How To Get an Auto Insurance Quote Before Buying a Car (2024)

Knowing how to get an auto insurance quote before buying a car, or even if you already own one, is important. The easiest way to get a car insurance estimate is to use an online tool that will shop around for coverage for you.

When it comes to buying a new car and deciding whether or not you can it, you can sometimes find yourself in a bit of a catch 22.

That’s because you need to be able to decide if you can afford the car before you decide whether or not to buy it. Knowing how to get a car insurance quote before buying a car is imperative.

A car insurance policy is based not only on you but also on your car, the age of your car, the condition of the car, and even where it’s parked. That means that you can’t know how much your car is going to cost you until you buy it.

And at that point, you’re kind of stuck. Can you get an insurance quote before buying a car? The good news is that you can get instant auto insurance quotes online so that you are prepared and don’t feel stuck. You just need to know how to get insurance quotes before buying a car.

Shopping around for affordable car insurance quotes before buying a car will help you get the coverage you want at the price you can afford.

Enter your ZIP code to start comparing auto insurance quotes before buying a car.

Can I get a car insurance quote before buying a car? Find out the answer to this and much more in our guide.

How to Get an Auto Insurance Quote Before You Buy a Car

But let’s say that you’re walking around the garage and you want to find out how much a car is going to cost you in terms of car insurance. The salesman is doing his best attempt at talking your ear off and you can hardly hear yourself think. But you want to make sure you get one of the cheapest cars to insure.

This isn’t exactly the ideal time to whip out your laptop and to start putting registration numbers into a price comparison site.

Read more: Do you need auto insurance before you buy a car?

What are the steps to get auto insurance before you buy a car?

According to Consumer Finance, if you don’t have car insurance in place when you purchase your vehicle, the dealer can force you to purchase insurance through the dealership at a much higher rate.

If you are transferring insurance from a current vehicle to a new one, your insurance agent will show you how to check insurance before buying a car. This way you know you have the correct amount of coverage.

So what do you do instead of allowing the dealer to require you to buy their policy? One useful trick is to do some research before you go out and buy your car. Compare several different types of vehicles: new and old, sporty and ‘family-oriented’, expensive and cheap.

Here are some steps to take to make sure you have auto insurance in place before you buy a car (read our “How To Budget for Auto Insurance” for more information):

• Decide what kind of car you want. Even if you don’t have a specific VIN, knowing other information about the car will help you get a car insurance estimate. An insurer will want to know the make, model, year, and any safety features on the vehicle to get a fairly accurate quote.
• Now, compare different providers, different policies, and different parking arrangements. Armed with this information, you should now have a rough feel for how much insurance normally costs and how much you can expect it to go up or down based on the type of car you pick.
• Pick an insurer and contact them. They can give you the information you will need to show your dealer when you buy a car. This will prove to the dealer you have insurance and won’t need to buy insurance from them.

You still won’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of car insurance rates but you will be able to make a fairly safe guesstimate while looking around. Learn how to estimate car insurance before buying a car.

Then, set yourself a maximum budget and try to look for things that you can safely presume will fall well below that maximum.

What factors affect auto insurance rates?

Now you just need to know about how insurers calculate your car insurance rates. Here are a few factors to consider:

• The Age Of The Car – The age of the car impacts the insurance costs. Is it cheaper to insure a new car or an old car? A very old car might be expensive because it’s more likely to need repairs but a very new car might cost more because it costs more initially
• Cost – This brings us to the obvious point: more expensive cars are also more expensive to insure.  A Honda Civic will have a much lower average rate than a Lamborghini Diablo, for example.
• Demographics – While it might seem unfair, insurers will make some assumptions about you based on the type of car you choose. If you pick a 1-liter engine with modified hubcaps and spoilers and if you’re a young man, then they’ll assume you’re a reckless driver and it could cost you more. But on the other hand, if you buy a nice family-friendly people carrier then they’ll think you’re a safe bet and your insurance will probably go down.
• Driving Record – If you have had accidents or tickets, your auto insurance rates will be much higher. Check out this guide for more information about how your driving record impacts your insurance rates.
• Credit History – Your credit score and auto insurance quotes go hand-in-hand. People with a higher credit score are given lower car insurance rates. Insurance companies believe that the higher your credit score, the more likely you are to pay for damages or repairs out of pocket instead of filing an insurance claim.

Read more: Affordable Honda Auto Insurance Quotes

Let’s take this a step further and look at how demographics affect your auto insurance rates. This will give you an idea of the rates you may see when you get quotes.

Read More: Affordable Lamborghini Auto Insurance Quotes

Young males pay much more than their older counterparts, but more than just age and gender go into figuring rates.

Watch this video to learn more about factors that will influence your car insurance rates.

Because there are so many factors, the only way to be absolutely sure of the cost though is to give the insurance provider a call and to get a quote from them directly.

How does the make and model of your car affect auto insurance rates?

The car your drive will affect your car insurance rates. Here are some of the reasons your car will cost you more in insurance:

• Cars that are sporty are seen as high-risk for accidents since people tend to drive that type of car faster.
• If you are driving an expensive vehicle, it will cost more to repair or replace it if you’re in an accident.

Make sure you take into account how your car insurance will be affected by the type of car you buy. That doesn’t mean you can’t get your dream car, it just means that you need to be aware of how much you will be charged for auto insurance.

Get a Quick Auto Insurance Estimate Online Before Buying a Car

Can I get an estimate for car insurance before buying a car if I don’t live in the U.S.?

If you take a look at most insurance comparison websites, then you’ll find that they normally provide some kind of ‘quick’ option for getting a quote. This lets you estimate car insurance before buying a car. It’s not an exact number because there are so many variables that have to be looked at.

4AutoInsuranceQuote shows you how to compare auto insurance quotes for US consumers, but if you are looking to use something else, you have plenty of options.

Because you’re using the registration alone, you don’t have to input lots of fresh details. This also means you know it can be fairly accurate because it knows the precise car, as well as all your personal information.

Read more:

• What information do I need to provide to get an auto insurance quote?
• How To Get An Auto Insurance Quote Without Personal Information
• Affordable Honda Auto Insurance Quotes 

Because it’s comparing different options for you, you can now pick the one that you think sounds the best. This is the ideal situation if you’re sitting at home, looking at second-hand cars on eBay, and entering them into QuickQuote or a similar service in a separate window.

Read more: Can I buy auto insurance online?

How much auto insurance do you need?

Most states have a minimum auto insurance coverage that you have to sign up for. This will vary from state to state, but your insurance company will know what those minimum limits are.

It might be tempting to just carry the minimum amount of car insurance, but you’ll probably need more coverage, especially if you’re buying a car.

Most lenders will require that you carry comprehensive and collision coverage on a new car. Sometimes vehicle GAP insurance is also required. These extra coverages will help if you are in an accident or have other damages.

Remember — get car insurance rates before buying a car. Purchasing a car can be very stressful since you want a great car at a great price.

Now that you know how to get an insurance quote before buying a car, just enter your ZIP code to start comparing car insurance quotes before buying a car, or even if you already own one.