How To Save Money On Cars With Students In College

With students returning to college campuses, many family budgets are stretched a little thin. College is an exciting time for both students and their parents, but paying for tuition, fees, housing, and other expenses can add up quickly. One expense that doesn’t help is paying for both the family vehicle and, if one is used on campus, the student’s vehicle as well. However, there are some ways to save. Here is a look at some of the ways that parents and students can save money on vehicles while still managing to get where everyone needs to be.

Insurance Savings For Families With Students In College

Many families opt not to send a student off to campus in a vehicle. After the move-in, the issue is forgotten. However, unless you take action, your insurer is unlikely to know that one of the drivers on your policy is no longer driving. The easiest way to reduce vehicle costs is to reach out to your insurer as soon as your student heads off to college.

Student Away Discounts

The Student Away At College Discount is the first discount to investigate. This car insurance discount applies to families who have a student away at college, not commuting. If the student lives too far away to borrow the family’s car frequently, a discount is applied. The qualifications can include ensuring the school’s dormitory is a set distance from home.

Good Student Discounts

In a recent report, Insurify.com lists the Good Student Discount at the very top of its list. Teen drivers who maintain at least a B average in high school or college can qualify for lower rates based on their good grades, which can help lower the high cost of insuring college-aged drivers.

Low Mileage Discounts

Another way that discounts for the family fleet might come into play is if a student had been driving a vehicle regularly but stops when school is in session. If a vehicle is driven below a certain number of miles, a discount can be applied. Typically the threshold is 10,000 miles per year. The mileage may be recorded by the DMV in your state, or your insurer may ask you to install a mileage tracker to determine your eligibility for this discount.

Old Car? Ditch Comprehensive and Glass

If the car your student would be driving is an older car from the family fleet and is sitting unused while they wait for Thanksgiving break, consider its value. If the vehicle is near the end of its useful life, dropping the optional comprehensive coverage may be a wise move. Particularly if the value isn’t more than a few thousand over the deductible. Be sure to consider dropping the glass damage coverage if that is an option as well. Be warned. If you have an accident, you will not be covered for repairs, but with the car unused most of the time, the odds are in your favor.

Good Insurance Habits

While considering the discounts specific to your college student’s transition to college, step back and make certain you are getting all of the discounts possible. Are you using paperless billing? Have you considered paying up-front? Are your home, liability, and all of your vehicle policies issued by the same provider to take advantage of loyalty and bundling discounts? Do you qualify for any military or other types of discounts? Ask your agent.

Read more about Saving on Car Insurance here.

Consider Selling A Car With your student away for the bulk of the year, can you do without one of the vehicles in the family fleet? There has never been a better time to sell a used car. Prices have gone through the roof, and you can take advantage of an instant cash offer, sell your car online to a dealer, or sell to a private party.

Dropping one of the cars from your insurance and avoiding any future repair bills will save you money, and the value of the car can be set aside for other uses.

Read more on the topic of Selling a Car here.

Do You Really Want Your Car On Campus?

Ahh, the college years. Keggers, all-nighters, raves, and parties of all types on-campus and off. Do you want your car to be part of that? Your kid isn’t likely to weld a cake to the top of your car and enter it into a parade Animal House-style, but misadventure is almost a rite of passage in college years. Do you want to be the responsible party for the car involved in those activities? Consider keeping the car home.

Times and Transportation They Are A-Changin'

If you drove your kid to school for drop off, you may have noticed some changes from your own days on campus. Transportation options are now everywhere. Free use bikes, dedicated bike lanes cutting through campus, electric scooter rentals, buses galore, and of course, the emergence of rideshare as a viable option everywhere in America means that having a car is not always a must.

Many campuses even have tunnel systems for students to help them move from building to building without braving the winter weather. Consider whether your student really needs a car. The best bike helmet you can buy costs about $150. That’s three fill-ups with today’s gas prices. Buying a bike? Go used. New bikes are theft targets on even the best campuses.

Let the Car Pay For Itself

If your student does need a car on campus or commutes to school, consider letting it pay for itself. Door Dash and other delivery services are easy to sign up for and can put that vehicle to work paying for itself. Uber and Lyft are also options if the student and vehicle qualify.

Go Electric

Although electric vehicles tend to cost more up-front than affordable conventional vehicles, they can save money long-term. If your student’s campus offers free charging for students, consider a Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, Hyundai Kona, or Kia Niro battery-electric vehicle as an option. All are now available, both new and used, and may qualify you for a tax incentive. EVs are generally easier to maintain, have a lower cost per mile for energy, and as of late, have held their resale value very well.

Read more on Car Buying for Teens and New Drivers here.