How Much Does 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Insurance Cost?

Looking for the cheapest insurance rates for your Mercedes-Benz C-Class? Tired of being strong-armed to pay your insurance bill each month? You are in the same boat as many other consumers.

Insurance companies such as Allstate, Progressive and GEICO constantly bombard you with TV and radio ads and it is difficult to see through the deception and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

Five factors that influence insurance costs

Many different elements are taken into consideration when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious like your driving record, although others are more obscure like your vehicle usage or how financially stable you are.

  • Drivers with high credit save – Credit history can be an important factor in determining what you pay. So if your credit rating is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class if you clean up your credit. Drivers who have very high credit ratings tend to be more responsible and file fewer claims than drivers who have bad credit.
  • Always have insurance – Allowing your coverage to lapse will be a quick way to increase your renewal premiums. In addition to paying higher rates, the inability to provide proof of insurance may earn you a license revocation or jail time.
  • Raise coverage deductibles and save – Comp and collision deductibles state the amount of money you are required to pay if you file a covered claim. Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered are colliding with a stationary object, damage from fire, or theft of your vehicle. The more of the claim you have to pay, the less money you will pay for insurance on C-Class insurance.
  • Safer cars save money – Safer cars tend to be cheaper to insure. These vehicles protect occupants better and fewer serious injuries means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
  • Get hitched and pay less – Having a spouse may save some money on your insurance policy. Marriage may mean you are more mature and statistics prove drivers who are married are more cautious.

How to find the cheapest car insurance

When looking for cheaper insurance quotes, there are a couple ways to compare quotes from lots of car insurance companies. The best method to comparison shop consists of shopping online. This is quite simple and can be completed in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

  1. If you don’t have a lot of time, the easiest way consumers can make multiple comparisons is a comparison rater form click to view form in new window. This method eliminates the need for separate quotation requests for every prospective company. A single, simple form gets you price quotes from several companies.
  2. Another way to get comparison quotes consists of going to the website for every company you want to comare to request a price quote. For examples sake, we’ll assume you want to compare prices for Progressive, Allstate and GMAC. To get rate quotes you would need to visit each site and type in your information over and over, which can take a lot of time. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

It’s up to you which method you use, but be certain you are entering identical coverage limits for each price quote. If you use different coverage information it’s not possible to make a fair rate comparison. Just slight variations in insurance coverages or limits could throw off the whole comparison. It’s important to know that having more price comparisons helps improve the odds of finding the best price.

More affordable rates by taking advantage of discounts

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but there could be significant discounts that can dramatically reduce your bill. Certain discounts will be applied at the time you complete a quote, but once in a while a discount must be asked about prior to getting the savings.

  • Discount for Low Mileage – Driving fewer miles can qualify you for better prices on cars that stay parked.
  • Discount for Multiple Policies – If you can bundle your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you could earn a discount of as much as 10 to 15 percent.
  • Full Payment Discount – By paying your policy upfront rather than paying monthly you could save 5% or more.
  • Switch and Save Discount – Select car insurance companies give a discount for switching policies prior to your current policy expiration. It can save you around 10%.
  • Driver’s Ed – Require your teen driver to enroll and complete driver’s education in high school.
  • First Accident Forgiveness – Not a discount per se, but a handful of insurance companies may permit one accident before they charge you more for coverage so long as you are claim-free prior to the accident.
  • Mature Driver Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you can get better car insurance rates on C-Class insurance.

It’s important to understand that most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free car insurance policy, you’re out of luck. Any qualifying discounts will lower the premium cost.

The best car insurance companies and some of the premium reductions they offer include:

  • GEICO may include discounts for seat belt use, anti-lock brakes, emergency military deployment, multi-policy, and good student.
  • USAA includes discounts for multi-vehicle, annual mileage, loyalty savings, defensive driver, and multi-policy.
  • Progressive offers discounts for online quote discount, homeowner, continuous coverage, online signing, and multi-vehicle.
  • American Family discounts include defensive driver, good student, air bags, bundled insurance, and early bird.
  • Esurance has discounts for anti-theft, safety device, renters, Pac-12 alumni, and anti-lock brakes.
  • Farmers Insurance policyholders can earn discounts including good student, electronic funds transfer, bundle discounts, distant student, alternative fuel, and early shopping.
  • State Farm has savings for multiple autos, Steer Clear safe driver discount, good driver, safe vehicle, student away at school, good student, and accident-free.

When quoting, ask every insurance company which discounts they offer. A few discounts might not be available to policyholders in your area. To choose car insurance companies with the best car insurance discounts, follow this link.

How much insurance do I need?

When choosing proper insurance coverage, there really is not a “perfect” insurance plan. Each situation is unique so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions might help in determining whether or not you will benefit from professional help.

  • Does insurance cover tools stolen from my truck?
  • When should I buy a commercial auto policy?
  • What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?
  • Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
  • Can I afford to pay high deductible claims out of pocket?
  • Is my Mercedes-Benz C-Class covered if I use it for business?

If you’re not sure about those questions then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier

Car insurance coverages and their meanings

Learning about specific coverages of car insurance helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Car insurance terms can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are the usual coverages found on most car insurance policies.

Coverage for medical expenses – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for expenses for dental work, funeral costs, rehabilitation expenses and X-ray expenses. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Coverage for liability – Liability insurance can cover injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see values of 50/100/50 which stand for $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Some companies may use a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability can pay for things like repair costs for stationary objects, funeral expenses and structural damage. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but consider buying higher limits if possible.

Comprehensive car insurance – This covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as hail damage, damage from getting keyed, falling objects, hitting a bird and rock chips in glass. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – This gives you protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Due to the fact that many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important. Usually these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Collision coverages – Collision coverage pays for damage to your C-Class caused by collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision can pay for things like colliding with a tree, hitting a mailbox, rolling your car and backing into a parked car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

In conclusion

In this article, we covered many ways to lower your 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class insurance prices. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the higher your chance of finding affordable insurance. Drivers may discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from an unexpected company. These companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like GEICO and State Farm.

Low-cost 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class insurance can be found both online and also from your neighborhood agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. There are still a few companies who may not have the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional carriers sell through independent agents.

As you restructure your insurance plan, don’t be tempted to buy less coverage just to save a little money. There have been many situations where consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage and learned later they didn’t have enough coverage. Your goal is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the lowest possible cost, not the least amount of coverage.

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