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Should I still carry collision on my 2005 Chevy Malibu?

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BagOfWalnuts

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It accounts for about 30% of my monthly car insurance cost...I rarely get in accidents and have never been at fault in one. What's the general rule of thumb for how long you carry collision on a vehicle?
 
I think it's a peace-of-mind balance. Like, if you have enough cash reserves to deal with any repairs or possible replacement in the event the car becomes totalled, it's probably a better idea to drop collision. I carry it on my car because it's like $20/mo and I'm not at the point where I can deal with the financial burden of car replacement.
 
Vic Vega said:
All my cars have collision insurance - that's the point.
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Not really. Once a car reaches a point where it's worth 5-10k (or whatever an acceptible loss is based on your situation), you really have to examine if the amount you are paying makes sense anymore.

Liability, personal injury, yes. These things are the point. Collision, well, sometimes you have vehicles that aren't worth the extra you are paying for the collision insurance.
 
Ferzerp said:
Not really. Once a car reaches a point where it's worth 5-10k (or whatever an acceptible loss is based on your situation), you really have to examine if the amount you are paying makes sense anymore.

Liability, personal injury, yes. These things are the point. Collision, well, sometimes you have vehicles that aren't worth the extra you are paying for the collision insurance.
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Not really.

The point of insurance is to:

1.) Cover injury to you, your passengers or your victim(s).
2.) Cover damage to your car or your victim's car or both.

Duh.

Do what you want, it's your money.
 
Vic Vega said:
Not really.

The point of insurance is to:

1.) Cover injury to you, your passengers or your victim(s).
2.) Cover damage to your car or your victim's car or both.

Duh.

Do what you want, it's your money.
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Yes, but there's a point where financially it just doesn't make sense to carry it anymore. You don't insure things that can easily and cheaply be replaced. For example, I've got an old van we bought for $2k 4 years ago. If I got in an accident I'd just toss it. It won't do any serious harm to me financially if the car gets totaled so I see no need to insure the car against collision.

For each person they need to balance out when they can deal with the loss and when they can't.
 
I stop carrying collision insurance when the cost of the insurance for one year is greater than the value of the vehicle. My 96 saturn is realistically worth about $800, last time I asked for a quote from my insurance company they flat out told me insurance would cost more than the value of the car.

It's up to you though, if you can afford the cost to repair or replace the vehicle in the event of an at fault accident then it's probably not worth paying insurance, put that money into a savings account instead (or some other investment.) What you can afford means different things to different people, its hard for me to quantify that.
 
Technically, over your driving life, collision insurance is a net loss to you. The insurance agency knows how likely you are to have a claim on your car, on average, and they know what it is likely to cost them. They're going to make money on it (do you think they do this out of the goodness of their hearts?). You just buy collision insurance to avoid the potential for a damaging hit to you financially. No, you do not *always* need collision insurance on a car. The only time you must have it is if you've financed the vehicle, and you are obligated to keep full coverage it until you've paid for it.

However, Vic Vega, if you are so sure you always need collision insurance on everything you own, would you mind stepping in to my casino? I'm sure if you keep at it long enough, you'll come out ahead.

Or maybe you are confused and don't know that collision is the part that pays you to repair or pays the value of your car in a total loss scenario if you are at fault collision. It has nothing to do with medical coverage (big hospital bills if you hurt yourself) or liability (repairing damage to others' property, or medical bills for others that you injure).
 
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It's too early. I drive the same car (LTZ trim), KBB is 10.5K to buy one from a dealer less of course if you can find private party. If yours is an LS prolly around 8-9K, used car pricing has increased recently, changed everything. Yea I know KBB is flawed but still too much to risk IMO..
 
Ferzerp said:
Technically, over your driving life, collision insurance is a net loss to you. The insurance agency knows how likely you are to have a claim on your car, on average, and they know what it is likely to cost them. They're going to make money on it (do you think they do this out of the goodness of their hearts?). You just buy collision insurance to avoid the potential for a damaging hit to you financially. No, you do not *always* need collision insurance on a car. The only time you must have it is if you've financed the vehicle, and you are obligated to keep full coverage it until you've paid for it.

However, Vic Vega, if you are so sure you always need collision insurance on everything you own, would you mind stepping in to my casino? I'm sure if you keep at it long enough, you'll come out ahead.

Or maybe you are confused and don't know that collision is the part that pays you to repair or pays the value of your car in a total loss scenario if you are at fault collision. It has nothing to do with medical coverage (big hospital bills if you hurt yourself) or liability (repairing damage to others' property, or medical bills for others that you injure).
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Well FWIW I actually am about +8k in insurance, after a 12k payout when my brother totaled my last car, so it definitely is possible
 
Yes, but you aren't finished with your driving life yet. This is what collision insurance is for. For you to smooth out any rough bumps that you cannot comfortably cover on your own, but I guarantee you that by the time you stop driving, you will have paid more for it than you got out of it, on average. You may not be able to eat that $12k right now, but you *will* pay it back over time, and if you develop a pattern of claims, your premiums will go up until you are again profitable over time.
 
BUTCH1 said:
It's too early. I drive the same car (LTZ trim), KBB is 10.5K to buy one from a dealer less of course if you can find private party. If yours is an LS prolly around 8-9K, used car pricing has increased recently, changed everything. Yea I know KBB is flawed but still too much to risk IMO..
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It's the 'classic' line; I think they were used only as rentals, I got mine after 1 year, it was only 11,000 new.

I didn't realize used car prices had increased....is that a result of the new car market getting dragged down?
 
BagOfWalnuts said:
It's the 'classic' line; I think they were used only as rentals, I got mine after 1 year, it was only 11,000 new.

I didn't realize used car prices had increased....is that a result of the new car market getting dragged down?
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People are trying to save money and are buying used cars more than they have in the recent past. The increased demand is driving prices up.
 
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