Well, I just turned 17 today, and my parents have decided to buy me an 8... Im a pretty responsible kid, I never get into trouble I dont really speed unless its under a controled enviorment, and I am the "trusted kid" of the community... I made the parents proud when I appeared in the NY Times, about my website www.newsbyteens.com so it pushed them to buy me this car :p Isurance is an almighty killler, my father is very good friends with our auto insurer, and we both have a feeling he was trying to rip him off, his rate wasnt competitive at all... I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions as to what is the best method, this car will be our third... and I dont mind putting my dad as the primary driver of my car and me of his (he has a 2002 Toyota Camry) and my mom has a 2001 MB ML320, so any suggestions, cause what they want is just pure theft...

How many years licensed? Shop around... you should just call around different companies and go to a few different insurance agents.

But don't expect cheap rates. After all, you're 17, relatively new cars, full coverage, and male (I assume?).

When I was 20 and had my first new car, I was paying $3000/yr in state of MA, so I can't imagine NY being better (I had a chance of registering my car in NYC and I was being quoted $6000/yr).

Most importantly, stay aware and pay attention (at speed or otherwise), keep the record clean (won't be easy in a flashy RX-8), and hope the rates drop.

As I recall, my first car (79 Mustang Pace Car w/ 302) was a bitch to insure @ age 16. I worked to pay for insurance and gas with very little left over. I think it was about $1,800 per year in 1985 numbers. This was with a rinky dink insurance company that was probably just a front some other illicit activity (remember Miami in the 80's... I lived Vice City). :D

Call around, drive safe, and be careful. Before you know it you'll be 30 and rates will become reasonable.

;)

Gee thanks, not the kind of stuff I really want to hear lol... I dont mind to go for rinky dink insurance as long as I can say Im insured you know.... They want something like 4000 bucks to insure me

Originally posted by jniamehr
Gee thanks, not the kind of stuff I really want to hear lol... I dont mind to go for rinky dink insurance as long as I can say Im insured you know.... They want something like 4000 bucks to insure me

The only problem with rinky dink is if you get into an accident or have to file a claim, they will never want to pay. That happened to me, and from that moment on State Farm has been my insurance provider.

Good luck.

Get a beetle, at 17 your just going to have to pay high rates till your older and clean record. We all grew up with high insurance.

Good luck

Originally posted by Pirate Rex
The only problem with rinky dink is if you get into an accident or have to file a claim, they will never want to pay. That happened to me, and from that moment on State Farm has been my insurance provider.

Good luck.

Yea they are really the best, and thats what my dads friend owns... a state farm insurance agency... I guess Im going to need to find a way to manipulate the system to get a lower rate... Since we do have an umbrela policy it might be best to have me as the primary for his car and him as the primary driver of my car, regardless we are all still insured for each others cars...

Seems like your parents are well off already, they are buying you a new 25k-30k car afterall... so a bit higher premium for insurance shouldn't hurt too bad. Just don't get into any accidents at all.. or you can be sure you're driving a Dodge neon afterwards.

Btw, I just asked my insurance company "Mercury Insurance" and they said for a 17 year old male, new car, livining in the suburbs in New York, would be about 5500 to 7500 a year, depending on your existing driving experience, how far you'll be driving, etc etc. That is some scary insurance rate.

you might want to ask if they have anything like a student discount, or a discount if you are on the honor roll or something like that. That should bring the price down a little.

If you get the AT version instead of the Manual it will also decrease the insurance rate. Like the previous poster said, bring your report card and show them you're an honor roll student that will help. Also the color of the car might help in some cases...

Originally posted by Outlaws eXtreme
If you get the AT version instead of the Manual it will also decrease the insurance rate. Like the previous poster said, bring your report card and show them you're an honor roll student that will help. Also the color of the car might help in some cases...

Actually, maybe it is a Florida thing, but the AT and Manual make no difference here. I made sure to ask them to double check b/c of the HP difference. Agent said no, there is only one rate for the RX-8

Well then maybe the quote I got was pretty damn good 6000 for all three of us for the whole year....

6000 for which cars? Rx-8 and what else? That seems pretty high... see how much it is with just your parents and not you and the 8, it would be a lot cheaper.

Couldn't you list your parents as the primary drivers on ALL the cars?

That's what my mother did when I was 16. I guess its not exactly legal/ethical, but it worked.

i turned 17 in august and got my car in october...ill update you with the rates we have for our insurance company. and to warn you...its really high! =/

No matter what insurance company you go with; being male (I'm assuming) and being young, your insurance rate will be high. When you turn 25, it will drop some, and also at 30. If you get married, it might drop some.

in the end I doubt it would matter much, it all depends on whether your parents are willing to fork over that cash... like I said before, obviously you are pretty well off for your parents to buy you a 25k+ car + 6k insurance rate yearly + maintaining the car + gas prices...

Unless you make the money yourself, then by all means go for it.

Ill try to consolidate all the answers here....

The three cars are RX-8, Camry XLE, MB ML320

We tried listing them as the primary of all three, but they didnt believe us lol

itsallaboutgary, I really appreciate that

Crichton, I know that, but I like to get bargain

Outlaws, I know its gonna be high no matter what, but I also like to be an educated consumer, and find the best bargain I can, hence the reason I posted my question here. Yes thank God we are very well of and God does bless us a lot, and believe me I know that, cause we were not always this way... Yes they are willing to fork over the cash, but also well, Im a persian-jew and we love to bargain to the last penny that we can... lol, not to be stereotypical or anything...

I'm Taiwanese, trust me when I say that I understand bargaining for the best deal possible. I wouldn't budge on the car until I got 200 over invoice... took 4 hours before financing, but I got it for what I wanted. :P Good luck on the car, perhaps you can put your parents on the newer cars as primary, and let you sign up for the lower insurance car,... the Camry.

I was quoted today, i went in and talked to them. Im 18 with clean title and everything, no problems been driving with my license since 16. For me to own an 8 on insurance it would cost me $328.37 a month which i dont think is too bad by myself for a new car. If i trade in my focus and get the 8 added to my moms car its $241.54 a month. That is soo reasonable!

Originally posted by Crichton
If you get married, it might drop some.

Yeah, but what a trade off!!

Originally posted by DrIfTnDrAfT
I was quoted today, i went in and talked to them. Im 18 with clean title and everything, no problems been driving with my license since 16. For me to own an 8 on insurance it would cost me $328.37 a month which i dont think is too bad by myself for a new car. If i trade in my focus and get the 8 added to my moms car its $241.54 a month. That is soo reasonable!

At age 34 and married (for now) the rate I got quoted for from my State Farm agent for lease coverage on an RX-8 GT is $115 a month. I am just a bit south of you here in Miami.

Man, they are killing you young guys with the insurance rates.

Also in New York... cold weather.. etc. Imagine insurance in Wyoming or some other boondock place... cheap as heck.

Originally posted by Pirate Rex
At age 34 and married (for now) the rate I got quoted for from my State Farm agent for lease coverage on an RX-8 GT is $115 a month. I am just a bit south of you here in Miami.

Man, they are killing you young guys with the insurance rates.

Just out of curiosity, but have you had any accidents recently? I am with State Farm also, single, and 27 and was quoted $95 a month. Maybe it's because I have the multiple line discount, basically an umbrella policy.

jniamehr, you might also check places like Progressive since they basically shop around for you. That is, if you haven't already.

I went with Metlife, they still don't have RX-8 listed in their system. I had to tell them it's a 4-door car, (well it's true!) they based their policy on the car's value I think, I'm paying about $120 a month.

Anyway.
29, Male, Single

100/300/50 for Body Injury/Property Damage.
500d on Comprehensive
1000d on Collision

Originally posted by mmmdowning
Get a beetle

Funny, I'm about to trade iin my beetle to get an 8.:D

IM 19 no points or acidents(knock on wood) Knock knock. I pay about 4,500 a year. i will be 20 in 4 months. Nj sucks when it comes to driving.

Jeez, the want like 3500 just for me, how is it that Im less than you?!?!

NJ has one of the country's highest insurance rates. Guess what guys I love a white miata. Why you ask I got pulled over going 10 over and the cop took my info well a min later he comes back and a white miata fly's by going about 60 65 in a 35 mph he gave me my info and said have a good night. So IM sorry white miata guy if you got a ticket buts thanks you just saved me from one:D

That really sucks for that guy... and I know teens arent the best drivers... but i feel like im being robbed...

I have an RX7 & RX8. Before I added my 16 year old son as a driver, my rate was $3,007 per year. Once he was added as a driver, it jumped to $7,200 per year. There is a discount for good grades and also for attending driver school. My insurance company insured the RX8 as a sedan (not a sports car) because it is a 4 door. Previous to the RX8, I had the Mazdaspeed Protege. To my surprise, my rate was only increases by $52 per year after the trade-in.

hey i know how that feels. im 17 too but i ain't as lucky as you are :). im getting a Z next year hopefully. but neways i did MAJOR insurance checking over the last 6 months and our family changed Insurance Companies over and over because we kept researching and finding better and cheaper insurance... well here are some tips: (Btw for ALL listeners on this thread!)

Try Allstate Insurance. We had every insurance from Farmer's to some place called Kemper Direct. well i'll tell ya ALLSTATE was unbelievably cheap.
Insuring me(17), my dad and my mom, and two cars 2003 Toyota Camry and 1998 Ford Windstar, it's $1,300 /6 months policy, with practically the best coverage you'll get ..... medical, uninsured motorist etc. I was pretty hyped about getting my insurance and we did another quote to see how much it would be if we added a BRAND NEW 350Z and to my surprise it's only $1,700 /6months!! which i found to be ridiculously cheap.

Well Here are BIG tips on getting cheap insurance..... i think this is what did it getting me cheap insurance.
When you do your quote:
1) Put the Primary Driver on the most expensive car as the female which would be your mom. Reason being that being a woman actually gets cheaper insurance...(im not making this up). Unless of course your mom got like 5 tickets or something in the last 7 years... then i say go with your dad?

2) I don't really know if THIS one works but list the 3 cars "Good car, older car, new car" I tried the same quote but listed the same vehicles in different orders and got different prices for some reason. So whatever works best for your cars will benefit you the most....

3) When they ask you what percent the drivers are list like this.
You said you have a Mercedes, Camry and the Rx8 to come.
Camry - You 10% :: Your dad 80% :: Your mom 10%
Mercedes - You 0% :: Your dad 20% :: Your Mom 80%
New Car (Rx8)- You 0% :: Your dad 20% :: Your mom 80%
* 80% for the person with the best driving record... not you though.
** Also, the reason you should be 0% on all the cars except the cheap one is your insurance will be cheaper (obviously) and even if you're 0%, you're still COVERED for any car because you're included in the insurance policy.

4) When listing "How many approx. miles will you drive on this car in the next year?", try and list reasonably. Having 3 cars, the camry might only be 5000. Try and keep that low because it's not like they're goign to cancel your insurance because you went over the limit or something.

5) GOOD STUDENT DRIVER! this saves a TON of money. serious, somewhere around 20-25% or so.

6) When you choose your Coverage Options think reasonably. $100,000/$300,000 for Main Bodily Injury Coverage and $100,000 Property Damage Coverage is NOT reasonable. Unless you PLAN on going drunk driving and drifting in the snow and plowing through someone's house and killing all family members, this much isn't necessary. I say $50,000/$100,000 is fine and $50,000 for Property Damage is fine.

7) Medical Coverage. Now everyone thinks "wow this is a big one, it's MEDICAL!" but think about it and make your own judgement. For this option, you can choose $1000, $2000, and $5000. This Coverage is when you get in an accident, and it's your fault and you don't have any health insurance. i personally wouldn't be driving if i didn't have health insurance. Well, I'm just using the $2000 Coverage. Going from $5k to $2k can save you like 50 bucks a month.

8) I would keep the Collision and Comprehensive Coverage with a HIGH deductable. (this is coverage when your car is in an accident and it's your fault... OR when it's stolen, it burns up, it's flooded etc.) Make it a $1000 deductible because unless you plan on crashing 3 times a month or something, most of the time, the damages that are less than $1000 can be paid by yourself, and over $1000, just pay the deductible.

9) i don't know how good record your parents have but if they have great driving records then they should get a Good driver's discount, multi vehicle discount etc.

I pay 1300/6 months right now for 2 cars and 3 people including me, and that's in CA. I don't know about NY but i think it's pretty much similar because talk about LA traffic. Down town LA where the vandalism goes on, South central etc. you get my drift.

Well I hope I helped and you get some reliable insurance.
ONE MORE THING:
In case you DO find cheaper insurance than Allstate, one downside to being insured by not-popular Companies (if they're cheaper), is the way they handle their business. One of the reason we changed from a company called Kemper Direct to Allstate is that companies like Kemper that aren't well-known and don't have as much money and options etc. such as Allstate, Mercury etc. is because let's say you get into an accident and total your car. For example: Allstate, State Farm etc. will cover what the car costs and buy you a new car. Kemper will search on their own and find the cheapest car they can get that's the same as your old one and say "okay that's it. buy that one. that's all we're paying."
so yeah there's a major diff in what type of companies you choose.

well yeah good luck.
-David

Hey I'm 17 with a rx-8 . .. lets just say insurance rates suck , get another car lol , i'm serious , it an't worth it. Get a used integra GSR or something , you'd be happy cause the amount of insurance = no gude. And they love to pull over kids around here , especially asian kids with nice cars (go figure) , iono where you live but thats the story here. I'd personally go with the integra (what I used to have). Relatively cheap insurance and tons of aftermarket. Slap on a body kit , rims and I/H/E and it'd be the amount difference you paid for insurance for a rx-8. You'd also get the same amount of looks and chicks.

But if you really want a rx-8 go for it , noones stopping you except your wallet.

wow you guys are lucky to be 17 and have an rx-8. i'm 17 and i have an 01 focus zx3. and before you laugh, its one hell of a car for an american 4 banger. before this focus i had an 00 focus zts, which i wrecked. now my insurance rates were'nt too bad before i had my accident, being that it was an eco car. but if you get into an accident or a ticket with an rx-8 being 17, ur screwed. i mean i was a responcible kid, honor roll, all that shit but i liked to go fast, and i got caught with my pants down. so be warned...

Best suggestion is to get a crap car for two years. Odds are high (and it's no detriment to your driving ability trust me) that you'll get into a fender bender.

Hell I got into one, and it wasnt my fault, but it was totally avoidable. At the time I lacked the road sense that I have now to avoid the accident and as I look back, I was happy I was driving a POS so I made my mistakes on that and now enjoy driving my RX-8. Well... not so much, my 8 has been pretty garaged with the ice out by where I live :\

Couple of weeks I'd imagine though :)

Oh ya one more question , can you drive stick ? Cause no offense to the automatic owners , but I drove my friend's automatic rx-8 once and it was nothing compared to my manual rx-8.

If you can't drive stick , don't bother buying the rx-8. And definitely don't learn stick on the rx-8 (thats like letting a 16 year old get on a hayabusa as their first bike ) . If this is your first car I seriously recommend a used 96- 99 acura integra GSR so you can learn stick besides that It's a fun car , doesn't lose value that much cause its already depreciated somewhat and you can mod the crap outta it. Also it an't slow and has potential to be fast.

I can tell you from experience that the Integra GSR is not a bad car , I've had 3 cars so far and the integra was the most reliable out of all of them.

First car was a 98 integra GSR with I/H/E and wingswest body kit and carbon fiber hood

second car was a 2000 BMW Z3

then finally the Rx-8


The integra didn't have any problems at all even with the mods. So just ask yourself , what are you looking for and if you really want to pay insurance on a rx-8. I just bought the rx-8 because the BMW Z3 was not the car for me.

So heres the layout
1. can you drive stick ? If no then drive your mom's or dad's car and learn how to drive smoothly with an automatic before you go any further
2. If yes to #1 then what do you want in a car ?
3. If you want style and a new car and one of the best handling cars I have ever driven then choose the rx-8 . .. but as with all things it comes with a price and that's insurance. I pay about $3500 per year with lo jack and alarm on my 04 6 speed Rx-8 GT and my record is clean. . . thats allota cash personally I think. So if you really want it , then go ahead , just lettin you know your options.





and before anyone flames me for being a spoiled little 17 year old . .. I paid for all those cars myself. And no I am not a drug dealer lol. I run a little home buisness with repairing computers.

Originally posted by titaniumgrey
Oh ya one more question , can you drive stick ? Cause no offense to the automatic owners , but I drove my friend's automatic rx-8 once and it was nothing compared to my manual rx-8.

If you can't drive stick , don't bother buying the rx-8. And definitely don't learn stick on the rx-8 (thats like letting a 16 year old get on a hayabusa as their first bike ) . If this is your first car I seriously recommend a used 96- 99 acura integra GSR so you can learn stick besides that It's a fun car , doesn't lose value that much cause its already depreciated somewhat and you can mod the crap outta it. Also it an't slow and has potential to be fast.


Your comment that if you can't drive stick, is like saying if you want to spend 30k, buy a real car that goes faster like G35 or 350z. People have choices, for whatever their reasons are. Mine is because I have to use this car to drive to and from OC to LA everyday.. commute is terrible. At 238 HP, it's not going to matter much to this daily commute. My old Civic could outrace a Manual RX-8.

BTW, I learned to drive stick on a 93 RX-7... Second try, I got it.. no biggy. It's even easier to learn stick in this car.

okay that BIG insurance thing i told you. Just try it. I guarentee that if you're parents have great driving records and all that it's not gonna be too expensive from allstate. just give it a shot and go to Allstate.com and get a free quote. what's the loss? just trying to help :P

one more thing. people are suggesting to get an used Gs-r or something but if you're 17 and you're parents are suggesting to buy you an Rx-8, i'd take that Rx-8 in less than .5 nano seconds. They're paying, not you :p. just find cheap insurance for their sake. and that issue about learning to drive stick, get the stick
Rx-8 anyways even if you dont' know how to drive it. it's not even hard to drive stick. took me about 1 hour. (although i didn't perfect it until i kept practicing but at least i wasn't overrevving and stalling anymore :o ). well yeah you can definietly learn on the Rx-8. i know all of my friends learned on their new car and no problem

if you REALLY dont' want to learn on a new car, although i guarentee it'll do practically nothing harmful to the car, just go to Enterprise or something and rent an Manual car for one day and practice on that. it's olike 15 bucks a day or something? have fun and just don't crash.

Originally posted by superstuddc27
okay that BIG insurance thing i told you. Just try it. I guarentee that if you're parents have great driving records and all that it's not gonna be too expensive from allstate. just give it a shot and go to Allstate.com and get a free quote. what's the loss? just trying to help :P

one more thing. people are suggesting to get an used Gs-r or something but if you're 17 and you're parents are suggesting to buy you an Rx-8, i'd take that Rx-8 in less than .5 nano seconds. They're paying, not you :p. just find cheap insurance for their sake. and that issue about learning to drive stick, get the stick
Rx-8 anyways even if you dont' know how to drive it. it's not even hard to drive stick. took me about 1 hour. (although i didn't perfect it until i kept practicing but at least i wasn't overrevving and stalling anymore :o ). well yeah you can definietly learn on the Rx-8. i know all of my friends learned on their new car and no problem

if you REALLY dont' want to learn on a new car, although i guarentee it'll do practically nothing harmful to the car, just go to Enterprise or something and rent an Manual car for one day and practice on that. it's olike 15 bucks a day or something? have fun and just don't crash.

Your pretty much understanding me... My parents want to buy me a car, and we are pretty well-off so this car is in the budget and even below what they expected to purchase, but of course we like to get the best bargain, Im going to get in touch with allstate and see what they can give me... Im also not going to get a manual because its not a feasable option in my eyes, Im a NY city person (or at least I go to the city 2-3 days a week) and its more of a hassle to drive stick and have people following me to a location etc, and worry about stalling than it is to just drive an automatic... So again, Im not worried about getting the car, I just like to make sure Im getting the best deal possible.

Wow 17 and your parents buying you an Rx8..

Either your really Spoiled or just one lucky damn kid !! =)

Enjoy it while it last

also tip on insurance, each state is different and has different factors.

Alot of the tips you guys posted will help in your states but not in others

The best way to get low insurance, is.. ultimately have a clean driving record !

Good luck, have fun !

Z

Originally posted by Crichton
Just out of curiosity, but have you had any accidents recently? I am with State Farm also, single, and 27 and was quoted $95 a month. Maybe it's because I have the multiple line discount, basically an umbrella policy.

jniamehr, you might also check places like Progressive since they basically shop around for you. That is, if you haven't already.

No accidents, no tickets in the last 15 years. I just have the luck of living in Miami, the home of incredibly high theft rates and tons of uninsured motorists.

I want to caution anyone considering lying to their insurance company in order to get better rates.

A good friend of mine did just that - stating that a car used for long distance commutation was just a pleasure vechicle. He found himself in a major accident that was indeed his fault - one that involved several fatalities. His insurance company did cover the accident of course - then they sued the pants off of him for falsifying information on his policy. He got good legal representation - ended up settling with the insurance company for an extremely large sum of money - for which he will be likely paying for the rest of his life (the settlement was in excess of six figures).

In case you are curious how they determined the fraud, they were able to subpoena EZpass info, which showed that the tag attached to this car was indeed being used for commutation for several months prior to the accident.

Will this happen to you? It's doubtful, for sure. But this is insurance - we are buying this to protect ourselves in case the unthinkable happens. Just keep in mind that you are playing the odds if you do this.

I'm pretty uch in the same boat...

I'm 20 years old, no accidents, speeding tickets... or any claims. I should be getting an 8 in April. The only thing thats really bad for me is that I'm a resident in Ontari Canada. And we've had severe increases in auto insurance over the last two years. I don't even want to think about the ocst for me to insure.

I am 17 and will turn 18 April 11th, Quoted yesterday because I am looking at a Titanium Grey 6Speed they quoted me same as S2000 and its under my name not parents Full Coverage for one year is $1,997.00 and I am insured with Farm Buerau

I have a suggestion for your dad that could save you a great deal of money. Get a fourth car or truck that runs but is little more than transportation. Only carry liability insurance on this car and have it be your primary car. You are still insured to drive your parents other three cars and one of those three just happens to be the RX-8.

I just got insurance from AAA, best rates I found. I am 22, live in suburbs, no accidents or tickets, and have a 4 mile drive to work).

Coverage is:
100/300/100
Comprehensive $500 deductable
Collision $1000 deductable

Little less then
$1400/year.

So you may want to check them out.

Jason

Be careful on some of the suggestions on how to get a cheap rate some have mentioned here. Like Seinfield said, that is not the best thing to do. In the event of an accident, there could be a problem. Parents not telling the truth about youthful drivers in the household teaches bad lessons imo. Yes, lets all lie to who we do business with just to save a few bucks. I'm sure you would not like it if the shoe were on the other foot. Also, this concept is one of the main reasons you are paying so much in the first place for your coverage. Just my 2 cents.