4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

my insurance went down when i bought my 06 IS350 over the 2000 honda prelude I had before

mmarshall

Maybe a cover for the compartment that houses the passenger air bag?

S2000toIS350

4 door sedan may be lower risk to the insurance company plus the IS had lots of safety features to reduce rates

mmarshall

Was it just a different car, or did you advance into an older age group, or maybe move to a safer neighborhood at the same time? In general, premiums go down with age, until you really get to be a serious geezer.

Toys4RJill

I do respect your opinion. But a Corvette is absolutely NOT what the LC is trying to be.

Autoblog podcast said it the best so far, the Lexus has successfully created its own identity, it's not a S-class coupe, it's not a 6 series, it is its own thing. It would probably not win a comparison between the three, but it is successful in carving out it's own identity.

ssmoked

s2000tois350- explain this then.

18-20k s2k to 40-50k is350 (more power) and premium went down

Toys4RJill

My guess is that it is a new car, harder to steal, newer and safer safety features. Where you live has a lot to do with it as well.

S2000toIS350

Insurance company sees the S2K as an accident waiting to happen (no traction control)

the IS350 flew under the radar

so does my Q50S hybrid

ssmoked

​​​​same thing could be said about my 370z and Rcf. LARGE age gap of owners (teens vs 40-50+ on average), more safety features, much advanced theft system.... at the end of the day, speculations and assumptions are just that. Nothing concrete and easy to discredit

Sulu

Prelude is a 2-door coupe. IS is a 4-door sedan. Coupes are seen as more likely to be driven recklessly, leading to accidents. Sedans are seen as more likely to be driven "carefully" and defensively, and so less likely to be in accidents. Less accidents, less insurance claims, cheaper insurance rates.

SW17LS

It's actually not speculation, that's why I suggested that Mike do some research into it. I've read that they add rear seats to cars like this for these reasons multiple times from different sources. If you do any reading into the history and development of cars like the 911 or Lexus where they discuss development of the SC they discuss it.

Sulu

It's about gaming the system. Two-seater coupes are seen as likely to be driven fast and recklessly, more likely to get into accidents (just as young drivers are seen to be less careful drivers and more likely to get into accidents). Four-seater cars, however, with "more" room for passengers -- even a family -- are seen as likely to be driven carefully and defensively, so less likely to get into accidents.

So insurance companies charge a lower premium for 4- (or 5-) seaters and charge a higher premium for 2-seaters. Insurance classification rules may be as simple as 2-seater or 4+ seater, so car manufacturers shoehorn in 2 small seats in the back of GT coupes and -- bingo! -- insurance premiums go down!

There is the tariff issue also. Two-seater vehicles may be charged a higher import tax than 4-seater vehicles. Look at the Ford Transit Connect, which is assembled in Europe and imported to the United States. There is a problem however, and it is known as the "Chicken Tax": light trucks (such as vans with bare cargo area) are charged a 25% import tax but "passenger vehicles" with seats in the back are not charged the Chicken Tax.

So Ford games the system by importing all Transit Connects as passenger vehicles with rear seats, rear seat belts and rear windows. Once they arrive, the seats are stripped out and windows boarded up, and the Transit Connects sold as trucks.

mmarshall

Yes, that has always been behind the insurance surcharge for two-seaters....at least in theory. The flip side to that, of course, is that, if a two-seater does get wrecked, fewer people are likely to get hurt or killed than with four-seaters. And young people are, in fact, on the whole, less mature than older ones, and more prone to taking chances, but, at the same time, also have better reflexes and react quicker.

SW17LS

Its all about losses. Insurance companies are more likely to take a loss in a 2 seat car than a 4 seat car. Its all actuarial tables and data, theres no "motive" to it.

mmarshall

We actually got into this extended discussion of 2 seats vs. 4 over my initial reply to a question on what the engineers could (or should) have done to save 500 lbs. of weight in the LC's design. Anybody have any other suggestions?