insure, car 4 is a beater, and you decrease total costs.

[disneysteve]

I think you could have a scenario where cars 1,2, & 3 are expensive to insure, car 4 is a beater, and you decrease total costs.

I don't see how that is possible. How could they charge you less to insure 4 cars than they do to insure 3? That doesn't make sense.

[scfr]

But I think you could have a scenario where cars 1,2, & 3 are expensive to insure, car 4 is a beater, and you decrease total costs.

Hard to imagine that it would be true, but you never know. Always a good idea to do some creative thinking outside the box!
There was a time when you could book travel with a bunch of weird add-on legs that you never actually flew and save money vs a more direct booking. I don't think the airlines allow that anymore, but while it lasted it was a good way to save some money as a traveler … and made absolutely no sense financially for the airlines as far as I can tell.

P.S. - Have you researched if you are eligible for a discount for taking a defensive driver course?

[moneybags]

Hard to imagine that it would be true, but you never know. Always a good idea to do some creative thinking outside the box!
There was a time when you could book travel with a bunch of weird add-on legs that you never actually flew and save money vs a more direct booking. I don't think the airlines allow that anymore, but while it lasted it was a good way to save some money as a traveler … and made absolutely no sense financially for the airlines as far as I can tell.

P.S. - Have you researched if you are eligible for a discount for taking a defensive driver course?

Good old airlines tricks, our sales folks did it all the time back in the day. "Hidden Cities" - you book with a connection, but never go on the second leg. Another trick they used was 2 round trip tickets that had overlapping dates and they only traveled half the legs.

I could/shoud probably take the defensive course for a discount.

[riverwed070707]

Another trick they used was 2 round trip tickets that had overlapping dates and they only traveled half the legs.

My brain isn't comprehending this one. Can you explain further?

[moneybags]

My brain isn't comprehending this one. Can you explain further?

Book a round trip ticket, same cities, for Oct 1 - Oct 3 and Oct 2 - Oct 6; fly only Oct 1 and Oct 6. I'm not sure if this would be a good option nowadays since most tickets are based on a one way flight.