There are several reasons you might hang onto a car you rarely drive. Perhaps you`re sentimentally attached to it. Maybe you use it for special occasions or you might be planning to fix it up and use it more often. If you’ve decided not to sell your vehicle despite its infrequent use, you should probably also keep your rarely-driven car insured. We’ll explain why and share expert tips on how to do it cheaply.
Reason #1 – It`s the Law
In nearly every state, you must have liability insurance to drive legally. The law doesn`t care if your drive every day or just occasionally. You can`t comply with the law and drive without insurance.
If you get caught driving without insurance, you can expect to pay a fine, and if you cause a crash without insurance, you`ll be responsible for paying for the damages out-of-pocket.
Reason #2 – If It`s Insured, You Have the Option to Drive It
If your car has insurance, you can drive it whenever you want. Some people keep their motorcycle or sports car insured through the winter so that if there`s a nice day, they can take advantage of it and go for a ride.
If you don`t have insurance on a vehicle, you don`t have the option to take it out for a spin, and you might miss out on some excellent driving opportunities.
Also, if you have a parade vehicle, you`ll still need insurance to drive it in any parades you wish to participate in.
Reason #3 – A Lapse in Insurance Looks Bad
If you have insurance on another vehicle, you`ll be OK in this regard. Still, if your rarely driven car is your only vehicle and you let your insurance policy lapse, it`ll be harder and more expensive to get insurance in the future.
Reason #4 – You Can`t Register an Uninsured Car
You can`t register a car unless you have insurance on it. So, if you want to have the option of driving or selling your car, you`re going to need to keep up on your insurance policy so that you can keep your car registered.
You can`t legally drive a car without insurance, and you can`t legally drive without registration. And while penalties vary by state, you can count on receiving a fine if you`re caught driving without registration.
You won`t help yourself by skipping registration. You might think you can get by without registering for a few months, and you might be able to, but when you go to register your vehicle again, they`ll put the annual registration date as the same date your registration expired.
So you don`t earn yourself extra time, but instead you just wasted the ability to drive your car legally during the time it wasn`t registered.
Tips for Getting Cheaper Insurance
If you don`t drive your car often, you might want to consider keeping just minimum liability coverage on it. That way, if you take it out, you`ll be in compliance with the law, but you`ll spend as little as possible to do so.
One of the best ways to find the cheapest insurance policy is to compare quotes between companies to see which is a better fit for you. And don`t forget to look for discounts that apply to your situation to bring your premiums down even further.
Keeping your insurance current on a seldomly driven vehicle is a good idea because it leaves you open to options like driving or selling your car. Without insurance, your only choice is to let your vehicle sit and accumulate dust and problems that accompany lack of use.
