Hey everyone. Well, I finally got Honda to replace my lemon last month. The last straw was when they said, "You should be happy because we'll completely rebuild your engine for you!" Uh, no, that does not make me happy, not even with a "And we'll even make one of your (60) payments, too!!!" So I complained, got nasty, threatened to get lawyers involved, etc. etc. and they caved in. After 6 months of hell, 3 months of which I spent in stinky rental cars, it feels so good to drive a beautiful, trouble-free, Laguna Blue S all over sunny Southern California.

Of course it didn't end there. My wonderful insurance company (Mercury Casualty Company) decided to raise my premiums 15% after I reported the buy-back. Their official explanation: "Well, when you applied for the insurance in January, we really didn't know the true value of the car because is was so new, but now, after doing some research, we do." It sounds plausible, if you're an idiot, but the messed up thing is that they sent me a 6-month policy renewal notice literally THREE WEEKS before I got the new car in mid July. Guess what? The premium in late June was exactly the same as it was in January.

"You also owe us some money retroactively for the three weeks between the time you reported the new VIN number and the time we sent that last renewal notice. You know, you really should be happy that you received those great savings for so long!" I'm getting sick of people telling me I should be so happy that I'm getting screwed. Somehow, they just completed this comprehensive research in between the time they sent the renewal and the time I reported the lemon so I owe them the research fees. I guess it's my fault for buying a lemon. They probably figured out that my Luck Attribute is lower than the average kid in the dungeon and I need to be punished.

I know that insurance companies can raise premiums for any ridiculous reason that they can form into words so I applied for insurance from Wawanesa. The quote was awesome but, unfortunately, I have a point on my record from speeding two and a half years ago when I was a wild and crazy guy in college. I also have a 0-point not-at-fault accident on my record from around the same time that Wawanesa counts as a "DMV negative-insurance company positive point" (I stupidly wanted my car fixed) which completely disqualifies me for their coverage for at least the next 9 months (they require 1 or less "insurance" points to apply).

Does anyone have some ideas about where else I can get a decent rate with my horrible driving record between now and next May? I really don't want to tuck-and-tape by sending Mercury another check (I already paid for this period before reporting the buy back) but am I basically SOL? Thanks for all the past and future support, btw, I hope to have more time to be active on these forums now that I've started my new job.

 

you can try mercury insurance; i have one point on my record also
and they got me the lowest rate...

dam...i sound like a dumb commercial

congrats on the new ride tho!

 

How in the world can they say this car is too new when the model has been out for over 6 yrs? I don't get it Wouldn't the price fo replacement (in extreme cases) be virtualy the same as the previous MYs When I purchased a Scion TC, AAA told me that it was too new, but they still didn't change my premium.

That's just ghey.

Good luck finding a new insurance company

 

Hmmm... Are you two talking about the same insurance company?

 

[QUOTE=WhiteS2k,Aug 17 2006, 06:35 PM]
Hmmm...

 

Be very careful of Mercury...you are taking a gamble. I used to work for a state insurance regulator and Mercury was always on the short list of carriers tettering on insolvency. If they go into receivership, do not expect to see your return premium or claims payments anytime soon.

Where insurance is concerned...you get what you pay for.

 

Yeah, we're both talking about Mercury... I guess I found a bunk agent that saw fit to penalize me at the first sign of trouble. The thing is, I wouldn't have much of a problem with Mercury if they didn't raise my rate twice on the same day. The first raise was 10% after I reported the new VIN number, then they raised me 5% for "Vehicle Change and L.P.". I asked why they raised it twice and they had no answer. I still have no idea what L.P means either but I guess I'm stuck with the sheister company...

 

...for now

 

Try Progressive- they have pretty good rates IMO.

 

Geico has always been good to me, that is until I bought the S2000, now at almost 40 with 0 points and 0 accidents. I'm paying teenager rates. Its the car, they're on the list for the most expensive models to insure. The car I traded in was on the least expensive list. So I caught quite a jump in rates.

Try progressives' online site, they give quotes on multiple companies.