High Mileage Cars
If you want to lower your insurance premiums there are many strategies that you can try. One that is often overlooked is to simply drive your car into the ground. High mileage cars are much cheaper to insure and you will save even more money as you put off buying a new car.
While most people are not going to put a million miles on their car, today’s cars are built to easily get to 200,000-300,000 miles if you are willing to drive an older car for a while. According to the latest research that is exactly what many people are doing.
More People are Driving High Mileage Cars
According to R.L. Polk & Co, an auto market research firm the average age of cars in the U.S. has shot up to 10.8 years, the oldest on record. Since 2006 the average age has increased a full year and two full years since 2000.
This is a trend that seems to be growing. AutoMD.com, in a recent survey discovered that 55.4 of respondents were planning to keep their current vehicle until it died.
When asked why they were driving their car longer 47 percent cited the economy, making saving money the primary reason people are driving their cars longer.
The savings can mount up quickly. If you finance a $25,000 car for four years the monthly payment would be about $550 every month which adds up to $14,000 you would save just by driving your car for an additional two years.
Insuring a High Mileage Vehicle is Cheaper
If you are driving a brand new car or one with a loan against it, you will need to carry full coverage on the vehicle. As the car ages and the value drops it often makes sense to drop comprehensive and collision coverage.
Collision and comprehensive only pay out at the market value of your car so once it reaches a certain age, the value will be less than the premium costs. Insurance analyst, Quality Planning found 63 percent of 10-year old cars were not covered by collision or comprehensive. Most experts recommend getting rid of comprehensive and collision when the premium cost 10 percent or more of the payout you would receive in the event of a claim.
How to Keep Your Car Running
Getting to 200,000 miles is not an impossible feat, you just have to take good car of your car and be pro-active when it comes to upkeep and service. Automotive experts offer the following tips for keeping your car running as long as possible.
- Strictly follow the service recommendations of the manufacturer. They usually offer a normal and severe duty maintenance schedule, follow the severe duty recommendations.
- Keep the body of your car clean, wash the undercarriage often as road salts can really damage a vehicle.
- Flush and replace fluids such as brake, coolant and transmission on a regular basis. Changing out the fluids can dramatically lengthen the life of your car.
- Never skip an oil change. Change the oil and other fluids on the manufacturers schedule. Experts recommend using synthetic oil as it is a better lubricant.
