to those who are running their Olds as a daily driver, what kind of insurance coverage were you able to get? Just liability? I'm guessing you couldn't get collision or any comp coverage.

How about DMV registration? just regular registration?

I live in NJ and my son is a year away from driving, I'd like to see if I could find an driver for him but want to get a feel for what the coverage could be as well as registration tips.

thanks,

mike

 

I registered my 1970 442 and 1969 Cutlass with conventional plates and insured them both through State Farm. No issues. But I haven't had to test the claims department yet. Value during a claim might to be an issue.

I drive them both regularly. Probably to much for a specialty insurance company.

I recommend you talk to your agent and see what he says.

 

I have mine registered and anually inspected here in Texas. Being familiar with New Jersey also, the inspection process here differs greatly, as Texas is basically a safety inspection with no emmissions checks in my area. With Antique plates there is no annual inspection but by law your also limited to usage.

Collectable type insurance for a daily driver is non-existant. Collectable insurance for a minor child driver or a very young driver is also non existant. So basically you will be at the mercy of your insurance companies normal comp and collision style policy and that will be based on book value of the vehicle. Not worth much.

I carry just a standard liability policy on mine. However if you find a company that will insure a daily driver, please let us know.

 

Standard IL plates on mine, and minimum liability through Progressive. Getting the car titled and plated was very easy, but I didn't really check to see if I could get anything better than liability. As far as restrictions go, if I remember correctly there's two "grades" of antique plates here and both are restricted certain months of the year. The little extra I paid for regular plates was worth it on all the nice "winter" days we had here (and my regular beater can't go much further than 15 or so miles at a time).

 

I have my '73 Custom Cruiser insured as a daily driver through State Farm, and I have all of the coverages you're talking about. You can get collision and comprehensive coverage just like you can with a late-model car.

Below is a snapshot of my policy with the rates I pay. My semi-annual premium is $180, but that includes several discounts I get for insuring multiple vehicles through State Farm, having other insurance (homeowner's) through them, and being a State Farm customer for many (30) years. Plus, I have relatively high deductibles, which is becoming more and more the norm these days.

 

I am in NJ and for a young driver or even an older driver I would advise against a classic for a daily driver car. As mentioned emission test is tough in NJ. With the price of gas it is not feasable along with dependability of an older car. Then there is the issue of door dings, deer hits, scrapes, dings and shopping cart hits. My daily driver non classic suffers from these things and I would not want a classic car to suffer them as parts are harder to get should something major happens. As far as dependability unless totally rebuilt the nickle and dime repairs get tiresome and all that a young driver wants is go go go. Just my 2 cents.

 

There is also the issue of safety. A 2013, 2003, or even 1993 car is considerably safer than, say, a '72 Cutlass. Modern cars have airbags, anti-lock brakes, three-point safety belts, and much more. It might be cool to be seen tooling around town in a 40 or 50 year old car, but you'll likely come out on the shorter end of the stick in any metal-to-metal encounters with a late-model car.

 

The best compromise for your son would be to get him a 10 or 15 year old car in good shape. Find him a nice-condition 2000 Olds Alero or something like that. It ought to be cheap enough to afford, yet it's modern enough to have all the safety features you would want.

My children are currently 24, 26, and 28 years old. About 10 years ago I was in the same position you are. The car they shared while in high school was a '91 Acura Legend. Being about a dozen years old at the time made it affordable, yet it was cool as hell for them to be seen in, and it had airbags and other safety features consistent with that era. MPG wasn't bad, either.

 

I am lucky to live 3.5 miles from work, and don't have to worry about door dings there. My car does not go to the mall or places like Walmart.

I agree with Oldsmaniac that older Antique cars in most cases are not for the average teen for the reason he stated. I know first hand that they can lose interest fast and they don't realize the amount of work and dedication in this kind of project. My Cutlass started as a father n son project that went terribly wrong. So think long and hard whether your child is the type to undertake and follow through prior to purchasing an older car.

Again insurance is an issue, standard policies are available, however the question you need to ask the insurance claims dept is what will I get in dollar value if my vehicle is a total loss today with specific driver scenarios. You'll be quite surprised at the answer.

 

This is why you want to go with a vehicle like I suggested above. A 2000 Alero has a book value of about $3,000. If it's totaled in an accident, it's not like you've lost the family jewels, and you'll be perfectly happy if the insurance company gives you $2,000. It also means that you don't care that much if it does get a few dings and dents in it as might happen to a young driver.

The main concern is liability, and that's largely a function of the age of the driver regardless of the car.

Look at the policy statement I posted above. The collision/comprehensive coverage, which concerns the car itself, costs about $10 out of $180. In other words, it's negligible as far as the insurance company is concerned. The main costs and the main concern to the insurance company are liability and medical expenses, which, as I say, have little to do with the car itself and are a function of the driver's age and skill level as well as the current cost of medical care.

 

My daily drivers are older beaters (the 84 Custom Cruiser, for example) so I don't bother with collision. The reality is that any daily driver will get beat up. I live on a gravel road, drive over an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic each way, and park in a garage with THE smallest spaces ever seen, thus the routine use of beaters. I might drive a car I care about to work on Fridays in the summer (mainly so I can stop at a local cruise night on the way home), but I dread the drive and I park far away when I do.

My biggest fear is that for cars I care about, replacement body parts are non-existent. Never mind my 62 F-85, try to find front fenders for a 1980-1990 Custom Cruiser. Any collision damage and the insurance company will total the car anyway, so why bother with collision coverage if I'm just going to buy the car back for parts? Besides, collision only applies if I'm at fault. The other driver's liability covers damage to my car if he's at fault. I'll take that risk.