We got started talking about insurance after a while, and he mentioned to me that he's got Progressive, just like me. He says he only has liability, is 19 years old, and has no wrecks on his record.
I have one at-fault accident on my record that'll drop off at the end of this July, so my rates should drop a little bit at that point. But, given what we have right now, his insurance premium is about $20 less than mine per month. Our location may have something to do with it, as well. I believe his insurance is still out of Kansas whereas mine is still out of Louisiana.
Out of curiosity, I got on Progressive's website and looked at what my rates would be with different setups.
I have an '87 528e, one at-fault accident, and I have 50/100/25 liability coverage, and 10/20/10 uninsured motorist coverage. All of that combines to make my 6 month premium $943. If I had just liability, it would be $845.
If I drove my friend's Thunderbird instead of my 528e, my premium would be about $60 more every 6 months, assuming I kept my uninsured motorist coverage. If I dropped it, my premium would be about $42 less every 6 months, which is still higher than his. So, that shows you how much one accident comes into play. It might drop my rates $20 or $30 per month.
Assuming I kept my same insurance, I've listed below what my 6 month insurance premium would look like if I either replaced my car with another or just added another to my policy. It's interesting how much of a difference the model year comes into play. . .
Replace with '85 528e
$82.00 less
Replace with '86 528e
No change
Replace with '88 528e
$42.00 increase
Add '85 524td
$617.00 increase
Add '86 524td
$686.00 increase
Add '85 535i
$633.00 increase
Add '86 535i
$704.00 increase
Add '87 535i
$704.00 increase
Add '88 535i
$741.00 increase
Add '87 325iC
$661.00 increase
Add '89 325iC
$709.00 increase
Add '91 325iC
$754.00 increase
Add '92 or '93 325iC
$789.00 increase
I didn't go earlier than '85, because I just don't really like the earlier cars.
What's surprising to me is the major changes in some of those policies. The '85 and '86 524td are virtually the same, yet there's a $70 difference in the 6-month premium. The '85 and '86 528e are virtually the same, yet it's the '86 and '87 that have the same insurance premium. The '85 and '86 535i are similar, as are the '87 and '88, yet it's the '86 and '87 535i's that have the same premiums.
This is interesting to me, because I was planning on buying an '85 or '86 535i 5-speed around summer of next year. Maybe now that I've seen this, I'll consider only the '85, even though there's only about $12 per month difference between the two model years.
If your insurance company offers online quoting, check yours out and see if it's as weird as mine.
[Edit by Shifty on [TIME]1109561979[/TIME]]