The Truth About Cheap No-Deposit Car insurance

There’s just no getting around it: Before your auto insurance coverage can actually kick in, you’re probably going to have to pay at least some of your premium up front. Whether you’re paying your yearly premium in one lump sum or in monthly installments, your insurer is definitely going to ask for something, albeit a token payment, before activating your policy. It’s simply how the insurer can make sure you are serious about the insurance policy you’ve undertaken with them.

So, if you’ve heard of companies offering very cheap car insurance with no deposit, you may be wondering how that’s possible in light of the above said statement.

It might sound like an intriguing idea, especially if you’re someone who’s monthly cash flow might not leave much wiggle room. And if you’re intent on finding cheap car insurance no deposit required there are some important things you need to know about what it actually is, where to find it, and the pros and cons of getting it. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:

What Does “No Deposit” Mean When It Comes to Car Insurance?

You may be wondering: Can I really get car insurance with no deposit? Well, sort of. It depends how you look at it. But before you get disheartened read on, because there are options to explore.

The cold, hard truth is that there’s no such thing as car insurance with “no deposit” up front, so the phrase is a bit misleading. It just isn’t a buy now, pay later kind of set up.

First, it helps to understand that what some insurers refer to as a “deposit” or “down payment” is really just up-front money you put toward your annual premium. It’s not a fee that you would get back, or have to pay extra for if the terms of the policy were broken.

A “no deposit” or “no down payment” option simply means that the only thing you have to pay up front is the first month’s premium, as opposed to a larger percentage of the annual premium. So it would be more accurate to call it car insurance with “no big deposit”, “no big deal”, right?

All of this means that if you’re trying to avoid having to make a large up-front payment, it’s possible to find cheap car insurance with no deposit when you pay monthly.

But one way or another, you’re going to have to pay something up front.

Paying Your Car insurance Monthly or in One Lump Sum – What Are the Tradeoffs?

If you’re willing to pay a higher premium over the course of the year, then you can save some money up front with “no-deposit”, or better still, “low-deposit” insurance.

Here’s how it works:

For people who pay their yearly premium in annual, semiannual, or quarterly installments, the insurer will require you to pay all, half or a quarter of your premium, respectively, up front. In exchange for paying this sum, your insurer will offer you a lower annual premium.

If you’ve chosen to make monthly payments, though, your insurer may ask you to make a “deposit” or “down payment” up front. This is just a percentage of the premium, such as the first two months of payments. The tradeoff here is that more frequent the installments you choose, the higher your annual premium will be. And if you opt for a lower or no down payment, your monthly payments will be a bit higher.

So you can still get cheap car insurance with no deposit. But the premium payments might not be as cheap as they would be if you paid more up front.

The upshot of all of this is that if you need coverage right away but don’t have enough money to cover a big down payment, a “no deposit” option could help ensure you don’t have to go the illegal, risky route of going without coverage.

How Can I Find Very Cheap Car Insurance with No Deposit Near Me?

If you’re looking for very cheap car insurance with no deposit in Texas, you’re going to come up empty. But if you’re just one state away in Oklahoma, you might be in luck.

Why? It’s because the availability of cheap car insurance without a deposit varies depending on where you live, and it’s only available in a handful of states.

Other states offering no-deposit options include:

• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• New York
• Washington

Are There Any Car Insurance Companies that Don’t Require a Deposit?

Even if you live in a state where you can find cheap car insurance with no deposit to pay, you’ll still need to find a company that offers it. Some due diligence can help you determine whether there are any car insurance companies that don’t need a deposit and will offer you a policy.

Few companies offer “no-deposit” insurance — meaning they would only require you to pay your first month’s premium — so you may have to do some digging to find one that makes this option available. Just make sure you’re working with a reputable insurer, as there are a lot of shady offers out there for “no deposit” insurance.

What Are the Best Ways to Save on My Car Insurance?

If your goal is to find very cheap car insurance with no deposit, full coverage tends to be the most expensive option.

Full coverage car insurance refers to any combination of policies beyond basic liability. It generally includes comprehensive, collision and liability coverage, but it can encompass other coverage types as well. Remember: The more coverage you buy, the more you’ll pay.

If you’re willing to go with the state-required bare minimum for liability coverage, that would be your best bet to get your car insurance policy deposit free. The tradeoff is that you’ll also have the least amount of coverage possible. So consider which scenario works best for your situation.

If you want the best of both worlds, invest a little time into shopping around and researching what is the cheapest full coverage car insurance with no deposit in your area.

And as always, a clean driving record and good credit history goes a long way toward helping you find cheaper car insurance — ideally with no deposit to pay up front.

There are also a number of car insurance discounts available if you are willing to shop around and do some research into which may apply to you and your family.

So car insurance is a given, right? Well, ideally it should be in everyone’s mind, but have you ever wondered how it works behind the policy jargon and witty advertising campaigns? We’ve put together this basic guide so you get the refresher you need before putting your hard earned money on the table, of course after you find the cheapest car insurance rates out there.

Car Insurance 101: Understanding the Basics

Car insurance provides financial protection in the case of a car accident, vandalism, theft or other incidents. As long as you have an active policy, your insurance provider can pay for vehicle repairs and medical expenses when you are in an accident. It can also protect you financially if you are responsible for someone else’s injuries or damages.

Car insurance is required in 49 states, and driving without coverage could result in fines or even jail time. When you got your first car, you probably simultaneously purchased your first auto insurance policy. You may have done so without much thought. Perhaps you purchased the most affordable policy with the coverage your state required and are still wondering “how does car insurance work?” If so, take the time to learn a little more about how car insurance works, including how to file a claim, by reading below.

The Different Types of Car Insurance Out There

Understanding how car insurance works begins with understanding the different types of coverage and which ones your policy has. The different types of coverage protect you in different situations. A few of the most common types of coverage are liability, comprehensive, uninsured driver, and collision. Below is a breakdown of each type.

Liability Coverage
All car insurance policies have liability coverage. This is coverage that pays the costs of injuries or damage to someone else or another vehicle in an accident where you are at fault. Most states require this by law.

Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive coverage is optional coverage that will protect your car against damage caused while you aren’t driving it. This could include extreme weather, falling objects, and vandalism.

Collision Coverage
Collision insurance covers damage to your own car when it is involved in an accident, no matter who is at fault. It is optional coverage, but when combined with comprehensive coverage, helps makeup what is referred to as “full coverage car insurance”.

Uninsured, or Underinsured, Motorist Coverage
If you are in an accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance or their insurance doesn’t cover the extent of the damage, an uninsured/underinsured motorist policy will cover the costs of damage to your car. This is optional coverage.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage
Personal injury protection pays for medical and rehabilitation expenses for you and your passengers, regardless of who is at fault. It is required in a number of states.

Other Optional Coverage
Some of the most common options include GAP insurance, roadside assistance, and rental reimbursement.

What Does Car Insurance Not Cover?

Some things you won’t be able to use your auto insurance policy for include normal wear & tear, rideshare platforms, and other individuals who drive your car but are not listed on the policy. While shopping around, make sure to ask what additional coverage is available to cover the things your normal policy will not cover.

How Does Auto Insurance Work – Coverage vs. Deductible

When you buy a car insurance policy, you must first designate an amount you wish to be covered for. This is usually $100,000 but can be more or less depending on your needs. While deciding this amount, you will also need to decide on an amount for your deductible.

A deductible is the amount you are responsible for paying before the insurance company will pay for anything. Most insurance companies start you with a $500 deductible. You can request to raise your deductible to $1000 or even more to help lower your monthly premium. This could lower your auto insurance bill significantly but cost you more when you make a claim.

How Much Does Car Insurance Usually Cost?

When shopping for insurance, the insurance companies will ask about your daily life such as how you use the car, where you park it, and other aspects of driving to ascertain the risk you might pose to cover you and your vehicle. These things will all play a part in how much your premium will be. A few other factors that will be considered to determine your insurance cost include:

• Credit history
• Age, gender, and location
• Driving record
• Insurance history

The amount and type of coverage you choose will also help determine the premium you will pay on a month to month, six month, or yearly basis depending on the terms of your policy. For these reasons, it is hard to predict the costs of insurance because they are specific to each driver.

How to File a Car Insurance Claim with Your Insurance Company

To use your car insurance after an accident or damage to your vehicle, you will need to file a claim. Your insurance will cover damages for an accident where you are at-fault. If your car was damaged by another driver, their insurance will cover the costs of damages. When both parties are at fault, you’ll want to file a claim with both parties’ insurance providers. Things can get confusing when trying to actually use your insurance policy, and that is why it is important to understand how to file a claim when the time comes.

Immediately following the accident, there are a few items of information you should collect if possible, including:

• Photographs of any damage to vehicles and the scene of the accident
• Policy numbers for all involved parties
• Names of witnesses and the responding police officer
• License plate numbers and descriptions of the cars

Filing a claim usually begins with a call to the car insurance company, but sometimes you are able to file a claim online. After a car insurance representative collects the initial data about an auto accident, a claim number is assigned and a claim set up. This claim is a record of the actual auto accident that is linked to a specific auto policy. From here, the claim is assigned to a claims adjuster who will investigate the claim through a series of tasks.

Once an adjuster has completed their investigation, the car insurance company will make a payment either directly to you or the repair shop. Keep in mind, depending on your policy, you may have a deductible that you will be responsible to pay before any payments are made by the insurance provider.

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance that Checks Off All the Boxes

Before settling on one insurance company, shop around to ensure you are truly getting cheap car insurance. The best way to shop for auto insurance is to compare policy offerings and discounts from multiple companies, but it is important to make sure you are comparing the same coverage limits and deductibles. Getting quotes from several insurers can be time-consuming, to say the least. That’s why CCI is here to help you get multiple quotes in minutes, so you can easily find the best policy with the right amount of coverage.

Many of us know we have to have car insurance in order to get our license and tags. However, there are some that don’t fully understand what is car insurance or how it will actually protect them. If after reading this piece, you are still wondering how auto insurance works, feel free to reach out to one of our insurance experts. We will gladly answer any questions you have and help find the right insurance policy for you.

The main question you will want t the answer to is “How much will young driver insurance cost me?” The answer is insuring teen driver will set their parents back about $1,500 a year on average.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to get the cheapest auto insurance for teens. If you shop around for the best rates and look for teen driver discounts, you should be able to get your teen on the road without breaking the bank, and we’re sure you’d like to have that money available for something else.

Why Teens Drive Up the Cost of Car Insurance

It’s pricy to add your teen to your policy because drivers in that age group are riskier to insure. In fact, teen drivers have three times as many accidents as drivers 20 and older, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. These are statistics that both you and your insurer of choice will have to reckon with.

Here are some of the factors that are likely to lead to teen driver crashes. Most are preventable:

Driver Error

When you’re new to something, you are more likely to make mistakes. It’s as simple as that. Your teen must be aware of the responsibility they have to themselves, their family, and other drivers, because errors on the road can be costly and life-changing. Make sure the young driver of the house has a safe vehicle to drive and their head in the right place.

Speeding

Young drivers may not understand the consequences of their actions as well as adults do. This means something as simple as going a few miles an hour over the speed limit can have very different outcomes depending on your age. Some teenagers also get cars that are built to thrill, which may increase the risk of accident even more.

Teen Passengers

Distractions can also play a serious role in driving safely. When there are other teen passengers in the car, there can be conversations, selfies, dancing, you name it… we’ve heard it all. It is very exciting to gain the freedom of movement, but no car parties please. Many states have even imposed laws on the number of passengers a teen driver is allowed to carry.

Alcohol

For teen drivers getting their driver license is one of the first steps into the adult world. Unfortunately, the second is usually alcohol consumption. When the two mix, it can have potentially devastating consequences. Have the talk with your kids so they know what they are risking.

Nighttime Driving

The road is full of unexpected surprises. Due to lack of visibility, many of the worst accidents happen at night. Tell your teen to take it easy on the gas pedal and be extra careful at intersections and on the highway.

Fortunately, many states require graduated driver licensing programs for teens, which can help reduce the risk of crashes. Teen driving safety increases when teens get driving permits at age 16 or older, receive 70 or more hours of supervised driving instruction, and gradually get more driving privileges as they gain experience on the road.

Finding the Cheapest Car Insurance for Teens

As a parent, it pays to think not only about keeping your teen safe on the road but also about keeping your car insurance costs down. Here are six ways to get the cheapest car insurance for teens:

Shop around. When adding your teen to your policy, it’s smart to get quotes from multiple insurers even if you’ve been with the same company for years. One way to shop around is by getting online insurance quotes for teens. Or, an independent agent or broker can shop multiple insurers for you, says Keith Balsiger, president of Balsiger Insurance, an insurance agency with three locations in Nevada. Rates for teen drivers definitely vary by insurer, he says.

Tie car privileges to good grades. Many insurers offer good student discounts, usually for kids who have a solid A or B average on their report card. If your child makes straight As, you’re in luck. If not, it might pay off to encourage your teen to study harder before you hand over the car keys. A good student discount could shave 25 percent off the base rate for young drivers, Balsiger says.

Have your teen take a safe driving class. In addition to giving you a little more peace of mind, enrolling your child in a defensive driving class could lower your auto insurance costs. For example, Nationwide offers discounts for completion of defensive driver training. And Liberty Mutual offers discounts for parents of teens who complete online teen driving course called teenSMART, which cuts the risk of getting into a collision by 30 percent.

Don’t let your kid drive the expensive car. One way to save money on insurance is to have your kid drive a safe, sensible used car rather than handing over the keys to your shiny luxury sedan. However, insurers don’t want to be told the kid is driving the beat-up Corolla wagon when he’s mostly behind the wheel of the new Mercedes convertible. So, some insurers blend the rate across all vehicles in the household, while others assign the youthful driver to the most expensive vehicle the family owns, Balsiger says. “What you want to do is find a carrier that rates the teen driver on the vehicle they actually drive the most,” he says.

Consider a policy with accident forgiveness. It’s not uncommon for teens to have an accident, even if it’s just a run-in with the neighbor’s mailbox, while they’re getting comfortable behind the wheel. A collision can increase your rates by 30 percent, according to Nationwide. However, if you get a policy with accident forgiveness, the first accident will not hike your rates.

Make your kid sign a contract. Making sure your teen drives safely is important both for your peace of mind as a parent and your insurance rates. If your policy doesn’t have accident forgiveness and your teen has an accident, your rates will rise. And a violation like speeding or a DUI also may cause your rates to spike. Teach your teen about safe driving practices like not giving rides to groups of friends and putting the phone away while driving. Consider getting a safe driving commitment from your kid in writing. Liberty Mutual offers a teen driving contract you can print out for your teen to sign.

Look at what wider discounts are available as a family. We’ve  put together the ultimate set of tips to find cheap car insurance to help you along the way. Many insurers offer military discounts, and others that you will be able to apply to a multi-car family policy.

Following these tips to get the cheapest car insurance for teens should help you teach your teen the rules of the road without having to pay a fortune in car insurance costs.

No One in California Likes Going to the DMV

From coast to coast, Americans agree – having to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles is basically hell. While the general attitude and pace of DMV employees are well-known comedic stereotypes, nothing beats the wait times. Even with the advent of booking in advance and checking wait times online before you go, the agony of the DMV waiting room is a special kind of suffering.

Nowhere is that truer than in California. The Golden State is said to have some of the worst DMV wait times in the country, so we wanted to know just how bad the average DMV California (CA) wait time really is.We watched their online portals for three weeks, collecting data on DMV wait times from 134 different field offices to determine where in sunny California the dark cloud of the DMV looms largest. Read on to see what we discovered about DMV wait times.

Wait Times at California DMVs Top the List of Grievances

California is one of the largest U.S. states – only Alaska and Texas cover more area. It also happens to have the largest population of any state. Census data suggest that more than 39 million people currently live in beautiful, scenic California. That means, depending on where you live in the state, DMV traffic can be pretty severe.

Sacramento, California’s state capital, takes the prize for longest DMV wait times among California DMV locations – averaging more than 105 minutes. That might be worse than the wait at most Disneyland attractions and without the satisfaction of a much-enjoyed ride at the end.

Los Angeles-area DMV offices, such as downtown Los Angeles (almost 93 minutes), Hollywood (87 minutes) and Long Beach (86 minutes) were not much better than Sacramento. As the most populated city in all of California, the City of Angels has more than just notoriously bad traffic – it also has three of the top five worst DMV wait times in all of California. Some have suggested that these wait times may be due in part to a new law enacted in California last year that allows state residents the opportunity to apply for licenses legally without having to prove U.S. citizenship.

However, DMV wait times weren’t all doom and gloom in California. Areas like Red Bluff and Napa had fewer than 10-minute wait times. While these may be some of the less populated areas of the state, their wait times are nothing to whine about compared to most California DMV locations. 

The Best (and Worst) California DMVs

Use our interactive guide to see just where in California the wait times are the longest. We measured the average wait time for patrons waiting without an appointment. Because the DMV California (CA) wait time usually passes well into an hour (or more) in some places, we highly recommend booking online whenever possible – or at least bringing a nice book to read.

Avoid Mondays and Fridays at Your Local CA DMV

The DMV may be a Monday through Friday operation, but not all weekdays are created equal. We looked at each day of the week to see what is the best day to go to the DMV – when you might be able to get right in and out, and when you should probably plan to stay awhile.

With limited-to-no services offered Saturday or Sunday, the busiest days for California DMVs were on Mondays and Fridays.

If you have the time and willpower, getting to the DMV between 8 and 9 a.m. may be your best bet. Wait times were shortest every day during the early morning. However, if you can’t make the morning hours work, you might want to try right around 5 p.m. Further, wait times around 6 p.m. were the worst, averaging just about – or more than – an hour every day.

Midweek days, such as Wednesday and Thursday, offered the best DMV waiting times for a relatively expeditious turnaround. However, depending on the time of day, you might still find yourself waiting 30 minutes or longer without an appointment.

List of Average DMV Wait Times by City

Los Angeles may be home to the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, but that doesn’t do much to relieve the pressures those living there feel at the DMV. With more than 20 different DMV California field offices to pick from, some had much worse wait times than others. The downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and Long Beach DMV California field offices averaged between 86 and almost 93 minutes when waiting without an appointment. The good news? You could knock that wait time down to 5 to 15 minutes if you book in advance through online registration.

Booking an appointment before heading to the DMV could save you a lot of time. At some LA field offices, such as Van Nuys and Fullerton, booking ahead could save you 50 minutes or more. In the Hollywood Department of Motor Vehicles office, the difference was staggering – more thanan 87-minute wait without an appointment and fewer than 5 minutes with an appointment. You don’t need to be a celebrity to get VIP treatment in this part of Hollywood – you just need to plan and have some technical savvy.

Downtown LA Has Some of the Longest Wait Times

Los Angeles might have its ups and downs with DMV wait times, but downtown LA is pretty cut and dry. Without an appointment, those visiting can expect to wait roughly anywhere between 90 to 110 minutes to be seen. Based on the wait times that we examined, Friday was the worst day to visit.

Shorten Your Wait in Line by Choosing the Right Time of Day

Rush-hour traffic in LA can be just as miserable. It’s possible certain peaks might relate to carefully considered lunch hour errands in favor of postwork traffic delays. The time between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. had the longest wait – averaging more than 100 minutes every day of the week.

Bay Area DMVs Aren’t Much Better

The Bay Area might be one of the best cities in the country for public transportation, but San Francisco and the surrounding areas still utilize the DMV quite frequently. Outside the main city, DMV wait times at Walnut Creek, the Oakland Coliseum and Concord were the worst – they averaged between 62 and 78 minutes for a customer without an appointment. Not even the splendid Bay view can help temper the frustration of waiting for your number to be called at these offices.

However, in San Francisco, Corte Madera and Novato, wait times were significantly shorter. They averaged between 14 and 20 minutes (you might not even be able to scroll through your entire Instagram feed before making it up to the counter). These quick turnarounds may be due to the decreasing number of young people who are driving in the city.

Parts of San Diego County are No Walk in the Park Either

San Diego is the eighth largest U.S. city based on population and second most populated city in California (second only to LA).

In Poway, located in San Diego County, wait times for the DMV climb by more than 86 minutes. San Marcos Rancheros, San Ysidro and El Cajon are among those that also averaged more than an hour wait without an appointment at their Department of Motor Vehicles.

The best wait time averages were in the San Diego office, but unfortunately, it’s still more than 57 minutes. Thankfully, there are more than just beautiful views to keep you occupied in America’s Finest City while you’re waiting.

Best Ways to Pass the Time in Line at the DMV

The DMV isn’t exactly known as one of the most rewarding human experiences – but at some point or another, most of us will find ourselves there. In California, the wait times can be especially horrendous. In places like Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego, there isn’t much you can do to escape the insufferable service wait times (besides, of course, booking online before you go).

Here are a couple of ideas to pass the time if you happen to find yourself waiting an eternity for the DMV to call your number.

You can also take the opportunity to check CheapCarInsurance.net and make sure you aren’t overpaying for car insurance. Like waiting at the DMV, car insurance is a part of life on the road, but it doesn’t have to be painful. Visit us online today to compare car insurance premiums in your area and make sure you’re getting the best deal and service available. Your free, customized quote only takes minutes to prepare and can save you thousands of dollars a year over overpriced providers. That’s worth a few of those extra minutes — and we’re never closed.

Methodology

We scraped www.dmv.ca.gov for three weeks, collecting data from 134 California DMV field offices that report their wait times online. We collected the online times once per hour five days a week. We then created our DMV wait times averages by day and time. For the U.S. map, we pulled data from a study by dmv.com.

Sources

https://www.dmv.ca.gov
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-zootopia-production-20160304-story.html
http://lifehacker.com/5974078/how-to-get-through-the-dmv-with-your-sanity-intact
http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20150331/how-bad-is-traffic-in-los-angeles-new-report-says-its-the-worst
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/01/30/california-dmv-wait-times-on-the-rise-as-immigrants-apply-for-drivers-licenses/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/even-google-is-waiting-on-the-dmv_us_5649f15ee4b08cda3489971c
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/5aa16cd3-39a5-402f-9453-0d353706cc9a/official.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
http://la.curbed.com/2014/3/5/10136008/the-absolute-worst-times-to-drive-on-every-freeway-in-la
https://smartasset.com/mortgage/best-cities-for-public-transportation
http://sfappeal.com/2013/10/sfs-car-contradiction-while-more-people-choose-not-to-drive-number-of-cars-registered-in-sf-continues-to-rise/
http://www.ranker.com/list/most-beautiful-cities-in-the-us/ranker-travel
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Most-Attractive-City-Travel-Leisure-283206391.html
http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/here-are-the-some-of-the-most-bizarre-dmv-horror-storie-1711970247
http://thoughtcatalog.com/johanna-mort/2015/09/19-foolproof-ways-to-pass-the-time-at-the-dmv/

Fair Use Statement

If you find yourself waiting in any of these DMV offices and feel like sharing our findings or images, please just remember to link back to this page so that our contributors get credit. You’ll probably have more than enough time.

Cars are essential to daily living, allowing young professionals to commute to work each day and entire families to jump from one activity to the next. Cars are the ultimate status symbol, too, and owners are proud to showcase their great paint jobs and shiny surfaces to show how much care and pride they’ve put into their ride.

People who own vehicles can be inventive at finding ways to improve the ride, whether it’s for maintenance and cleaning, storage, emergency fixes, or driving efficiency. We’ve compiled this ultimate car hack list to cover everything that entails driving, riding in, and owning a car so that you don’t need to look anywhere else. You’re welcome!

Cleaning and Storage

1. Clean your headlights with toothpaste. Rub ¼ teaspoon of paste onto a headlight and buff with a piece of cloth until the sticky residue is gone. Your headlights will stay clear even after it rains!

2. Store car essentials easily by hanging a shoe organizer onto the back of the front seats. All those pockets give tons of storage options, and everything can be accessed easily. Try a shoe organizer with clear pockets so you can identify what’s in it right away and grab what you need.

3. What keeps your hair shiny can do the same for your car. Use hair conditioner give your car a new look without having to spend hours waxing and buffing it. After a gentle wash using water mixed with a tiny amount of dish soap, run a microfiber cloth soaked in diluted hair conditioner over the entire car before hosing it down. Get the exact formula here.

4. Declutter your windshield by stripping off old registration stickers without leaving a mess. The trick is to wet the sticker enough to weaken the adhesive. Soak a piece of cloth with warm water and hold it under and against the sticker for a few minutes. Peel the sticker away carefully and then give your windshield a once over with glass cleaner to erase the sticky spots.

You can also pour some water onto a piece of cling wrap and stick it onto the registration sticker to get the same effect.

5. They sound like great ideas, but using a vacuum and tape roller just won’t cut it when trying to remove pet hair from upholstery. Simply take a rubber glove and run it all over the affected area until the fibers turn into clumps that you can easily pick up.

6. No need for expensive bug solutions that don’t work well. Gently remove dead bugs from the front of your car using just water and dryer sheets. Place a dryer sheet in a spray bottle with some water and spray onto the bug mess. After a few minutes, the bug residue will easily come away when you rub it off with another dryer sheet.

7. Say goodbye to trash in your car by chucking it into a plastic cereal box that you can keep by your feet. The lid keeps odors from spreading throughout the vehicle, and lining the box with a plastic bag makes for easy cleaning.

8. Traveling with kids can be a pain when they start bickering with each other in the backseat. Use a shower caddy as a distracting seat divider by storing things they can use for fun activities during the drive, such as toys, books and crayons. The caddy can be a cinch to remove when grownups need to ride in the back.

9. Get rid of unsightly scuffs on your car by rubbing some toothpaste on them. Toothpaste not only cleans your teeth but it can also keep your car surface spotless.

10. Keep your pets safe and comfortable during travel by placing a car seat hammock in the back. A car seat hammock looks like a big blanket that can be hooked onto the headrests of your car. Using it prevents your furry friend from falling onto the floor whenever you hit the brakes. Learn how to make one here.

11. An empty gum container can hold your loose change better than your coin tray, which can be used for something else when needed.

12. If you run out of windshield washer fluid (yep, that’s the stuff that squirts onto your windshield to clean it), make your own! You can make it with diluted glass cleaner, a mix of dish soap and ammonia, or vinegar or water (only in cold weather—vinegar can stink in warm weather!). Get the formulations here.

13. Cup holders are super useful, but the worst thing about them is having to fish the gunk that you find at the bottom: crumbs, sticky spills, etc. Keep your cup holders clean by putting in silicone cupcake liners that you can easily take out to wash.

14. Use a can of compressed air to blast dirt out of your air conditioning vents. If the air seems a little musty after doing this, you can place a cotton ball with a few drops of essential oils between the vents when the air conditioning is turned on.

15. Reach the small crevices of air vents and other parts of your dashboard by using cotton balls, swabs or sponges to clean them.

16. Easily clean the interior of your car with wipes. Save up on auto detailing wipes by making your own using thick paper towels and a nifty cleaning solution that you can find here.

17. Whether it’s food, dirt under their shoes, or art supplies, a mess can be made by children on the floor of your car during travel. Place a rag mat on the floors so you can easily take them out to clean them at the end of the trip.

18. Commercial cleaners for the car can be expensive, toxic and hard to use. Get stubborn stains out of upholstery or carpets with a DIY cleaner made of hydrogen peroxide and essential oils. Find out how to make the cleaner and take the stain out here.

19. Your SUV has a lot of space in the back that can further be optimized to carry more things. Double that space using this DIY shelf that provides two levels of storage. Meanwhile say goodbye to squished groceries.

20. Utilize the space between car seats and store knick-knacks or important objects with a remote control caddy. Every seat can help carry multiple objects.

21. Hooking a carabiner somewhere in the backseat has many uses. You can hang coats and dry cleaning so that the hangers aren’t sticking out awkwardly. Hang grocery bags as well to prevent them from rolling around on your backseat and possibly falling onto the floor.

22. That tray underneath your car stereo can do with some hacking. Use small trays to organize odds and ends such as coins, sunglasses and audio jacks.

23. For extra storage inside the car, attach a bungee net to the roof handles. This allows you to make use of the extra overhead space.

24. These days, it’s important to place your phone or GPS device where you can see it to navigate properly. Use binder clips to make a very flexible phone or GPS mount. Instructions can be found here.

25. Or, if you don’t feel like doing too much assembly, you can thread a rubber band through the air vents to hold your phone in place.

26. Keep all your car fluids where you can easily access them. Use a shower caddy to organize fluids in your trunk.

27. Your windshield can accumulate some tough messes such as dead insects, paint splashes and sap. Carefully scrape your windshield with a razorblade to get the worst of it off. The windshield can then be buffed with glass cleaner to remove the rest.

28. Those backseat activities during a long road trip can tend to get messy, especially when children are using art materials. Use an iron and paper bag to get crayon stains out of your upholstery.

29. Keep a newly cleaned car smelling fresh using a DIY air freshener made of baking soda and essential oils.

30. Streaky windshield wipers are annoying and can further obscure a driver’s vision. Clean your windshield wipers with alcohol for a smooth wipe.

31. A little extra TLC goes a long way with car leather, allowing you to have gleaming surfaces in your car that look classy. Clean your car leather with a mixture made of olive and essential oil plus water.

32. After washing your tires, you can make your hubcaps gleam by cleaning them with baking soda. Simply add half a cup of baking soda and one tablespoon of dish soap to two cups of water and rub the mixture onto your tires and hubcaps.

Emergency Fixes

1. Minor dents in your car can be removed using a plunger. Just pour some hot, soapy water onto the car surface to give the plunger proper suction, place the plunger in the middle of the dent, and pump a few times until the dent pops out.

2. Some older cars don’t have a cupholder, making on-the-go beverages a luxury you can’t have. Use a tape roll to serve as a makeshift cupholder.

3. Corrosion at your battery terminals can cause problems for you on the road. Use soda to remove corrosion during an emergency situation by pouring some directly on the battery’s problematic spots.

4. If the fan belt breaks, replace it with pantyhose so you can bring your car into the shop.

5. Keep a small crack on your windshield from spreading with clear nail polish. Dab an appropriate amount on the crack to lengthen the life of your windshield.

6. If you find yourself locked out of your car, there’s a simple method to use that won’t scratch it up. Unlock a car with shoelace by making a slipknot and inserting the lace through the door. You can use the knot to “grab” the lock, tighten it, and pull the lace up to unlock the door.

7. Scratches on your paint job are unsightly, and there are times when it would be difficult to bring your vehicle to the shop. Make a quick, temporary fix by applying nail polish closest to your car’s color on the offending marks.

Winter-proof for the Holidays

1. Mother Nature can help defrost your car during winter. Try parking your car facing east so that when daylight comes the sun will help melt the ice that has formed on it.

2. Your car door locks can freeze overnight, and it would be a bad idea to force your key in because it might snap off in the cold. Unfreeze your lock with hand sanitizer by applying it directly to the lock. It always pays to keep a bottle in your car, especially since it also serves as a disinfectant.

3. With colder temperatures outside of your car, your body warmth and breath can quickly fog up your windshield and windows, making for dangerous driving conditions. Applying shaving cream to windows and wiping it off will defog them better than anything else.

4. Windows can also frost up inside your car because of higher moisture levels. Make sure to remove any liquids like bottled water before you leave your car overnight. Place some cat litter in a sock and leave it in the car overnight to prevent frost.

5. Cat litter can also be used to help get you out of a slippery situation. When your car can’t move because of the ice, put cat litter under your tires to get traction. Another pro tip is to always keep a huge bag of cat litter in your car so that the added weight can push down on your rear tires and improve traction as well.

6. Your tires will need to be in tip-top shape (read: enough threading) for you to be able to drive on ice and snow. Check tire threads with the penny test for safe driving. Find out how here.

7. If you find your windshield and windows iced over after a night in the outdoors, melt the frost with a mixture of vinegar and water. Get the proper proportions here.

8. Did you forget your ice scraper at home on the first snow day of winter? Use any plastic card as an emergency ice scraper.

9. When the cold weather comes, your car becomes a warm and inviting place for small animals. Mouse-proof your vehicle by putting dryer sheets under the hood.

10. Use old socks to cover windshield wipers during a night outdoors so that they don’t freeze to your windshield. It would help to raise them first as well.

11. Prevent car doors from freezing shut by spraying a layer of cooking oil on the rubber lining and wiping it down with a piece of cloth.

12. Protect your side mirrors from the icy elements and prevent them from freezing by placing plastic bags over them. Gallon-sized Ziplocs work well for this.

13. Store some flattened cardboard boxes in your trunk to use for traction in the snow. Place them under your tires as you drive away.

More Cool Tips

1. In a large parking lot, you can unlock your car sooner by increasing the range of your key fob. Holding your key fob up to your chin basically makes use of the fluids in your body to act as an antenna extension.

2. Remember where you parked with the simplest tool ever: your smartphone’s camera. Take a photo of the section of the parking lot, noting the letter and number painted on the nearest column to where you parked.

3. Save fuel by switching off the engine after more than 10 seconds of being motionless—this is better than staying idle. Avoid stop-start driving to further save on fuel.

4. Always make sure that your tires are inflated to the maximum so that the drive becomes smoother, which will allow you to save gas. It would be great to check tire pressure every other time you gas your car up.

5. Sometimes, human error can strike even in the comfort of your own garage, resulting in you driving into the wall. This nifty device that employs a tennis ball to help you gauge when your car is the right distance from the wall. Here is how to make it.

6. Driving a car that isn’t yours? Here’s how to tell on which side to gas up: the fuel gauge usually has an arrow indicating where your gas tank’s cap is situated.

7. Protect your car doors from hitting the garage walls with plastic noodles. Cut one plastic noodle in half and place each half on either side of your car, around the height where the car door is most likely to hit the wall.

8. Use reflective paint on the inside of your car door (where the lock mechanism is) so that it can easily be seen by people or cars passing by when it’s open. Here is how to apply the paint. Alternatively, you can also use reflective tape.

9. Make your car documents more easily accessible by keeping them in an organizer in the glove compartment. This way, it’s easy to find them when they need to be taken out.

10. You can make a cool tissue dispenser that fits into your cup holder by placing tissues in a recycled coffee cup. This cup gets your tissues off the floor and allows you to recycle all the extra napkins you get with take-out. Find the tutorial here.

11. Here’s a really easy way to cool down a hot car: Open one window in front; go to the opposite door and flap it open and closed five times in succession. This action will cause a one-way air flow that will significantly lower the temperature of your car.

12. Make a DIY diffuser for your car by gluing felted balls onto a clothespin and dropping essential oils on them. Clip the clothespin onto your air vent and the musty smell will be banished from the vehicle.

13. Turn your steering wheel 180 degrees when parking on a hot day to lessen the heat on the top. When you return to the car, the part of the steering wheel you usually hold will be cooler to the touch.

14. Make iced water for your road trip by turning a half-filled Nalgene bottle on its side in the freezer. Upon taking it out, you can pour water in and have cold water in the car for hours.

15. A shower caddy can also be used for no-mess drive-thru eating, especially when kids are involved.

16. Make an iPad holder for your car’s head rest—you can show your children’s favorite movies to keep the entertained during an especially long trip. Here’s how to make one on your own.

17. Use tea infusers and natural herbs to make a DIY car freshener. Combinations of rosemary leaves, cinnamon sticks, lavender, and other plants make for a cheap way to leave your car smelling great.

18. This DIY seatbelt pillow is convenient and comfortable. It even has a pocket for your smartphone or media player. Here’s how to make it.

If you’ve ever had the bad luck of being hit on the head by the trunk of your car, jammed a finger in a closing car door, or fell while getting out of your truck, you’re not alone.

An estimated 647,000 people were injured each year in 2011 and 2012 in non-crash car injuries, according to a March 2015 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA.

Some people may shake off these injuries as nothing and won’t seek medical attention. Others will go to their doctor or a hospital emergency room and have their health insurance pay for treatment.

If a vehicle led to the injury, even if it’s not involved in a crash, car insurance will often pay for the treatment — a consideration many injured people may not think about because their first inclination is likely to go to their health care provider.

Personal injury protection may help

Many non-crash injuries should be covered if your auto insurance policy has personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments (MedPay) coverage.

PIP generally covers bodily injuries from the ownership, maintenance or use of a vehicle. MedPay typically covers injuries that happen while someone is in the vehicle, including entering and exiting it.

State laws and an insurance company’s own rules can cause policies to vary. Contact your insurance agent for definitions of bodily injury under PIP and MedPay coverage.

In Massachusetts, for example, PIP coverage applies to the following individuals, says Ramsey Bahrawy, a lawyer in North Andover, MA:

• Anyone occupying the insured vehicle with consent;
• The insured or insured member of the household who is injured while occupying an automobile not having PIP coverage or if struck as a pedestrian by an auto not having PIP coverage; and
• Any pedestrian struck by the insured auto in Massachusetts or any Massachusetts resident struck by the insured auto outside of the state. New Hampshire pedestrians are not covered by PIP if struck in New Hampshire by a Massachusetts vehicle.

PIP doesn’t cover motorcycles or their passengers and isn’t payable if workers’ compensation benefits are available to the claimant, Bahrawy says.

Personal injury protection is required by law in Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah. MedPay is required as part of car insurance coverage in Maine and New Hampshire.

Most other states offer PIP or MedPay as optional coverage’s.

MedPay will pay directly to the injured if the injuries are directly related to a crash, in, upon, exiting or entering a vehicle, Bahrawy says. The person must occupy the insured vehicle with consent.

There’s also the issue of if your car insurance company requires its coverage to be primary or secondary to health coverage.

“So many carriers want to be secondary if there’s a primary” health insurer, says Dan Young, senior vice president of insurance relations at Carstar, an auto body repair service.

One of the main benefits of MedPay is that there isn’t a deductible, whereas most health insurance requires a deductible, Young says. That’s less money out of the injured person’s pocket.

If you don’t have health insurance, PIP or MedPay can help pay for medical treatment when it’s needed the most.

Common non-crash auto injuries

Here are some of the most common ways to be injured by a car, most of which don’t involve the car being in an accident, and if auto insurance will cover the related medical treatment:

• Hand slammed in door, trunk lid, etc.: The NHTSA reported 132,000 annual injuries, or 20 percent overall, from a closing door. It’s the most common injury listed in the report. Being stuck by a trunk lid happened 10,000 times, or in 5 percent of non-crash incidents, and being struck by the hood happened 5,000 times, or in 2 percent of cases. An estimated 2,000 people were injured closing a window. Fortunately, most people — 94 percent — were treated and released for non-crash injuries, the NHTSA reports. Slamming a finger or other body part in a closing car door, or being hit by a trunk lid, should be covered by your auto insurance policy’s PIP or MedPay coverage.
• Jump or fall out: A fall from a vehicle, whether on purpose such as jumping out of a truck bed, or on accident, happened 75,000 times per year, or 12 percent of the time, the NHTSA found. A total of 147,000 people, or 23 percent of non-crash accidents, happened from entering or exiting a vehicle.You’re considered a vehicle occupant during such incidents, when PIP and medical payments should cover the injuries. If you’re among the 38,000 people annually who fall from vehicles, such as sitting on the tailgate or take a misstep, your injuries should also be covered by PIP or MedPay. In general, coverage applies when the injury is casually related to the driving or use of the car, says Jonathan Stein, a lawyer in Elk Grove, California. “If your kid is playing on the car and using it to hide during a game of ‘war,’ then the injury is not covered if they hurt themselves,” Stein says. “You need to generally be driving the car and have the injury casually related to the driving of the car.”
• Overexertion: This injury, such as from unloading cargo, is the third most common non-crash injury the NHTSA reported, with 68,000 incidents per year, making up 11 percent of all non-crash incidents. Don’t expect your car insurer to cover it. It will likely be described as a self-inflicted injury that could have been prevented by pacing yourself and isn’t directly related to the operation of your car.
• Kicking a car: About 55,000 people injure themselves each year by hitting or kicking a vehicle. However angry you are, kicking, hitting or somehow striking your car are intentional acts that are unlikely to be covered by auto insurance if they lead to injuries. You’ll likely need to use health insurance for such injuries.

Social media negotiations such as text messages, however, are quickly gaining ground.

Swapalease.com, a middleman between sellers and buyers of car leases, has found that about 25% of its customers use text messages to negotiate their deals, up from about 5% in 2010.

Text messages are a quick way to negotiate factors such as financial incentives offered by sellers, how the buyer will get the car, if the car’s still available and current mileage, for example.

Texts are usually responded to quicker than phone calls, says Brad Rogers, a Swapalease customer in Ohio who sold a car lease.

“Everyone checks their texts and emails all day long, so we communicated very well,” Rogers says of the 10 or so texts and emails he and a buyer sent to each other during the process.

With 82% of people using smartphones to browse the Internet, according to Nielsen’s 2013 Mobile Consumer Report, text messages are a natural way to negotiate a deal, says Scot Hall, executive vice president of operations at Swapalease. One in five digital auto buyers used their tablets or smartphones to research their vehicle purchase, according to a J.D. Power study.

“Texting is just another form of email” that’s quick and easy, Hall says.

People want out of car leases for all kinds of reasons, he says, including lifestyle changes such as moving or having children, or not be able to afford the car anymore. After a virtual handshake on a deal online, buyers must undergo a credit check and sign paperwork from the leasing company.

While face-to-face or at least phone conversations may be best for both sides, they’re not always possible, Hall says. With text and emails, negotiators should be wary of being scammed as they would with anything else online.

“With any type of online transaction you have to have your guard up,” he says.

Rogers, the car lease seller, says it was something he thought of. “That’s always in the back of your mind,” he says. “Is this a legitimate person, can they afford this car?”

The chance to negotiate with someone in person isn’t going away, but it’s slowly becoming less common.

“As people become more and more accustomed to doing things in an online environment, that does take out some of the personal side of that, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” Hall says.

For Ron Stern, who sold a truck lease in Michigan, texting is part of his daily worklife as a contractor, and is as natural as any other way of working with people.

“I’m used to texting for business every day,” Stern says. “It’s just sort of natural for how I do business.”

At a time when the Internet is changing jobs and how people communicate, text messages can be the most modern way to get a deal done.

“With today’s technology it’s par for the course. It’s a part of doing business,” he says.

Aaron Crowe is a journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area who covers the auto industry for CheapCarInsurance.net.

Reading a car dealer’s invoice or purchase order for your new car can make you feel as though you’re reading a foreign language. There are a myriad of things to consider when you are purchasing a new vehicle, from finding an affordable car insurance policy, to reading the fine print on the list of extra surcharges.

The terms can be confusing, and unless you question them before you drive your vehicle off the lot, you may be stuck paying extra dealer fees for something you don’t really want or need. Before asking for dealer fees to be taken off your bill, you have to understand what they are.

People are often faced with many fees when buying a car, not to mention sales tax. A dealer’s invoice will list some fees, but it mostly shows the dealer’s cost to buy the car from the manufacturer. However, that cost won’t include discounts and incentives that dealers get when buying from manufacturers, making the car dealer’s cost cheaper than it appears on the paperwork.

Instead of relying on the invoice to reveal dealership fees, car buyers should ask for the purchase order for the car they want to buy, says LeeAnn Shattuck, chief “car chick” at Women’s Automotive Solutions, a car buying service. And do it long before you write a check to purchase a vehicle.

“You do not want to see those fees when you’re ready to sign on the dotted line,” Shattuck says.

The purchase order will list the buyer’s total price to get the car out the door, she says.

“Most dealers are pretty good about advertising the full price,” she says, including fees and tax information.

Some fees are a part of doing business and should be paid by the dealer, and others usually fall to the customer, such as sales tax. But there are some car dealer fees to avoid if you plan to purchase a vehicle. Here are some dealer fees to look out for, and question, on that order:

Destination Charge. Also called a shipping charge or delivery charge, this can be about $800 and is what the manufacturer charges to deliver a car to the dealership. It’s a fee that can’t be avoided and is simply part of the price of every new car, Shattuck says.

When advertising a car’s price, some dealers will subtract the destination charge from the advertised price and then add it later, making the car look less expensive than it is, she says. Or it will be in the fine print of the dealership ad.

Dealer Add-Ons. Also called dealer accessories, these don’t have to be disclosed line for line, and can range from $50 to $250 per item, and $600 total, Shattuck says.

They’re things added by the dealer to your car, which you can sometimes get the dealer to remove, she says, though some are too difficult to take off of the vehicle. They include pinstriping, wheel locks, mud guards, and nitrogen in tires. Nitrogen doesn’t expand or contract under extreme temperatures, and it is meant to provide more stable air pressure when it’s extremely hot in the summer or cold in the winter, she says.

Other dealer add-ons include rust, paint and fabric protection — all things you probably don’t need and may be able to remove during car negotiation prior to buying.

Documentation Fee. Also called an administrative fee, it can go from $500 to $800 and covers a dealer’s paperwork costs. Some states cap this dealership fee, such as $100 in New Jersey, Shattuck says, while others don’t have a limit.

“All it is is dealer profit,” she says.

California has a flat rate of $65 for documentation fees, while they can range from $359 to $800 in Nevada where they aren’t regulated, says Sarah Lee, owner of My Carlady, a car buying service.

The doc fee can’t be negotiated because anti-discrimination laws require that it be the same fee for everyone and that one class of people, for example, can’t be charged a lower fee than someone else, Shattuck says. Either everyone pays the same fee, or they don’t pay it at all.

Buyers can try to get around it by either shopping around at different dealers for the lowest doc fees, or asking a dealer to deduct the amount of the doc fee from the price of the car, Shattuck says.

Market Adjustment Fee. Mostly used on limited production cars as a way to mark up a car’s price so they have more negotiating room, car dealers use this to get thousands of dollars more for a popular car, Lee says.

Popular cars such as the Dodge Viper or Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 are in limited production and can be sold for $10,000 more than their suggested retail price with this fee, she says. The cars can become antique collectibles and can gain value.

To fight this, some manufacturers don’t allow cars to be sold for more than the MSRP — their suggested retail price — and may hold back dealer inventory if such fees are charged, Lee says.

Title/Tag Fees. These can sometimes be tied in with the doc fees at a dealership. They can save you a trip to the DMV and may be worth the expense, and some dealers may charge exactly what the DMV charges for title and license tag fees, Shattuck says. Some dealers may charge a little more money than the DMV does, so comparing costs among dealers may save you some cash when buying a car.

Dealer Prep. Also called reconditioning fees on used cars, these can run from $200 to $500, Shattuck says, and are simple things dealers do to get the car looking good and in running shape. They can include detailing, washing the car, and adding oil and other fluids. If you have to pay extra to have oil put in your car so you can drive it off the lot, you’re not getting much service from your car dealer — and that’s why this is one of the top used car dealer fees to avoid..

Desert Protection. Like the dealer add-ons listed above, this costly fee can sometimes be avoided by making sure it isn’t added to your car if you don’t want to be buying the service. It can cost from $400 to $1,900, Lee says, and is a “finish on a finish” so that you don’t have to wax or clean your car as often. It’s meant to protect a car’s finish from acidity from bird droppings and acid rain, for example.

Vehicle Theft Registration. This is another dealer add-on that can be put on a car before it’s sold, and it is difficult to remove. It costs about $400 and is an identification number that’s usually etched on the driver’s side window as a way to deter thieves, Lee says. It’s different than the VIN number and is supposed to make it easier to find the car’s owner if the stolen car is found. The etching isn’t done at the car factory, making it an easy fee for a car dealer to add at the lot.

When running into such dealer fees, the best advice may be to shop elsewhere. At the very least, ask for fees that you think are unnecessary to be removed prior to buying a vehicle. In the end, a lower price will save you money not only on what you pay for the car but also on the final amount you owe in sales tax.

“You just need to look at things upfront, ask questions and shop around,” Shattuck says.