whats the difference on your insurance if you get the factory alaarm vs a aftermarket alarm????

 

not by much...heck my insurance didnt even ask for that specific piece of info when I went in.

 

oohh, when i went to get a quote they asked me. i heard that insurance is required before leaving the lot, is that true?

 

Yes, the dealership asks for ur current insurance info. They also give u 30 days (if I am not mistaken) of insurance on the car through them so you have time to get the car insured through ur insurance company.

 

through them? i had to get my own.

 

You must have proof of insurance. It doesn't have to be for the car though. But within x days (Not sure extactly how many, but less than 1 month for sure) you must get the car insured. THey give you a window with x days.

 

that sounds about right. thanks!

 

I believe its 30 days, but the car is covered for that window. Good response.

 

That is correct - X = 30.
When you have a car insurance policy, the coverage is almost like it is being split. The policy covers you, in the event that you drive someone else's car, and it covers your car, in the event that it is driven by someone else (if someone else wrecks your car, both your policy and theirs are in effect, and the companies will battle it out to decide which one takes priority and pays the loss).
Similarly, when you buy a new car, you are covered for 30 days, by which time you must alert your company that you bought a new car so they can modify your policy and premium.

 

You guys must have unusually generous dealers. Kearny Mesa Scion in San Diego will SELL you insurance, but they don't GIVE you any for free, not 30 days, not even 3. They wouldn't even let me drive off without me either having the car insured or buying some through them, even though I paid cash (i.e.; paid it off/all/total) for the car.

 

Here you give your dealer your insurance card from your old car and they set it up for you on the new car. The insurance company faxes your new insurance cards to the dealership.. you drive off insured... if you don't have insurance you set it up before hand then have the cards faxed to the dealership.

 

Oooh interesting! ^^^ but dont you also have to converse with your insurance co. b/c im sure theres a premium difference here...

 

"They" isn't the dealership, it's the insurance company.
When I bought my car, I called my agent ahead of time for a ballpark quote. When I bought the car, I simply proved to the dealer that I had already had an automotive policy. A few days later, I called my agent back and gave him the details on the new car, and told him to remove the old one from the policy and all was well. There's nothing generous about it, it's just how the industry works (for what it's worth, I work for an insurance company, so I'm somewhat familiar with this sort of thing)

 

Its not a dealer thing. Its a state law thing. So you got clowned by the dealer.
Also, its not you. The reason the car must be insured is in the case of an accident the bank that you get your loan from, doesn't get "out of any money". Another reason is so that in case of an accident, you are covered. This would be cali law. You have according to some 30 days, but I think in cali it is 7(don't hold me to that number). The dealer can't refuse to drive off the lot. Maybe that specific dealer sells insurance too? Either way, you just got clowned by the dealer. Either that or you must have some serious records with cars(negative).

 

not in cali.

 

yeaa thats what i think too..^^

 

It's 30 days people. If ur that worried call the dealership and ask.

 

Don't they all sell insurance? Not sure what you mean by "they can't refuse...", when in fact that's exactly what they did. Same for the previous new Nissan Sentra I got from another dealership, they also refused.

Regarding the bank/loan, that was no issue, as I paid CASH for the car, no loan, no payments, it was paid for when I bought it...yet I still had to prove it was insured before they'd let me take it.

No biggie, I called my agent from the dealer, they faxed a form over, and off I went.