Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

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fortfun
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Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by fortfun »

****Correction, I pay only 150/month for both vehicles, total, including collision. It only add 200 per 6 months. In this case, I think I will keep it since my Tacoma is still worth 19k.****

Thanks,
Everytone!

We have a 12 year old Highlander (bluebook 9k) and 12 year old Tacoma (bluebook 19k). Collision, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month. Since the Taco is worth so much, I'm leaning toward keeping it. Our most likely collision events are icey roads and wildlife encounters. I average a minor fender bender every 20 years. DW has none :)

I know the general advice is to drop after 10 years but these are Toyotas that are still worth a chunk of change. We can afford to replace them but I'd like to drive them another 8 years. I guess I'd prefer to come up with 1k instead of 19k.

Thoughts?

****Correction, I pay only 150/month for both vehicles, total, including collision. It only add 200 per 6 months. In this case, I think I will keep it since my Tacoma is still worth 19k.****
Last edited by fortfun on Tue May 18, 2021 2:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
ponyboy
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by ponyboy »

I have a 13 year old tacoma and have full coverage, $500 deductible. Not a chance I would drop insurance.

Your insurance seems high to me. I tweaked mine as much as I could and even with dropping different things and deductibles, it was peanuts...which is why I kept it.
mr_brightside
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by mr_brightside »

had an ~15 year old Tacoma my HS-age daughter drove. dropped the collision. (she actually was a pretty good driver)

on an icy afternoon she rear-ended a driver like 3 months later. :oops: penny wise / pound foolish comes to mind.

YMMV.

-----------------------------------
boglegirl
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by boglegirl »

We dropped collision in the last year or so on our car that is worth about $11k. We had comprehensive & collision on both vehicles with a $500 deductible. The collision coverage on the less-valuable car was such a high percentage of the policy for some reason. I'm a careful driver and have never had an at-fault accident. {fingers crossed that I'm not back here in a month whining about totaling my car...}

If I had a teen driver I would not drop any coverage. Figure out what your risk factors are and make your decision based on that.
hicabob
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by hicabob »

Since I can afford to I self insure all my vehicles, even when new, and have for 35 years. The $$ you save over time will pay for a few incidents and I like to not enrich insurance companies. Of course this requires you own and not lease or borrow to buy the vehicle.
Onlineid3089
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by Onlineid3089 »

I've only ever had liability on my vehicles. Typically it would be no problem for me to find and pay for a suitable replacement, though I suppose the current car market may have that a little out of ordinary.

It helps that we also do most reasonable repairs ourselves. The only time more insurance may have helped me was about 10 years ago when I smoked a deer with my Grand Cherokee. I think it cost me about $700 total for the parts to replace everything that was breakable on the front end - bumper, both complete light assemblies, and grill. If you had to pay shop time to fix it maybe it would have been worth it. As is, my dad and I got an excuse to spend a Saturday afternoon together while we were replacing everything :beer

Saving an extra $200/mo sounds shocking to me, how much are you paying total? The liability coverage for my GMC Canyon and her Lexus ES is $179 every six months. Ours are slightly older than yours at 2006 and 2008 respectively.
surfstar
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by surfstar »

Agreed on costs.
Have you shopped for a more competitive policy? That price seems quite high! "Comprehensive, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month."
RXfiles
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by RXfiles »

surfstar wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:51 am Agreed on costs.
Have you shopped for a more competitive policy? That price seems quite high! "Comprehensive, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month."
I have comprehensive with 1000 dollar deductible on two cars with kbb value about 27k total for 75 dollars a month with esurance. I'm in alabama. I know different states have different rates but yeah that seems really high.
Ramjet
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by Ramjet »

Insurance seems high. Wife and I have comprehensive and pay $500 a year combined. Erie Insurance
skis4hire
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by skis4hire »

I know the used car market is crazy right now, but a 12 year old Tacoma worth 19k?? Wow.

+1 on the costs are high and you should shop around.

What are your 'most likely, most expensive' repairs in comparison?
Even a larger wildlife 'encounter' like a deer you're likely to pay for the repair with 2-3 years of your current premiums.
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fortfun
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by fortfun »

Thanks everyone. Time to shop around!
sport
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by sport »

OP, you are asking about "comprehensive" coverage and then mention the chance of a collision. In my state, collision is separate from comprehensive. Comprehensive only covers fire, theft, malicious damage, etc. It is generally inexpensive. Collision, OTOH, can be expensive. On older vehicles, people sometimes drop collision, but comprehensive is worth keeping.
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fortfun
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by fortfun »

sport wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 12:40 pm OP, you are asking about "comprehensive" coverage and then mention the chance of a collision. In my state, collision is separate from comprehensive. Comprehensive only covers fire, theft, malicious damage, etc. It is generally inexpensive. Collision, OTOH, can be expensive. On older vehicles, people sometimes drop collision, but comprehensive is worth keeping.
Sorry, fixed it. Mixed those two up.
jpelder
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by jpelder »

The usual rule of thumb I've heard is to drop collision and comprehensive when the annual premium is more than 10% of the value of the car. My 10-year-old Chevy Cruze is only worth about $4000, but collision and comprehensive coverage on it cost less than $100 per year. It's worthwhile for the peace of mind, especially as often as I end up renting cars while traveling (1-2 times per year). Most of my insurance cost is for liability, but I keep high limits.
momvesting
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by momvesting »

Yes, your numbers seem quite high. When we had 3 cars, two with collision, one of them new with a $500 deductible, and three drivers including a teen, we paid around $200/month total. Also, the only reason we kept collision on the older car was with a $1k deductible the collision was cheap, like $20 or so a month on a car worth about $5k. We recently sold the older car and moved the newer car to a $1500 deductible, which is so much cheaper. We use Geico and have been pleased. I especially like how you can try various scenarios on their website without committing. For example, on our newer car, dropping the deductible from $500 to $1000 was a lot cheaper. From $1000 to $1500 also gave us a significant savings, but from $1500 to $2000 the monthly savings was insignificant, which is how I chose a $1500 deductible.
iamlucky13
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by iamlucky13 »

fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 amCollision, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month.
I''m guessing you mean $200 either per 6 months or per year.

If it's $200 per month, then no way: $200 x 12 months/year x 20 years/accident = $48,000.

While the vehicle is worth a lot for its age, I don't imagine it's that much.

If it's per 6 months, that still sounds high. I just updated my insurance last month for a new vehicle and had multiple options quoted. I did get both collision and comprehensive. With a clean record and a few other discounts, for a ~$25,000 vehicle with a $2,000 deductible, the cost was around $100 per 6 months.

I don't have any criteria to offer for deciding on this coverage that isn't arbitrary, other than if you could not afford loss of your vehicle. Personally, we dropped it on our older car when the value fell below half of the new price.
Horologium
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by Horologium »

hicabob wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:39 am Since I can afford to I self insure all my vehicles, even when new, and have for 35 years. The $$ you save over time will pay for a few incidents and I like to not enrich insurance companies. Of course this requires you own and not lease or borrow to buy the vehicle.
This. If you’re paying $200/mo (which seems obscene, but that’s another conversation) and you drop the coverage, at the end of the year, you’ve got $2,400 in your pocket.

That assumes you aren’t regularly having collisions. On the other hand, that may be the reason your premiums are so high. :mrgreen:
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fortfun
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by fortfun »

iamlucky13 wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 1:42 pm
fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 amCollision, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month.
I''m guessing you mean $200 either per 6 months or per year.

If it's $200 per month, then no way: $200 x 12 months/year x 20 years/accident = $48,000.

While the vehicle is worth a lot for its age, I don't imagine it's that much.

If it's per 6 months, that still sounds high. I just updated my insurance last month for a new vehicle and had multiple options quoted. I did get both collision and comprehensive. With a clean record and a few other discounts, for a ~$25,000 vehicle with a $2,000 deductible, the cost was around $100 per 6 months.

I don't have any criteria to offer for deciding on this coverage that isn't arbitrary, other than if you could not afford loss of your vehicle. Personally, we dropped it on our older car when the value fell below half of the new price.
I asked for clarification but that's what she said. As it turns out, one of those 20 year fender benders happened 1.5 years ago, so that could be the cause of the crazy high number. Working on tracking that down now. Tacomas hold their value well. Mine has only dropped 5k since I purchased it. People really like that model better than the new model. I guess it has a better engine, etc. Honestly, I sort of surprised everyone isn't buying Tacomas the way they hold their value--I don't understand but they do. This essentially my truck but I have 30k less miles on mine. https://www.kbb.com/cars-for-sale/vehic ... &zip=53701
iamlucky13
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by iamlucky13 »

fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 7:14 pm I asked for clarification but that's what she said. As it turns out, one of those 20 year fender benders happened 1.5 years ago, so that could be the cause of the crazy high number. Working on tracking that down now.
Sorry to hear about that. I knew having an accident could have a big effect on insurance rates, but I would not have expected that large of increase. Good luck with your insurance shopping.
wander
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by wander »

Drop it, that's a waste of money.
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lthenderson
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by lthenderson »

fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 am Thoughts?
Unless I missed it up above somewhere, it really depends on which state you live in and if it a fault or no-fault state. I live in a fault state and am a good driver so I rarely keep collision insurance past ten years regardless of car value. But I have lived in a no-fault state before and then it is more of a question of figuring odds of an accident, average cost of repair and your premium cost and making an educated guess.
ncbill
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by ncbill »

I drop collision but always keep comprehensive because here it's dirt cheap (~$5/month, $100 deductible) on my older vehicles.

Last auto claim was for ~$3,000 via comprehensive (not collision) coverage since it was a deer committing suicide.
badger42
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by badger42 »

fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 am We have a 12 year old Highlander (bluebook 9k) and 12 year old Tacoma (bluebook 19k). Collision, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month. Since the Taco is worth so much, I'm leaning toward keeping it. Our most likely collision events are icey roads and wildlife encounters. I average a minor fender bender every 20 years. DW has none :)
Thoughts?
$200/mo (not yr, right?) is $2400/yr.

The total value of both cars is $27k

What you are spending on insurance would replace both vehicles over <12 years (just the cheaper one after <4yr or just the more expensive one after <8yr). I'd drop the coverage, and (physically or virtually) put the $2400/yr into a replacement fund.
Californiastate
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by Californiastate »

I typically drop full coverage around the 10 year mark. It's cost me twice but overall I'm ahead. It really depends on if you can afford to replace the vehicle when totalled and not live off of rice and beans in the process.
Last edited by Californiastate on Tue May 18, 2021 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jackbeagle
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by jackbeagle »

With the residuals as good as they are for Toyotas, comprehensive isn't quite as "pointless" as it would be for a $2000 car with a $1000 deductible.
wfrobinette
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by wfrobinette »

fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 am We have a 12 year old Highlander (bluebook 9k) and 12 year old Tacoma (bluebook 19k). Collision, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month. Since the Taco is worth so much, I'm leaning toward keeping it. Our most likely collision events are icey roads and wildlife encounters. I average a minor fender bender every 20 years. DW has none :)

I know the general advice is to drop after 10 years but these are Toyotas that are still worth a chunk of change. We can afford to replace them but I'd like to drive them another 8 years. I guess I'd prefer to come up with 1k instead of 19k.

Thoughts?
$200/month more for collision with 1000 deductible is highway robbery. I pay $310 every 6 months for 3 cars 19 camry XSE, 19 maxda cx5 and 2021 CX-5 turbo. You sure thats not just $200 more every 6 months or year?
wfrobinette
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by wfrobinette »

RXfiles wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 12:01 pm
surfstar wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:51 am Agreed on costs.
Have you shopped for a more competitive policy? That price seems quite high! "Comprehensive, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month."
I have comprehensive with 1000 dollar deductible on two cars with kbb value about 27k total for 75 dollars a month with esurance. I'm in alabama. I know different states have different rates but yeah that seems really high.
Yours seems way high too! I pay less than $30 a month for about 75k of coverage on 3 vehicles. Again states are different but. Try alfa insurance. Top rated in the SE by JD Power. Esurance is the worst rated insurance by consumer reports.

I switched to NC farm Bureau and saved a bundle.
RXfiles
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by RXfiles »

wfrobinette wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 12:59 pm
RXfiles wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 12:01 pm
surfstar wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:51 am Agreed on costs.
Have you shopped for a more competitive policy? That price seems quite high! "Comprehensive, with a 1k deductible, costs an extra 200/month."
I have comprehensive with 1000 dollar deductible on two cars with kbb value about 27k total for 75 dollars a month with esurance. I'm in alabama. I know different states have different rates but yeah that seems really high.
Yours seems way high too! I pay less than $30 a month for about 75k of coverage on 3 vehicles. Again states are different but. Try alfa insurance. Top rated in the SE by JD Power. Esurance is the worst rated insurance by consumer reports.

I switched to NC farm Bureau and saved a bundle.
I'm only 28. Maybe that's why? I got quotes with over 10 companies. Including alfa. Took so much time. Eusurance was the cheapest.
JackoC
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by JackoC »

fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 am

I know the general advice is to drop after 10 years but these are Toyotas that are still worth a chunk of change. We can afford to replace them but I'd like to drive them another 8 years. I guess I'd prefer to come up with 1k instead of 19k.

Thoughts?
I hadn't heard that rule of thumb. The answer is to drop it when you could replace an uninsured total loss without significant financial disruption. Insurance has to have a negative expected value on average for the insured for insurance companies to exist at a profit while incurring costs (personnel etc) over and above claims payouts. Secondarily there's a convenience benefit from collision that you can just call 'my car got smashed' they say 'OK go to X body shop and our rep will take care of it' and that's it. I did like that when my previous car incurred $7.5k damage in a freak accident with an automated garage, with Geico. That consideration has made me get collision on new cars even though I could replace them day one, with sadness, if necessary, and keep it a few years, but nothing like 10. I dropped it on our newer car (worth ~$40k) when it passed 2 yrs last year, a little sooner than I have previously. I think I dropped it on our 16 yr old car (worth ~$6k) around 10 years ago.

Assuming you shop around, differences in premiums in different places tend to relative difference in expected claims, but again expected claims in each place should be substantially lower than premiums if they aren't mispricing it. In special cases one might identify higher risk of claims than the ins co seems to realize (assuming honestly answering all their questions of course) but it would be the exception.
sport
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Re: Keep insurance on 12 year old Toyotas?

Post by sport »

JackoC wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 2:44 pm
fortfun wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:32 am

I know the general advice is to drop after 10 years but these are Toyotas that are still worth a chunk of change. We can afford to replace them but I'd like to drive them another 8 years. I guess I'd prefer to come up with 1k instead of 19k.

Thoughts?
I hadn't heard that rule of thumb. The answer is to drop it when you could replace an uninsured total loss without significant financial disruption. Insurance has to have a negative expected value on average for the insured for insurance companies to exist at a profit while incurring costs (personnel etc) over and above claims payouts. Secondarily there's a convenience benefit from collision that you can just call 'my car got smashed' they say 'OK go to X body shop and our rep will take care of it' and that's it. I did like that when my previous car incurred $7.5k damage in a freak accident with an automated garage, with Geico. That consideration has made me get collision on new cars even though I could replace them day one, with sadness, if necessary, and keep it a few years, but nothing like 10. I dropped it on our newer car (worth ~$40k) when it passed 2 yrs last year, a little sooner than I have previously. I think I dropped it on our 16 yr old car (worth ~$6k) around 10 years ago.

Assuming you shop around, differences in premiums in different places tend to relative difference in expected claims, but again expected claims in each place should be substantially lower than premiums if they aren't mispricing it. In special cases one might identify higher risk of claims than the ins co seems to realize (assuming honestly answering all their questions of course) but it would be the exception.
There is another benefit to collision coverage. If someone else causes the accident, you do not have to deal with their insurance company. You can just let your insurance company deal with their insurance company.
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