The "I want a new car thread" buying guide.

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, according to State Farm, it's entirely in the comprehensive portion of the insurance, the liability isn't an issue at all, and they said it's entirely because it's a new car vs. a 13 year old one. It will be an uphill battle to convince Michele to even think about leaving State Farm, she's been a loyal customer since her teens. That said, I'm wondering how much I can bring it down by only insuring one driver, as she has no interest in driving stick.

LA's expensive enough that I could really just eat out less often and break even, but it's still jarring.

[dodint]

I just jumped from USAA to Progressive for that reason, Ross. After being with them for like 15 years my rate was double what the rest of the market was offering.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Back in CA, I've had State Farm for a long time, then I switched to AAA after one unpleasant claim. Then I switched to Costco Insurance after finding out they charge a lot less for the Honda EV that I was leasing. They typically charge more for EVs I'm guessing it's because they're just more expensive and if batteries are damaged, they just can't be cheaply repaired? Overall, I think I'm most satisfied with AAA. They may be expensive, but at least I've always had pleasant experiences.

In WA, I think Coscto insurance won't do home insurance or something... so I had to switch again. Interestingly WA AAA isn't quite like CA AAA. They don't really have their own insurance... They use Safeco or perhaps just pick whichever is the cheapest? I even switch my LA home/renter insurance to Safeco and it became cheaper too. Of course cheaper may not necessarily be better... right now they're threatening me to cancel if I don't trim my trees...

Still, it's probably worth getting some quotes from other companies to compare. If the savings are significant, maybe your wife will be convinced? Or if you could do solo insurance without any combo discounts and if that's cheaper than with State Farm, just do that then.

For reference, currently in WA, my S2k and my 2014 Hyundai and 2017 Kia SUVs are all about $700/year each. The 2023 PHEV Jeep that's leased naturally ended up most expensive at nearly $1200/year! Not sure how much it'd cost me to get an brand new WRX...

[CudaMan]

Every time I'm tempted to shop around for a better price, I remember how every experience I've had with AAA here in CA (insured with them since 1998) has been great, and that's worth something to me. I hear stories from people about how their insurance was nothing but a hassle when they had a claim, and I'm thankful I haven't had to deal with that. Heck one time when someone ran into my old red MR2 the estimate guy came out to my work to look at the car even though I couldn't come out to meet him. It was almost zero effort on my part.

[21Kid]

Hi, my name is Bill. I'm 6'2" and wear 34x34.

I also endorse the WRX purchase. If you need a co-pilot for your next test drive. I'm right down in OC.

edit: I missed that we rolled to a new page. I 2nd'd Ross. Same with cable companies and hell even employers nowadays.

[TheBenior]

I just jumped from USAA to Progressive for that reason, Ross. After being with them for like 15 years my rate was double what the rest of the market was offering.

When I ditched Progressive for SafeCo/Liberty Mutual through a broker, Progressive was almost as much for 6 months as SafeCo/Liberty Mutual was for a whole year.