Hi all--

I hope this question isnt' too off-topic. I bought a 1981 240d in October, and have fallen in love with it. I DEFINITELY want to keep it. The problem is that it's my daily driver, and its performance in snow has been less than stellar. I have to admit that I still need to get snow tires for it, which I plan to do. But I'm starting to think long-term, and I may just want to park it for future winters.

This brings me to wonder about what the best insurance would be given this situation. What's the best (i.e., cheapest) approach to insuring cars which are only used seasonally? My plan would be to buy a third car (my wife has her minivan), which I would use during the winter, when the 240 was parked.

Just seems like a total waste to insure 3 cars when we'd only be using 2 at a time. And not sure if this matters, but I don't drive many miles. Maybe 5k-7k a year. (And I'm in West Virginia if that matters).

Thanks for any advice. Ian

Check with your agent and see if they will allow you to pull the 240 off of your coverage when you are not going to be driving it.
It's more paperwork for the agent but it shouldn't be a problem. If it is maybe you need another insurance company.

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Joe

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1980 300SD - 495k miles - 'The Ambassador'
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Former Family Members
95 C280
73 280SEL
90 300D
87 300SDL (X2)
86 560SEL
84 300D
80 300SD

In Louisiana, if you drop insurance for any reason you must turn in the plates before hand. If not, your license can be suspended. I've never heard of an insurance policy that is seasonal, however that does not mean one doesn't exist.

I doubt that you can justify keeping up two cars in this manner. It will probably end up costing you more than you want it to. I keep my Mercedes as a second car to my wife's 12 passenger van. It runs on Waste Veggie Oil and saves us a ton of money on gas when she doesn't have the entire crew of 7 kids with her. We can justify the extra car this way and she drives it about 250 miles a week. (Saving miles on the van).

Best of luck to you.

KW
83 Mercedes 300 D Turbo

Been there, done that. It actually turned out to be cheaper to just keep it on the insurance than mess with it. In Illinois, as long as it was on liability and parked, it was fine (according to law) but it ended up being more expensive, because they wanted me to evaluate how much the car was worth (since its so "old") they were charging me around 80 a month to insure it with liability and about 65 to insure the 300D with comprehensive and liability. Well the 300D is sold now and has been replaced by the Infiniti. long story short, it cost about 25$ a month to keep the Benz "on the road" the whole year (even though i do store it in the winter.) then it would be if i took it off the road.

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1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

Seeing as these are over 25 years old, do they qualify for an antique/parade policy? Seen a few in Hemmings.

http://www.sneedinsurance.com/sneed_collect.htm

I have not tried them but the savings looks good. My 240d is not my daily driver now and I am thinking of changing to this insurance. Has anyone have any experience with them?

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1982 240D Euro Stick 4

i'm 26 and only pay 200$ a yr in liability sounds really high maybe shop around???

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2004 Infiniti G35 3.5L 6mt Coupe 73K miles 25.6mpg ytd
2001 Green Audi TT 225 AWD Roadster 71K 6sp 30.9mpg >>STOLEN<<
1982 300D Turbo 231K 120hp? 28.1mpg YTD

At a minimum you should be able to negotiate a low annual mileage discount. Are you looking at liability insurance only? Or are you looking at comprehensive and collision? You can suspend the liability and collision while it's not being driven but consider keeping the comprehensive. Best bet is to talk to your agent and see what they can do then shop around.
Disclaimer--I'm not licensed to sell auto insurance

In my state its not a big deal, I have Allstate. I just call my insurance agent and tell him to take the SDL off the road and put whatever I have got for winter on. The SDL still has fire and theft on it, so they won't pull the plates. Whatever I drive for the winter usualy gets fire and theft as well. Keeping the SDL on is uber cheap, like $20 a month. I have been swaping back and forth every 5-6 months for years.

Hemmings is a joke, unless its going to sit on a trailer or be driven to shows.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I don't know about WV, but here in NY I only drive my 76' 300d in the summer and keep it insured all year through JC Whitney for less than $70. I think the replacement value is set at $4000. If your car is in good condition, this may be an option for you.

I wouldn't even think of driving the 300d in the winter up here, my car is rust-free and I plan on keeping it that way.

Good luck

My agent has "suspended" coverage. $9 per month. Still covers anything except an on road accident. One call and the car is good to drive for a weekend, no charge. Or one call and it goes active, and another goes "suspended"
works for us.

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83 300SD Dark Silver Dark brown inside

I swap the coverage between my cars depending on what I'm driving at the time. Typically every 6 months or so... my insurance is MET-LIFE. A simple phone call with the VIN is all it takes.

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1985 MBZ 300DT
1969 MBZ 220d
1984 MBZ 300TDT
1981 VW Vanagon