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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
student
()
Date: April 19, 2009 03:11AM
I was called for a short term deployment and I am planning on storring my vehicle for about a year. Since the car is going to be safely locked up, I technically dont need insurance. Its a 2009 vehicle and it is financed but really since there is no liability and the storage unit is insured againt any damage of its contents,what would happen if I just cancelled my insurance. Does the state of VA somehow gets notified or is it not that big of a deal?
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
Junes
()
Date: April 19, 2009 06:55AM
The state may not require your vehicle be insured, but your lender does. Read your loan agreement.
Also, its not good for the vehicle to let it sit for a year.
Also, its not good for the vehicle to let it sit for a year.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
TomMadison
()
Date: April 19, 2009 08:16AM
Junes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, its not good for the vehicle to let it sit
> for a year.
I think that it depends on how you store it. Pat Goss has done some stories on this and I think that there are things you can do like connecting a battery trickle chargers, draining a lot of the fluids, etc. Not sure what you are supposed to do about the gas and tires, but done correctly it should not be a problem.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, its not good for the vehicle to let it sit
> for a year.
I think that it depends on how you store it. Pat Goss has done some stories on this and I think that there are things you can do like connecting a battery trickle chargers, draining a lot of the fluids, etc. Not sure what you are supposed to do about the gas and tires, but done correctly it should not be a problem.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
raindrop
()
Date: April 19, 2009 08:30AM
student Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was called for a short term deployment and I am
> planning on storring my vehicle for about a year.
> Since the car is going to be safely locked up, I
> technically dont need insurance. Its a 2009
> vehicle and it is financed but really since there
> is no liability and the storage unit is insured
> againt any damage of its contents,what would
> happen if I just cancelled my insurance. Does the
> state of VA somehow gets notified or is it not
> that big of a deal?
Also, you might have a hard time re-insuring it later. Most insurance companies want you to have continuous insurance for the last several years before covering you (unless you're a new driver). Either way you'll be charged "extra" as a result of being uninsured.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was called for a short term deployment and I am
> planning on storring my vehicle for about a year.
> Since the car is going to be safely locked up, I
> technically dont need insurance. Its a 2009
> vehicle and it is financed but really since there
> is no liability and the storage unit is insured
> againt any damage of its contents,what would
> happen if I just cancelled my insurance. Does the
> state of VA somehow gets notified or is it not
> that big of a deal?
Also, you might have a hard time re-insuring it later. Most insurance companies want you to have continuous insurance for the last several years before covering you (unless you're a new driver). Either way you'll be charged "extra" as a result of being uninsured.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
CAR TECH
()
Date: April 19, 2009 09:07AM
Disconnecting the battery and draining the fluids is a good idea, especially for that long of a period of time. You should also over-inflate the tires with 70-80lbs of air, it helps stabilize the rubber and prevent chafing. Don't cancel your insurance, you at least want to carry comprehensive coverage to insure against things like fire, theft, etc.
TomMadison Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that it depends on how you store it. Pat
> Goss has done some stories on this and I think
> that there are things you can do like connecting a
> battery trickle chargers, draining a lot of the
> fluids, etc. Not sure what you are supposed to do
> about the gas and tires, but done correctly it
> should not be a problem.
TomMadison Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that it depends on how you store it. Pat
> Goss has done some stories on this and I think
> that there are things you can do like connecting a
> battery trickle chargers, draining a lot of the
> fluids, etc. Not sure what you are supposed to do
> about the gas and tires, but done correctly it
> should not be a problem.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
tubby
()
Date: April 19, 2009 09:57AM
If you cancel the liability insurance, you need to turn the plates in to DMV (unless they're expired).
Your insurance company will notify DMV (and your lender) of the cancellation. DMV has no way of knowing that the car is not being driven.
Your insurance company will notify DMV (and your lender) of the cancellation. DMV has no way of knowing that the car is not being driven.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
Radiophile
()
Date: April 19, 2009 10:19AM
Yeah pretty much true. I may add that your lender will just shrug it off if you cancel your insurance - they will pretty much get REAL PISSED and might call in the loan by demanding payment in full.
The reason being is that just because YOU dont drive it, other things could happen to the car and they need to protect their investment.
What you can do is call your insurance company and tell them. They should be able to offer you minimal coverage for your minimal driving.
I would not let the insurance lapse. It is a real headache!
And yes, if your insurance lapses you will get real nasty notes from the DMV demanding you pay the $500 uninsured driver fee - which offers you no insurance. It is far less of a hassle to bare bones your current policy.
The reason being is that just because YOU dont drive it, other things could happen to the car and they need to protect their investment.
What you can do is call your insurance company and tell them. They should be able to offer you minimal coverage for your minimal driving.
I would not let the insurance lapse. It is a real headache!
And yes, if your insurance lapses you will get real nasty notes from the DMV demanding you pay the $500 uninsured driver fee - which offers you no insurance. It is far less of a hassle to bare bones your current policy.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
Been there
()
Date: April 19, 2009 10:36AM
If there's a lien on the vehicle the lender normally requires full coverage on the vehicle. However they are willing to make exceptions if you deploy out of country. When I was in the Navy and went out on deployment I took my car off the road completely, and the lender was fine with that.
As for storing it, if it's going to be a year, the recommendations made so far in this thread will be fine. There's nothing dangerous about storing a car, given you do things right. Think of all these guys who own classic or muscle cars, they rarely take them out over the winter.
As for storing it, if it's going to be a year, the recommendations made so far in this thread will be fine. There's nothing dangerous about storing a car, given you do things right. Think of all these guys who own classic or muscle cars, they rarely take them out over the winter.
Re: No insurance on a stored vehicle
Posted by:
Take a Stand
()
Date: April 19, 2009 04:55PM
I had a similar issue. You can get insurance on just theft/vandalism/fire..etc but leave out the liability. I have done this several times with project cars. Progressive Ins. does this for me.
As far as storing,
Put a product called Sta-Bil in your gas and run it for a while before you park it. It will keep old fuel damaging your injectors/seals and pumps.
Air up the tires a couple more PSI to help prevent flat spots, I wouldnt go up to 70psi, but 45 is probably good for a regular road tire.
If your coolant is in good shape leave it, Clean coolant is a rust inhibitor.
Leave the oil in the car, just change it before storing.
Parking in door?, Park your car on a plastic sheet to keep ground moisture from rusting your car.
Parking outside?, Park only on paved surface. grass and gravel holds ground moisture, helping your car rust.
And yeah disconnect the battery.
As far as storing,
Put a product called Sta-Bil in your gas and run it for a while before you park it. It will keep old fuel damaging your injectors/seals and pumps.
Air up the tires a couple more PSI to help prevent flat spots, I wouldnt go up to 70psi, but 45 is probably good for a regular road tire.
If your coolant is in good shape leave it, Clean coolant is a rust inhibitor.
Leave the oil in the car, just change it before storing.
Parking in door?, Park your car on a plastic sheet to keep ground moisture from rusting your car.
Parking outside?, Park only on paved surface. grass and gravel holds ground moisture, helping your car rust.
And yeah disconnect the battery.