Insurance, the White Man's Burden

(Title from an episode of the Goon Show.)

More car shopping stuff. I had a chat with my insurance agent today, to nail down some rough ranges of increased cost that will come with a new car. My current insurance bill is about $60/month on a 1996 Buick Regal Custom...pretty comprehensive insurance, since when I got the Regal I decided that it was time to go beyond state minimum insurance as I was no longer driving a total piece of crap. :) Anyway, this does mean that a significant portion of my bill is based on expected parts costs needed to repair damage to my own car.

Now, keep in mind that these are rough estimates, based on notional cars rather than real ones. They can't guarantee the accuracy of a quote without a real Vehicle ID Number.

Ford Fusion would add about $30/month to my bill. The Mazda 6 sedan, which is the same core as the Fusion but a different shell, would add about $38/month (probably more expensive parts). A Mazda 3 sedan would add $43/month to my bill, and a Mazda 3 wagon would add a whopping $60/month to my insurance bill. I'm not really thinking of getting a Mazda 3 sedan, but I asked for the quote to see if the 3Wagon's bump was due more to being a Mazda 3, or more due to being a wagon. Looks like about half and half.

The insurance bite means that a Mazda 3 wagon would cost me about two grand more over the term of my loan just for insurance than a Fusion would. Not a deal-killer, but definitely something to consider, and possibly to bring up as a bargaining chip at the dealership.

Edit Update: According to the dealer, the Mazda 3's parts-shipping cost is likely the major or only reason for the insurance rate boost. Would definitely look at raising my deductible if I get that.

Because it's the sort of thing I DO.

( Yes, I designed a Transformer based on one of the cars I'm considering. )

For now, it's just a generic robot, I simply wanted to get the transformation scheme worked out. Not gonna do a final version until I either get a Mazda 3 wagon (and know what color it is) or decide not to get one (and can make it any color I feel like). In the "where does all that robot stuff go?" department, the abdomen hides behind the robot head (taking up the passenger side in car mode), and the boots slide over the thighs and pelvis. The feet are under the thighs in car mode, and might even have exhaust pipe molding. The left arm folds up to take the place of the seatbacks, and the roof shield is a reassembler piece, pegging onto the arm different ways for robot and vehicle modes. In robot mode, the passenger side (back half of the torso) is hollow, the joint for the left arm attaches to the solid driver's side of the torso.