I am leasing the S (its the only car I have ever leased so this is a little new to me.) I just spoke to the leasing company and they indicated that even if the car is removed from service (i.e. Storage) that I still need to maintain liability insurance on the car!? What kind of crap is that? What a PITA!

 

Do what I did, move someplace warm where you don't have to keep the car in storage for half the year

 

That's routine. The leasing company owns the car and requires insurance coverage at all times. I suppose you could self-insure, but that's crazy. If the car were in storage and somehow totalled you would be sending a check to the leasing company for the full amount. This is one of the details in the fine print of a lease - usually they require full coverage (liability and comprehensive) all the time. Also, look for GAP coverage from either the leasor or your insurance company, it covers the difference in amount owed on the lease and depreciated value of the car in a total loss. That said, I still think leasing can be a good deal (most people maintain full coverage anyway, and might be required to even with a traditional loan).

 

I understand that the leasing company owns the car. However, if the car is out of service then liability insurance seems silly. If something happens to the car while it is parked in my garage, then either my homeowners policy or similar would cover it.

Moving is not an option. My whole family is here, and I have a very good job that I am not willing to give up.

The liability insurance is only about $60 a month, so it's not a HUGE deal, but it was about $360 for the 6 mos the car was to be out of service. What sucks is that the weather has been VERY mild for the last two months. if I had known that yanking the insureance was not an option, I would have driving the car more.

 

unless you cancel the car's registration with the dmv, i can't see how you could cancel your liability coverage.

 

It's not illegal to OWN a car without carrying liability insurance, it is illegal to DRIVE a car without carrying liability insurance. If I were to drive it while the insurance coverage was off and got caught, I would get a pretty nasty ticket. I really would NEVER do that.

BTW -- just to clarify, I was leaving the comprehensive on it. The only way the car would not be covered in case of dammage would be if I were DRIVING the car and found to be at fault for the dammage (caused the accident.) Virtually everything else that could happen to the car would be covered, the only things that would not be covered are not covered no matter what (natural disaster, flood, earthquake, etc.)

 

I pay $15 a month for just liability!! I pay $60 a month for full coverage!

 

You say that it will be in the garage and that you won't be driving it but the leasing company has no way of knowing if you take it out for occassional trips to the store or to get the oil changed, etc. In their eyes there is still the possibility that you will drive the car even if you swear up and down that you won't. What about a family emergency where you have to get someone to the hospital?

If you drive the car and get into an accident while you don't have liability coverage, even if it's not your fault at all, you would most likely be non-renewed by your insurance company when your policy expired.


$60 a month for liability is cheap. I'd just bite the bullet.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ruexp67

 

Good point, but I'm not sure if that's exactly right. In my state, liability insurance is legally required to be maintained on any car that is registered with the DMV. Sure, if you don't drive it then you have almost zero chance of getting caught, so it is just a legal issue. In some states, there are issues with liability tied to the legal 'vehicle owner', which in the case of a lease is the leasing company. I suspect this is why they are usually very strict about full insurance converage at all times. My advice; get all the insurance you need and drive the car when it isn't snowing. It's going to be like 50 and sunny this week!