Does she live in Texas? ha. :wink:

 

I already have a defensive driving course under my belt. Dude I literally tried everything to get my rates down.

 

I insured my '08 TL through Geico near Philadelphia for $128/mo and people say that's high. It's by far the lowest I've found. State Farm and All State have those commercials saying they have the lowest rates but I don't see it. Each insurance company underwrites their policies differently and it's based on so many factors.

 

Crazyace,
You have a ?-year TL and make a 380/mo payment. You have made payments that total approx. $9k and still owe some $16k.

Unless you have some cash laying around to buy (outright) a decent private used car, it makes the most sense to keep your ride. If you decided to sell or trade in your TL, the payoff vs. balance will probably be a wash. This may leave you with not much of a better situation - i.e. the most you will be a able to purchase will be a Civic or Corolla class car for about $330/mo.

I don't get your high insurance rate. However, get a quote on a new Civic/Corolla/Elantra. If it turns out to be substantially less, then downgrading may be an option.

Seriously, take a look at RonJonTL's #27 post - some good tips there.

Regardless, you've got to get a second job and start saving big - baby care ain't cheap.

 

what color year and what not do you have for a TL?

 

Good luck on your endeavors. I pay over $370 a month on insurance on three cars: 98' TL (Liability), 06' TSX (Full Coverage), 06' TL (Full Coverage). I am also only 19 years old with 1 MINOR ACCIDENT (only cost $150 from insurance to fix...) My parents drive the 06' TSX/98'TL while I go to college with my lovely TL. I would try to get your girlfriend to file for unemployment and also seek some loans temporarily or borrow from friends/family because you will always regret trading in your TL, its a one of a kind car.

 

My insurance was almost $500/mth when I first got my license at 24 yrs old... It dropped like bomb after my gf put me on her policy, and we did eventually get married and I'm still point and accident free after 4 years. I pay $126/mth now which I still consider high, but in CA, you don't get another huge decrease until after 9 years of experience. Being "25" or any age just doesn't cut it anymore.

 

you got to do what you got to do, but

- what year is your TL, and how many miles on it? Asking to determine the equity in the car
- your lady is only 2 mos pregnant, she can still go find a job
- get a 2nd job
- the only way to cut insurance expense is to buy a car in cash to insure with liability coverage.
- weird that you said you'd rather have a cable TV then drive a TL, but if consider this: if you don't have the cash right now to buy a beater, then this TL will take you to work.

 

Do you have any family members living outside of the city that you could register the car to their address?
I know my friend moved about 20 miles into PG county (has horrible crime rate including auto theft) and I believe he said his insurance almost tripled.

 

Get A Costco Card & Get Ameriprise Insurance through the costco.com website. I am payng $94 a month for my TL... full cov.

 

05 TL
About 64K On it now

Ameriprise Insurance? I just got a quote and they denied me coverage due to "claims history or claims in household". My girl doesn't even have a license!

 

^ damn dude what u going to do after all input from all of us? Can I ask why your significant other doesn't have a license??

 

Your in a predicament. Do the right thing and lose the car. You have a kid to think about. End of story. A car is just a car. Dont weigh it against the value of family. Just dont do it. Trust me. I'm an old guy and know how this comes out in the end.

Your doing the right thing.

 

And I might note....if you have somebody in your house and they are unlicensed and you actually TOLD them that they live there....start over with another company and dont tell them this. Now if your married....your kind of screwed in that regard. But if not....DONT MENTION IT.

If you married....basically....property is community...meaning it belongs to both of you. How then...can the insurance company KNOW that you can deny her to drive the car anyway? See what I am saying? BUT...if she is just a girlfriend...DONT TELL THEM JACK SQAUAT! That actually raises your rates because they consider the real risk and possibility of the people in your house and the possibility that they will be driving your car.

Just ask yourself when they are asking you questions...why would they want to know this? That will usually keep you out of the way of higher rates if you answer the questions correctly and tell them what they are going to want to hear. Like....I live alone. No other drivers. ect ect. Its not like they are going to travel to your house to find out if you live alone or not.

 

downgrade your cell phone plan.
sell your mods.
double your haircut intervals IE if you get a cut every week. make it every 2 weeks.
buy in bulk or buy store brand foods
pack your lunch
no need to get a new place until the child is out in 7 months. thats a long ass time and alot of rent saved.
dont get a new car. buy used if you must and dont buy and SUV. its just a kid

 

The car payment and auto insurance rates are costing the OP a minimum of 25% of net income each month- that is a lot of money just for transportation! Now if you were living with your parents or something, that might be a semi-reasonable situation. It's not a good situation if the OP is paying rent like it sounds.

Combine these given car expenses with housing, credit card debt, car maintenance, state taxes, medical coverage and food and there's not a whole lot left over for savings or even cable. I didn't attempt to estimate 401k savings or saving for a house or any long term financial planning. The OP appears a little screwed for a while and really can't afford this situation kid or no kid.

I make substantially more income and would have a hard time swallowing those car insurance terms even. There is more to life than driving a fancy car! I retract the earlier advice I gave and say sell the car. Notice, I'm not advising to buy a cheaper car either.

Depending on where you live, you may want to use public transportation, car pool, or bicycle to work for a while until some debt is paid. After some savings, buy a vehicle you truly can afford keeping the car payment as well as monthly insurance payment both in mind. Ideally you should be able afford a car in which you don't need to make monthly payments for insurance- car insurance should be a 6-month payment or 3 month interval instead to really afford your ride.

Unfortunately, it's a keep up with the Jones world we live in. I didn't buy a TL until I was 45 and I felt like I could comfortably afford one. The OP has plenty of time to straighten things out and come out fine and buy a TL or better car a little later in life.

 

fellas he's got an 05 with 64K mi on it, how much he can get for it, 16-18K, so he's got no equity in the car...if anyone lives in his neck of woods hook him up with a job or something....

 

If you are not married, get married and put the TL in your wifes name. Perhaps she can get a better rate on the insurance.

 

Damn! 300+ a month for INS? Damn bro i'm 25 have a 05 TL, 09 tC, and renters INS and pay 156/month with state farm. I know guys who where 20 with DUI's paying less than that ( 270 ). Your g etting ripped or theres somthing your not telling us about your record.

Unless your getting down grading ALOT, don't get rid of your car. I don't know how much you owe, but you may lose money on trade in, etc, etc, end up saving $80 a month and driving a 05 civic or somthing...I agree you should try to trim your bills else where, if you want, i do my budget on Excell everymonth, i could send you the link, its all auto all you do is type in your bill amounts and it carrys over month to month. Its great. Also not sure about 91k after 5 years? where do you live, i'm in the fire service, i make about 50k starting a year and i max out as a base firefighter at 78k and i'm near DC. Make sure thats not like, captin pay or what not.

GOOD LUCK DUDE!

 

I have no idea why she doesn't have a license. I've been pressuring her to get a permit for about a year now and she still hasn't done it.

I'm in New York, the PD and DOC here just renegotiated their contracts. They pull in the low 90s before OT. That figure is based on salary with vacation time, holiday pay, etc. I know because the PD screened me and the DOC is screening me right now.

I obtained my license in August of 06. My only car accident was during October 06. It was raining and my 95 Mazda Protege slid and rear ended another car. The insurance company said I was at fault since I rear ended the other car. I paid for my own damages. Insurance paid for damages to the other car it couldn't be more than a few hundred.

I have no moving violations and a credit score in the mid 700s

I was paying about 320 a month at first then it jumped to 740. After that "I fled to PA" where car insurance was conveniently cheaper . My rate went all the way down to 50 a month. I would uh... flee back to Philly but you need a New York license to work for city law enforcement.

 

Potenet shmotent. That's what you get for not using a condom or any other form of birth control.

But hey, babies sell for big $$$$$ on the black market.
Maybe you can post yours here?!?!?

Is there a shotgun wedding on your horizon, DADDY?
.
.

 

Daddies of 2009... Should I buy new rims or new clothes for my toddler... You see them with flashy rims the next week.

My parents gave up everything to raise me and my sister. I love and admire them.

 

You've gotten a lot of good advice. If I could throw in my .02, I've always heard it said that the cheapest car you can drive is the one you are currently driving. I wouldn't push the panic button just yet. You still have 7 months before the baby arrives. Things can change drastically before the car really becomes a factor. Oh, and for the baby's sake I would seriously look at a more permanent commitment to your girlfriend. Paternity (ie.. child support) will always be an issue regardless of marriage or not but marriage combined with another year's aging WILL lower your insurance cost immensely. FWIW

 

I'll just have to put in some OT and tough things out. Hopefully my girl can get a job before she really starts showing.

 

I say bite the bullet and trade in your TL for a basic 3-4 year old civic. Even with zero equity, financing 6-8k will get you a car payment well on under 200 a month. From what you've said and the guy above that does insurance, your rates will be higher than normal regardless, however I'd bet that insurance on an older civic will be at least a bit cheaper than what you've got going now. You'd probably save a total of 300-400/month.

It will suck to go from a TL to a civic, but just remember it's a means to an end. In 5 years it will be paid in full and if you really will be making 91k as a cop (holy hell that's a lot for a cop in my area) you'll easily be able to afford something nicer.

 

guess it is really depending on your location but in GA i have a 08 TL-S full coverage only paying 151 a month and that is with Geico.

 

This is off topic, but, 91k! DAMN! Where are you from ?!

Not taking overtime in consideration or anything special, police officers get a max salary of 63k / yr here (Quebec)! And that's CDN. That's like 51k USD.

Quebec, fkin stinkin' hole.

 

Why not just get an older TL? Sell your TL and buy a 1999 TL with cash. That's probably what I'd do if I had to downgrade.

 

I would tough it out and keep the TL. 380 a month isn't bad. A 7% int.rate isn't bad either. Your insurance is what's hurting you.

Buying another vehicle won't really help.
1.Your payments won't be much less
2.Your insurance won't be much less either. Cheaper car doesn't mean cheaper insurance. Your insurance isn't high cause it's a TL, it's cause of your history of claims.(according to what you said). The TL is known to insurance companies to be a safe car, so that's probably as low as your insurance is gonna get with a newer car. I only pay 82.00/m for full coverage.
3.You'll have a repo on your credit history affecting your good credit score, which you know you're gonna need later.

If you really feel that you have to let the TL go, a cash car would be best. That and having somebody buy the TL from you at the payoff price and taking a small loss. Of course you can have somebody take over the payments, but that can end up bad too. Going from 800 to 1200 on your rent isn't helping either, but I don't the know the whole story. Either way, congrats on the baby and good luck with your situation.

 

Damn bro your insurance is high!!! I just got my renewal statement and there charging me $453 for six months FULL COVERAGE!!! on a 08 TL-S Im gonna pm you with there number to see if they can hook you up.

 

Brooklyn NY

 

Are you telling the insurance companies that your driving the car every day to and from work? And when they ask you about how many miles do you plan to put on the car a year, what do you tell them??

 

I tell them its only used for pleasure and I only put on about 5K a year. I spoke to a rep a couple days ago and she told mr my rates would drop in July (my birthday) and October (3 years from the date of my accident).

 

oh ok.
do you think you could hold off until your b.day in july?

 

Yeah definitely.

 

$380 is not a bad car payment, but the 60 months is just wrong. You bought way too much car for your income, bro. As a rule of thumb, if you can't pay off your ride in 3 years, you're overspending. Too late for that now, of course, but keep it in mind for next time. You can do without a TL until your income allows it. Just because someone will give you a loan doesn't mean you should take it.

There is a very low likelihood you can sell the TL for what you owe in this economy. Those 60 month loans almost always put you upside down, even on a great car like the TL. There is no chance you'll save significantly on your monthly payments by downsizing. You'll have almost the same payments and a less reliable car.

When you hit 25, your insurance will drop big time. When you get married, it will also drop significantly. Might be a good idea since you are having a kid, but that's your business.

You have a good, reliable car that will last for many years and will be suitable for carting your young family around safely. Tough it out a year or less until the insurance drops. You'll be OK.

 

I dont think babies should mean a complete lifestyle change. Maybe some sacrifises but not everything. The truth is, you should have done something about this insurance thing a long time ago, baby or no baby. And why is your rent jumping up? I say find another place to live. you still have 7 months to go b4 the babe is born. plus your GF or soon to be wife, is not helpless. she should work too up to a few months b4 the pregnancy and after.. It takes 2 to tango as they say.

If you can't lower the insurance and it must be less, then you must get a car that does not require you to pay full coverage. such as one without a lien. And that will be nice. And i'm sure you can find a car you like with little payment or soon to be nill.

Try raising your deductible to 1000 and take the states minimum liability coverage.. like 10/20/10. Sometimes even getting renters insurance can bring a deduction on your automobile for having 2 policies. and renters is usually only like $25 a mo.

and finally.. Have some faith. Trust in God. seek and you shall find. knock and the door shall be opened. ask and you shall receive. just believe. and then do... because faith without action, is dead.

 

baby should come first, not the car. get rid of the car in my opinion. i would do the same if i was in your shoes. as for the PD or DOC, hopefully they dont cancel the next class or two. good luck..