I've just recently renew my auto insurance and I was shocked looking at the figures. To my surprise, the liability of the LS430 (bodily injury, property damage, uninsure motorists, etc) cost more than each of my MB (one of them is a roadster and the other is a AMG coupe both of which are much faster than the LS430). I knew the body Mercedes is better than that of the Lexus but I always thought 4 door sedan would be cheaper to insure ... until I looked at the figures. Perhaps Allstate knows something that I don't ... oh well.

Comprehensive and Collision on the LS430 were a tag cheaper than the MB though.

 

Some years ago I used to trade to a new LS every 2-3 years. I was shocked when I saw the new insurance premiums after one of the trades. I checked around and found that it was just my insurance company that had jacked up the rates on the LS without explanation. I switched insurance companies and the problem was solved and hasn't returned yet.

 

Generally speaking liability insurance covers you for damage that the LS430 does to other people or things. It is a big heavy car so it can do quite a bit of damage relative to smaller lighter vehicles. I don't think higher than average liability cost would infer that the LS430 is unsafe for its occupants.
Most likely high liability may be an anomaly of your particular company - you might want to check around for better rates. The insurance on my LS430 is approx same as it was on my Acura RL (State Farm).

 

For sure - its terribly unsafe for anyone who gets hit by the LS The other reason might be if you recently totaled your roadster or AMG - j/k...

 

That's interesting. Before I purchased my latest LS, i ran different car scenarios though my my insurance broker. I didn't get the breakdown, but the overall insurance cost for the LS was a notch cheaper than a similar MB, Audi and Beemer.

 

The cost of insurance is not just factored on safety, but on cost to repair if there's an accident, their historical data of likelihood of occurance based on age of driver, etc. So the LS might be expensive to your carrier because they've found that most 50+ drivers tend to get into accidents with them that require more payout.

I have full coverage on all my vehicles and my used '04 LS430 still costs more than my new '10 MDX by about 6%. Go figure...

 

I guess you missed my point.

AFAIK, liability is for other people/property if the LS430 hit. Generally speaking, why would my 500 HPs AMG (which is heavier than the LS430) cause less damage than the LS430? The same question applies to my SL500, it has less HPs than the CL55 but it is still faster than the LS430 (and certainly not any lighter). Shouldn't more HPs/faster cars cost more to insure? It's not making any sense to me.

Or is it because it's more likely for the LS430 to cause accident? I still don't see how ...

if I recently had totalled the MBs, which I didn't, it should still be cheaper for the LS430 to liablly insure, right?

Valid point ... so you are saying those "old farts" are ruining us? lol


Anyway, no more complains ... I am back to work ... thanks for listening to me venting ... cheers

 

Yes, the "old farts" are ruining us... ha ha.

I'm sure HP is not that big a factor or else a Civic should only cost about $50 to insure.

 

Out of curiousity, I just went and re-checked the price to add a 2009 LS460 and a 2009 S550 to my policy. For liability only the price is identical. For full coverage the LS is ~10% cheaper than the S550.

 

Auto insurance companies look at your driving profile, which includes things like the make and model of car you drive, the rates of theft and cost/number of claims for that make/model, your age, your gender, where you live, rates of theft and number of claims for your area, how long you've held a license in that jurisdiction, the number of tickets and accidents on your record, where your car is parked in the daytime and at night, mileage used each year, factory and aftermarket anti-theft features, etc., and use all of that information to assess the risk of you making a claim in the future, which then determines your rates.

My insurance with State Farm is quite competitive compared to other insurers. I checked with every possible insurer available to me, and I check again every year. I think you just have to shop around more.