1. The rental car that I am driving (hyundai elantra) has a broken hubcap. I bought a new one however I do not want to jack up the car. You have to unbolt the 5 wheel nuts to replace the wheel hubcap.. question? can i safely do it without raising the car off the ground? I will have to take off all 5 lug nuts, pull the hubcap (hopefully i dont have to tug it) and replace it with a new hubcap.

2. I am in the process of buying a new car. I have been holding back on it though. Problem.. just got quoted on my new 'revised' insurance rate. I had a at fault accident in October 2007 where there were bodily injuries (no damage on my car) and then i had the 87 yr old hit me (not at fault for me) in May 2008.

My previous 6 month rate was 710/6mo for 100/300K coverage. Its jumping to 1379 for 6/mo on the same car (ford focus that is now dead and no longer in my possession, i am driving a rental month to month). The quote on the TSX before the raise in rates was 970/6mo, it went to 1700 /6mo on the TSX.

The new car i am getting is a 2009 Acura TSX. Same coverages with 1000 deductible on the collision and comprehensive brings to 1700 (current insurance co that i have). The lowest I got was 1600, 14xx if I show my professional association membership as a state scientist.

Turns out most of that cost is the freaking collision cost. Almost 1000 dollars every 6 months is the collision. Is there a way to bring that down? Prior to 2007 the previous accident that i was at fault was in 2001 (with the GS500 shutting off mid turn). I do not want to bring down liability coverage since that cost is negligble.. but I am hella not paying 2800-3600/yr in insurance for teh TSX.

I looked into older cars, even a 2 yr old car has collision rates close to the TSX. Am I getting so shafted by the system or is this the normal thing?

try shopping around, if cost is THAT big of an issue, may have to consider a different car?

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on October 16, 2008, 10:12:39 PM
try shopping around, if cost is THAT big of an issue, may have to consider a different car?

I actually looked at a 2 yr old accord .. no difference.. it seems i am f%&ked on the collision values..

fair enough, try looking at a diffrent repair class vehicle, , essentially something cheaper to fix if you wrinkle it

besides the insurance thing.. any idea on teh wheel hubcap issue?

tbh i would NOT recommend doing that , i would break the lugs loose with rench, and TEHN place jack underneath. raise car enough to take weight off of wheel. and replace cap. tighten nuts, and lower car. 

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on October 16, 2008, 09:36:49 PM
1. The rental car that I am driving (hyundai elantra) has a broken hubcap. I bought a new one however I do not want to jack up the car. You have to unbolt the 5 wheel nuts to replace the wheel hubcap.. question? can i safely do it without raising the car off the ground? I will have to take off all 5 lug nuts, pull the hubcap (hopefully i dont have to tug it) and replace it with a new hubcap.

2. I am in the process of buying a new car. I have been holding back on it though. Problem.. just got quoted on my new 'revised' insurance rate. I had a at fault accident in October 2007 where there were bodily injuries (no damage on my car) and then i had the 87 yr old hit me (not at fault for me) in May 2008.

My previous 6 month rate was 710/6mo for 100/300K coverage. Its jumping to 1379 for 6/mo on the same car (ford focus that is now dead and no longer in my possession, i am driving a rental month to month). The quote on the TSX before the raise in rates was 970/6mo, it went to 1700 /6mo on the TSX.

The new car i am getting is a 2009 Acura TSX. Same coverages with 1000 deductible on the collision and comprehensive brings to 1700 (current insurance co that i have). The lowest I got was 1600, 14xx if I show my professional association membership as a state scientist.

Turns out most of that cost is the freaking collision cost. Almost 1000 dollars every 6 months is the collision. Is there a way to bring that down? Prior to 2007 the previous accident that i was at fault was in 2001 (with the GS500 shutting off mid turn). I do not want to bring down liability coverage since that cost is negligble.. but I am hella not paying 2800-3600/yr in insurance for teh TSX.

I looked into older cars, even a 2 yr old car has collision rates close to the TSX. Am I getting so shafted by the system or is this the normal thing?

1) didn't know anyone had a hubcap that needed the lugs removed to install/replace. seems like the plastic would prevent the wheel lugs getting tight..... but anyway, if you're certain it needs it done this way, yes, raise the car. were it me and i didn't raise the car this would happen:

a) break the old hubcap into 5-6 pieces
b) cut a finger pulling
c) cut another finger pushing
d) break the new hubcap
e) end up buying ANOTHER new hubcap, jacking up the car, replacing

good luck

2) i don't know how to get around your rate hike, sorry. insurance is definitely ripping you off, even with two collisions. I do know of a solution to help until the accidents clear (3-5 years depending):

buy a hyundai azera/elantra, drive it and insure it for 5 years. they are very, very, very nice cars, with 100,000 mile warrantees, and if you can afford an RL (fannnnnnnnntastic machine!) you can literally give it away after 5 years and buy a new RL and not hurt from the loss.

you may even decide the azera is on par with the RL. ok, i'm way off base now, but you see what i mean.

there is an insurance guru on tampasportbikes.com, and while she may not be local to you, she may know another guru in your neck of the woods. christina is her handle. nice lady, very knowledgable.

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on October 17, 2008, 01:35:49 AM
tbh i would NOT recommend doing that , i would break the lugs loose with rench, and TEHN place jack underneath. raise car enough to take weight off of wheel. and replace cap. tighten nuts, and lower car. 

+1.
My car uses this system too.
1 lug keeps just the wheel in place, the other 3 hold both wheel and hubcap.

Quote from: ohgood on October 17, 2008, 03:17:50 AM

there is an insurance guru on tampasportbikes.com, and while she may not be local to you, she may know another guru in your neck of the woods. christina is her handle. nice lady, very knowledgable.

+1 to this.  she probably has a good answer, and she's a VERY nice and helpful lady with insurance information. 

When one company quotes you a no lube and bend the eff over price, shop around both in companies AND in cars. different companies may view one vehicle differently, or give you a different quote for whatever reasons.   

State Farm seems to give very good rates in general on most anything.  I HATE geico and progressive, both of which SUCK DONKEY NUTS.   State Farm is TEH SHIZZLE.

I have had progressive for 7 years and even with a DUI and drivng under suspension my rates aren't bad and they have taken very good care of me and my girlfriend through 3 break ins!

You could always go the more unpopular but practical route in your situation.  Buy a cheap $1000 - $2000 car, pay in cash then just carry liability.  With the money you save you can self insure the car and put the rest in savings.  Even a year or two in a beater, provided you stay accident free will get your insurance back on track.  Plus you will have a payed for car, and money in the bank.

Definitely check different companies.  When my friend bought a GTI his old company went apeshit on him and called it a sports car,  I think he ended up using allstate that considered it an economy car.

I would never have insurance with a $1000 deductible. That's way too high- you need to break out the phone book and do some shopping around.

Well I got a HELLA good rate from AAA - Northern California. I am going with it. If you are curious, i am paying 500 deductibles with 1/2 the rate what others were quoting per year!

My 2009 Acura TSX with Technology Package & Auto in Vortex Blue  and ebony interior will be here tomorrow!

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on October 17, 2008, 05:40:12 PM
Well I got a HELLA good rate from AAA - Northern California. I am going with it. If you are curious, i am paying 500 deductibles with 1/2 the rate what others were quoting per year!

My 2009 Acura TSX with Technology Package & Auto in Vortex Blue  and ebony interior will be here tomorrow!

cool, i was behind a blue (vortex maybe?) RL today. quite a secks machein.

enjoy !

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on October 16, 2008, 10:47:27 PM
besides the insurance thing.. any idea on teh wheel hubcap issue?

its too risky taking all of the lugnuts off and then re-installing them with the weight of the car on them. You could get the wheel cocked sightly on the hub, and even though the lugnuts feel tight, they might end up loosening while you are driving.

I definately recomend you break out the jack and do it right. Remember to tighten the five nuts in a star pattern, also.


(BTW, as a mechanic who does a lot of tire related stuff, like alignments etc... I HATE these style of hubcaps. The Hyundai and Kia ones are the worst, since they leave no 'open' holes where you can leave two or three lugs tightened when removing the cap.)

i believe, his hubcap is like my oldsmobile. a plastic one, and now that i think about it, it should be alright. cause teh "plastic lugs screw onto the metal ones, so in essence, he would not be loosening hte real ones. if that is the case, tehn fine, it should be alright

the Hyundai ones aren't like that, Yama.  Those ones with the plastic screw-on caps aren't too bad, they can be found on most GM cars with hubcaps.

ummm...maybe you should look at an older car.

BTW though Forbes actually suggest you run with a larger deductible and that you just not have an at-fault accident.

Quote from: cummuterguy on October 18, 2008, 07:30:04 PM
the Hyundai ones aren't like that, Yama.  Those ones with the plastic screw-on caps aren't too bad, they can be found on most GM cars with hubcaps.

'95, my '01 saturn had those kind of caps.  however my '01 had the kind of plastic hub caps that screwed onto the lugs, they were annoying.