Paying off a five year old Prius (go ahead and laugh. I live in Los Angeles, I like that nobody notices me. Plus our gas tax just went up).

Anywoo. I’d really like to drive it for another 5 years. But at this point, if I got into an accident, would insurance give me anything for it? Should I just have liability?

Find out the difference in cost. My insurance man recommended I drop full coverage on an old truck but when I found out it only made a difference of 16 bucks a year I kept it.

I agree with fiasconva, I have a 22 year old Land Cruiser that I have full coverage on still. The difference in price was roughly $100 every 6 months.

Yeah it will come down to the numbers: how much drop in premium over 5 years weighed against how much you would get for it if totaled or stolen and the odds of that.

For $16/year it would be an easy decision for sure. For a few hundred plus per year...?

No! My wife just totaled a 2013 Venza that was paid for.

The value would have to go down pretty far before I would go to liability only.

We had a Cadillac coverage that paid for a rental, medical etc. they gave us a very fair settlement on the car in just 1 business day.

Never rented a car, just went and bought another. Honda Passport Touring.

Couple the good advice above with taking a moment to look up the estimated NADA value for a ballpark of what a total would yield you.

Like the other two, I've carried full coverage on a couple cars for the same reason. $1-200 per year on a car valued at $8-14K still makes sense to me. YMMV

Listen to what others have told you. Look at what the value of your car is....Can you afford to make a down payment on another one now if you total your car & have to start over? What is the difference in the premium between full coverage and liability?

Talk to your agent....that is what he is there for. You do have an agent don't you?

I bought a brand new 2000 Durango in Sept 2000 (only new car I've ever bought). I dropped collision on it in about 2013 or so with about 180,000 miles on it. Wouldn't you know I totaled it in a snowstorm in Nov 2015 (my fault) with 196,000 miles on it. Was probably only worth about $4,500 or so, but I got $500 from the junkyard for it. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Only five years old? I'd still keep your collision. Revisit it after it hits 10 years. Definitely keep comprehensive, as it doesn't cost that much.

I'm still keeping collision on my 11-year-old Corolla, as this part is only $114 (6 months with $500 deductible). Considering I absolutely can't afford another car right now, I think it worth it.

I imagine they'd give you a decent amount for a car only 5 years old, but who knows. I only recently dropped my full coverage on my 2006 Sentra and my insurance went from around $600 every 6 months to about $350. Wish I did it a few years ago...

quote:

Originally posted by 610:
...Can you afford to make a down payment on another one now if you total your car & have to start over? What is the difference in the premium between full coverage and liability?

This was, also, my main thinking. If I lost the car completely, I could go out and get a newer car without a problem. That, and mine would only be worth probably a thousand or two if they gave me market value. That wouldn't make or break getting another car for me.

I have always maintained full coverage insurance on every vehicle I have owned after paying it off. With one vehicle I was hit pretty bad by a person with no insurance and my vehicle was paid off and my insurance took care of everything. Just recently my truck I have owned for 17 years had a deer run into it and caused $6K worth of damage. My insurance took care of everything. I will always maintain full coverage insurance.

Only 5 yrs? I’d keep it fully insured if it was mine.
If it’s only worth a couple grand sure. You car is worth* way more than a couple I bet.


*I tried to look at NADA to find out how much my truck was worth. I never did find anything but a metric crapton of redirects to used car ads and new car reviews.

Use the 10% rule. If the premium for the year is more than 10% of the market value of the car, then drop it. If not, keep the coverage. You may adjust the deductible to reduce cost.

If you drop collision today and total it tomorrow, can you afford to go out and pay cash for a replacement? Most people answer "no." Keep your collision. If the value is low, the premium will be low.

I keep collision on a 2005 Toyota Corolla with 250,000 miles.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Micropterus,

You might raise the deductible to save a few bucks as a compromise. My insurance has 500, 750, and 1000 dollar deductibles and all cost a but different.

I self insure.

I don't trust insurance companies.

One thing to consider in a state that has No Fault like Michigan does. At least here if a motorist does not have collision (we have three levels) and are involved in a collision you can collect a maximum of $1000 from the at fault driver's insurance carrier. That is IF they have liability insurance. Estimates of at least half of the cars in Detroit have no insurance, probably similar amounts in many other cities here. In theory Uninsured Motorist coverage should not be necessary here, theory only.

Here if the car is worth over a few thousand dollars you should at least carry Limited Collision, it pays when you are considered to be 49% or less at fault in a crash.

I keep full coverage on mine. The difference is about $10 a month for me.

To the OP , If you were to total that vehicle in an accident , what would the insurance company give you ? What is your yearly premium ?

quote:

Originally posted by jezsuiz:
I keep full coverage on mine. The difference is about $10 a month for me.

But is your vehicle worth what you pay in insurance ? Right now my Mom pays full coverage ( $150/month) for a car that is only worth about $1600 if she were to sell it . It doesn't take much of an accident to exceed $1600 in damages these days . BAD situation but she will not reduce her coverage . There is no one size fit's all answer . Every situation is different .