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Sticking with the same insurance company year after year may seem like the right thing to do. You are comfortable with them, your agent is friendly and calls you by your first name and sending them a check month after month is easier than shopping around. But blind loyalty to an insurance company can cost you bundles of cash and leave you with less coverage than you could find with another company. In fact, a recent survey by Consumer Reports revealed that many drivers pay twice as much for an auto insurance policy at their current company than they would with a competitor.

Finding the Best Rates

The best tool for seeking the best insurance rates is the Internet. With websites like Quicken Insurance and InsWeb it is faster and easier than ever to compare insurance quotes from top providers. These services submit your information to multiple insurance companie and they compete for your business, each submitting their own quote. Such competition can save customers hundreds of dollars per year on auto insurance.

A smart shopper will compare insurance rates at least once a year. This does not mean that one should go switching insurance companies year after year. Loyalty can and does have its benefits. Many companies, after years without a citation or accident will qualify you as a “safe driver,” which greatly reduces your rates. On the other hand, given your driving record, some other companies may offer you safe driver status right off the bat. Also, discounts are often granted if you insure other vehicles or your home with the same company.

An accurate quote will require you provide basic information on the car or cars you intend to insure such as the make, model, year, trim line and vehicle identification number (VIN). Personal information is also necessary. Be prepared to share the age, sex and recent driving record of all drivers to be included in the policy. Other information such as the environment in which the car is typically driven, where it is parked, and any anti-theft devices you may have installed are important in your rate. With all of the information compiled, your potential insurer will most likely check your driving history via police and other public records along with your insurance history.

Buy the Appropriate Amount

Remember that when you “sit down” to negotiate with an insurance agent, their job is to make as much money for their company as possible. Chances are they will offer you a slew of other forms of coverage that are not necessarily essential. Below, we separate what we believe to be the essential from the not-so essential forms of coverage you are likely to encounter when shopping for auto insurance.

“Must Have” Coverage

Bodily Injury Liability- Nobody expects or wishes to get in a car accident, but with around 6.5 million auto accidents accuring every year, statistics show they are inevitable. Should you be the cause of a car accident that results in the injury or death of your passengers, the other driver or his or her passengers, Bodily Injury Liability insurance is invaluable. According to Consumer Reports customers should “buy coverage that will pay at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. If you have sizable assets, consider increasing those limits to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident.”

While such coverage will undoubtedly raise your premiums, but should anything go wrong, this is well worth the cost. It is also recommended to those with a high net worth to take a out a separate “umbrella policy” to cover lawsuit amounts that extend beyond auto insurance policy limits.

Property Damage Liability- This coverage should be purchased to pay for the repair or replacement of damaged property caused by your car. States vary on their requirements, ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000, but we recommend going for $100,000 of coverage as accidents often exceed state minimum requirements.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage- In the event of a hit and run or your getting in an accident with one of the many uninsured drivers on the road, this type of insurance covers you and the passengers in your car for medical bills, rehabilitation, funeral costs and losses for pain and suffering. It is highly encouraged to get an amount equal to your bodily injury liability insurance so in the event you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, your medical bills are covered.

“Should Have” Coverage

Collision and Comprehensive- Considering that most car accidents are collisions, this type of coverage is highly recommended. Collision insurance pays for repairs to your vehicle regardless of the cause of the accident. Comprehensive pays for repairs or the replacement of your vehicle in the event that it is stolen or damaged as a result of a natural disaster. This type of coverage is applied to any amount exceeding your deductable. To keep your payments down, it is best to go with the highest deductible you can afford to pay out of pocket with $500 being the minimum. When coverage equals or exceeds 10 percent of your automobile’s book value, we suggest canceling this coverage as the maximum payout you can hope for is your car’s market value.

Personal-Injury Protection- Also referred to as PIP, this pays you and anyone else riding in your car a minimum amount per person for their injuries regardless of fault. The benefits typically include medical expenses, rehabilitation, work loss benefits, funeral expenses and survivor’s loss benefits.

This type of insurance is especially worthwhile in states that have “no-fault” laws. No-fault laws establish that there is no need to establish who is at fault to receive payments in the event of injury in a car accident.

Medical-Payments Coverage- Regardless of who is at fault, this covers medical bills for you and your passengers. Such coverage is not necessary if you have a good health insurance plan, but you might want to have a little bit of this to cover any passengers who don’t have medical insurance of their own.

“Don’t Need” Coverage

Roadside Assistance- This pays for your vehicle to be towed. Many drivers belong to auto clubs like AAA which include roadside assistance or have this service provided by their car’s manufacturer. If this is the case, there is no need to purchase this coverage.

Rental Reimbursement- While the security of having a car paid for while you wait for repairs sounds enticing, there is usually a cap on the amount of days this service will be paid for, but not a cap on the amount of years an insurance company will allow you to pay for it. With different travel websites offering tremendous discounts on rental cars, this is one type of insurance you can afford to live without.

Money Saving Strategies

Ask for “Top Tier”- According to Consumer Reports, “Insurers sort customers according to their likelihood of filing a claim, then assign them to one of several categories commonly referred to as tiers. Top-tier customers who have had few or no claims in the past several years and live in neighborhoods where auto-theft rates are low can easily save 15% or more off of the standard rate.” Unfortunately, simply qualifying for top-tier status does not mean you will receive such status immediately. Simply asking can give you that little nudge you need to get the savings you deserve.

Check Rates Before You Buy an Automobile- Believe it or not, your car can have just as much of an impact on the cost of your auto insurance as your driving record. If you’re in the market for a new car, keep your insurance rates in mind when you do your shopping. For example, the cost to fix a Porsche is significantly larger than fixing a Honda. So before you go to the auto mall, know your rates and find a car that not only suits your tastes, but your wallet as well.

Go To Traffic School- Consider taking a driver improvement class. Usually, because they tend to be long and have a reputation for being boring, these classes are only taken by people who were given a speeding ticket and want to avoid points on their license. But by taking attending traffic school before you get a ticket, most insurance companies will offer a discount of up to 10%. Given the low price of most traffic schools (typically between $15 and $30), you will recoup the investment in a month or two and the rest goes in your pocket.

Get a Discount Just for Being You- Sometimes in the expensive world of insurance, the best way to get a discount is to ask. Perhaps you are a good student or a college graduate with a B average or better? You may be eligible for an insurance discount. Maybe you’re married? Discounts are available. Served in the military? Or just have a clean driving record? Discounts are available if you take the time to look and have the guts to ask. There are so many special programs out there offered by different insurance companies you are bound to fit the bill for one of them so be sure to ask.

Do car insurance companies discriminate against the poor? That question is at the heart of a new study by the Consumer Federation of America, which recently published “Lower-Income Households and the Auto Insurance Marketplace: Challenges and Opportunities,” to examine whether insurers deliberately charged higher premiums to those with low- and middle-level incomes, making it that much harder for these families to afford car insurance. Is there a chasm separating the rich from the poor in the insurance industry? The CFA’s date seems to back up the assertion that there is.

What do homes and autos have in common? Well, both can easily end up with upside down loans. Any investment is prone to negative equity if you don’t carefully weigh your choices. Whether it’s a car or the place where you live, the problem with being underwater on a loan is the same: you owe more money on the asset than the aforementioned asset is worth. Being upside down on a car loan, however, is a bit scarier than being upside down on a home mortgage, because there is no chance that an auto will appreciate in value like a home will. Cars don’t gain equity. They aren’t even technically an asset if you have a loan out on them, for this reason exactly. Technically, they are an expense.

It should go without saying that you should minimize trips out to the cinema if you are really interested in saving money, since ten dollars per ticket is not “budget” in anyone’s vocabulary. That doesn’t mean that you should not ever treat yourself, however. If you really want to see something on the big screen or are out on a date, try to go to the theater before 6PM. You can still enjoy the environment of the movie theater with the big screen and the great sound effects, but you’ll get to pay a “matinee” price for your ticket. It’s not a huge savings, but any lower expense is a savings! If you are lucky enough to have a discount theater in your neck of the woods where movies are only one or two dollars a ticket, this is a fantastic way to catch first-run movies at lower prices. Yes, it requires a little patience… but if you make a habit of going, there will always be something you have been waiting to see! Another great way to save at the movie theater is to avoid the concessions stand. I won’t touch the argument of whether or not to sneak your own snacks and drinks into the theater, because it’s a very divisive issue, but I will say that avoiding the temptation to pick up nachos, popcorn, or Sno-Caps at the theater will save you a lot of money. Another option is to go just after lunch or dinner, thereby making sure that you aren’t hungry when you sit down.

Another pretty foolproof way to save money is to keep tabs on your use of electronics. Many people in this environmentally-conscious day and age already do this, but make sure that your household is in the habit of unplugging appliances whenever possible… not just turning them off. Apparently, unplugging the TV instead of just switching it off can save a lot of electricity! When not in a room, switch off the lights and the fan. It takes a little while to get in the habit, but you will soon be doing it without even thinking. Also, consider the use of a programmable thermostat to control your A/C and heater usage. Yes, you may need to shell out a little bit of money to replace the one that you have, but the savings can really justify the initial cost before too long. At the very least, educate yourself on what each appliance uses and unplug a few of them. You might really be amazed how much money you can shave off your electric bill, which is a major source of spending for many households.

You can also save money on your vacations, if you are willing to put in a bit of work. Some financial “experts” would argue that you should not indulge on a vacation if you are truly trying to live an austere lifestyle, but I argue back that getting away every so often is a necessary part of saving our sanity in the busy lives that we lead. There can be no realistic doubt, of course, that vacations are also a huge drain on the family finances. Did you know, though, that you can cut the cost of a vacation significantly by planning and booking ahead of time? Well ahead of when you plan on leaving town, be sure to bookmark travel sites for finding inexpensive airfare, hotel etc., and book at least two weeks in advance for the greatest savings. Make sure that you always weigh the price of driving somewhere versus taking a plane when you have the time to do so, since fluctuating gas prices can really change things in this issue.

As a final lifestyle tip towards saving money, do yourself a favor and keep your distance from lavish, high-roller friends who will set a bad example and encourage you (either to your face or subconsciously) to break your budget habits in an attempt to keep up with their free-wheeling spending. You know the type of folks I am talking about: they buy a new car every other year – or worse yet, lease it; they have large screen TVs, iPads, iPhones, and every other conceivable electronics gadget from the day it hits the market; they eat out at fancy restaurants every other night, and they generally live way beyond their means. Please do yourself a favor and keep your distance from these folks, no matter how nice they may seem. It’s not that these people necessarily mean you any harm, and it’s not that they are bad people – it’s just that jealousy is a bear, and there’s no need to expose yourself to discontent and longing when you are making positive steps towards improving your financial situation and staying on the right track. What’s more important – your friends or your peace of mind? Keep in mind that all their goodies now won’t mean much in a few decades when you have a well-funded retirement fund and no debt.

With all this said – I’m not necessarily saying that you should take all these tips to heart and follow each and every one. Just as too much work and not enough play can make Jack a dull boy, so can too much frugality suck the juice out of life. Being too cheap can make both you and the people around you very miserable – and yes, there is a difference between thrifty and cheap. So, pick out a few tips at a time that will work for you and make them a habit, before deciding if you can incorporate more money saving habits in your daily routine. You may really go with some of them, you may lose some and pick up others. It may take some time for you to really get in the groove of what lifestyle habits you want to stick with to help you realize your personal goals of financial solvency and freedom from debt. It’s worth the time and effort that you expend. Any steps you take towards a financially-healthier future will pay dividends in the long run!

To save both dollars and inches on your waistline, avoid the vending machines. Sure, these machines are filled with a tempting array of tasty treats like candy, snack cakes, and pies… but pretty much every single thing that is dispensed via vending machine is not only dripping in fat and calories, but is also being sold at a huge markup. If you really need a snack at work and find yourself jonesing for little treats, however, consider creating a secret stash of snacks. If you like drinking soda and have a fridge at the workplace, save a refrigerator pack in the fridge with a post-it with your name on it. If you have a long commute, consider a stash for the car as well and avoid a quick drive-thru visit. There are ways to get your fix and not put a hex on your wallet!

For books that you perhaps need but can’t check out from the library (or those for which there is a long wait), make sure you look into the possibility of buying used before you buy anything new. The great thing about books is that the content inside is just as good after ten readings as it was the first time. The spine may be creased and the pages may be dog-eared, but it’s still a book. And used books tend to fetch only half the price of their new counterparts, on average. For students and voracious readers, that can add up to quite a bit of difference! Check your city directory to see if you have a half-priced bookstore locally. If you are shopping for schoolbooks, consider checking on the web for bulletin boards, mailing lists etc, and price compare on websites like addall.com.

While we are talking about your bank: be on the lookout for ATM fees, which are the other snake in the grass of consumer banking. Do you know what ATMs are safe to use with your debit card so as to not be charged by your bank? While some banks waive fees for all ATM transactions on any ATM machine, most don’t. You can generally find the information for your specific debit card in the ridiculous pile of fine-print text that your bank gave you with your plastic. Be sure to use only those ATM machines where your bank will not charge the fees, or withdraw directly at your bank. It’s worth a little inconvenience to not pay five dollars (when the ATM fee plus your bank’s fee are added) just to get money out of your own account!

The next tip is one for the ages: buy generic when you can! After all, very few people can tell the difference between breakfast cereal from Kellogg’s or the supermarket brand. Frankly, my kids like the Publix Lucky Charms knockoff better, owing to the fact that the marshmallows are bigger! And dairy stuff, really – do you really care what brand milk you buy? In regards to certain items, it all tastes the same. I’m not asking you to give up on your brand-name favorites when the taste or quality is markedly different (just try to tear the Coke, Tide laundry detergent, or Peter Pan peanut butter from my cold, dead hands), but consider making the switch when it is just force of habit making you reach for a familiar brand. You will likely find in many cases that the generic brand saves you money and is very much comparable to the original. Even if there is a small difference in taste, consider whether the tradeoff is really worth the price difference. It may be, it may not be. It’s all up to you.

While you are getting ready for work, suck it up and pack yourself a brown bag lunch to take along, too. You will save beaucoup bucks by skipping the office takeout, even if you only do it a few days a week. Look, I’m not expecting you to skip out on crucial networking opportunities or connections by avoiding the workplace ritual of noshing en masse at a local café. Still, you can surely pack yourself something two or three times a week, right? It’s all about achieving a balance. There are plenty of tasty, appetizing options, so don’t let that be an excuse! In fact, if you have a dual 2012 resolution of gaining wealth and losing weight, then packing your own lunch is definitely the way to go. You can eat cheaper and healthier when you bring a meal along.

Happy New Year! For those of you who resolved to cut back on expenses and chop away at credit card (and other) debt in 2012, there’s no good feeling like getting off to a running start. We all know that there are some commonly-accepted ways to save money, and if you are striving for greater financial responsibility, you have probably implemented several of them. But are you truly living as frugal a lifestyle as you possibly can? I challenge you to try even harder. Here’s the thing about saving money: saving tends to beget more saving. As you challenge yourself to live an ever-more frugal lifestyle, you will find that the savings add up. Before you know it, it could turn out that you could save thousands over the course of a year.

It’s downright depressing how easily consumers can get scammed nowadays. For 2012, I am making it my resolution to post more articles related to how readers can avoid getting tricked by scum who prey on gullibility. I hate to say it, but an area where scammers frequently give good folks the run-around is on the purchase of used cars. And no, I don’t necessarily mean those bought through private sale. The used car industry – including commercial dealerships – is shockingly rife with opportunities for buyers to get hosed. Knowing what to look for and what to do if and when you’ve spotted fraud is a good way of inoculating yourself from harm.

It’s believed that between ten and twelve percent of all used cars have hidden damage of some kind or another. That’s a tough pill to swallow when you take possession of your “new to you” auto, buffed and polished and detailed until it glimmers, and are taking for granted the assumption that you are getting a cherry deal. Most people assume that sellers of used cars use some sort of rigorous quality control rubric to make sure they are offering only the best for sale, but this is not the case. That car might look like a perfect “10,” but there could be a nasty surprise lurking in its past. It’s a sad fact that cars with a history of serious damage like fires, floods, or major accidents, sometimes end up on dealers’ lots. That by itself is not hard to believe, and that wouldn’t be so bad, if the damage were properly disclosed. Too often, however, these vehicles’ shady pasts get bafflingly erased, leaving no evidence for the new owner that anything catastrophic ever took place. Used car dealers are prone to do everything they can to hide damage when possible, and it’s a fact that gets swept under the rug often enough that many people might not even know what to look for. How can you protect yourself from this type of fraud? You simply have to get to know the signs, so that you have a well-honed sense for if you are being fleeced.

First of all, you should know that you cannot judge a book by its cover when it comes to used cars. Think that your new used car is in beautiful exterior shape, yet the price is shockingly low? (No, you aren’t simply getting a great deal.) Did you run a title check on it through Carfax or a similar service, and it came back totally clear? Surprise! That means nothing. In this situation, you may assume that you are getting a steal and happily fork over the cash to buy the car. You would be making a mistake by ignoring these red flags, however. It may seem like you are getting a great deal, but think again. You may, in fact, be setting yourself up for a frustrating and expensive mess.

I read a story online, linked through an Acura owners’ forum I visited, about a gentleman who test-drove and bought a used Acura that he figured was in perfect condition. The gentleman bought the Acura MDX from a “reputable” used dealer, only to find out that the vehicle had a bent rear sub-frame and a cracked engine block. Not only was the car inspected by Mile High Acura, his local Acura dealership, but he also took the time and spent the money to get his hands on a Carfax report, which indicated the car had never been in an accident. Unfortunately, the used car inspection was not performed carefully. For example, he reports, it turns out that when the inspecting mechanic checks “ok” for alignment, they are only inspecting tire wear.

Let’s talk about Carfax for a moment. People assume that Carfax is like a golden ticket to ensuring that the used car they buy is a cherry, and not a lemon. Well, know this: Carfax is far from foolproof. The Acura guy’s mechanic stated that he fixes structural damage all the time and never reports the work to anyone. How many others like him are out there? Plus, the story goes on to reveal, it appears that if an accident does not generate a police report, it will never find its way into the Carfax database. Often accidents occur and for insurance reasons, owners decide to work things out without engaging insurance companies so that they don’t end up with a jacked-up premium.

What’s really scary is the scale on which is this fraud may be occurring. It’s believed that millions of cars every year are either flood-damaged or totaled in an accident on an annual basis, only to be rebuilt or repaired and then blithely labeled with a fraudulently “clean” title. If you happen to be unlucky enough to end up with one of these cars, trucks, or SUVs, you may be in for a major letdown with very little legal recourse. See, these vehicles are legally supposed to be labeled as “flood titled” or “salvage titled,” letting all prospective future owners know that there have been catastrophic damages in the car’s past. It seems to be a lot easier than you’d think to erase these title blemishes, however. In the worst of cases, the vehicle might actually be unreliable and possibly even unsafe, yet it is presented as a perfectly normal car with a clean past. The fact of the matter is that some of these used car dealers are truly so unscrupulous that they just don’t care about your safety or your family’s safety.

One major source of fraud in the used car industry is called “title washing.” A lot of this took place in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, when who-knows-how-many cars were destroyed by flood waters. Title washing hides the history of a vehicle that’s been salvaged. In the used car industry, salvage titles are those assigned to cars that are have been determined to be a complete and total write-off by insurance companies. Another way you might hear this referred to is as “branding” a vehicle. Don’t be mistaken – branding or salvaging a vehicle doesn’t necessarily mean the car can’t be driven. On the other hand, vehicles branded with salvage titles have lower market values and are difficult to sell. Let’s face it – with that amount of damage, even the best-repaired car is prone to problems further down the road. Like a warm bath, title washing washes away a vehicles branding or salvage status, giving it a squeaky clean title that can then be used to sell the car for a much higher value. Once the branding is eliminated, the car’s value goes up and it’s a lot easier to sell. It’s not rocket science to figure out why so many car owners might be motivated to “wash” their titles.

In terms of a dealership, where there may be hundreds of thousands of dollars of difference in the longterm between washed and unwashed titles, title washing allows dealers and individuals to remove salvage branding from car titles to minimize their losses. Titles are washed by transferring a salvaged vehicle to a state that doesn’t recognize the brand, all the better to erase the vehicle’s spotty history for good. When the state issues a new title, it may no longer show that it had been salvaged. If not, the seller will move it from state to state until the branding is gone. When it is, the vehicle’s history will have been “washed” clean. It’s like a form of money laundering, only for vehicles instead. Picture the underworld version of a car wash, if you will.

You would really be amazed at the extent to which crooks will go to wash a vehicle’s title. A damaged car may just be bought and sold through two or three different owners in different states might erase the salvage label off a car’s title. The pros say that shady dealers and individuals might twist these legal loopholes to their advantage. They might buy a salvaged car in Florida, register it in Alabama, then relocate to North Carolina and re-register it. By the time it’s arrived at that last destination, it is no longer considered a salvage vehicle… despite the fact that this process can be executed very quickly and that the car may be in no better shape than it was when it was salvaged. The loser is the person who unsuspectingly buys the car with a flooded past or a sloppily re-welded frame, not knowing that their vehicle is inherently unsafe at this point. The Acura buyer I mentioned earlier found out that not only had his car been involved in an accident that had shattered the windows of both doors, but the frames of said doors were filled with broken glass.

It’s not as if this is a problem that the government hasn’t taken pains to fix, mind you. Back in 1982, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System was created with the intention of uniting state departments of motor vehicles with an electronic link and obliging auto insurers to disclose information when cars are considered to be totaled. In the insurance industry, this usually comes about if a vehicle has lost at least three-quarters of its value due to damages. The problem is that there are delays in reporting and in updating the system. At present, it can take over three months for a vehicle to be re-titled as a salvage. That gives unscrupulous dealers plenty of time to pull the little trick on the car’s title by either registering it in several different states or by bringing it to states with lenient laws on titling cars.

A proposed law would have put a serious damper in this little game, reducing the turnaround time on updating the system to just seven days. This would have made it almost impossible for crooks to “wash” the title of a damaged car, since car insurers would now be required to electronically notify vehicle-history providers like Carfax of the VIN numbers of totaled vehicles within one week of the incident. Unfortunately, the so-called “”Damaged Vehicle Information Act” made no headway in 2010 or 2011. It remains to be seen whether 2012 will be the year that Congress gets their act together and really takes a stand for the safety of used car buyers.

Let’s not be mistaken, though: crooks always had and always will have a back-up plan waiting in the wings. An alternative to the aforementioned racket is the practice of “title washing,” in which a seller illicitly transfers the vehicle serial number plates from a “clean” (read: undamaged) vehicle to a repaired vehicle, giving thousands of dollars of value back to a car, truck, or SUV that would otherwise have hemorrhaged resale value as a marked “salvage only” vehicle. A lack of uniform state laws regarding the rules for salvaged vehicles is what’s needed, says Loretta Worters of the Insurance Information Institute.

In states like my home of Florida, a tendency towards severe storms has led to the adoption of strict laws regarding how the titles of flood-salvaged vehicles must be labeled. If a car has been flood-damaged and rebuilt, the buyer must be notified through a written disclosure that there was water damage in the car’s past. Unfortunately, not all states are this aggressive. The end result is an unfortunate tendency towards certain states becoming what Worters calls “a dumping ground for undeclared flood vehicles.”

How exactly can you protect yourself as a buyer, if you can’t even trust the title of the car or truck you are buying? Worters’ recommendation is that you thoroughly investigate a vehicle’s comprehensive history and service records with either AutoCheck (which compares state records to a vehicle’s purchase history and service records), CarChex (which recommends mechanics from a nationwide network who will scrutinize used vehicles for harm from water or accidents), Carfax (the ever-popular option, which flags salvage vehicles by matching identification numbers against public DMV records), or The National Insurance Crime Bureau, which is a great resource for finding out whether a specific car has ever been reported stolen or as a salvage vehicle.

Title washing is a dirty trick but consumers can do an AutoCheck or CarFax VIN Check which track a vehicle’s history even if it’s moved to another state. Once a vehicle has been branded and that information is reported to AutoCheck, it remains in their records no matter how many states it’s sold in. The title may no longer indicate severe damage, but a vehicle history report will. “Washing” a title doesn’t wash away computer records. Keep in mind that title washed vehicles are sold by individual sellers as well as car dealers. Don’t assume that because you are purchasing a car on a lot that it’s title hasn’t been washed clean. If you can, obtain a title guarantee from the dealer in writing. This shouldn’t be difficult if the seller is a reputable dealer.

As obnoxious, unethical, and devastating as it can be to find out that your car was a salvage that was covered up, it can be just as bad to willingly take possession of a salvage vehicle that is properly marked. It’s important to keep in mind how egregiously you can get shafted as a driver by ending up with a vehicle that is branded a salvage. True, you could save thousands of dollars… and this can be tempting, if you are short on cash and have some mechanical expertise. Unfortunately, it’s likely that you will end up paying back every cent of that savings when it comes to insuring that vehicle. Many standard car insurance companies will refuse to write a full-coverage policy on a flooded or salvaged car. It’s possible that you might be able to obtain liability-only car insurance coverage on such a vehicle, but few insurers will venture to provide collision or comprehensive auto insurance coverage. Why is this? Because, let’s face it, these cars are just inherently unsafe.

Flooded cars in particular remain dangerous even after a thorough repair, say the experts. There is virtually no way to completely rid the vehicle of all moisture, which will get you in trouble where it seeps in out of sight. The modules of the vehicle, its air bags, the seat belts, and any/all electronic components are especially vulnerable to dampness, and may never again work properly or safely after a dunking.

It’s important that used-car buyers stay alert and aware of the fact that a vehicle’s history can be all-too-easily fabricated. Modern-day vehicle history services have lulled drivers into a false sense of security, thinking that they are protected from unsafe vehicles by a database. In fact, experts confirms, these reports don’t always provide sufficient information about how a car was damaged to determine whether it is safe to drive. Even if you know about the damage, there’s no saying that you can adequately determine if it is safe, anyway. Be careful when purchasing a vehicle with an out-of-state title, or which appears to have been shipped to several states within a short period of time. You might become the victim of a title-washing scam.