New car insurance

muninn

So i might be buying a new car this saturday. Operative word is "might".
My current rust bucket is on its last legs, and I wouldnt be trading it in to a dealership during the purchase of the new car, but try to sell if off privately in the meantime.
My question is about car insurance. Will the new car be insured by the dealership for the next few days after the purchase so that I could arrange my own policy, or do I somehow have to set this up before the purchase.

I am confused as to the procedure here.

Newton

Call you insurance company while your doing the paperwork for the new car. They'll add the new car to your policy and then fax proof of insurance to the dealership for you. Dealers don't provide any sort of insurance.

illig

since you'll temporarily have two cars, you will have to set this up ahead of time with your insurer. This is also a good idea just so you know the costs (and have time to shop around)... this may even alter your new car choice since different cars have surprisingly different insurance rates.

Now, if you are just replacing a car (i.e. you drive in with one, and leave with the other), you might not have to do any pre-checking. Most insurance companies do give you a grace period (a day or two usually) where they will cover a replacement vehicle without being notified about it... this gives you time to drive home and call your agent to switch the cars on the policy.

Overall, i'd definitely recommend shopping around for insurance ahead of time, even if you aren't "required" to.

I'm getting ready to buy a new car and if i do it now and stick with my current insurer, countrywide, i'll pay around $3100/year. If I wait till end of January, and switch to Allstate, i'll pay about $1500/year. Guess which I'm doing

muninn

Thanks! Called the insurer and they stated that I have 30 days to take out policy on my new car since the date of purchase. In the meantime I will shop around and see what is cheaper.

Deebaser

Also you probably already know this, but if you're financing the car, the bank will require more than minimum liability coverage.