[wsalopek]

Hi folks,

We are not owners yet, but I got an ins quote for a 2015 350 XLT Wagon, LWB, low roof, and the quote was about double the cost for our other cars (Safeco, New Mexico).

I saw mention in the forum that someone changed their registration to an RV, and lowered their insurance rate considerably.

Which got me to thinking...all else being equal, are there large differences in insurance rates between a wagon, cargo, and RV?

We were thinking Wagon...but if we are gonna get hit with a few hundred $$ more per year (because of all the seats? Which we won't be using...), we might go cargo...or even try the RV route, as we will be doing a modest conversion.

Thanks...

 

[Druder]

I just went through this, I ended up requesting my title for a 5 seat vehicle instead of 15 and got my insurance that way. It's still considerably more than I expected and I'm looking for a better long term solution for the future. I pay more for this than my $53k pickup.

 

[wsalopek]

Thanks Druder...so when you say you "ended up requesting my title for a 5-seat vehicle"...what do you mean exactly? That you visited the DMV and asked them to change the number on the title from 15 seats to 5? And they just went ahead and did that? And then you told the insurance company that it was a 5 seat Transit? With no particular proof or whatever?

 

[Druder]

I have a very close relationship with my insurance agent so when I told her I bought a wagon to make a cheap crew van with windows she talked to the broker, who didn’t want any part of it. Then she talked another broker into it and did the DMV form before I even took delivery of the van. I told them I’d sign an affidavit that it would never have more than 5 seats and that was enough for them.

 

[wsalopek]

Ok so what I hear you saying is that first a person has to more-or-less talk their insurance company into accepting the risk. OK... I get that part (though I don't understand why they ever would).

But it's this other part about the dmv...that part I just don't get. There is a dmv form where a person can declare how many passengers the vehicle can carry despite the Vin number saying otherwise?

Sorry to be so thick about this but yeah, I still don't get it.

Thanks again.

 

[Druder]

So I found out that a 10 passenger van at capacity is 3 times more likely to have a rollover accident and a 15 passenger at capacity is 6 times more likely than an empty van. That is the contention the insurance company has insuring you and in MA it's hard to impossible to even rent one anymore. The broker first wanted me to get commercial registration and insurance, which would've required an additional personal policy, I wasn't doing that. In my state, MA, your insurance agent fills out the form necessary to get your vehicle registered and titled. Since my title now says 5 passengers my insurance can deny or limit a claim if I carry more than that, just like they can in any other vehicle with more people or more weight than listed. I've purposely restricted myself to a crew van because I didn't want to buy a 2020.I could go a step further and register it as an RV but that required a lot of things I'm not willing to do like a permanent bathroom. The insurance would go down considerably if I ever made that leap though.
I learned this trick when the previous owner of my company's flatbed titled it as a 2 passenger even though it's got a full bench seat with 3 belts. I had the title adjusted to properly match because if we ever had 3 passengers and got in an accident, they could've fought to deny the claim.

 

[wsalopek]

OK...I see...it's the insurance company who actually does the paperwork in Massachusettes...that's the part of the equation I was missing.

So it sounds like cargo vans are, on average, much less expensive to insure vs a wagon, and "RV's" are less expensive than that. OK. I guess I need to inquire as to New Mexico or California law as to what's required to show a Transit as an RV...probably the same as what you have in MA...which yeah, may be more work than we want to do.

My wife and I were/are looking to do a "lite" conversion to a Transit...a bed...a portable sink...portable shower...some extra power, etc...and after much discussion we figured we wanted a wagon...to be able to have a second row of seats if/when anyone wanted to travel with us.

But if the insurance is going to be hundreds $$ more per year...we might instead go cargo...and then add back in some seat attachments. I know that path also has it's own challenges...but I had been talking to a local place that installs handicapped seats/chairs and such in vans, and they thought they could do it...safely and legally. That said I have yet to confirm that 100%.

Thanks...