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      04-25-2020, 08:41 AM   #1
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Does the price of car insurance affect your sports car buying decision?

The short answer would be NO.
I think we all buy what we want regardless of insurance cost.

However, when I first bought my C7 Corvette, I came to find out that the insurance on it was 2.5X the price of my current 440i

Yes the Corvette was a lot of car for the money but it was only $5K more than my BMW. I'm a single guy with a perfect driving record for at least 20 years.

What is the insurance's justification for that kind of premium?

Does a car that goes 1 second faster from 0-60 warrant that kind of cost?

Is the Corvette not as safe as a BMW? Are Corvette owners more of a douche bag? Does it cost more to repair a Corvette? What gives!

Those parts from the old C7 came from the same cheap and hard plastic bins like the rest of General Motor's stuff.
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      04-25-2020, 09:56 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GenXer View Post

Those parts from the old C7 came from the same cheap and hard plastic bins like the rest of General Motor's stuff.
Which parts? The turn signal?
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      04-25-2020, 10:24 AM   #3
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The cost of insurance premiums is based on statistical data on claims history of the particular model and of the driver, location and other factors along with actuarial calculations. That "a car that goes 1 second faster from 0-60" over another car is not material in determining premiums. So you're attempt at tying them together doesn't really fly.
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      04-25-2020, 11:00 AM   #4
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1. Corvette not as safe as a BMW?
- https://www.iihs.org/ratings
- As the consumer you make the final decision

2. Does it cost more to repair a Corvette
- a 10yr old M3 vs a 10 yr old Corvette?

3. Are Corvette owners more of a douche bag?
- I am not able to locate a metric for this. So the answer would be no. BMW owners are more d-bags than others.

Insurance is a factor but there are so many factors out there , I don't want to start.

You buy a car for how it connects to you. If you buy a car based on 1 sec faster than the next car. You will be chasing a carrot at the end of a stick.
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      04-25-2020, 11:03 AM   #5
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The average Corvette claim is more expensive and more likely to be the drivers fault or a single vehicle accident. The plastic body panels are not as easily repaired as metal ones and the Corvette construction method isn't as cheap to repair as a normal monocoque. Plus the insurance market tends to charge more for two seat cars.
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      04-25-2020, 11:28 AM   #6
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The zip code where you live is a major factor as well as the coverage limits. I live in the most expensive zip code for insuring cars in Florida. It's because the average age of drivers here has to be over 80yrs. Even my malpractice insurance is higher here than any other county in the USofA.
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      04-25-2020, 11:32 AM   #7
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No. The answer is no. Get the car you want, and pay what you must to insure it.

This is assuming you can afford the car. And by the way, if you can afford the car, but not insurance, that means you can’t afford the car.

Last edited by 5.M0NSTER; 04-25-2020 at 11:45 AM..
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      04-25-2020, 11:34 AM   #8
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Yes... in 1990 I walked into a dealer and spotted a car I wanted on the spot, but told the manager the sale was contingent upon an agreeable insurance quote (it was a Sunday, no quote until Monday). We shook hands and talked the next day. My quotes, with the car to be garage kept, no tickets, accidents or anything, was actually more monthly $$$ than the cost for the car itself. I called the dealer and rescinded the purchase, he understood. So it CAN have an affect on the decision, of course.

The High HP, High Desirability, High Incidence of Accidental Damage with High Replacement Cost = High Risk for the Insurance Carrier, so a car like a Corvette is going to cost more!

By the way, the 1990 Car was a White Mustang 5.0GT Convertible w/Red Leather Interior, lol. The one that got away Wasn't and never have been a Ford guy, just happened to walk in, curiously and the thing caught my eye, lol.

Anyways...
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      04-25-2020, 12:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes View Post
Which parts? The turn signal?
Yes and yes. The switch gears, the leather, instrument panel, infotainment center. It's OK but not as nice as a Porsche let's say.

I think the new C8 has a lot of very premium dedicated parts for the Corvette.

I've sold Chevys and worked at General Motors for 13 years and I see a lot of parts sharing. This is how they're able to make amazing vehicles like the Corvette at a substantial cost savings. But that also means some of the parts just don't feel as "nice"

I'm a huge fan of Chevy and have already bought over 20 new GM products over 20 years. So I'm not belittling GM for their efforts.
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      04-25-2020, 12:50 PM   #10
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For me no, however I have never made a switch where the insurance was sooo much more that I freak out. Maybe insurance on a bugatti would stop me from getting one, however I can't afford a bugatti anyways so it's a none issue.

As for the vette having higher premiums than the 440i seems obvious to me. The 440 is not really what most people would consider a "sports car". I'm sure most people who buy it use it for regular commute to work etc. The vette not so much. It's not a very practical car for most people (even though the cargo space is great). Most people who buy it probably want a fast car to drive fast. So my guess is more vettes end up in accidents than 440is.

For me it has the highest premiums of any car I've owned. Higher than my truck which costs significantly more than the vette. Still not high enough to make me not buy it.
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      04-25-2020, 02:35 PM   #11
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Before buying my M2, Safeco told me that they do not insure BMW M cars. I switched to Pemco and bought my M2. I never have had a ticket and am accident free so my driving record had nothing to do with the Safeco refusal.
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      04-25-2020, 05:02 PM   #12
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No.
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      04-25-2020, 07:06 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DocL View Post
The zip code where you live is a major factor as well .
This. Come winter, people rear-end each other here like it's going out of style. Lots of people refuse to get winter tires, and then they can't stop. Insurance is stupid expensive because if it.
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      04-25-2020, 07:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GenXer View Post
Yes and yes. The switch gears, the leather, instrument panel, infotainment center. It's OK but not as nice as a Porsche let's say.
Except for the turn-signal stalks, I believe it's not parts-bin stuff, it's all dedicated to the C7. Looking at that interior (picture), I'm really hard pressed where a porsche is better. Surely you aren't claiming that the seats are parts-bin? Because they are not, the suede recaros in my 1LE are definitely way different.
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      04-25-2020, 07:20 PM   #15
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You want sticker shock. Try getting full coverage insurance on a liter bike in your 20s. When I got into my first sport bike back in 2003-4, I was on some forums where insurance costs were discussed. I saw one instance where the guy got quoted for a year's insurance the exact cost of buying the bike new.
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      04-25-2020, 07:30 PM   #16
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If the insurance cost as much month as a car payment, then I'd probably skip. Not sure what car I'd out there I could realistically afford that would fall into this category though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanG View Post
Before buying my M2, Safeco told me that they do not insure BMW M cars. I switched to Pemco and bought my M2. I never have had a ticket and am accident free so my driving record had nothing to do with the Safeco refusal.
How odd. Never heard of M's not being able to be insured before.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes View Post
Except for the turn-signal stalks, I believe it's not parts-bin stuff, it's all dedicated to the C7. Looking at that interior (picture), I'm really hard pressed where a porsche is better. Surely you aren't claiming that the seats are parts-bin? Because they are not, the suede recaros in my 1LE are definitely way different.
I've sat and driven in both (from the same years of course) and the Porsche is definitely better. But they're also better than a lot of other manufacturers. Having said that, for the price they charge, which is considerably a lot more than the C7s, that's to be expected. The C7 is not horrible though, and it's a huge leap from the C6 I rode in once.
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      04-26-2020, 03:05 AM   #17
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No unless they won't insure the car (viper or other dni do not insure )
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      04-26-2020, 08:17 AM   #18
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This was mine. The interior is OK. The other stuff is spectacular and it's still an exceptional value for the price.
I got the red Dakata leather in the 440i but it's not as bright red of the Vette's
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      04-26-2020, 08:20 AM   #19
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Never, not even when I was 18 and paid $200 a month for a car payment, and $240 a month for insurance. I'm a car guy, it is what it is.

I always looked at it like a balance, I don't drink, and don't smoke, or do drugs, so my free money is the same as everyone else's, it just goes to cars instead of stuff like that.
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      04-26-2020, 10:50 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W/// View Post



I've sat and driven in both (from the same years of course) and the Porsche is definitely better. But they're also better than a lot of other manufacturers. Having said that, for the price they charge, which is considerably a lot more than the C7s, that's to be expected. The C7 is not horrible though, and it's a huge leap from the C6 I rode in once.

I think that's fair. I have a buddy that had been offering to take me for a ride in his early C6 since one day I took him in the 2SS 1LE. I was somewhat horrified by the interior when that finally happened, I had no idea there was *that much* hard plastic in one and that it was just that bad. I think the interiors have come a long way and a lot of people don't give them a fair shake. They often ignore the plastic in their own car and only "see" it in whatever they are comparing against. It's not to day they are making the "best" interiors now, but in my experience reviews and observations tend to get extremely biased in this area.
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      04-26-2020, 12:33 PM   #21
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With each Generation, the Corvette gets better and better. But I still like the looks of the C7 a lot more especially at the rear. The C8 looks too much like a Camaro.
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      04-26-2020, 06:27 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GenXer View Post
With each Generation, the Corvette gets better and better. But I still like the looks of the C7 a lot more especially at the rear. The C8 looks too much like a Camaro.
I think that with the Z06 and other performance models, this will change. I preferred the outside of the C6 to the initial C7, but once the Z06 and GS came out, I started to get where they were going with the C7.
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