Re: My hopes of a truck

From: Jon Steiger (stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu)
Date: Thu Dec 04 1997 - 23:24:08 EST


At 07:53 PM 12/4/97 +0000, wayne@justicenet.net wrote:
>Well I was all set to get a new 98 Dak with the SLT+ package and all
>the bells & whistles. V8 and 2 wheel drive. All for the low price of
>$19,400. Then I went to my insurance company... I have 1 measly
>little speeding ticket (67 in a 55) and they look at me and laughed!
>It would be $257 a MONTH on top of a $400 per month payment.
>So I am looking at a 94 V6 auto, only $14,300 with a $150 monthly
>insurance bill. Any thoughts on that?
>
>~ Wayne ~
>

   All insurance companies are snake pits of beaurocratic greed and
corruption. I think the trick here is to try to find the "least horrible"
agency.

   Personally, I don't see how a speeding ticket translates into such a high
premium, just because it is a newer truck. Dakotas are not generally
recognized as a high performance vehicle; which is usually good for us. :-)
Didn't seem to work in your case though. Hmmm... I think the new facelift
made the Dakota a little to conspicuous. :-)

   Before giving up, I'd try every insurance company in town. Then every
insurance company out of town within a reasonable distance. Then every
insurance company outside of a reasonable distance. :-) I hear ads on
the radio all the time from insurance companies that claim to have wonderful
rates. You might have some luck there. Most insurance places just look
up numbers in the big binders that headquarters sends to them. I don't
know if they have any sense of competition or capitalism in their blood,
but it can't hurt to let them know that you're shopping around and the
place with the best deal gets your business. You might want to ask them
if there is any way of decreasing the premiums. (A passive alarm system,
defensive driving courses, etc.)

   There are also some other things you may or may not be able to do. For
example, I bought a 3000GT VR-4 when I was about 19. (Perfect driving
record; no accidents, no tickets, defensive driving certificate.) The
numbers the insurance companies gave me were nothing short of insulting.
Solution: The car was put in my father's name. I made the payments, but
he was the legal owner. His perfect driving record and late '40's age
made for MUCH lower insurance payments.

  Your chances are probably pretty slim, but I wish you the best of luck!
Don't give up without a fight. :-)

   I apologize if any list members are involved in the insurance business,
and I have insulted you in some way. Anyway, you probably know better than
anyone how corrupt the insurance companies are. (If yours isn't, and
you "beg to differ", how about proving it by getting Wayne an honest deal?)
:-)

                                              -Jon-

  .--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu -- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---.
  | DoD# 1038, EAA# 518210, NMA# 117376, USUA# A46209, KotWitDoDFAQ, RP-SEL |
  | '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT Club Cab, '96 Kolb FireFly 447 (#FF019) |
  `-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
   I do not speak for the SUNY College at Fredonia; any opinions are my own.



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