Minority-owned banks and credit unions, classified as Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) by government agencies, are financial institutions where most board members or stockholders are people of color.
MDIs play a crucial role in helping underserved communities. While such institutions don’t solely lend to minorities, they tend to provide more loans and accounts to minority communities than non-minority-owned banks do, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. This is particularly important because members of minority communities, like African Americans, often lack access to financial services and are typically underserved by financial institutions.
Supporting Black-owned or Black-led financial institutions and lenders by doing business with them can help minority communities economically.
Black-owned and Black-led auto lenders
Note that the lenders are listed alphabetically.
Adelphi Bank
Primary location(s): Columbus, Ohio
Good for: Borrowers in Franklin County, Ohio, who want to bank with an institution that empowers the local community. Note that Adelphi is a newer institution that primarily provides commercial lending and, according to a spokesperson for the bank, has only approved a handful of auto loans thus far.
Alamerica Bank
Primary location(s): Birmingham, Alabama
Good for: Residents of Birmingham, Alabama, with great credit scores. Alamerica only provides auto loans under exceptional conditions, and applicants must have good credit scores to apply. The bank does not offer prequalification and does not provide refinance loans.
Andrews Federal Credit Union
Primary location(s): Maryland, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Good for: Military service members based on the East Coast. The credit union also serves nonmilitary personnel who meet other eligibility requirements, like working for one of its employer groups. In addition to loans for traditional vehicles, AFCU offers financing for new and used boats, motorcycles and recreational vehicles (RVs).
Citizens Trust Bank
Primary location(s): Alabama and Georgia
Good for: Veterans and first-time car buyers in Alabama and Georgia. Citizens also offers auto refinance loans. While any U.S. resident can apply for a credit card with the credit union, only residents of Georgia or Alabama can apply for consumer loans, like auto loans, through the institution.
Commonwealth National Bank
Primary location(s): Mobile, Alabama
Good for: Residents of Mobile, Alabama, who want to borrow from a local institution. The bank provides loans for all borrowers, with a particular focus on serving its historically underserved African American community. Commonwealth National Bank offers vehicle loans for up to 90% of the vehicle’s value, according to a spokesperson for the bank, and also offers auto loans for motorcycles, motor homes, campers, travel trailers, boats, personal water-crafts and more.
Democracy Federal Credit Union
Primary location(s): Maryland, Virgina and Washington, D.C.
Good for: Borrowers in the D.C. metro area who want a variety of auto loan options and the benefits of credit union membership. In addition to new and used purchase loans, the credit union offers refinance loans and lease buyout loans. Democracy also offers additional benefits like GAP insurance and an auto advantage program that extends borrowers’ manufacturer warranties.
First Independence Bank
Primary location(s): Detroit, Michigan, and Minneapolis, Minnesota
Good for: Detroit or Minneapolis applicants seeking a preapproved car loan with a local bank.First Independence provides car loans as well as financing for recreational vehicles like campers, motorcycles, motor homes, snowmobiles and travel trailers.
First Security Bank and Trust Company
Primary location(s): Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Good for: Auto loan borrowers in Oklahoma City who want to support the institution’s mission of serving minority communities in the area. The bank gives new and used car loans, as well as refinancing loans.
Primary location(s): Chicago, Illinois
Good for: Individuals who live in Chicago’s South Side community. The bank’s website notes that it aims to serve communities outside of Chicago, in Illinois and nationwide, in the future.
Hope Federal Credit Union
Primary location(s): Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee
Good for: Borrowers in these southern states with limited or no credit history looking for flexible auto loan terms. Hope also provides financing for RVs, boats and all-terrain vehicles.
Good for: Borrowers in primary locations that the bank serves seeking flexible new and used-car auto loans. Consumers can apply for a Liberty auto loan online or at a local branch. Some of the bank’s auto loan features include the ability to make fixed monthly payments, no prepayment penalty and a credit decision within hours of application.
Mechanics & Farmers Bank
Primary location(s): North Carolina
Good for: North Carolina borrowers who want to buy new or used cars between $7,500 and $75,000. The bank also offers auto loan refinancing. M&F has an “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating from the FDIC, which means that it has maintained a record of meeting the needs of the low to moderate-income communities that it serves.
Municipal Employees Credit Union
Primary location(s): Maryland
Good for: Auto loan applicants in the greater Baltimore region wanting the convenience of an online car buying service and the benefits of credit union membership. Municipal members can use its online vehicle shopping service AutoSMART to search for and compare new and used cars at dealers near them. The credit union provides financing for new and used cars, as well as auto refinance loans.
Optus Bank
Primary location(s): Columbia, South Carolina
Good for: South Carolina residents, particularly those who are historically underserved people and those who were previously unbanked or underbanked.
SecurityPlus Federal Credit Union
Primary location(s): Baltimore and Ownings Mill, Maryland
Good for: Applicants who want flexible auto loan terms and rate discounts. The credit union provides new and used car loans with loan terms ranging from less than 12 months up to 84 months. SecurityPlus also features a 0.25% APR discount for setting up automatic payments.
St. Louis Community Credit Union
Primary location(s): St. Louis County, Missouri
Good for: Applicants in St. Louis County seeking a variety of auto lending options. The credit union offers new and used car loans, both external and internal refinance loans, as well as cash-out refinancing, private party loans and lease buyout loans.
Unity National Bank of Houston
Primary location(s): Texas and Georgia
Good for: Individuals in the bank’s service areas who want a preapproved auto loan from a local institution.
Methodology:We created this index of auto lenders based on lists of “minority depository institutions,” or MDIs, from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the National Credit Union Administration. The FDIC considers a bank or financial institution to be a MDI if at least 51% of its stockholders are “minority individuals” or most of its board of directors and the community it serves are minorities. The NCUA considers a credit union to be a MDI if more than 20% of its current members, board members and community it serves are Asian American, Black American, Hispanic American or Native American.
Inside: Learn why you may want to drive a beater car. Plus find tips to make sure you are getting a good deal.
Okay, let’s preface with… my dad has been in the car industry for over 40 years. So, I have grown up in dealerships, car garages, and service centers. My friends call me an expert, but I prefer to just be helpful so they don’t overpay when buying or getting repairs done.
Now, that authority is established, let me help you understand the beater car mentality.
If you are looking for a cheap used car, but don’t know where to find one, check out this guide that will help you get started.
Buying a used car can be tricky. It’s not just about finding one that is inexpensive, but also getting the right size for you and your lifestyle.
There tends to be more mystery surrounding what it’s like buying a new car from the dealership than an old one from somewhere else.
The main reason is that usually, they do not disclose how much of the price tag is going towards depreciation. What happens when your brand-new vehicle goes through years worth of wear and tear? It depreciates at a staggering rate and you end up with the same old car that’s only worth what is left of it.
Did you notice that keyword in the last paragraph – depreciation!
For many who are choosing to lower their costs and pursing FIRE movement, they know that a brand new car will depreciate the most within the first five years.
In this article, I will be shedding some light on how to find a cheap used car in your area if you are shopping for one. Also, if you are maintaining a beater car, you will find the tips to make sure your car lasts many more years.
Driving a beater car is not a sign of being poor or reckless. You still need proper auto insurance to drive.
With this guide, you’ll find out which cars have what features and quality that will fit your needs and lifestyle. Now, let’s find a car with features that are important to get around town and save your wallet!
What Is a Beater Car?
A beater car is usually an older, higher-mileage vehicle that still runs and is legal to drive.
The term “beater” was coined because many of them have cosmetic damage and mismatched paint.
A beater car is rarely pretty but “gets the job” when it comes to getting you and yours from here to there.
What is the point of a beater car?
A beater car is a reliable and easy-to-fix car that is cheaper than a new car.
The point of a beater car is to save money and reduce the amount of maintenance that needs to be done on it.
It has little intrinsic value, & while not “easy on the eyes,” a beater car is generally a smart choice to wear into the ground.
There are many advantages to buying a used car, including insurance savings, tax breaks, and lower operational costs.
Beaters can also provide peace of mind because they are easier to repair if something does go wrong.
Should you drive beaters?
People are in different situations when they are buying cars.
The best customers for cheap cars are either first-time car buyers or people who have to save some cash to reach a financial goal they set in place.
On the other hand, if you like reliability, make income from your car, enjoy looking good, or do not know your way around a car, maybe you should skip a beaters car.
How Can You Recognize a Beater Car?
A beater car is a car that is older and cheaper than other cars in its class. It may also have high mileage or corrosion on the body. You can look for these signs to help you identify a beater car.
More than likely, they will be easy to spot. Many common ones include Honda, Toyota, and Suburu. Those are the engines that can keep on running!
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
Is a Beater Car Worth It?
Well, there are two sides to the coin on this one. So, we will present both arguments first.
Definitely Worth It
Simply put, a beater car is one that doesn’t cost a lot of cash. You can find reliable and affordable beaters if you know where to look. In most cases, the best way to find a cheap used car is by checking out local classified ads or online listings.
Beater cars are a great way to save money on all sorts of fronts.
For starters, they’re cheaper to buy than most other cars. Additionally, used cars can help with taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs.
In short, a cheap car is a great way to get around while keeping your expenses low.
Um, Hello – No!
A beater car is not worth it. There are many reasons why you should not buy a beat-up vehicle. The first reason is that they are cheap, and the owner will most likely not take care of them properly. Not only will the car need repairs, but you could also have to buy a new one.
Didn’t you know that you can lease a vehicle for next-to-nothing with a low-interest rate? (p.s. don’t fall for that line. Leasing a car is the worst thing you can do financially. That is a post for another day on leasing vs buying a car.)
All in all, it depends on what you need and what you can afford at the moment. For many, the answer to this question is yes, but only if you are looking for a cheap car.
What is the price of a beater car?
A used car is a vehicle that has been previously owned, so it has depreciated in value.
The price of a beater car is difficult to determine and varies depending on the quality of the vehicle, its condition, and what it might have been used for. Typically, you can find a solid mechanical vehicle for around $5000.
You can always check against the KBB price and run the VIN to check its reported history.
Beater Car Benefits:
The benefits of a beat-up car are listed here. Many people are proud of their vehicles and proudly want to be a part of the 200k miles club.
They include the opportunity to drive around with no maintenance, the ability to use it for parts, and the freedom from monthly payments.
A used car is cheaper upfront than a new car.
Cheaper on insurance. Beater cars require minimum coverage, so they’re cost-effective for monthly expenses.
A beater car is cheaper on gas (this is true for sedans; not so much for SUVs or trucks.)
The car will retain its value and not depreciate much more.
The car can still be sold for what was paid for it, as long as it is in the same condition.
Now, let’s dive a little deeper into each of these.
#1. Cheap Price
One reason to prefer a cheap car is because of the low price point.
For the first time ever, the price of a new car tops $47000 – an all-time high (source). That is a whole lot of money especially when it loses most of its premium in the five years.
Driving a beater may not feel as luxurious as driving a newer car, but the cheap price point lets you save money.
#2. No Car Payments
There are many benefits to not having car payments.
One of the most obvious is that you save money. In addition, not having car payments can also reduce stress and anxiety levels, because you’re not as tied down to a monthly payment.
It is not normal to have a car payment your whole life. That lifestyle will cost you a fortune with lifestyle creep.
#3. Cheaper Gas
Old and beaten-down cars that don’t require premium fuel will be heaven for your wallet, saving you hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars per year.
Gas prices vary throughout the day, so drivers should plan their trips around the cheapest prices. In addition, using a cheap car can save you money on gas in the long run.
#4. Cheaper Parts
First of all, you need to find a reliable mechanic or be able to do some of the work by yourself.
In addition to being cheaper, older car parts are also easier to find. Car parts are still available from common car manufacturers, so you don’t have to go through a premium supplier to get what you need.
Additionally, the older vehicles do not have the fancy chips like the newer cars that make the cost of parts increase and the difficulty of getting those types of parts.
#5. Minimum Insurance Coverage
Buying a used car saves money on car insurance.
You only need to meet the minimum insurance requirements of your state, and you don’t have to worry about finance companies taking out full coverage collision and comprehensive insurance.
However, you may want comprehensive coverage if the cost is minimal compared to replacing the car. For instance, if you pay an additional $50 per year for full comprehensive coverage that will give you the $5k worth of your car back if something happens. That may be worth the extra cost.
Plus driving a car with a lower resale value can help save on vehicle taxes.
#6. Less Depreciation
Older cars have already depreciated in value over the years, so they aren’t going to lose much more during the period of your ownership.
Plus if the engine gives out, you can always sell it for scraps and parts at the local junkyard. That will help you recoup costs for another one.
Remember, you wipe away value from your brand new car once you drive off the dealer’s lot (source). This is a hot debate on whether your car is an asset or liability.
#7. More Freedom
When you are not bogged down by expenses of maintaining a high-value car, you have more freedom.
This is more freedom in your budget and more time freedom as you don’t have to work hard to pay for your mode of transportation.
Think about it… if you invested $500 a month for seven years at the average rate of return of 8%, you would have accumulated $55,000. Compounding interest will do amazing things for your net worth.
Beater Car Downsides:
Saving money is the biggest benefit of buying a used car.
Beater cars are potentially less safe than modern cars.
Long-distance car rides might not be possible with a cheap car
Downsides to having a good beater car include the possibility of breaking down and being far away from home if needed.
Possible more maintenance.
There is more risk. You don’t want to gamble.
#1. Less Safety
Cars from before the 2000s don’t have the same crashworthiness as newer cars.
This is a factor that you cannot deny and a serious factor when considering your purchase.
In a collision, they are more likely to sustain damage and injure the passengers inside.
#2. Low Probability of Longer Trips
These are great for commuting around town and getting you to and from.
However, there is a low probability you want to use them on longer trips.
Given there are many things that could go wrong, you don’t want to break down far from home or even a nearby city where you can get repairs done.
You don’t anticipate needing to take this car on long trips in the near future because there is a low probability of needing to take it on longer trips. This is due, in part, to the fact that it doesn’t have great gas mileage and you don’t think you’ll need to use it for long distances.
#3 – Higher Maintancence Costs
You always need a sinking fund for repairs when you own a beater. Period.
You are one drive away from something going out and needing to be repaired.
Also, you need to find a quality mechanic that thrives on keeping older ones running without nickel and diming you along the way.
You cannot use a dealership service center to maintain your baby.
Which Are the Best Beater Cars?
The best beater cars are cars that are cheap, have low mileage, and are easy to repair. The cars are great to use as a daily driver, but they are not ideal for long distances.
Cheap cars can be a good option for car buyers on a tight budget or for young drivers.
There are many reasons to consider buying a used car over a new car, but the decision ultimately depends on the buyer’s needs and preferences
What are some good beater cars?
These reliable beater cars can be a great way to save money on car buying.
Some of the better cars to choose from that would make for a great beater include Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord, and Honda Civic.
They are old, but still in pretty decent shape. All in all, you want to look for one that is very well maintained and highly cared for. The ones sitting in your grandparent’s garages that were hardly driven and immaculately maintained.
What to Check Before Buying a Beater Car
The best way to ensure that you’re buying a good quality car is to do some research and make sure you know your facts.
All dealers are not created equal, so it’s important to check out what other people are saying about the dealer. Also, make sure that the car you’re buying is in good condition and has a clean title.
Many times, a beater is a car that is used to transport things such as furniture, trees, etc. Sometimes they are usually not very well maintained and maybe not very well cared for.
However, a used car can still be a good car for someone who is looking for a cheap car and does not care about the condition of the car.
Specifics to Look For:
Low mileage
Consider the brand/model
Fuel economy
Exterior and interior condition
Reliability
Maintenance history
Number of owners
Number of accidents
Anything rebuilt like the engine
For example, one of the Toyota Corollas I owed was older but had a new engine installed. Thus, the value of the Corolla was higher as the engine had minimal miles on it.
In fact, here is a picture of it… doesn’t look like a junker right?!?!
Questions to Ask Yourself:
Before buying a used car, you should check the following:
Is it in good shape?
On the engine, is it manual or automatic?
Is it the right size for your needs?
Does it have enough power?
Does it have enough room?
Is it reliable?
Is it comfortable?
Easy to drive?
Is it safe?
How to Buy a Beater Car
When buying a beater car, you should check the following things:
1. Finding One to Buy
Many times, this will be the hardest part. Sometimes, the easiest if someone needs to get rid of one quickly.
Try buying a beater car from friends or family.
The next place to check is your mechanic. Remember, they are your best friends in this process and always know the movement of these types of cars.
Also, you can check online – Facebook Marketplace, NextDoor and Craigslist are great options but follow your instincts.
Lastly, you can try a local dealership. However, be very careful as you don’t want to be scammed or pay more than the car is worth.
2. Check the VIN Number
VIN stands for Vehicle Identification Number. A VIN is a serial number that identifies the make, model, and vehicle type of a motor vehicle.
The VIN number is a unique identifier for a car that can be used to learn about the car’s history and identity. The number is usually 17 characters long and contains both numbers and letters. It can be found on the dashboard, driver’s side door, or engine of the car.
More importantly, it can be used to learn about the car’s history and identity, including its make, model, year of manufacture, and more. Even if the car was stolen.
3. Look at Mileage
Beaters usually have high mileage, but how high is too high?
Do your research for what could be a red flag. Look up how the specific make and model you’re considering holds up in high mileage.
In this regard, lower is better, although beaters will generally have higher mileage than a newer used car. Look for beaters with 80,000 to 150,000 miles on the odometer, but don’t go over 150k miles. You want to drive it into the 200k mile club, right?
4. Run the Auto History Report
You want detailed information on a car’s history, including maintenance and repair records. This can be helpful in determining whether or not a car has been well taken care of. If a car has had many owners in a short period of time, it may be an indication that the car was neglected.
The VIN number (vehicle identification number) helps you obtain a vehicle history report by running through a service, like CARFAX. Companies like VINCheck.info and AutoCheck provide vehicle history information, too.
A good indication that a car may have been neglected or doesn’t run well is the fact that it has had many owners in a short period of time.
5. Checked by Your Own Mechanic
If you haven’t figured it out by now, a trusted mechanic is a must!
Before agreeing to the purchase, you must have the vehicle independently audited by your own mechanic. This may come at a small cost, but it is better to know the condition of the mechanical systems before you purchase.
Also, your mechanic can tell you what you should pay for it as well as any outstanding repairs or maintenance that needs to be done.
6. Passed State Inspection
When buying a car, it is important that it passes state inspection. If it doesn’t, you may end up spending more cash on repairs and/or fines.
You can ask for the last inspection report. If it has been more than a year, it is worth testing it again.
In any case, you don’t want to buy a car only to have it break down on you soon after.
7. Take it for a Test Drive
When you’re looking to buy a used car, it’s important that you take it for a test drive. This allows you to listen to any loud noises and also gives you a chance to feel the car out.
If something doesn’t feel right, then it’s probably not the right car for you.
When you’re looking to buy a used car, it’s important that the seller allows you to take the car to a mechanic for a test drive. If they don’t, it’s probably because they’re trying to hide something and it’s best to move on.
Fixing a Beater Car:
The best option for fixing a beater car is always to do the repair yourself. This will save your finances and allow you to learn more about how your car works. There are a variety of resources available online that can help you with this process, including videos, articles, and forums.
If you find a car with engine problems, you will need to consult a mechanic. The problem may be something simple that is quick fixes with a tune-up, or it may be more serious.
If the cost of repairing a used car is almost as much as what you paid for the car, then it may be time to move on.
Selling a Beater Car:
The process is very similar to buying it except now you are the seller!
The same places you would look for one would be the same places you would sell it – friends, NextDoor, Craigslist, mechanic, or Facebook Marketplace.
You might even be able to get some cash for your beater car by trading it in at a dealership. The dealership will likely give you less than if you had sold the car to a private party, but it’s better than nothing. However, some dealerships have pretty awesome trade-in policies to get you in a new and more expensive ride!
Reasons NOT to Buy a Beater Car
The most common reasons not to buy a used car are that they are very expensive to fix, impractical in terms of fuel efficiency, and require more time and effort than expected.
However, those of us who have owned older sedans, SUVs, or trucks know the significant savings associated with it and get many weird looks for others.
Top 10 Reasons NOT to Buy a Beater Car:
You want/need a good-looking car.
High reliability is a priority.
You are a one-car family.
You will lose your mind trying to fix it.
It’s going to break down and you’ll be stranded somewhere, losing money.
You will have to get a new car eventually anyway.
It’ll cost you more money in the long run because it’s not worth fixing up and selling later on.
You won’t be able to sell it for what you paid because it’s too beat up.
You think leasing a car is a better deal.
Deep down, you think a car payment is normal.
Is an Older Beater Car an Issue for You?
Beater cars can be a good option for people who want to save money on their car costs.
There are many advantages of a cheaper car including avoiding car loans and down payments, cheaper gas, and minimal insurance requirements. Plus used cars have already lost much of their value and are a better investment.
Maybe a full one beater isn’t right for you, but maybe a seven-year-old minivan with 85,000 miles is perfect.
In all honestly, people who are looking for a cheap car should consider buying an inexpensive car instead of a luxury car.
Now, I want to hear your favorite stories about your precious gem and how many miles it lasted…
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Today’s post is all about the best car buying tips so that you can save money when buying a car.
Not all car dealerships and car salesmen are bad. I know this for a fact because my husband used to be a new car salesman (and he was nice! I promise!). My husband knows all about the flack that salesmen get.
Despite the reputation car salesmen get, the car buying process is not perfect either.
Whether you are purchasing a new or used vehicle, there are several car buying tips and tricks you should know of so that you can walk away with the best deal possible. There are so many options and extras that come up when buying a car, which means there are many ways for you to end up leaving confused or paying more than you should be.
Whether you are buying a $500 car or a $50,000 one, you want to get the best deal possible. To make sure you don’t walk away from a deal angry or regretful, it’s important to be as knowledgeable as possible.
According to Edmunds.com, the average person in the U.S. spends $483 on a new car payment and $361 on a used car payment.
That’s a lot of money, which can leave a lot of room for mistakes and overpayment.
Before we begin, I want to tell you about several ways that car dealerships make their money. These are things you will want to be mindful of:
Your trade-in vehicle. To make a profit on your used car, they will want to offer you less money than they can sell it for. Of course, this is normal, but you want to be mindful of this so that you can get the most money out of your trade-in vehicle.
Incentives and bonuses from the car manufacturer. This means that if you can buy a car when a dealership hasn’t reached their selling quota, you may be able to get a great deal on your car purchase. Many times car dealerships will take a loss on the vehicle if it means that they will be able to reach their quota.
Financing the vehicle. Dealerships make money when you finance vehicles through them.
Extra options, such as an extended warranty.
Buying a new car can be fun and stressful at the same time. You don’t want to get tricked or duped, so here are car buying tips and tricks before you start shopping!
The best car buying tips:
Don’t just think about the monthly payment.
The most important car buying tip I can offer in this blog post is that you should not just care about the monthly payment.
You should only purchase what you can actually afford. Just because the monthly car payment looks affordable, it doesn’t mean that it actually is.
There are car payment terms that are as long as 96 months, which is just crazy to me. A car salesperson may stretch out the car payment so that it looks to be more affordable for you, but you should be aware of the whole cost, which includes things like interest and taxes.
Please, please, please, look at the whole cost and see if that’s actually an affordable amount for you to be paying.
Shop around for your own financing.
If you have to finance your car purchase, make sure you shop around before you agree to the dealer’s interest rate. Sometimes the dealer has the lowest rate, but sometimes they don’t.
You may be able to save yourself hundreds of dollars a year by simply shopping around. Plus, it’s extremely easy to shop around for the best interest rates – start with local credit unions and banks!
Go to a few car dealerships.
You can shop around car dealerships both online and offline.
I recommend shopping online before you go to a dealership, this way you can be prepared by learning as much as possible in advance. You also won’t be wasting your time at car dealerships that can’t get down to the price you want.
Don’t add small and unnecessary extras at the end of your purchase.
When you are about to purchase a car, you will be encouraged to buy many small options that you may not need. This may include extras such as:
Tire replacement
Paint protection
Extended warranties
While you may believe that you need some of the above options, you should make sure that you’re not just thinking about the monthly cost. The financing manager will offer you these extras in a way that makes it seem affordable. But, these extras only appear inexpensive because they are padded into your monthly cost, so don’t be fooled by how “affordable” they seem.
Yeah, $1 or $5 each month may not seem like much, but it can add up to a lot over a 5 year period!
Trust me, you are paying for these, and it’s not just a good deal that you are getting.
Related: 30+ Ways To Save Money Each Month
Determine how much your trade-in is worth.
If you have a trade-in vehicle, you should figure out how much it is worth before you step foot into a car dealership.
Kelley Blue Book is a great resource for doing this. While you may not get the exact amount that Kelley Blue Book claims you will get, it can be a good estimator or starting point when negotiating with the car dealership.
Know the right time to go.
There are certain times of the month and year that are better for car shopping than others. If a dealership is trying to meet their sales quota, they are more likely to give you a deal than when they’ve already beat their quota or if it’s the beginning of their quota.
This is because car manufacturers will give bonuses and extra incentives to car dealerships who sell a certain amount of vehicles. This gives car dealerships extra motivation to give really good deals if they are close to their quota.
I know someone who was able to lease a brand new car for just $70 per month, with no money down, because a car dealership needed to meet their quota. They got one heck of a deal!
To know the best time to go, you may want to make friends with a car salesperson, find out when their end of month or end of quarter is, and so on. Or, you could just ask. My husband would always tell people when the best time to buy was and would even call them, but many people did not believe him. If they only knew!
Don’t be afraid to negotiate.
Even if you get a discount, such as a car manufacturer discount, you should still negotiate. Many times, those friends and family discounts mean that you are not able to haggle at all, which can lead to you actually paying a higher price.
Cars sales are meant to be negotiated, whether it is a brand new vehicle or a used one. If you don’t haggle, you will most likely lose out on a lot of money, because negotiating is expected.
Other aspects of the vehicle buying process can be haggled on as well, this includes your trade-in vehicle, warranties, interest rates, add-ons, and more.
Learn more about negotiating at How To Rock At Negotiating On Everything.
Be nice.
No matter what, you should be a decent human being.
Being rude won’t get you the best deal, instead it may make the salesperson and the dealership not want to help you. After you purchase a car you are asked to go through the car manufacturer to grade your car salesperson. If the salesperson knows that you might give them a bad grade, they may not want your deal because it’s not worthwhile to them to have a bad score (which decreases their salary/income).
Plus, you should always be nice anyways. Salespeople are just doing their job and trying to make a living, and the majority of them are good people.
Miscellaneous car buying tips and tricks.
Here are several other car buying tips and tricks:
Never shop when you’re hungry or tired. You should always be well-rested and ready for an eventful day.
For the car dealership to beat their quota, sometimes they will buy a new car themselves and put it on the “used” car dealership side. The car is still brand new, but is now considered pre-owned. This can allow you to save a good deal of money. However, you do want to be mindful of the warranty, because the warranty has most likely started once the car was officially bought the first time (by the car dealership).
Purchase a car at the end of the car’s model year. Dealerships want to move out last year’s model to make room for the new ones, which can lead to a good discount.
Look into car insurance rates before you purchase. You may want to contact your car insurance agent so that you are not surprised by a high insurance rate after you make a purchase.
Don’t tell the salesperson what your budget is for a monthly payment. You should always negotiate on price first. A dealership will try to get you into something that will just barely fit your monthly payment budget, which can cause you to spend a lot more money in the long run.
Be confident. When negotiating, you should always be confident in what you are saying, and do not be afraid to walk away. If it’s not meant to be, then it’s just not.
Find the best car insurance. What is the most reliable car insurance company?
What other car buying tips and tricks do you know of? Share in the comments below!
Looking to buy a new car? Here are 10 top tips for buying a new car so that you can learn how to save money with your next car purchase. Enjoy this new car buying guide!
I’ve recently heard a lot about people spending an exorbitant amount on their monthly car loan. Personally, I know several people who spend over $1,000 a month on their car loans while barely making enough to cover that and all of their other bills.
So today, I want to give you some tips for buying a new car so that you can save money on your next car purchase.
According to USA Today, the average new car price is around $37,000, with the average new car buyer paying around $550 a month with loan terms of 69 months. Many people are buying more expensive cars and taking out loans with high interest rates in order to “afford” them.
In fact, according to Edmunds, the current average annual interest rate on in 2019 is 6.19%. I’ve even seen car buyers with interest rates of 20% and higher.
And, people are extending their car loans for longer periods of time in order to get an even lower monthly car payment. While 72 months used to be a crazy long time to finance a car, terms of 84 months are even starting to become the norm.
Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have a car loan or buy a new car. But, I do want people to be more mindful of their car spending and be more knowledgeable going into the car buying process.
Today’s post is all about the best tips for buying a new car so that you can save money when buying your next vehicle. And, many of these tips for buying a new car are also tips for buying a used car.
Not all car dealerships and car salesmen are bad. I know this for a fact because my husband used to be a new car salesman (and he was nice, I promise!). My husband knows all about the flack that salesmen get, and he even helped with some of the tips for buying a new car that I’m going to tell you about.
Despite the reputation car salesmen get, the car buying process itself can be really stressful for everyone.
Whether you are purchasing a new or used vehicle, there are several car buying tips and tricks you should know of so that you can walk away with the best deal possible. There are so many options and extras that come up when buying a car, which means there are many ways for you to end up leaving confused or paying more than you should be.
Whether you are buying a $500 car or a $50,000 one, you want to get the best deal available. To make sure you don’t walk away from a deal angry or regretful, it’s important to be as knowledgeable as possible.
Cars aren’t cheap, which can leave a lot of room for mistakes and overpayments. You can buy a car that doesn’t meet your needs, is too expensive, and more.
We’ve had a lot of vehicles in our life, from a really cheap $500 car that ran well (yes, you can find good vehicles for cheap), to expensive new vehicles. And, we’ve used all of the tips I’m going to share with you today.
Before I tell you the top tips for buying a new car, I want to tell you about several ways that car dealerships make their money. These are things to be mindful of:
Your trade-in vehicle. To make a profit on your used car, car dealerships will offer you less money than they can sell it for. Of course this is normal, but you want to be mindful of this so that you can get the most money out of your trade-in vehicle. Even though it takes a little more work, you can often make more money if you sell your car privately instead of selling it to a dealership.
Incentives and bonuses from the car manufacturer. This means that if you can buy a car when a dealership hasn’t reached their selling quota, you may be able to get a great deal on your car purchase (this is covered more in my list of tips for buying a new car). Many times car dealerships will take a loss on the vehicle if it means that they will be able to reach their quota.
Financing the vehicle. Dealerships make money when you finance vehicles through them.
Extra options. These are things like an extended warranty and upgrades.
Buying a new or used car can be fun and stressful at the same time. You don’t want to get tricked or duped, so here are tricks and tips for buying a new car before you start shopping!
Here are my best tips for buying a new car (or used one):
Think about the WHOLE COST of the car.
The most important of these tips for buying a new car that I can offer you is that you should think about more than just the monthly payment. This is the smartest way to buy a car.
You should only purchase what you can actually afford. Just because the monthly car payment looks affordable, it doesn’t mean that it actually is.
There are car payment terms that are as long as 96 months, which is just crazy to me. A car salesperson may stretch out the car payment so that it looks to be more affordable for you, but you should be aware of the whole cost, which includes things like interest and taxes.
Please, please, please, look at the whole cost and see if that’s actually an affordable amount for you to be paying every month.
Even if you aren’t buying a brand new car, used cars can still cost you more than you think in insurance and taxes, so always think about the total cost before you purchase your next vehicle.
Related: Jerry Insurance Review: How To Save Up To $800 A Year On Insurance
Shop around for your own car financing.
If you have to finance your car purchase, make sure you shop around before you agree to the dealer’s interest rate. Sometimes the first dealer you visit will have the lowest rate, but sometimes they won’t.
You may be able to save yourself hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars a year by simply shopping around. Plus, it’s extremely easy to shop around for the best interest rates – start with local credit unions and banks!
I’m in quite a few Facebook groups about personal finance, and this topic comes up over and over again: people who are excited about getting a car loan with an interest rate of over 20%. And sadly, many of these people are buying brand new cars, not realizing how much they are about to pay because they don’t know much about personal finance.
20% is not a good interest rate for a car loan – so please don’t be excited about that! I am saying this to help you, not to be mean in any way.
You should shop around and make sure you are getting the best possible rate. If you are getting a 20% interest rate on a car loan, then you should probably not be buying a brand new car. There are plenty of more affordable vehicles that are older but still quite reliable.
Visit more than one car dealership.
You can shop around car dealerships both online and offline.
I recommend shopping online before you go to a dealership, this way you can be prepared in advance with the costs, loan terms, extras, and more. While shopping around does take time, you won’t be wasting it on a dealership that can’t get down to the price you want.
Skip the extras at the end.
When you are about to purchase a car, you will be encouraged to buy many small options that you may not need. This may include extras such as:
Paint protection
Extended warranties
Upgrades
While you may believe that you need some of those options, you should make sure that you’re not just thinking about the monthly cost. The financing manager will offer you these extras in a way that makes it seem affordable. But, these extras only appear inexpensive because they are padded into your monthly cost, so don’t be fooled by how “affordable” they seem.
Yeah, $10 or $50 each month may not seem like much, but it can add up to a lot over a 5 year period!
Trust me, you are paying for these. Dealerships make money on these extras.
Related: 30+ Ways To Save Money Each Month
Figure out how much your trade-in is worth.
One of the best tips for buying a new car if you’ll be trading in your vehicle is to know how much it is worth before you step foot into a car dealership. This is important for car buying negotiating tips.
Kelley Blue Book is a great resource for researching what you’re old car is worth. While you may not get the exact amount that Kelley Blue Book claims you will get, it can be a good estimator or starting point when negotiating with the car dealership.
Know when to shop.
There are certain times of the month and year that are better for car shopping than others. If a dealership is trying to meet their sales quota, they are more likely to give you a deal than when they’ve already beat their quota or if it’s the beginning of their quota.
This is because car manufacturers will give bonuses and extra incentives to car dealerships who sell a certain amount of vehicles. This gives car dealerships extra motivation to give really good deals if they are close to their quota.
This is one of the best tips for buying a new car that my husband learned from selling cars.
To know the best time to shop for a new car, you may want to make friends with a car salesperson, find out when their end of month or end of quarter is, and so on. Or, you could just ask someone at the car dealership.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate.
Even if you get a discount, such as a car manufacturer discount, you should still negotiate. Many times, those friends and family discounts mean that you are not able to haggle at all, which can lead to you actually paying a higher price.
Cars sales are usually meant to be negotiated, whether it is a brand new vehicle or a used one. If you don’t haggle, you will most likely lose out on a lot of money.
Other aspects of the vehicle buying process can be negotiated on as well, this includes your trade-in vehicle, warranties, interest rates, add-ons, and more.
Learn more about negotiating at How To Rock At Negotiating On Everything.
Be nice.
No matter what, you should be a decent human being. This is one of my tips for buying a new car that applies to most other aspects in your life.
Being rude doesn’t get you anywhere. It won’t get you the best deal, and it may actually make the salesperson and the dealership not want to help you.
After you purchase a car you are asked to go through the car manufacturer to grade your car salesperson. If the salesperson knows that you might give them a bad grade (for no reason at all), they may not want your deal because it’s not worthwhile to them to have a bad score, which decreases their salary/income.
Plus, you should always be nice anyways. Salespeople are just doing their job and trying to make a living, and the majority of them are good people. If you’re nice to them, they may be willing to help you out a little more.
Miscellaneous tricks and tips for buying a new car.
Here are several other tips for buying a new car (or used one):
Never shop when you’re hungry or tired. You should always be well-rested and ready for an eventful day.
For the car dealership to beat their quota, sometimes they will buy a new car themselves and put it on the “used” car dealership side. The car is still brand new, but is now considered pre-owned. This can allow you to save a good deal of money. However, you do want to be mindful of the warranty, because the warranty has most likely started once the car was officially bought the first time, even if it was bought by the car dealership.
Purchase a car at the end of the car’s model year. Dealerships want to move out last year’s model to make room for the new ones, which can lead to a good discount.
Look into car insurance before you purchase. You should contact your car insurance agent so that you are not surprised by a high insurance rate after you make a purchase.
Figure out what you’ll need to pay in personal property taxes for your car, which varies state to state. You will need to add this into the total cost of your car.
Don’t tell the salesperson what your budget is for a monthly payment. You should always negotiate on price first. A dealership will try to get you into something that will just barely fit your monthly payment budget, which can cause you to spend a lot more money in the long run.
Be confident. When negotiating, you should always be confident in what you are saying, and do not be afraid to walk away. If it’s not meant to be, then it’s just not.
What other tips for buying a new car can you share? Leave them in the comments below!
At Bankrate, we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. To help readers understand how insurance affects their finances, we have licensed insurance professionals on staff who have spent a combined 47 years in the auto, home and life insurance industries. While we adhere to strict
,
this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here’s an explanation of
.
Our content is backed by
Coverage.com, LLC, a licensed entity (NPN: 19966249). For more information, please see our
.
Bankrate logo
The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices.
We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making
process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy,
so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by
highly qualified professionals and edited by
subject matter experts,
who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy.
Our insurance team is composed of agents, data analysts, and customers like you. They focus on the points consumers care about most — price, customer service, policy features and savings opportunities — so you can feel confident about which provider is right for you.
We guide you throughout your search and help you understand your coverage options.
We provide up-to-date, reliable market information to help you make confident decisions.
We reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible.
All providers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide. And we constantly review our criteria to ensure we’re putting accuracy first.
Bankrate logo
Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
Bankrate logo
How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict
editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Bankrate logo
Insurance Disclosure
Coverage.com, LLC is a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 19966249). Coverage.com services are only available in states where it is licensed. Coverage.com may not offer insurance coverage in all states or scenarios. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
At a glance
BANKRATE AWARDS 2023 WINNER
Best auto insurance company overall (tie)
See why it won
4.4
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down
Auto
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
Caret Down
Cost & ratings
Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5
4.6
Coverage
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
4.0
Support
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
4.7
Home
Rating: 0 stars out of 5
0.0
About Bankrate Score
Bottom Line
Policyholders who value cheaper car insurance and digital capabilities over bundling multiple insurance policies with the same company might consider Geico as their company of choice.
Low average premiums for high-risk drivers
Robust online and mobile app accessibility
Multi-policy discounts available
Avg. annual auto insurance premium for full coverage: $1,353
Avg. annual auto insurance premium for min coverage: $373
Avg. annual home insurance premium for $250k dwelling coverage: $
Customer service: 1-800-207-7847
Claims: Claims can be filed and managed online through Geico’s website or mobile app, or by calling its toll-free claim number at 1-800-841-3000. For a comprehensive list of claims numbers, please visit the company’s claims reporting page.
Emergency roadside assistance: This can be done online through Geico’s website or mobile app, or by calling 1-800-424-3426.
Answer a few questions to see personalized rates from top carriers
Geico car insurance
Geico car insurance received a Bankrate Score of 4.4 out of 5 points. To determine this Score, our insurance editorial team reviewed Geico’s average premiums, coverage options, discounts, customer satisfaction, financial strength and digital insurance features. The better a company performed in each of these categories, the higher its overall Bankrate Score.
Along with its high Bankrate Score, Geico was also named one of this year’s best car insurance companies overall, as well as the best budget car insurance company in the 2023 Bankrate Awards. Thanks in part to its overall lower-than-average premiums and plentiful discount opportunities, Geico may be a good choice for drivers looking for a cheap premium. Average Geico car insurance rates are also significantly cheaper than the national average when adding a young driver to the policy.
Bankrate Award winner for best auto insurance company overall and best budget auto insurance company
Bankrate’s insurance editorial team has decades of combined industry experience, and we use our expertise to uncover the best insurance companies through our annual Bankrate Awards.
Our goal is to give consumers an easy way to find a company that fits their unique circumstances. Based on our extensive research, we’ve recognized Geico as a 2023 Bankrate Award winner for the best overall auto insurance company and the best budget auto insurance company.
Why Geico won
Geico offers below-average auto insurance rates as well as a solid mix of coverage options, discounts and digital tools. These factors, combined with customer satisfaction and financial strength scores, earned Geico Bankrate Awards for best overall auto insurance company and best budget auto insurance company.
To choose the best overall auto insurance company, we started by gathering information from over 150 insurance companies. We researched average quoted annual premiums obtained from Quadrant Information Services for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., because we know that price is a top concern for many shoppers. We also know that service and financial strength are important, so we also evaluated third-party scores and ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), AM Best, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s. To ensure that we chose companies that offer the coverage that drivers need, we next reviewed available coverage options and discounts. Finally, we considered each company’s local agency presence, digital tool functionality, corporate sustainability and national availability (which we define as being available in at least 48 states, since Alaska and Hawaii often present unique challenges to insurers). While our Bankrate Awards can serve as a helpful guide, keep in mind that each insurance company has its own underwriting and pricing regulations, which means eligibility and rates will vary. We chose to feature two companies, Amica and Geico, as the best overall to help a wider range of drivers.
Price was the most important factor as we looked for the best budget auto insurance company. We obtained average quoted premiums from Quadrant Information Services for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., then analyzed the rates by a number of driver profiles. We weighed the national average rate most heavily in our analysis, but also considered coverage options, discounts, third-party scores and digital tools. Geico consistently offers low average rates and has a long list of discounts that could lower premiums even more.
Geico car insurance is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Its coverage options are generally standard, and it does not have as many optional add-ons as some other car insurance carriers. The only additional options listed on Geico’s website are emergency roadside service, rental reimbursement and mechanical breakdown insurance.
Pros and cons of Geico car insurance
If you’re comparing auto insurance rates, considering Geico’s pros and cons might help you in your decision.
PROS
Checkmark
Average rates are lower than the national average
Checkmark
Average rates for drivers with an at-fault accident or moving violation on their record may be more affordable than competitors
Checkmark
Robust digital tools for online policy management
CONS
Close X
May have limited local agencies for those who want in-person support
Close X
Fewer optional coverage add-ons than competitors
Close X
Mobile app is highly-rated in the app store, but the company scored below the segment average for service in the J.D. Power U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study
Geico car insurance cost
Based on Bankrate’s study of rate data from Quadrant Information Services, Geico is one of the cheapest car insurance companies. Its 2023 average cost of car insurance is $1,353 per year for full coverage and $373 per year for minimum coverage. This is notably lower than the 2023 national average cost of car insurance at $2,014 per year for full coverage.
Geico car insurance rates by driving history
Car insurance companies may weigh driving records heavily when it comes to calculating car insurance rates. An at-fault accident or moving conviction, such as a speeding ticket or DUI, could make your car insurance more expensive compared to a driver with no accidents or tickets on their record. Below is a comparison of rates for drivers with different driving histories. A DUI conviction has been excluded as some insurance carriers may not accept drivers with a DUI.
this.select(this.$id(‘tab’, 1)))
},
select(id)
this.selectedId = id
,
isSelected(id)
return this.selectedId === id
,
whichChild(el, parent)
return Array.from(parent.children).indexOf(el) + 1
}” x-id=”[‘tab’]”>
Geico average monthly full coverage premium
Geico average annual full coverage premium
National average annual full coverage premium
Clean driving history
$113
$1,353
$2,014
Speeding ticket conviction
$138
$1,658
$2,427
At-fault accident
$166
$1,988
$2,854
Geico average monthly minimum coverage premium
Geico average annual minimum coverage premium
National average annual minimum coverage premium
Clean driving history
$31
$373
$622
Speeding ticket conviction
$38
$455
$748
At-fault accident
$46
$551
$892
Geico car insurance quotes by age
The age of a driver and the years of driving experience they’ve accumulated may also play an important role in determining car insurance rates. Young drivers and those who are newly licensed typically pay more for car insurance than drivers with more years of experience behind the wheel. Average insurance rates by age show that auto insurance premiums do tend to decrease over time until your 60s, but you may be able to find the best car insurance rate at any age by compiling car insurance quotes.
Below are comparisons that show young drivers both on and off their parents’ policy, as well as how they compare to other age groups. All rates are for drivers with a clean driving record.
Average cost of car insurance for drivers on their parents’ policy
this.select(this.$id(‘tab’, 1)))
},
select(id)
this.selectedId = id
,
isSelected(id)
return this.selectedId === id
,
whichChild(el, parent)
return Array.from(parent.children).indexOf(el) + 1
}” x-id=”[‘tab’]”>
Geico average monthly full coverage premium
Geico average annual full coverage premium
National average annual full coverage premium
Age 16
$248
$2,977
$4,392
Age 17
$229
$2,753
$4,102
Age 18
$210
$2,523
$3,837
Age 19
$184
$2,212
$3,345
Age 20
$171
$2,054
$3,149
Geico average monthly minimum coverage premium
Geico average annual minimum coverage premium
National average annual minimum coverage premium
Age 16
$74
$886
$1,470
Age 17
$68
$811
$1,362
Age 18
$61
$733
$1,261
Age 19
$53
$633
$1,070
Age 20
$48
$580
$995
Average cost of car insurance for drivers on their own policy
this.select(this.$id(‘tab’, 1)))
},
select(id)
this.selectedId = id
,
isSelected(id)
return this.selectedId === id
,
whichChild(el, parent)
return Array.from(parent.children).indexOf(el) + 1
}” x-id=”[‘tab’]”>
Geico average monthly full coverage premium
Geico average annual full coverage premium
National average annual full coverage premium
Age 18
$337
$4,048
$6,110
Age 25
$132
$1,584
$2,473
Age 30
$116
$1,389
$2,125
Age 40
$113
$1,353
$2,014
Age 60
$105
$1,264
$1,824
Geico average monthly minimum coverage premium
Geico average annual minimum coverage premium
National average annual minimum coverage premium
Age 18
$98
$1,175
$1,967
Age 25
$36
$432
$747
Age 30
$32
$379
$647
Age 40
$31
$373
$622
Age 60
$29
$352
$578
You may be eligible for a discount if you are a member or employee of a participating affiliate company or organization.
Both active duty and retired military policyholders, as well as members of the National Guard or Reserves, may save up to 15 percent on Geico auto insurance.
Geico provides up to 25 percent off car insurance for service members who experience an emergency deployment.
This usage-based telematics program tracks participating members’ driving habits and may offer premium discounts to safe drivers.
Geico may extend a discount to policyholders who insure multiple vehicles on the same policy.
Full-time students who maintain a strong academic record may receive a discount of up to 15 percent.
Geico car tools and benefits
Geico has partnered with TrueCar to create its Geico Car Buying Service. With this program, Geico policyholders can research their desired car’s market value and receive assistance from TrueCar’s Certified Dealers. After purchasing their vehicle, Geico members can use Geico Mobile’s Vehicle Care app, created through a partnership with CARFAX, to track their service history, access recall information and set maintenance reminders.
Drivers 50-years-old and older in certain states may qualify for policy renewal for life through Geico’s Prime Time contract. However, there are eligibility requirements. For example, there can be no drivers listed on the policy under the age of 25, no drivers on the policy can have received a violation or been involved in an accident in the past three years, and you can’t use your vehicle for business purposes. Still, this unique contract could provide peace of mind for those who are eligible.
Geico home insurance
Geico does not write its own home insurance policies, but it works with non-affiliated insurance companies to provide homeowners insurance quotes to interested customers. The policies are secured through GEICO Insurance Agency, LLC, and may require additional research to see if they offer the best homeowners insurance for your needs. Although coverage options and discounts may vary based on the partner company, Geico does advertise a bundling discount for auto insurance customers who add a property insurance policy through the carrier.
Geico life insurance
Similar to its home insurance policies, Geico life insurance is offered through partner companies.
Geico’s partnered life insurance offerings are available in three policy types: term life, whole life and universal life insurance. Term life insurance provides coverage for a specific amount of time, such as 10 or 30 years, and is typically used to replace lost income and cover future expenses if the policyholder passes away during the policy term. Customers may be able to obtain a term life insurance policy through Geico’s partner companies with no medical exam, but they will likely still have to fill out a health and lifestyle questionnaire.
Whole life insurance and universal life insurance are both types of permanent life insurance. These policies do not have a policy end date as long as policy terms are fulfilled. In addition to helping with income, permanent life insurance policies could also be an integral part of estate planning.
Auto Car Guides
Looking to save money on auto insurance?
ADVERTISEMENT
Powered by Coverage.com (NPN: 19966249)
Advertising Disclosure
This advertisement is powered by Coverage.com, LLC, a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 19966249) and a corporate affiliate of Bankrate. The offers and links that appear on this advertisement are from companies that compensate Coverage.com in different ways. The compensation received and other factors, such as your location, may impact what offers and links appear, and how, where and in what order they appear. While we seek to provide a wide range of offers, we do not include every product or service that may be available. Our goal is to keep information accurate and timely, but some information may not be current. Your actual offer from an advertiser may be different from the offer on this advertisement. All offers are subject to additional terms and conditions.
Insurance Disclosure
Coverage.com, LLC is a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 19966249). Coverage.com services are only available in states where it is licensed. Coverage.com may not offer insurance coverage in all states or scenarios. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
Geico customer satisfaction
Bankrate analyzes a variety of metrics to evaluate an insurance company’s customer satisfaction, including third-party scores issued by J.D. Power. Every year, J.D. Power studies customer satisfaction, claims satisfaction and digital experience for various insurance companies across the country and issues them scores in each subject, with 1,000 being the highest score possible.
Our editorial team also considers the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index. The NAIC keeps track of how many complaints are lodged against an insurance company and translates this data into a complaint index score. To understand this data, know the baseline (or average) amount of customer complaints is 1.0. A complaint index score higher than 1.0 means the company receives more complaints on average for its size and vice versa.
Geico auto satisfaction
Geico’s scores in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Auto Insurance Study vary depending on the region. Although it often scored above the segment average, it fell short in Texas and the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. Additionally, it landed just above the industry average for claims satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study.
Geico’s full-service mobile app and online customer portals may be a big perk for tech-savvy shoppers. While it is true that the app is highly-rated on the App store and Google Play, the company fell under the segment average in the service category in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study. Consumers may be more satisfied with Geico’s online sales flow as the company scored above average in the shopping category.
Regarding the NAIC complaint index, Geico has fewer complaints, on average, about its private passenger auto insurance for a company of its size, with a complaint index of 0.68. This index may indicate that Geico’s auto insurance policyholders are generally happy with the company’s service.
How to file a claim with Geico
Filing a claim with Geico can be done online through its website or the mobile app. Policyholders may also call the company’s claims line at 800-841-3000.
As Geico homeowners insurance is offered through partner companies, contact information for property claims may vary based on the company that writes your policy. A comprehensive list of property claims contact numbers can be found on Geico’s website.
Geico availability
Geico is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Other Geico perks worth considering
Auto insurance may be Geico’s most popular product, but customers can also access the following:
Travel insurance: Offered through Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, this insurance could help insure your travel costs including trip cancellations, lost or stolen travel documents or unplanned medical costs.
Jewelry insurance: Geico has partnered with Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group to help customers insure valuable and sentimental jewelry against theft, damage and loss.
Pet insurance: Caring for a pet can be a major expense, but pet insurance may help decrease some of the costs. Geico works with partner insurance carriers to provide coverage for most accidents, non-pre existing illnesses, dental care and more.
Geico corporate sustainability
Geico supports three main initiatives through the Geico Philanthropic Foundation: education, community engagement and equity, justice, diversity and inclusion. The Foundation has donated an average of $6-8 million annually to over 7,000 charities in the last twenty years. It encourages policyholders and the wider public to submit their 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations for donation consideration, provided that the non-profit meets Geico’s criteria. Nominations can be made from the start of the year to November 30.
Not sure if Geico is right for you?
If you’re still wondering if Geico could be a good fit for your insurance needs, you may want to consider requesting quotes from the companies below:
Geico vs. Esurance
As a fully digital insurance company, Esurance offers a robust digital app experience and may be another good option for those who want to manage their own policies. Its telematics DriveSense mobile app may allow Esurance customers and non-policyholders to earn rewards and discounts by tracking real-time driving habits and behaviors. However, Esurance does not advertise as many discounts as Geico and has higher average auto insurance premiums.
Learn more: Esurance Insurance review
Geico vs. Nationwide
Low-mileage drivers and those who want to build safe driving habits may appreciate Nationwide’s two telematics programs: SmartMiles and SmartRide. Nationwide could also be an option for those who want to bundle home and auto insurance with the same carrier, as the company writes its own homeowners insurance policies. Consumers should note that Nationwide did score below the industry average in J.D. Power’s auto claims satisfaction study.
Learn more: Nationwide Insurance review
Geico vs. Progressive
Progressive offers a long list of car insurance discounts as well as numerous home insurance discounts for those looking to save on both policy types. The company’s Name Your Price tool may also help customers take a price-first approach to their car insurance and find coverage that fits their budget. Progressive auto insurance is available in all 50 states, but homeowners insurance is not, so potential customers may want to verify availability when researching this carrier.
Learn more: Progressive Insurance review
Is Geico a good insurance company?
Bankrate’s insurance editorial staff includes three licensed agents, and we aim to share our intimate industry knowledge to help our readers choose the best insurance company that suits their needs. Insurance is complex, and we know that finding the right carrier isn’t always easy. That’s why we spend hundreds of hours each year conducting in-depth insurance company reviews.
Bankrate’s Geico insurance review also revealed that the company does not underwrite many insurance products other than car insurance. However, its partnerships with non-affiliated companies could allow customers to purchase most types of insurance including home, umbrella and life. Additional research may be required on these carriers to see if they’re the right fit.
Clock Wait
46
years of industry expertise
122
carriers reviewed
20.7K
ZIP codes examined
Dollar Coin
1.2M
quotes analyzed
Methodology
Auto
Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze 2023 rates for ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on a 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:
$100,000 bodily injury liability per person
$300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$50,000 property damage liability per accident
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
$500 collision deductible
$500 comprehensive deductible
To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. Our base profile drivers own a 2021 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.
These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes.
Age: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the ages 18-60 (base: 40 years) applied. Depending on age, drivers may be a renter or homeowner. Age is not a contributing rating factor in Hawaii and Massachusetts due to state regulations.
Incidents: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the following incidents applied: clean record (base), at-fault accident and single speeding ticket.
Bankrate Scores
Our 2023 Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impacts policyholders’ experiences with an insurance company. These rating factors include a robust assessment of each company’s product availability, financial strength ratings, online capabilities and customer and claims support accessibility. Each factor was added to a category, and these categories were weighted in a tiered approach to analyze how companies perform in key customer-impacting categories.
Like our previous Bankrate Scores, each category was assigned a metric to determine performance, and the weighted sum adds up to a company’s total Bankrate Score — out of 5 points. This year, our 2023 scoring model provides a more comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and better highlighting where they fall short.
Tier 1 (Cost & ratings): To determine how well auto and home insurance companies satisfy these priorities, 2023 quoted premiums from Quadrant Information Services (if available), as well as any of the latest third-party agency ratings from J.D. Power, AM Best and the NAIC, were analyzed.
Tier 2 (Coverage & savings): We assessed companies’ coverage options and availability to help policyholders find a provider that balances cost with coverage. Additionally, we evaluated each company’s discount options listed on its website.
Tier 3 (Support): To encompass the many ways an auto insurance company can support policyholders, we analyzed avenues of customer accessibility along with community support. This analysis incorporated additional financial strength ratings from S&P and Moody’s and factored a company’s corporate sustainability efforts.
Tier scores are unweighted to show the company’s true score in each category out of a possible five points.
These days, more Americans are opting to buy their cars online — from researching vehicles to making final purchases and having the cars delivered, all from the comfort of their homes. With the surge of car-buying apps, online car marketplaces and more dealerships that offer online options, it has become increasingly easy and accessible to trade in traditional dealership shopping with online car-buying.
A 2022 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey survey found that 68% of car shoppers plan to complete most of the car-buying process online in the future, while 80% of respondents agreed that it’s a good or great idea to buy a car entirely online.
Indeed, buying a car online can be more convenient for many: Buyers can complete the entire process from their couches and have a variety of options at their fingertips. However, there are advantages to in-person car-buying, namely the ability to negotiate, that online car purchases might not offer. Consider these advantages and disadvantages when deciding which option is right for you.
Buying a car online
Consumers who want to purchase a car online have several options. Top car-buying platforms like Autotrader and Carfax offer car listings from dealerships and private sellers and let shoppers search by make, model and price. Online auto dealers like CarMax and Carvana also have apps where buyers can complete the entire buying process and have a car delivered, while traditional marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist allow shoppers to find options in their local areas.
Advantages of buying a car online
Buying a car online offers shoppers the ability to complete the car-buying process at their own pace and without the pressure or hassle of going to a physical dealership. Additional benefits of purchasing a vehicle this way include:
You don’t have to leave your house
The clear benefit of choosing to complete the car-buying process online is the convenience it provides. Shopping through an app can save you time if you’re too busy to visit a dealership and is a useful alternative for those who are unable to visit a lot in person due to accessibility reasons. Most vehicles available through these platforms can even be shipped and delivered to you, meaning you truly do not need to leave your home.
There are more options available
Car apps and online marketplaces allow shoppers to expand their shopping radius and view more options than would typically be available from strictly going to a local dealer. Shopping from a larger pool can make it easier to find the car you’re looking for, which is particularly useful in the current market where supply-chain issues and a shortage of semiconductor chips continue to limit available options.
It’s easy to compare vehicles
Even when you do extensive research online before going to a dealer, it’s hard to keep track of and compare all your car options on the lot. Although some carmakers offer comparison tools on their websites, you can only compare vehicles from that maker — you can compare different cars made by Honda, for example. Many online platforms offer tools that make it easy to compare cars from different makers, side by side.
For example, the online car-shopping platform Edmunds has a car comparison tool that lets you view up to four cars side by side, with information like pricing, consumer ratings, standard features and other specifications like engine power.
Edmunds, and other apps like TrueCar, also offer built-in tools like buying and leasing loan calculators that can help buyers determine how much they can afford to pay monthly.
Disadvantages of buying a car online
Although buying a car online can be convenient, there are also some disadvantages to shopping this way. Here’s what you can expect.
You can’t see the physical condition of the car
One of the most important steps in the used-car buying process is test-driving the vehicle to see how it actually runs on the road. While you can get a general sense of how reliable a car might be online or through a vehicle history report, driving the car in person makes it easier to spot any potential problems, and it helps to ensure you don’t pay for a damaged vehicle.
Note that some online car services like Carvana and Vroom have return policies that allow buyers to return vehicles they’ve purchased, within a certain time frame.
There’s less room for negotiation
When buying a car from an in-person seller or dealer, there’s typically room to bargain down the sticker price. However, some online auto retailers like Carvana do not negotiate on pricing, which means that the price a vehicle is listed at is always the price you’ll pay.
Buying a car in person
Despite the rise of online car-buying, most Americans still buy their cars in person or at least complete the bulk of the car-buying process in person.
Advantages of buying a car in person
Physical car shopping means that buyers can see the cars they’re interested in, in person, and test drive their options. Some additional pros to buying a car in person include:
You can negotiate the price
It’s typical for buyers to negotiate a vehicle’s price down, whether they’re buying from a private seller or from a dealer. And doing so can often save them a lot of money off a car’s sticker price. Note that the recent car market has given dealerships the flexibility to add market adjustments to a vehicle’s manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP. These adjustments can sometimes be negotiated.
In contrast, as noted above, there’s typically no room to negotiate when buying a car entirely online, which means the price you see is the price you pay.
Potentially more incentives
The number of deals and incentives available to buyers in the current market continues to be limited. However, traditionally, it’s common for manufacturers and dealers to offer incentives and discounts in the form of lower financing rates, lease deals or cash rebates on the lot.
While you can browse new car incentives and rebates offered by make on platforms like Edmunds, incentives are typically not offered or readily available through online car retailers like Carvana, for example.
Disadvantages of buying a car in person
In addition to the inconvenience of visiting a dealer, often limited car options and how hard it can be to compare vehicles side by side, downsides to physical car shopping also include:
Pressure to make a purchase
Online car shopping apps allow you to go at your own pace. If no car piques your interest, you can take a break. However, on the lot, salespeople often have quotas and get paid based on how much they sell. This means they can be pushy and pressure buyers to make a purchase when they’re not ready to, or to buy a car that may not be right for them. Know that you can always walk out at any point during a sale.
Less financing flexibility
Dealerships make money off of financing your car with their lender or loans. This means they want you to finance through them, giving you less flexibility with what financial institution you can use to finance your car. On the bright side, if you enter a dealership with a preapproved loan offer, show the dealer you’re prepared and require it to match your preapproved interest rate, you can save money in the long run.
Bottom line
The important thing to know about how you choose to purchase a car is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can choose to start your car-buying process online by researching and seeing what cars are in your area, and then visiting the dealership to complete the purchase in person. Regardless of which option you chose, make sure you do your research and purchase through a reliable app, marketplace, seller or dealer.
2014 was a very exciting year for me and I am looking forward to an even better year in 2015. I had a lot of big real estate goals for 2014, which I discussed in detail here. I did not accomplish all of those goals, but I did accomplish a lot and I know setting goals helped me achieve more than I would have without goals. For 2015 I am continuing to set big goals to push myself to achieve as much as I can. I love writing these articles because it helps me recount what I wanted to do, what I ended up doing and helps me plan the next year.
On the surface it looks like I fell way short on many goals, but when analyzing them it is not as bad as it seems.
My goal articles for other years
What real estate goals did I want to accomplish in 2014?
Here are the major goals I wanted to accomplish in 2014 and what I actually did in 2014.
I wanted to sell 15 fix and flips and I ended up selling 12.
I wanted to sell 300 houses as a team and we ended up selling 160
I wanted to buy 6 rentals and I only bought 3
I wanted InvestFourMore to reach 150,000 views a month and it reached 170,000 in October!
I wanted to buy a Lamborghini Diablo and I did!
As I mentioned I fell short on many goals, but I still sold 12 flips, sold 160 houses, bought 3 rentals and bought a Lamborghini. I think that was a pretty good year, even if it was not quite as good as I hoped.
Fix and flips in 2014
In 2014 I set a huge goal to flip 15 houses; I had previously flipped 10 houses in 2013. Flipping 15 houses takes a lot of work and a lot of planning. I assumed the biggest roadblock to that goal would be finding and buying that many houses to flip. I ended up buying enough houses to flip 15, but I could not find the contractors to do the work. I had to fire one contractor I had worked with for years and I ended up trying out at least four new contractors. I think one of those new contractors has worked out so far out of the four.
I learned a lot about flipping homes in 2014. I learned that having ten flips at one time is not a great way to do business unless you have the contractors to do the work. I will have held a few properties for almost a year and that is way too long on a flip. One of those properties did take about $60,000 in repairs and was an extremely long rehab. A before and after video is below.
[embedded content]
Fix and flip goals for 2015
For 2015 I am not going to be as ambitious on my flipping goals. There are a number of reasons I don’t want to flip 15 houses in 2015.
It takes too much babysitting of contractors and I would need to add at least a couple more.
It takes a lot of capital to fund all those flips and the repairs. I think all the flipping made it harder to buy rentals.
I can still buy as many properties, but instead of flip them myself, I could wholesale the properties.
My goal for 2015 is to flip 10 houses and wholesale 5 to 10 more. I have 8 flips right now so reaching ten should not be a problem, but I might sell a couple I have now as wholesale deals. If anyone is interested in some Northern Colorado deals, let me know!
Rental property goals in 2014
In 2014 I wanted to buy 6 rental properties to keep on track with my plan to purchase 100 rental properties. I only bought three rentals, which was disappointing, but better than not buying any! You can find the details on the properties below:
Rental property number nine
Rental property number ten
Rental property number eleven
These are all great properties and I will make a lot of money with them in the future. I have a total cash flow of about $6,000 a month coming in after I paid off rental property number one early in 2014. There are many reasons why I fell short on this goal as well.
I tied up much of my available capital in my flips
There were very few deals in the area for rentals
It is tough to focus on rental properties when I am also working on flips, my real estate team, and the blog. Plus I have a family that I spend as much time with as I can.
I want to shift much more focus on rental properties again, because they are such a great investment. The income from flipping is great, but I have to pay a lot of taxes on it and once I sell a house it stops making me any money. The rental property income keeps coming in every month with much less work and fewer headaches.
Rental property goals for 2015
For 2015 I want to get back on track buying as many rental properties as I can. I am going to flip fewer homes, which will give me more capital to buy rentals. I am also refining my direct marketing campaign, which should bring me more deals (I will have an upcoming article to discuss my direct marketing). I want to buy at least seven rentals in 2015 and that should put me closer to my goals of 100 rentals by 2023.
Real estate team goals for 2014
in 2014 I wanted to sell 300 homes as a team, but we sold about half that. I had sold over 200 houses in 2013 and 2012, but the market changed drastically. Prices increased, buyers increased and inventory decreased. For many agents, this was a good thing, but I focus on REO and HUD listings and that cut my listings down drastically. Our county went from 10 to 20 foreclosures a week in 2012 to 2-4 a week in 2014. Even though our sales went down drastically we accomplished a lot in 2014.
The team lost a couple of agents in 2014
The team added a couple of agents in 2014
The new agents are doing awesome and selling a lot of homes
Even though we sold less REO and HUD homes, we had many more traditional sales in 2014
The average price of our sales increased by 20%
We had a down year as far as houses sales, but the price per sale was up, our team is much stronger than it was and it is also more balanced. The best part is I have to do less work because I set my team up to be able to complete many of my tasks and sell houses on their own.
Real estate team goals for 2015
For 2015 I want to sell 200 houses, which is a big pullback from my previous goal. REOs and HUDs are even harder to find in 2015 than in 2014, which will decrease our sales. However, the new team members and training we implement should increase the number of sales from the other agents. I also want to add a couple more agents and my goal is to have every agent on my team make $100,000 a year.
InvestFourMore goals in 2014
2014 was a great year for the blog and thanks to setting up my team to handle much of the work I had more time to work on the blog. I wrote over 100 articles on the blog and the traffic peaked at 170,000 views in October. Traffic was down slightly in November and December due to the holidays and I stopped doing as much guest blogging on other sites.
I learned a lot about the internet, marketing, SEO and blogging in 2014. I continue to improve the site and I have met a lot of great people while blogging. The Complete Blueprint has been a great success and adding the conference calls has been very successful. If you missed it, I added CDs, a goals setting guide and a few more features recently. I am working on a system to help real estate agents as well that is almost complete and the REO kit has been very successful as well. My eBooks are doing well, which can be bought on Amazon.
InvestFourMore goals in 2015
In 2015 I want to increase traffic, increase my relationships with other investors and blogs and continue to improve my investing strategies by learning as much as possible. Here are some specific goals:
300,000 views a month by the end of 2015
Implement a new real estate agent success system
Borrow private money through the blog in 2015
Improve or create a new forum for InvestFourMore
Personal goals in 2014
In 2014 I accomplished a huge goal by purchasing a 1999 Lamborghini Diablo. I bought the car much sooner than I was planning on, but a great deal came up on a car that was the perfect color. I did not think I would be able to find that color again for a reasonable price for years so I jumped on it. I also thought Diablo prices were at a low point and I have already been offered $26,000 more than I bought the car for. I am not selling it anytime soon as it is awesome and a great marketing tool as well.
As for other goals I reached some, missed others, but had a great year. My wife and kids are doing great and we love the house we bought in 2013.
Personal goals for 2015
I don’t have any big goals for 2015 as far as car buying. I would love to buy an Aston Martin V8 or Lamborghini Countach at some point, but I don’t plan on doing it in 2015. I have personal income goals and a few more that I will keep private. I can’t share everything!
I hope everyone had a great 2014 and if not, then think of all the things you learned and don’t focus on how bad things went.
By Peter Anderson9 Comments – The content of this website often contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you buy through those links (at no cost to you!). Learn more about how we make money. Last edited October 30, 2008.
Time to take the plunge and get a new car
The transmission on my old car decided that it no longer wants to continue shifting as it should. After getting several repair estimates, we found that to fix the car would cost us over $2500 in repairs, along with another $1000 or more in other needed repairs in the near future. We decided that we just didn’t want to pump that much money into a car that wasn’t worth much more than $2500.
So now we’re looking around to find a good, reliable used car that will last us another 5 years and around 100,000 miles. I haven’t bought a car in about 5 years, so I had forgotten what an ordeal it can be, and how many things you need to remember. Here’s a list of some things that are important to remember when looking for a used car.
credit: Ben Grogan
Things To Remember When Shopping For A Used Car
Use the power of the internet: With the advent of the internet the consumer has a whole new sense of empowerment when it comes to car shopping. Using the internet you can shop around for a good price and play dealers against each other. Doing this is a whole lot easier than it used to be. Use online automotive websites like carsoup.com, autotrader.com or cars.com to narrow the field of possible cars, and then get price quotes from dealers that you can compare. Let the dealers know when you’ve found a better deal, they may match it, or even beat it! (Dealers hate Internet customers because they usually are well informed, and end up getting a better deal). Also, use the internet to research your next vehicle through information sites like Edmunds.com where they have exhaustive reviews, customer feedback and true cost to own stats for all makes and models.
Used cars have a history: Make sure that you always check a vehicle’s history report before even doing a test drive. For a fee you can do unlimited vehicle history reports through services like Carfax.com or Autocheck.com. All used cars have a history, and for some cars their history is more colorful than others. For example, when I was searching for a car this time I found what I thought was an extraordinary deal on a used car with low miles and a great price. After doing a history report on the vehicle I discovered that the vehicle had a salvage title and had been in an accident. Big time red flags! Some of the things you can tell on a history report include accident history, odometer readings (to make sure there hasn’t been an odometer rollback), whether or not the vehicle has a clear title, ownership history (including whether it was a rental car or a taxi) and a variety of other things. Vehicle history reports are a must have for any used car shopper!
Check for signs of tell-tale vehicle damage: Even some vehicles that have a clean history report may have some hidden damage that was never reported, and thus doesn’t appear on the vehicle’s history. Because of that you will want to make sure that you inspect the car carefully to make sure it is sound. Carmax has an article about how to find some tell-tale signs that the car has been repaired. Signs include: vehicle has been repainted, clamp marks on the frame, welding marks and body filler, engine noise, misalignment of hood, doors or trunk, checking bolts to see if they’ve been removed. Check the article for more ways to determine if the car has been repaired.
Make sure to take a vehicle for a test drive: In the internet age, you’d be surprised at how many people are now buying vehicles before even taking them for a test drive. (Ebay anyone?) A test drive can be invaluable because it allows you to see the car in action, hear any noises the car may make, and feel how the car performs under normal road conditions.I just test-drove what I thought was a great steal of a car last night, and the brakes turned out to be bad, there were stains on the seats and the car’s shocks were shot. All of these things I found out on the test drive. Some things to check when you do a test drive include the interior of the car (check for excessive wear), the tires and brakes, the shocks (press down on the car and see if it bounces back quickly without too much bouncing), steering and acceleration without too much noise, and just listen for foreign sounds. If your gut tells you something isn’t right with a car, pass on it.
Pay for a vehicle inspection by your mechanic: If you really want to make sure that a car is mechanically sound before you buy, take it to a trusted local mechanic who can tell you if the car is in good working order or not. Our local mechanic does a thorough inspection for about $30, but it is well worth the cost. I would especially suggest doing this if you are buying a car from a private party or buying a car without any kind of warranty (which most used cars don’t have).
Don’t play the “monthly payment game”: When you’re at the dealer don’t fall prey to the “monthly payment game”. This happens when the dealer asks at what price range you’d like to keep your monthly payments. When you respond with “under $400” or the like, that gives the dealer free reign to put you in a more expensive car or give you a longer finance deal – all in the name of reaching that magical monthly payment number. Instead of playing that game, decide on how much you’re willing to pay, and stick to that number no matter what. Tell them something like: “I want to keep the purchase price under $9,000” and don’t respond to their talks of monthly payments. That way you can ensure you don’t end up paying more than you thought you would, just because you wanted a certain payment. Figure it out on your own beforehand – and stick to your guns.
Bring your own financing to the dealer: One of the biggest ways car dealerships can make a good deal turn sour is by padding the deal for your car with back-end fees in the finance office. All of that can be avoided if you just get your financing ahead of time through your local bank or credit union. Or even better, save up for your used car purchase as suggested by Dave Ramsey in Financial Peace University – and pay cash! That’s what we’ll be doing! Read my previous article about driving free cars and retiring rich – where I talk about just that – saving for your next used car.
Make sure the car is insured: Make sure to call your insurance company and check rates for the cars you’re looking at, and inform them once you do buy a new car. Don’t let the insurance lapse! Check insurance rates with other companies when you buy a new car, it may be as good a time as any to save some money on your insurance rates.
Other Used Car Shopping Resources
Here are a few other good articles with tips on buying a used car, in no particular order:
So what is your used car buying tip? Have a good or a bad experience buying a used car? Leave us a comment here and tell us about it!
I am a huge believer in setting goals to help myself achieve more in life and in business. I love to make big real estate goals that are tough to achieve because I know they will help me accomplish more. Because I set really big goals, I do not always accomplish everything I set out too, but that is okay. I know I am still farther ahead not accomplishing big goals than I would be accomplishing small and easy goals. 2015 was a good year, but not as good as I hoped. I ran into many roadblocks (some of the same as 2014), but I also had many successes. Even though things did not go exactly as I planned, I had a great year, I have big plans for the future and I am going to challenge myself even more in 2016.
My goal articles for other years
Why do I like big real estate goals?
Before I get into exactly what happened and did not happen in 2015, I want to discuss goals. I overlooked goals when I was younger and it was a huge mistake. I thought goals were a waste of time and I never even tried to set any meaningful goals. When my career and life really started to turn around was when I accidentally set some goals as a real estate agent. I wrote out a very detailed plan on how many houses I would have to sell to make what I thought was decent money back in 2005. I gave that plan to my dad, who I was working with at the time to show him how unfair my commission split was. He didn’t change the split I was getting, but I did end up selling that many houses a couple of years later. When I wrote that plan, I thought it was an incredibly ridiculous number (100 houses a year). I know I would not have sold that many houses as a real estate agent if I had not written out that plan, even if it was by accident.
I started to make good money and I realized I wanted to make even more. So I started reading every book I could on goal setting, self-improvement and even “how to get rich”. I even took Jack Canfield coaching, which helped my career tremendously. Along the way, I learned a lot about myself, about habits I needed to have to be successful and how to continuously improve. Many people with life would get easier and are looking forward to a time when they can relax. I learned that challenges are fun, and solving problems is fun. Being bored with no challenges and an easy ride is not fun. I love Jim Rohn’s quote:
“Don’t wish life were easier, wish you were better.”
I started to realize I was in control of my life. If things weren’t going how I wanted them to go, I could change things by changing the way I did things. That may remind you of the saying:
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
Honestly, this saying is one of my biggest pet peeves. First off, many people attribute this saying to Albert Einstein, but there is no record of him ever saying it. Second if this were true, 95 percent of the population would be insane. Sometimes doing the same thing over and over does change the results, if you do the same thing better and better every time you do it. While I think the saying sends a good message about trying new things if something is not working, it still bugs me that it is used so much and wrongly quoted to Eisenstein.
Making big goals is one reason I have accomplished so much. One of my biggest goals is to buy 100 rental properties by 2023. When I first starting buying rental properties I thought a good goal would be to buy 30 properties. I based this goal on my trend of buying 3 properties a year and thought I could continue that trend for ten years. After learning about goals and how to best use them, I knew I had to make my goal bigger. If I knew I could achieve my goal without changing much, I knew my goal was too small. I changed my goal to purchase 100 properties in the next ten years. That goal would challenge me to make more money, find new ways to buy properties or discover other ways to get more properties than I thought I could. While I am a little behind on my plan to reach 100 rentals, I am much farther ahead than my original goal to buy 30 houses.
What were my rental property, fix and flips, team and blog goals for 2015?
2015 rental property goals?
At the end of 2014, I wrote a goal article about what I had accomplished in 2014 and my goals for 2015. Below you will find the goals I set for 2015 and comments on how I did.
I want to get back on track buying as many rental properties as I can. I am going to flip fewer homes, which will give me more capital to buy rentals. I am also refining my direct marketing campaign, which should bring me more deals (I will have an upcoming article to discuss my direct marketing). I want to buy at least seven rentals in 2015 and that should put me closer to my goals of 100 rentals by 2023.
I only bought five rentals in 2015, which was less than my goal, but more than I bought in 2014. However, I am thinking about turning a couple of my flips into rentals, which would put me at my goal. I have one flip that I intended to sell quickly unless the tenants wanted to stay. The home was rented for $1,100 a month and I bought it for about $100,000. The tenants wanted to stay and we just upped their rent to $1,300 a month and they still want to stay. I have not done any work to the property and I think I may try to sell it as-is for $150,000 as with the tenants in place or I might keep it as a rental. My hesitation about keeping it as a rental is the location is a little different from most of my rentals.
I have another flip that I may turn into a rental as well because it is in a great location and could have a basement apartment. If I decide to make those properties rentals I would have met my 2015 goals. In fact, I may have surpassed them if you look at units because both of the new rentals would be 2 unit properties and one of the five other rentals I bought in 2015 was a 2 unit property as well.
To learn how to use mindset and attitude to make yourself more successful, check out: How to Change Your Mindset to Achieve Huge Success: Why your attitude and daily habits have more to do with making more money and having more freedom than anything else. A 200-page book available as an eBook or paperback on Amazon.
2015 fix and flip goals?
For 2015 I am not going to be as ambitious on my flipping goals. My goal for 2015 is to flip 10 houses and wholesale 5 to 10 more. I have 8 flips right now so reaching ten should not be a problem, but I might sell a couple I have now as wholesale deals. If anyone is interested in some Northern Colorado deals, let me know! There are a number of reasons I don’t want to flip 15 houses in 2015.
It takes too much babysitting of contractors and I would need to add at least a couple more.
It takes a lot of capital to fund all those flips and the repairs. I think all the flipping made it harder to buy rentals.
I can still buy as many properties, but instead of flip them myself, I could wholesale the properties.
In 2015 I will flip 9 houses. This is less than the ten I wanted to flip and I should have flipped many more. The biggest problem was I could not get houses fixed fast enough. I even hired a project manager full-time to get things done faster and it has not changed anything. I love flipping houses and I have realized that I am addicted to buying houses. I did wholesale two properties in 2015, which was nice. On both deals, I made close to $20,000 without doing any work at all. I would still be open to wholesaling more properties if the opportunity arises, but those were unique properties. One was in a very small town that was perfect to wholesale because it was 45 minutes away from me and the other was a college rental that needed a ton of work.
2015 real estate team goals?
For 2015 I want my team to sell 200 houses, which is a big pullback from my previous goal. REOs and HUDs are even harder to find in 2015 than in 2014, which will decrease our sales. However, the new team members and training we implement should increase the number of sales from the other agents. I also want to add a couple more agents and my goal is to have every agent on my team make $100,000 a year.
In 2015 we did add two new agents and almost added a couple more to our team. They have just gotten started, but are doing awesome so far. One of my agents that was hired in 2014 made well over $100,000 in his first year, which was awesome. We did not sell 200 houses, we sold 127. That is way below my goal, but our market keeps going crazy. Prices have increased and even though we sold fewer homes, the value of the homes was much higher. HUD homes and REO properties have decreased even more and the sales have shifted from me to my team, which is exactly what I wanted.
2015 goals for InvestFourMore?
For InvestFourMore I want to increase traffic, increase my relationships with other investors and blogs and continue to improve my investing strategies by learning as much as possible. Here are some specific goals:
300,000 views a month by the end of 2015
Implement a new real estate agent success system
Borrow private money through the blog in 2015
Improve or create a new forum for InvestFourMore
InvestFourMore has done awesome and I have the most fun working on it than I do anything else. I did not hit 300,000 views, but I am very close! I have a new source for private money, that was from the blog. I knew the investor before I started the blog, but he approached me about lending money after reading about my business on the site. I created the new forum and it has been a success as well. I also created a new Facebook Group, which has been very successful and you are all welcome to join. I did many more things with the blog, including starting a high-level mentor program (email me if interested: [email protected]).
2015 personal goals for 2015?
I don’t have any big goals for 2015 as far as car buying. I would love to buy an Aston Martin V8 or Lamborghini Countach at some point, but I don’t plan on doing it in 2015. I have personal income goals and a few more that I will keep private. I can’t share everything!
The year was a good one personally and I did not buy any more cars. I did meet a lot of great people and I started a new blog about cars: Howdidyouaffordthatcar.com. I have not had time to do too much with the site yet, but I plan to work on it little by little. I didn’t reach many of my personal goals for income, but I achieved many others I did set.
What are my new goals for 2016?
As you can see, I did not achieve many of my goals for 2016. That may seem like a disappointment, but it is actually a good thing. If I had achieved everything, that would mean I set my goals too low and did not challenge myself enough. I also know there is a lot of room for improvement! Below are my new goals and some things I plan to do to achieve them.
2016 rental property goals?
For 2016 I want to buy 10 more rentals! Yes, that is a huge number, but I think I can do it. Here are a couple of things I am going to change to reach that goal:
I am working on refinancing 8 of my rentals into long-term 30 year fixed rate loans. I am using some national portfolio lenders. I will pay a little higher rate, but have my loans locked in and get $300,000 in cashback. My properties will still cash flow and I will be able to buy many more rentals with that money that cash flow as well.
I am thinking about investing in other markets. I bought a turn-key property in Ohio in 2015, but for future rental property purchases, I want to buy below market value. In order to do that in another market, it will take a lot of work. My reason for switching markets is the huge appreciation we have seen here. It is getting harder and harder to find great cash flow.
I am looking for a new local portfolio lender. My portfolio lender is getting tougher and tougher to work with now that I have hit a certain dollar amount of loans with them. That is one reason I am considering refinancing 8 of my properties with another lender. I would also love to find a lender who does not have a seasoning period, which would allow me to refinance properties faster and get some of my investment back.
fix and flip goals for 2016?
For 2016 I want to flip 20 houses! Yes, this is another huge goal for the new year. This will double the amount of homes I flipped in 2015, but I think it is possible as well. It will be tougher if I decide to keep two of my current flips as rentals. Here is why I think I can make this happen:
I have ten flips going right now. I will get these ten flips sold in the first half of the year. I have two more flips under contract, which would leave me with 12 flips. I only have to buy 8 more, get them repaired and sold before 2016 is over.
I think I can buy and repair that many homes in the next year because I am changing my repair process again. I had a vision in place for 2015, which has not happened. However, I am going to make it happen in 2016 and that may take some big changes in the way repairs are handled.
I may look into more financing options with my flips. I already have a new private money lender who has made the process much easier. While he charges more than my portfolio lender does on my flips, I can close in a couple of days. I may look into adding more private money lenders as well.
real estate team goals for 2016?
For 2016 I want to hire another really good agent. I do not want to hire too many agents, because we don’t have space for many more! I also want to focus on getting leads for our team through our website FergusonGreeley.com. I think we have some great agents in place, we need to get them trained and performing as well as possible, before adding more. Again I want to sell 200 houses in 2016, this goal may seem too high, but one of these years I will get there! How will I meet these goals?
Focus on organic leads through our website, utilizing everything I have learned from InvestFourMore.
Use Facebook to generate leads and sales for our team (we already do this and have had great results).
Weekly training meetings and great support for our agents (we already do this as well).
Flipping more houses will generate more leads and opportunities for our agents.
blog goals for 2016?
For 2016 I want to keep increasing traffic and the number of people I help buy investment properties or make more money as an agent. Here are some goals:
500,000 views a month by the end of 2016. As a site gets bigger and bigger the traffic increase slow down. I still want to grow the site, but I also want to focus on helping people more than getting the biggest audience possible.
Focus on a few core things. With a blog or website, you can get sucked into 1,000 different activities that take a ton of time. I started a podcast in 2015, which has been awesome and should be a core activity, I think my coaching products should be a core activity and writing articles.
I want to write a really awesome book. I have written five eBooks that can be downloaded as a PDF or read as a Kindle eBook. I think the books are good, but I want to write an awesome book. I have already started writing an extremely in-depth book on rental properties that will be available as an eBook and a physical book that can be ordered and delivered to your door. I want this book to be the best rental property book available. I am also working on a book that I am co-writing with J Scott.
personal goals for 2016?
I don’t disclose what I make or how much I want to make on the blog because I try to keep at least a few things private! I do have personal income goals, business goals, and many other personal goals. Here are some long-term goals I added to my bucket list. I don’t have dates yet for when I want to accomplish these, but I am working on that.
Buy an old plantation and fix it up. I love old houses and old mansions. At some point in my life, I would love to buy an old plantation house and fix it up.
Start a used car dealership. I have already looked into starting a car dealership so that I can buy more exotic cars. I love cars and my dream job would be to buy awesome cars all day long, selling them is tougher for me. I met some really cool people this last year, including some guys who started a car dealership.
I want to buy a 1980’s Aston Martin V-8 in 2016. Prices on these cars are going up and I want to buy one before they skyrocket as my Diablo has.
Conclusion
Over the last year, I have learned a lot, changed the ways I do business and had a lot of fun. I think I can improve things immensely in 2016. One reason I think I can improve things is because of my personal habits and routines. I learned many things over the years about success and once you reach some level of success it is easy to slack off. I did slack off on my daily routines, goal reviews and personal improvement over the last year. I have made a huge effort to get those habits back on track in the last three months. I am really excited to get things started in 2016 and see what happens!
You’ve probably seen embedded insurance in the wild. Here’s an example: Let’s say you buy a new refrigerator. During checkout, you’re asked if you’d like to get insurance for the item. That insurance policy, or “protection plan,” gets embedded into your purchase as a single transaction.
Companies can offer insurance policies on everything from buying the latest iPhone to renting a U-Haul. But if getting insurance can be so easy, then why is it such a hassle when you buy or lease a new car?
In order to understand whether embedded car insurance is right for you, it helps to get context on how it all works. More importantly, that should also answer a bigger question: Can this actually save you money?
Rising anxiety about the cost of owning a car
Getting a new car isn’t all that different from any other purchase. If you’ve ever bought a laptop, an espresso machine or even a high-end electric toothbrush, you know the feeling: That sense of excitement that comes with being a new owner, especially after weeks or months of research.
But when it comes to big purchases, the word “ownership” can also cause anxiety. According to a 2023 NerdWallet survey, 53% of Americans plan to buy or lease a vehicle in the next 12 months. However, 23% of Americans who own a personal vehicle consider the cost of vehicle ownership to be a source of stress.
Those numbers might seem contradictory, but the reality is that the total cost of owning a vehicle is hard to calculate. You can budget your car purchase to the dollar, but it can still be hard to predict gas prices and car insurance rates. In fact, the average car insurance price for 2023 is nearly 32% higher than the average rate for 2022, according to NerdWallet’s annual analysis.
The burden of financing, insuring and paying off a vehicle lasts years after the initial excitement wears off. So drivers are looking for ways to save wherever they can, including at the dealership.
What is embedded insurance?
One way to reduce the stress of buying a new car is to find ways to simplify the process. This is why bundling auto insurance into a car purchase (not unlike our example of buying a new fridge) appeals to drivers.
“There’s no need to call your agent, spend 20 minutes on the phone digging up and providing details then waiting for your proof of insurance. With embedded insurance, it’s instant and seamless,” said Cassi Conrad, chief insurance officer at Sure, in an email. Sure is a digital insurance platform that supports embedded insurance providers.
Almost every state requires drivers to have liability insurance, so you’ll need proof of coverage before you can purchase a vehicle at a dealership. But having the car dealership bundle an insurance policy into your financing package might save you time and effort, both during the “checkout” process as well as when it’s time to make payments.
Additionally, consumers are more likely to buy insurance at the time of a car purchase. 50% of Gen Z (ages 18-26) and 54% of millennials (ages 27-42) believe the best time to shop for auto insurance is when buying or leasing a vehicle, according to the NerdWallet survey.
The convenience of bundling insurance into a purchase — combined with a rise in digital insurance as a whole — has created a demand for embedding policies into the car buying experience, Conrad said.
But can embedded insurance save you money?
All of this lines up with what drivers actually want when buying a car: 72% of recent car buyers would have liked to purchase insurance directly from the dealership, according to an online 2022 survey of recent car buyers by Polly, a company that sells embedded auto insurance. That same survey states that 42% of car buyers received no support from the dealership about actually getting insurance in their most recent car purchase.
Part of this disconnect is tied to availability. Embedded insurance is sort of an ongoing experiment for both insurers and car dealerships, and there just isn’t enough information available to predict whether it will save you money.
In fact, while embedded car insurance is definitely convenient, you could end up paying more for insurance over time. If you’re offered a single price for financing that includes a car loan and an insurance policy, you may end up paying interest on your insurance, which is unnecessary as well as expensive.
Choosing insurance is subjective. It’s largely dependent on how much coverage you want as well as what you feel comfortable paying, and the factors that determine pricing vary by person. But because there isn’t a standardized embedded auto insurance offering right now, the details could depend on the dealership, insurer and financing terms rather than what you want or need.
Ways to save on new-car insurance right now
If you do get offered embedded insurance at a dealership, it’s probably in your best interests to decline at this time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find other ways to save money on insurance for a new car.
Remember all those hours you spent selecting the perfect year, make and model? Apply that same process to finding car insurance. Spend one hour getting a few different quotes for the specific vehicle you want, then compare those rates to find the best fit for your situation. If you do this before you get to the dealership, you can compare their offers to the quotes you already have.
Embedded auto insurance is still an evolving thing. Until some sort of standard policy offer exists, we recommend prepping before you get to the dealership to decide if embedded insurance is a good fit. You may still decide to add insurance to your cart at checkout, but at least you’ll know whether its the best deal before you sign the paperwork.