Your Money: Hit the Road, but Get Cover

Millions of drivers will take to the roads for the great Bank Holiday getaway next weekend.

But with one in five having no breakdown cover, there are sure to be plenty of motorists stranded by the roadside.

Those who don't have cover could end up paying a hefty call-out fee of up to pounds 100 at peak times in the UK, plus anything between pounds 2 and pounds 25 a mile for recovery of a broken-down car. These costs can be even more expensive if you are driving abroad.

And even people who do have cover often fail to shop around for the best deals. Our table on the right shows some of the best-buy comprehensive breakdown cover policies for the UK and Europe.

Richard Mason, of comparison website moneysupermarket.com, said: "Motorists can avoid wasting precious holiday time on the hard shoulder by ensuring they have adequate breakdown insurance. It is important to choose not only the most competitive policy, but one which is comprehensive enough for your needs.

"UK breakdown policies do not automatically provide cover for driving abroad, so those planning to cross the Channel should check they have the appropriate cover. After all, the last thing you want is to stump up an exorbitant call-out fee or organise your own recovery service while stranded abroad."

As well as taking out comprehensive cover, if you are planning on taking your car overseas you should also check you are covered in case you have an accident. Look at the small print of your policy to see if it includes foreign use.

This will either be included as standard, or it can be purchased as an optional extension.

A spokesman for consumer finance website Find.co.uk said: "If it is included as standard, your insurer may stipulate that you are covered for a maximum of 90 days driving abroad in total per year, but that each trip must not exceed 30 days.

"So if you were on an extended driving holiday, you would have to return to the UK at the end of 30 days to maintain cover. If this were not feasible, you would need to arrange extended cover at the outset."

You may find your insurance policy includes breakdown cover, but this often doesn't extend to Europe. Only 10 per cent of policies include European breakdown cover and 24 per cent offer this as an option at extra cost. Some providers, such as M&S Car Insurance, include this cover as standard for both UK and Europe, but usually you have to pay extra.

James Harrison, of Insurancewide.com, said: "Before you scour the market for a separate breakdown policy, check whether your existing car insurance covers you and to what extent.

"If you are not covered and need to add breakdown on to your existing policy, it won't necessarily be cheaper with your existing insurer.

Be very clear what you want to be covered - don't blindly make do with the cheapest policy."

CHECK THE COST

Based on comprehensive annual cover for man, 25, driving 2001 car 12,000 miles a year Provider Premium below.

UK BREAKDOWN COVER
RescueMyCar.com pounds 31.00
First Call pounds 32.00
Europ-Assistance pounds 41.30
GEM Motoring Assist pounds 60.75

EUROPEAN BREAKDOWN COVER
RescueMyCar.com pounds 68.50
Drive 24/7 pounds 76.50
First Call pounds 76.95
Car Breakdown Discounts pounds 89.00

(C)Sunday Morror, London

Most Expensive Cars to Insure

High-priced cars aren't just expensive to buy — they can cost a lot to protect, as well.

The more expensive the car, the more it costs to insure. But just how expensive may come as a shock. For modest coverage ($500 deductibles on collision and comprehensive coverage, $100,000 each for personal and property coverage, and $25,000 each for medical and uninsured coverage) on this year's $135,400 Mercedes SL, owners will pay about $22,536 a year.

For pricey cars like this, yearly insurance costing 20 percent of the base price is typical. But for those with low monthly payments on high-end cars, that could mean spending more on insurance than on the car itself.

"The cost of the vehicle is primary when setting the price of a policy," says David Wurster, president of Vincentric, a Detroit-based automotive data firm that studies car insurance costs. Vincentric gets its data from state agencies and averages these figures in compiling its list of most expensive yearly rates. "But there's also the type of vehicle it is. Sports car owners tend to drive them a little more aggressively."

This, in turn, leads to higher-priced policies. With this in mind, it's no surprise that racy offerings from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche make for some of the most expensive cars to insure.

How It Works
"We start with the manufacturer's suggested retail price," says Kip Diggs, a spokesman for State Farm, the largest insurer of autos in the U.S. Diggs says State Farm then considers how expensive it is to repair each model. The more costly the parts, the higher the policy. For foreign brands with parts from afar, expect to pay more. "From there," Diggs says, "we look at safety features to see if a vehicle qualifies for a safety discount."

Allstate, the second-largest U.S. car insurer, also considers the price, but places more weight on a policyholder's driving record.

"Pricing has more to do with the driver than the car," says spokesman Raleigh Floyd. "If there are two drivers with the same car, the driver with accident histories will have a higher rate. He's shown himself to be a higher risk." Those with a penchant for wrecking Ferrari Enzos on California's Highway 1, for example, can expect to pay more.

Age is also a factor. "A 17-year-old driver is going to be more expensive to insure than a 40-year-old with a family," says Floyd. "Experience counts. It counts a lot."

There are some anomalies in the ranking.
"You would think a Corvette Convertible would be hideously expensive to insure," says State Farm's Diggs. "But that car is involved in very few accidents, so it's fairly low." This is because research shows Corvettes typically aren't driven every day.

More utilitarian models like the Toyota Camry can be more expensive to insure because, with more road time, they are more likely to be involved in an accident. Vincentric doesn't collect data on exotics like Ferraris and Lamborghinis because, says Wurster, there are too few owners to make the data useful.

Policy pricing also has to do with where a car is garaged, with urban areas considered higher-risk. "In a more concentrated area, your chances of bumping into something are higher," says Floyd. "Jersey's going to be on one end of the spectrum, and a less populous state is going to be on the exact opposite."

But if you have a hundred grand to spend on a car, you're probably not worrying about insurance.

"For people of that caliber," says a salesman at Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, "the cost of insurance really isn't an issue."

1. Mercedes SL Class and S Class
SL Class (pictured)
MSRP: $135,400
Insurance: $22,536

S Class
MSRP: $123,888
Insurance: $21,161

The convertible SL is Mercedes' most expensive production offering. A two-door roadster built for speed, the SL features a 5.5 liter V8 engine. The retractable hardtop roof is classier than its canvas counterparts, and the trunk is surprisingly spacious. The S Class sedans, while no less luxurious (and only slightly less expensive), aren't quite as sporty. But with the Benz logo front and center, they're not cheap to insure.

2. Mercedes CL Class
MSRP: $122,050
Insurance: $20,942

Who said coupes were small? Mercedes' CL is based on the stately S Class sedans, but sports only two doors for a sleeker profile. Zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds will get you to the office in time, but it comes at a price. With a monster V8 engine, the federal gas-guzzler tax applies. And then there's the insurance.

3. BMW Alpina B7
MSRP: $115,000
Insurance: $20,100

Good luck getting your hands on an Alpina B7. BMW is only selling 200 in the U.S. A souped-up version of the 7-series full-size sedan, the Alpina features bigger wheels, better suspension and an advanced stabilization system. All of this makes going fast a bit safer. But speed comes at a price.



4.BMW M5 and M6
M6 (pictured)
MSRP: $102,000
Insurance: $18,548

M5
MSRP: $82,500
Insurance: $16,220

The M Series cars are meant to go fast, and for insurers, speed is dangerous. The flagship M6 hardtop coupe is arguably the fiercest-looking BMW to roll off the production line, and inarguably one of the priciest. Both the M6 and the more practical M5 sedan have roaring V10 engines.

5. Mercedes G Class
MSRP: $95,600
Insurance: $17,784

The G Class is a boxy, military style SUV from Mercedes. Indeed, it was originally designed for the battlefield. But don't let the lack of finesse fool you--today the G Class is all luxe. The door handles are wrapped in leather, and a DVD-based navigation system keeps drivers on target.



6. Audi S8 and A8
S8 (pictured)
MSRP: $92,200
Insurance: $17,353

A8
MSRP: $92,000
Insurance: $17,353

The A8 and its fancier cousin, the S8, are the best Audi has to offer, and they're not half bad. The V10 in the S8 make this sedan faster than the Porsche 911 Carrera in a zero-to-60 sprint. And with enormous cast-aluminum tires concealing oversize brake discs, even speed demons can stop on a dime.

7. Cadillac XLR
MSRP: $87,898
Insurance: $16,973

The only American entry on the list, Cadillac's XLR is a serious roadster meant to rival its European competitors. The V8 is plenty strong to pull the light aluminum chassis, and the interior is posh--trimmed with eucalyptus. A retractable hardtop makes the XLR a speedy option in any weather, and there's also an exclusivity factor: GM is planning to sell only 1,000 a year.

8. Porsche 911
MSRP: $91,208
Insurance: $16,955

The fundamentals of Porsche's 911 have hardly changed over the years, and with good reason: Its teardrop shape keeps it aerodynamic and recognizable, and its hardware keeps it among the fastest cars in the game. Today's iteration comes equipped with Porsche's Active Suspension Management system, which adapts the suspension to match road conditions and driving styles.

9. Jaguar XK
MSRP: $83,335
Insurance: $16,154

The XK, in coupe or convertible, is a brand-new offering from the storied Jaguar brand. Designed to recall the XKE of the 1960s, today's XK appears perhaps a bit too similar to its countryman, the Aston Martin. That doesn't stop it from performing. The V8 propels a relatively light frame with ease, and this two-seater is the most teched-out Jag ever built, with a computer adjusting it to Comfort or Sport modes.

10. Land Rover Range Rover
MSRP: $84,285
Insurance: $16,042

One of only two SUVs on the list, the Range Rover is capable of climbing mountains, but more at home in the city. Four-wheel drive and a supercharged V8 make this among the most powerful production vehicles on the market, while options like Sirius satellite radio and a rear-seat DVD system ensure creature comforts are never far off.
(C)Forbes

Do Car Dealers Favor Drop-Ins?

Customers without appointments are more pleased with their dealership service experience than those who plan ahead. The good news is, car quality is increasing industry-wide.

Customers who simply drop into a dealer for servicing a vehicle are generally more satisfied with their experience than those who make an appointment ahead of time, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2007 Customer Service Index (CSI). The annual study also found that owners are reporting fewer repairs, which means car quality on the whole is improving.

J.D. Power’s CSI gauges the satisfaction of customers who have brought their car into service departments during the first three years of ownership. Overall satisfaction is based on six factors: service initiation, service adviser, in-dealership experience, service delivery, service quality and user-friendly service.

Of the more than 84,000 respondents to the survey, over three-quarters report making an appointment with their dealership for repair or maintenance on their vehicle. But they’re not the ones who seem to be the happiest. Owners who drop in for vehicle service had satisfaction scores averaging 882 out of a possible 1,000 points, while those with scheduled appointments averaged 874 points.

“It may be a case where somebody who just dropped in — and for some of those people it may be an emergency situation where suddenly their car broke down — the dealer was able to take care of them and they are overjoyed,” said Tom Gauer, senior director of automotive retail research at J.D. Power.

But there’s a flip side to this. If the owners who come in off the street are getting the same treatment as those who made appointments in advance, the customers with appointments are going to report a less satisfying experience, hence skewing the numbers even further.

“When you go into the service drive of many dealers in the morning, which is when they’re busiest, often there’s no difference in the way people are handled in terms of whether they made an appointment or not,” Gauer said. “And so those that made an appointment that are stuck waiting in a line for 10 or 15 minutes to drop their car off wonder, ‘What was the point of making an appointment?’ It’s a frustration for those who do make an appointment that causes a little bit lower satisfaction on their part,” he said.

Some dealers do show higher levels of service to customers with appointments. Gauer cites a personal anecdote of a dealer he used to go to that would put an orange cone on the roof of cars whose owners made appointments and a white cone on top of cars whose owners didn’t make appointments. The cars with orange cones had three or four service advisers working on them, while those with white cones got only one adviser. “It’s something that varies at individual dealers,” Gauer said.

Maintenance Versus Repairs
More customers visit dealerships for maintenance than repairs, which J.D. Power interprets as a sign of the automotive industry’s continuing improvements in product quality. The percentage of maintenance visits increased by four points to 62 percent from last year; 38 percent of visits were for repairs, according to J.D. Power data.

“Overall in the industry, the quality of vehicles continues to get better and better,” said Gauer. “The incidence of product problems continues to drop, and the incidence of people bringing vehicles in for just maintenance is on the increase.”

J.D. Power’s CSI also ranks specific brands by customer service satisfaction, and Jaguar came in at No. 1, with 925 points out of a possible 1,000. In 2006, Jaguar was 4th on the list, with a score of 908. It also topped J.D. Power’s 2006 Sales Satisfaction Index rankings, which looks at the ability of a brand’s dealerships to manage the sales process, from product presentation to negotiation, financing and delivery.

“Jaguar has typically been a fairly strong performer,” Gauer said. “I think in 2003 they were ranked 11th in CSI in the industry. They moved up to 8th in 2004, up to 6th in 2005. So it’s not a matter of a sudden remarkable performance. They have the tendency of doing a very good job of being focused on the customer and taking care of the customer’s individual needs.”

It’s a good thing, because Jaguars need more repairs than the average luxury vehicle. J.D. Power reports Jaguar’s incidence of repair to be at 48 percent, versus the luxury-vehicle average of 41 percent. Basically what this means is that of the survey respondents, 48 percent of Jaguar owners reported needing a repair in their most recent visit, versus 41 percent in the overall luxury segment. But with regard to service, “they end up scoring a full 37 points higher than the premium average on the overall repair index,” Gauer said.

The J.D. Power and Associates CSI Study is based on responses gathered between January and April 2007 from 84,495 owners and lessees of 2004 to 2006 model year vehicles.
(C)Forbes

If you drink, you can't drive these Nissans

Beer-breaths, beware.

A new concept car with breathalyzer-like detection systems may provide even greater traction for Japanese efforts to keep impaired drivers off the road.

Nissan's alcohol-detection sensors check odor, sweat and driver awareness, issuing a voice alert from the navigation system and locking up the ignition if necessary.

Odor sensors on the driver and passenger seats read alcohol levels, while a detector in the gear-shift knob measures the perspiration of the driver's palm when starting the car.

Other carmakers with detection systems include Sweden's Volvo , which has developed technology in which drivers blow into a measuring unit in the seat belt before an engine can start.

But Nissan's car includes a mounted camera that monitors alertness by eye scan, ringing bells and issuing a voice message in Japanese or English if a driver should pull over and rest.

The car technology is still in development, but general manager Kazuhiro Doi says the combination of detection systems will ultimately keep an eye on who's behind the wheel.

"We've placed odor detectors and a sweat sensor on the gear shift, but for example if the gear-shift sensor was bypassed by a passenger using it instead of the driver, the facial recognition system would be used," said Doi.

Also keeping a short leash on drivers, car seat belts tighten if drowsiness is detected, while an on-road monitor checks if a car is keeping its lane properly.

Japan's No. 3 carmaker, which competes with Toyota and Honda, has no specific timetable for marketing, but aims to yoke all technology to cut the number of fatalities involving its vehicles to half 1995 levels by 2015.

Nissan's Doi says they still have to distill exactly what impairment means: "If you drink one beer, it's going to register, so we need to study what's the appropriate level for the system to activate."
(C)Reuters

Luxury car, but crummy bumper

Insurance group's low-speed crash tests reveal weaknesses in cars' first line of defense.

In tests designed to replicate low-speed impacts, the bumpers of several luxury cars failed to prevent costly damage. In one case, a Mercedes-Benz C-class sedan sustained almost $5,500 in damage when hit in its front bumper at a speed of just 6 miles per hour.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted four separate low-speed impact tests on 11 popular luxury cars.

The cars struck a barrier, designed to mimic the bumper of another car, straight-on from the front and from the rear at six miles per hour and diagonally into front and rear corners at three miles per hour. The Institute, a private organization funded by insurance companies, estimated repair costs after each test.

"[W]hat the test results don't reflect is the Mercedes-Benz holistic approach to occupant safety," Mercedes-Benz said in a statement. "This philosophy influences design and development even down to the front bumper, which is specifically mounted lower to help reduce injury for impacts with pedestrians (to avoid contact above the knee)."

The C-class performed poorly in large part because its front bumper slid down below the impact barrier during the test.

The vehicle sustaining the most total damage was the Infiniti G35, made by Nissan, which had total estimated repair costs of $14,000. In the straight-on front impact test alone, the G35 sustained $5,223 in damage.

"The cost of vehicle ownership and repair are important considerations at Infiniti," Nissan said in a statement. "We design each new model to resist low-speed collision damage and will continue to work closely with major insurance companies to keep premiums low for our customers."

The Insurance Institute's tests do not reflect likely real-world results, Nissan said.

The best-performing vehicle in the test was the Saab 9-3. Its total estimated repair costs for all four tests was $5,243, less than what the Mercedes-Benz would have cost to fix after just one front impact.

The Institute wasn't enthusiastic about even the Saab's performance in these tests, however.

"There's nothing exemplary about even the best performer, the Saab 9-3," said vice president Joe Nolan in a statement. "It simply avoided racking up the most damage in any single test and ended up coming out the best in a mediocre lot."

Saab said in a statement that it was proud of the 9-3's top-ranked performance in these tests.

In an earlier round of tests, released in early March, midsize non-luxury cars didn't fare much better. A Nissan product was the worst performer in those tests as well with the Nissan Maxima suffering a total of $9,051 worth of damage.

Many luxury and non-luxury cars suffer from the same problems, according to the Institute: bumpers that are simply too weak, impact absorbing structures that don't extend far enough to the corners and bumpers that are designed with visual appeal rather than damage control as the top priority.

Underneath body-colored plastic exteriors, most bumpers have metal beams that are supposed to absorb crash forces. These beams can be too weak or not placed where needed to adequately protect against various types of impacts.

In some cases, the Institute said, car bumpers can slide under the bumper of another vehicle during an impact, exposing headlights, grills and body sheet metal to damage.

Luxury cars have the additional problem of expensive replacement parts. A headlight for a Lexus ES costs $1,046, according to the Institute. (Headlights were damaged in 15 or the 22 front impact tests the Institute conducted.) The front bumper cover for an Audi A4, one of the best performing vehicles in the tests, costs nearly $600, according to the Institute. That doesn't include installation and painting costs.

Luxury car bumper tests

Estimated repair costs following Insurance Institute for Highway Safety bumper tests

Test Front full width Front corner Rear full width Rear corner Total damage Saab 9-3 $1,476 $1,076 $1,722 $969 $5,243 Audi A4 $976 $2,038 $918 $1,899 $5,831 Lincoln MKZ $1,001 $1,966 $2,330 $669 $5,966 BMW 3-series $3,658 $1,256 $989 $778 $6,681 Acura TSX $1,693 $1,274 $3,430 $1,157 $7,554 Volvo S60 $4,517 $543 $2,142 $1,022 $8,224 Lexus IS $4965 $2,223 $1,922 $737 $9,577 Lexus ES $3,921 $2,093 $3,709 $1,101 $10,824 Mercedes-Benz C-class $5,486 $963 $3,728 $877 $11,054 Acura TL $4,985 $1,244 $3,814 $1,156 $11,199 Infinit G35 $5,223 $3,544 $4,035 $1,181 $13,983

(C)CNN

Arrests In Auto-Insurance Scheme

Four Tampa residents were arrested Wednesday in connection with an auto-insurance scheme in which medical clinics reportedly paid patients to receive treatment they didn't need, then billed insurance companies.

People involved in auto accidents were paid $600 or more to report false medical claims, according to Capt. John Corbett of a law enforcement division of the Florida Department of Financial Services.

The bills were sent to auto insurance companies under the drivers' personal injury protection coverage.

By law, Florida drivers are required to carry at least $10,000 in PIP coverage.

At least one of the clinics, Bellamar Medical Center on 4109 N. Armenia Ave., paid people $2,000 or more each to stage auto accidents, Corbett said.

After several months of investigation by the department's Division of Insurance Fraud, Isidoro Martinez, 40, and Yusimy Martinez, 32, were both charged with insurance fraud and grand theft. The two own the Bellamar center.

Also arrested were Lemuel Filipe, 32, and Yunaisy Silverio, 24. Both face charges of insurance fraud and patient brokering.

Filipe and Silverio were listed as employees of Tampa Bay Therapy at 3104 W. Waters Ave., Corbett said.

The department is continuing to investigate other clinics, Corbett said.
(C)Tampa Tribune

Auto insurance will no longer be required in Florida

Come Oct. 1, auto insurance will no longer be required in Florida.

It's the consequence of the Legislature allowing Florida's no-fault auto insurance law to expire.

The aim of ending no-fault, which requires drivers to buy $10,000 of personal injury protection to cover the cost of medical care, was to reduce the widespread fraud created by the program and to lower insurance rates. But PIP is linked to the state's other type of mandatory auto coverage -- property damage liability.

The demise of PIP will kill the mandate to carry a minimum of $10,000 of property damage liability coverage, according to the state Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, which enforces the no-fault law.

"Insurance will not be required for good drivers," said department spokeswoman Julie Baker, although drivers who get into an accident and have no insurance will be required by the state to carry insurance for a certain amount of time.

The end of mandatory auto insurance in Florida, home to more than 12 million drivers, could raise insurance rates 25 percent to 30 percent as the risk of colliding with an uninsured motorist climbs, said Gunars Mansons, vice president of the Specialty Agents Association of Florida, a trade group representing small independent insurance agents.

Only Tennessee, Wisconsin and Iowa do not require drivers to carry some form of auto insurance.

"Nobody believed this would really happen. Nobody believed it would really go this far," Mansons said. "Mandatory insurance is going away, and rates for responsible individuals will have to go up."

Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, said lawmakers were well-aware that auto insurance would no longer be mandatory if no-fault was allowed to expire with no changes.

"Of course, they knew what was going on," Posey said. "I think everybody was aware of it. I was certainly aware of it."

But Mansons said most lawmakers were oblivious to the effect of PIP's sunset.

"If all of our lawmakers knew they were heading us into no mandatory insurance, they might have done something while they were in session," he said.

State Farm's Perspective

State Farm, the state's largest auto insurer, and other auto insurers who lobbied hard for the sunset of PIP say the requirement to buy property damage coverage will survive PIP's termination.

The no-fault law requires that all policies must include $10,000 of property damage coverage. State Farm contends the law's reference to property damage, though flawed, will be preserved despite the expiration of the PIP law, company spokesman Justin Glover said.

"If that could happen, the Legislature could accidentally repeal all kinds of things through bad references," Glover said. "That's just not how our system of law works."

Allison North Jones, spokeswoman for Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs, a coalition formed to push for the end of PIP, said eliminating the mandate for drivers to carry property damage liability coverage was not the coalition's intent.

"Property damage is sold as a bundle with PIP, but by removing one part of that bundle doesn't mean you've removed that requirement," Jones said.

What's more, the state has a financial responsibility law that requires drivers to be able to pay for any property damage or medical care they may cause. Carrying liability insurance is the best way to meet the state's financial responsibility law, though it's not required.

"Every driver in the state is personally responsible for compensation incurred if they are at fault in a car crash," said Baker of the motor vehicles department.

However, that law doesn't require drivers to prove they can pay until an accident occurs.

"The financial responsibility law means absolutely nothing because it only counts after you have an accident," Manson said.

Despite arguments from State Farm and others who say property damage coverage will continue to be required, the motor vehicles department has not changed its position. Mandatory auto insurance will disappear when PIP expires in a little more than two months, Baker said.

Drivers will no longer be required to show proof of insurance when they renew their license plates each year, she said.

"We won't have a mechanism in place to track whether someone is insured or not," Baker said

The confusion and uncertainty is created by those who want to see the controversial PIP coverage extended and preserved, Jones said.

Gov. Charlie Crist has said he may call a special session in September to reform the no-fault system.

"This is merely at attempt by special interests to confuse the issue," Jones said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are trying to devise a plan to reform the no-fault system rather than let it fade away.

The no-fault law is controversial because it allows unscrupulous doctors and clinics to bill for unnecessary and expensive medical procedures to get the full $10,000 of coverage guaranteed for every accident. "We're overpaying for it," State Farm's Glover said.

Consumers To Decide

The end of no-fault will allow consumers to decide for themselves whether they need such medical coverage, Glover said. For some people on Medicare, PIP is a financial burden, he said.

"They're buying PIP when they probably don't need it," Glover said.

But the state's hospitals and trauma centers want to preserve the no-fault system because the mandatory coverage means they're guaranteed to recover up to $10,000 of the cost of care almost immediately. The elimination of PIP will cost them at least $350 million a year as they foot the bill for drivers who have no health insurance.

And health insurers say the demise of PIP will only transfer the cost of medical care to them, which will lead to higher premiums for health insurance.

Paul Sanford, an attorney for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, the state's largest health insurer, said the end of PIP will cause health insurance rates in Florida to jump at least $5 a month per family member. In Florida, 14 million people have health insurance, he said.

"At $5 a head, that's $70 million a month or $840 million a year that they will have to pay in order for PIP to go away," Sanford said.

Instead of calling a special session to try to reform the no-fault system, lawmakers should let it expire, wait a few months and gauge the results, Glover said.

"The only thing that will happen is auto insurance companies will save money," he said.
(C)Tampa Tribune

Big Brother can save you money

Car insurers explore ways to track drivers so they know whom they can charge less.

A new discount plan from GMAC Insurance gives a discount on premiums to drivers of General Motors vehicles with the OnStar service if they let the insurer track the number of miles they drive.

Other companies have been experimenting with similar programs, which is causing concern about how much privacy drivers may unwittingly give up in exchange for savings.

OnStar is a program built into most newer GM vehicles that allows occupants to communicate with a help-desk operator.

Among the services are travel directions and restaurant reservations. An OnStar call can also be initiated automatically in the event of a crash to get help quickly. OnStar subscribers can also get a monthly diagnostic email detailing any needed maintenance or potential problems for their car.

The only information OnStar would share with GMAC insurance, both companies said, would be the number of miles driven each month. GMAC would use that information to help it calculate risk. Drivers must enroll in the OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics service to get the discount.

"I wouldn't really consider that to be particularly invasive," said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. According to him, it's data that is commonly given out that doesn't dig very deeply into a driver's habits.

The biggest discount of 54 percent would go to those who drive fewer than 2,500 miles per year. The smallest discount of 13 percent would go to those who drive between 12,501 and 15,000 miles per year. No discount would go to those who drive more than 15,000 miles per year.

The plan will be available in 34 states, but will roll out in more states next year, the company said. OnStar currently claims over 5 million total subscribers

GMAC Insurance has been offering the discount on a test basis since January, 2004. So far, according to the company, 10,000 people have signed on.

GMAC Insurance, which is 49 percent owned by General Motors, insures all types of cars, not just GM cars, the company said, but this program would only be available to GM drivers.

Others testing the waters
Progressive Insurance offers a similar program in a few states. It's called TripSense, and it requires participants to plug a computer chip into a port in the the car's dashboard.

The chip collects data, including the number of miles driven and time of day when the vehicles is driven. Participants remove the chip on a regular basis and connect it to a computer to upload the data to Progressive's computers. In exchange, they receive discounts of as much as 25 percent on their insurance premiums, according to the company.

Adding time of day invites the potential for unforeseen uses of the data, according to Stephens. For example, the information might could be subpoenaed in a divorce case to prove that someone was taking a few extra trips that weren't being divulged to his or her spouse.

"I saved $100 on my auto insurance, but I've got a pretty damning piece of evidence here that can be used against me and cost me tens of thousands of dollars," Stephens said.

Progressive also collects data about vehicle speed, acceleration and braking, but that information is used only for research purposes, the company said, and it would not be used to set rates, or as a basis for canceling a policy.

These discount programs are voluntary. As long as consumers understand fully what data is being collected and how it's being used, it's up to them to decide how much information they're comfortable with sharing to save money, said Stephens.

The GMAC/OnStar announcement may spur larger insurers to begin experimenting with programs like these soon, said Brian Sullivan, publisher of insurance industry newsletter Risk Information.

Spokesmen for State Farm and Allstate said their companies are looking into it.

Keep on Truckin
Data-tracking discount programs that collect and analyze even more detailed data than those used by GMAC and Progressive, are already used by the commercial trucking business, according to Sullivan.

Customer acceptance is less of an issue there because the customers aren't the drivers but the trucking company owners who share the insurance company's interest in regulating and tracking driver behavior, said Sullivan.

"The nice thing about truckers," he said, "is if you can make them pee in a cup you can make them do anything."

Programs like that will provide more information about how much impact various data points should have on computing insurance risk and, therefore, premiums, said Sullivan.

And they actually change the way truck drivers operate their vehicles, said Sullivan. When truck drivers are told they are being tracked, as opposed to when they are tracked without their knowledge, they drive more carefully, Sullivan said.

"If everyone had this device on their car," he said, "we'd have far fewer accidents on the road."
(C)Peter Valdes-Dapena

Bad credit? Insurers will make you pay

Your credit usage may be to blame for high home and auto premiums. Here's how to put yourself in a better light.

By now you know that you need to keep tabs on your credit history to make a good impression on lenders, landlords and employers. But did you know that your home and auto insurers are also looking?

In most states they're allowed to use your credit information to formulate premiums - and in June the U.S. Supreme Court decided that your carrier doesn't need to tell you if your credit has caused you to pay more.

In concurrent cases against Geico and Safeco, the Justices unanimously agreed that the companies were not wrong in charging certain poor-credit customers more without notifying them.

The impact of the decision: "You are not going to know if your credit score is costing you," says Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

How insurance premiums are determined is a recipe long kept secret from consumers. Some 90 percent of home and auto carriers use a score based on credit data as part of that recipe, according to risk-assessment firm Fair Isaac, known for its FICO credit score.

Some insurers buy this so-called credit-based insurance score from Fair Isaac or ChoicePoint, another data provider, or devise their own. One insurer may weigh the score heavily, another not so much.

Industry folks say they're simply using all relevant data. "Studies show that how people manage credit is a good predictor of insurance risk," says Claire Wilkinson of the Insurance Information Institute; in other words, insurers think that if you don't pay your bills, you're likely to file a lot of claims.

Whether that's true or not, your carrier will be peeking at your credit history. So you want to make sure it sees you in the best light.

Make sure insurers have the right info
No matter who devises the score, the original data comes from credit bureaus. So check your credit reports for accuracy.

Tell them what they want to hear
Unlike traditional credit scores, insurance scores usually put more weight on prompt bill payment and slightly less on the type of credit you have, says Lamont Boyd, director of product management at Fair Isaac.

But if you follow the same rules for improving your credit score, your insurance credit score should rise as well. In order of importance, says Boyd, they are:

Pay bills on time: Late payments show up for seven years.

Keep revolving balances low: Insurance companies look at how much debt you have relative to available credit.

Keep your oldest credit card: Insurers like folks with well-established lines of credit. Five years is good, 10 ideal.

Don't apply for lots of credit at once: Your score might drop. (You're not penalized for shopping, however; multiple auto or mortgage inquiries within 45 days are considered as one.)

Get rid of miscellaneous cards you don't use: Having too many can hurt your score.

Don't settle
So what if your car insurer decides that you no longer deserve that great rate? Thanks to the Supremes, you won't know why you've become such a poor risk or what to do to lower your premium.

Your best option: Shop for a new policy. You can try other companies, an independent agent or an insurance comparison Web site. Since insurers' weightings of your credit-based insurance score can be quite disparate, you're likely as not to find a company that thinks you are peachy.
(C)Sarah Max

Drivers' Lies Affect Car Insurance

One in ten motorists could have invalid car insurance because they lied when they applied for the cover.

Research discovered that about six per cent of people intentionally lied about basic details such as their age and address, while a further five per cent lied about where their car is parked at night in a bid to save money, according to price comparison website uSwitch.com.

More than three per cent of drivers also failed to declare convictions for speeding and drink driving or any driving bans they had received.

The research also found that 15 per cent of people who use their car to drive to work claim they don't commute in it, instead opting for insurance that offers cover for social and domestic use only.

Three out of four people admitted that they were fully aware that providing incorrect information could invalidate their policy, with nine per cent saying they did it to keep the cost of cover down.

But a third of people said they had made a genuine mistake and 16 per cent claimed they didn't understand the question on the application form.

The group warned that providing incorrect information could invalidate a motor insurance policy, leaving the motorist to foot the bill for a potential claim themselves.

It added that at pounds 1,636 the average car insurance claim was four times higher than the average annual premium of pounds 409.

Aron Thompson, head of insurance at uSwitch.com, said: "With many consumers seeing car insurance as a grudge purchase, it's no great surprise to see people either withhold or knowingly provide inaccurate, crucial information in order to get cheaper cover.

"To the consumer, this may seem like a little white lie to save money. In reality, it could end up teaching the driver a costly lesson - on average pounds 1,636 - as the provider is under no obligation to settle a claim based on a policy which is inaccurate."

But he added that people were not always deliberately being dishonest, and there was a lot of confusion among consumers as to what counted as using a car to commute.
(C)Birmingham Post

WALES: Your MONEY

A MILLION people are retiring each year - which partly explains the surprise merger of Saga, the travel and insurance group for the over-50s, and the AA, the drivers' friend in a roadside emergency.

It creates a pounds 6.2bn giant: both are big providers of financial services and 40% of the AA's 15m members are 50-plus.

As the new firmstarts with debts of nearly pounds 5bn, many employees await healthy payouts: Saga staff who invested pounds 20 in October 2004 collect pounds 10,500, AA boss Tim Parker waltzes off with pounds 40mafter three years' highly controversial work and Saga boss Andrew Goodsell hits the jackpot with pounds 128m.

But what about the customers, who must buy the products to generate revenue to service those enormous debts?

Says Aron Thompson, Head of Insurance at online price comparison site uSwitch.com: "The merger creates a combined customer base of 17m.

"The new group will be a key player in the industry, especially in the over-50s car insurance market. With more than 20m people over the age of 50 in the UK, it would be disappointing if car insurance products from Saga were in any way scaled down or diluted by this merger.

"Historically, the over-50s market, and in particular the over- 75 market, has been a poor risk group for motor insurers. As a result, it has been badly served by the industry and Saga has dominated the market for some time."

Will older folk be a little miffed to see these household-named companies being used to unlock untold riches? Surely many of 3,000 staff axed by the AA since 2004 won't touch the new venture with a bargepole.

The charity Help The Aged, launched in 1969, has finally started its own financial services group, Intune, and Aron Thompson thinks it might challenge the private equity honchos of Saga-AA.

"While motor policies offered by Intune and Saga are very similar, Intune feeds all its profits straight back to Help The Aged, which will no doubt appeal to this audience," he says.

INFORMATION: Saga (0800 015 6256); Intune (0800 083 4875 and www.intunegroup.co.uk, or by letter to 207/221 Pentonville Road, London N1 9UZ); Just Retirement (0845 302 2287); uSwitch.com (0800 093 0607).

The website www.pensioncalculator. org.uk, provided by the FSA and the Association of British Insurers, shows the level of savings needed to meet specific income expectations in retirement.
(C) JEREMY GATES

Renew No-Fault: Demise of PIP Will Create Health Care Crisis

We dislike special sessions of the Legislature as much as anyone. They're expensive extensions of legislative deliberations that should have been accomplished in the annual two-month regular session.

Yet it's imperative that Gov. Charlie Crist call a special session before Oct. 1 to avoid a crisis in the auto insurance industry. That's when Florida's Personal Injury Protection (PIP) law will expire unless the Legislature meets and votes to renew it for one more year. The extension will give legislators more time to debate reforms that respond to concerns about PIP's role as a magnet for ambulance-chasing profiteers.

This would be the third special session this year, adding to state government's overhead in a time of austerity. Yet would anyone argue that the January session on property insurance wasn't necessary? Or the June session on property-tax reform? Not likely.

So it is with a session to renew PIP. Also known as no-fault insurance, PIP is a requirement for every auto owner to have at least $10,000 worth of insurance to pay for medical care required as a result of auto accidents, regardless of which driver was at fault. This assures that accident victims will have money to pay for immediate medical care without a costly, drawn-out legal fight to establish liability for the crash. It assures that hospitals and doctors will be paid for such services through the insurance policies that auto owners are required to have -- at least up to the $10,000 ceiling.

Insurance industry got its way

But the insurance industry has long opposed PIP and used its considerable lobbying clout in this year's regular session to block proposed reforms in the Senate. Insurers object because they don't like having to automatically pay out on their policies if a client is hurt in a crash. Apparently they would rather litigate over claims, hoping eventually to wear down the client through a long and costly court fight.

Oh, they won't admit that publicly. Instead they point to the ambulance-chasing industry that has sprung up, chiefly in South Florida, built around fraudulent medical claims under PIP's coverage. Rings involving shady lawyers, doctors, chiropractors and other medical service providers milk the system with phony back and neck injury claims, sometimes even to the point of staging phony crashes to generate "injuries" for their treatment mills.

Of course such abuse is a big problem, and the attorney general's consumer fraud division should step up prosecution of those rings.

Scrapping PIP just to block their gravy train reminds one of the Pentagon's Vietnam War strategy in which the Army was told "to destroy the village to save it." If PIP goes away, hospitals and clinics will be stuck with millions of additional dollars of costs -- estimates range as high as $350 million -- from crash-injury medical care for which they will not be reimbursed. Florida hospitals already are facing a financial crisis created by the burden of indigent care for which they are not adequately compensated. This will only add to the crisis, because 40 percent of all motor vehicle accident victims now have no health care coverage. Indeed, the Florida Hospital Association warns it may force hospitals to close trauma centers.

Some naive assumptions

The loss of PIP is not in the interest of consumers, despite what the insurance industry says. It claims that the average two-car family would save $360 on its auto insurance premium without PIP. Anyone who believes initial rate reductions would survive subsequent rate increase requests cannot have lived in Florida very long.

Just as naive is the insurance industry's contention that making personal injury coverage optional is consumer-friendly. Who believes that, if drivers are not required to have personal injury coverage, a large percentage will opt not to purchase it? That means even more uninsured patients to be absorbed by the medical industry and paying patients fortunate enough to have health care coverage.

And what of those? We know that private health care coverage is becoming more expensive each year, with covered services dwindling and deductibles rising. That means if hurt in a car crash you could pay far more out of pocket for medical treatment than the supposed savings gained from canceling PIP. You would be expected to pay all of those medical bills up front, while it could take months to be reimbursed by your insurance company for treatment that is covered.

Florida needs to renew PIP. It is just as important as, if not more than, property insurance and property taxes. Call a special session soon, Gov. Crist.
(C)By The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

How to cut Car Insurance Price

A CREATIVE job description can cut your car insurance by a third, but be careful - get it wrong and the price goes up.

Insurers raise premiums if they think your job makes you a bigger risk, so altering your job title can save you money.

A barrister, for example, would pay pounds 459 to insure a Fiat Brava. Say you're a lawyer and it drops pounds 83 to pounds 376.

A bricklayer may be charged pounds 321 but call yourself a builder and the premium jumps to pounds 374.

These are the findings of a survey by car insurance website www.confused.com Spokeswoman Jennifer Rose says: "You break the law if you lie about what you do.

"But there's nothing wrong with checking whether a different title for the same job will save you money." It's easy to do that online. But you can discuss alternative descriptions when you're talking to a broker or call centre.

Your job title doesn't only affect car insurance. It makes an even bigger difference to an income protection policy.

One paying out pounds 250 a week while you're off work through illness or injury might cost pounds 16 a month if you say you work in an office.

But if you're in a profession, such as painting and decorating that is seen as being injury-prone it could cost as much as pounds 48.

(c) 2007 Daily Mirror.

PIP Session is Possible

Gov. Crist Said a Special Session to Discuss the State's No-Fault Auto Insurance Law is Possible, but That He Isn't Sure When It Would Occur.

Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday he "would be in favor of a special session" on auto insurance to be called before Florida's no-fault law expires on Oct. 1 but he wouldn't commit to how soon the session might be.

Because Florida lawmakers have failed to renew the law, it will expire in October, leaving thousands of drivers free to carry no insurance at all.

Crist acknowledged that because many drivers may see their insurance policies come up for renewal before October and rates adjusted because of the law, a session should be called "sooner rather than later."

Crist said, however, that he "doesn't know whether he will call one soon or not" because he intends to first consult with House Speaker Marco Rubio and Senate President Ken Pruitt "and get their wisdom on what the timing should be." He said a special session is not a certainty but believes he is "pretty close."

'IMPORTANT TO ME'

"I favor the continuation of personal injury protection," Crist said. "It's important to hospitals. It's important to me."

The Florida Hospital Association joined a group of healthcare entities when it asked Crist on Tuesday to call lawmakers into special session to renew the law.

A resolution of the association's board of trustees notes that "40 percent of all patients treated for motor vehicle crashes in Florida's hospital emergency rooms and trauma centers have no health insurance coverage to pay for necessary medical care" other than the no-fault insurance known as PIP.

If the law is allowed to expire, the hospitals warn, "Florida could be, on Oct. 1, the only state in the nation with no mandatory automobile insurance coverage."

Insurance agents such as the Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies as well as many lawyers, doctors and clinic owners are on the same page as the hospitals: The benefits provided in the current no-fault law outweigh its negative aspects, primarily fraud. These supporters believe that more resources should be devoted to fighting auto-insurance related fraud, rather than eliminating the law.

However, not all groups hold the same view.

INSURERS LOBBY

Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs, a consumer group that's supported primarily by major insurers including State Farm and Allstate Floridian, would prefer to see the no-fault law expire as it's now planned.

"We need to be sure that everyone, including lawmakers, are aware of the implications of extending PIP," said Alison Jones, a spokeswoman for this group. "Lawmakers have tried to reform [the no-fault law] several times before and have been unable to do it."

Crist said that if they have a special session there is a good chance that a plan to expand Kidcare, the state-run insurance program for low-income kids, will be on the agenda as well.
(C)The Miami Herald

AirBag Fundamentals / "Ignore the airbag" wars

What's important isn't the number of airbags, it's the type of airbags and their effect on crash scores.

It used to be horsepower. Then it was fuel economy. Now there's another number making its way into the big print in car ads: the number of airbags.

Already, Toyota is bragging about its "segment-leading" 10 airbags on the 2008 Lexus LX570 SUV. TV and magazine ads for cars and SUVs often tout the number of airbags as a competitive advantage.

The obvious implication is that a car with more airbags is safer than one with fewer. If a car has 10 airbags while its competitor has only six, you can just imagine the sorts of injuries you could suffer with four fewer bags.

This is not to say that the LX570 will be anything other than very safe - just like every other Lexus vehicle. It's just that, in the end, airbag counting isn't the most useful way to gauge safety.

A car with six or eight airbags might protect every part of every occupant just as thoroughly as a car with 10. One long head-protecting side airbag can offer as much coverage for three rows of seats as three separate airbags.

Besides, airbags by themselves don't make a car safe. They're complex devices that work with a car's metal body and its seatbelts to protect occupants. Fewer, better designed airbags in a well-engineered car body are worth more than a whole bunch of airbags in a car that offers little protection on its own.

And the proof lies in crash test results from agencies like the government's National Highway Traffic Administration and the private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

No vehicle without head-protecting side airbags has ever earned a top rating in the Insurance Institute's side crash test. But it must be noted that some vehicles with them earned a Poor rating anyway. Again, airbags are vitally important, but they're not enough, by themselves, to insure your safety.

Since some types of airbags often come as extra-cost options rather than standard equipment, it's still good to know what all those airbags do and how. Sometimes fewer can be just as good as more.

Front airbags
Front airbags come out of the dashboard and protect the driver and front passenger in a front crash, and are required by law on all cars. But a few types of front airbags include slight changes that make the airbags themselves safer.

Early airbags actually resulted in injuries and even some deaths in what would have otherwise been minor accidents. In order to open quickly enough to protect occupants, the airbags opened with such explosive force that they could cause injuries - especially to small children or occupants who weren't seated far enough back from dashboard.

Many cars now have airbags that can open in different ways depending on what sensors detect about the size or position of the person in the seat. If sensors detect a small person, or that the person is leaning forward, the airbag can open slower or to a smaller size.

Side airbags
As the name suggests, side airbags protect occupants from getting hit from the side. Statistics prove that they're highly successful.

While airbags that protect occupants from the shoulders down reduce fatalities in side impacts by 26 percent, those that also protect their heads reduce fatalities by 37 percent, according to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In some SUVs, head-protecting side airbags serve an additional role. In rollover crashes, they can stay open longer to help protect occupants - or their heads and arms - from being thrown outside the vehicle.

Here's where those tricky airbag counts come in. Airbags that protect the head don't have to be separate from the ones that protect the ribs. A single airbag can protect an occupant's body while also reaching up to protect the head.

Either way, the protection should be just as good. Real-world crash data has not shown any advantage to systems that use separate head-and-torso airbags over those that use a single head-torso bag, according to the Insurance Institute.

Side airbags can also protect rear seat, as well as front seat, occupants. If a vehicle has head-protecting side airbags protecting the back seat passengers, they can be separate from those protecting front seat occupants. On the other hand, you might have side curtain airbags that cover two, or even three, rows of side windows. That's just as much protection as you'd get with two or three separate airbags.

Leg airbags
With more lives being saved by front airbags, leg injuries in front crashes have started getting more attention. Some cars now have airbags underneath the dashboard to protect occupants' knees and legs.

Whether or not these airbags are effective isn't really known yet, said David Zuby, the Insurance Institute's vice president of vehicle research. They may help out in vehicles where leg injuries would a problem otherwise. But so far, there is no evidence to show that people suffer fewer leg injuries in vehicles with them than without them.
(C)CNN

Car Options Compare: Must Have / Maybe / Buy it Later

Electronic stability control - Must-have
Studies indicate that electronic stability control, shown helping a Chrysler Pacifica make a turn in heavy snow, can reduce the odds of a fatal crash by as much as a third. And it helps a lot in cars as well as SUVs.

This safety feature is so good it's already standard on half the cars sold in the U.S. today. By applying the brakes to individual wheels when sensors detect a loss of control, ESC helps keep your car from spinning into a guardrail (or worse).
On models where it's offered as an option, such as the Mazda 3 and Cadillac CTS, it'll run you an extra $500 or so.

ESC is quickly joining seat belts and ABS as part of the safety triumvirate that every car should have. In five years you won't have a choice: ESC has been slated to be mandatory by 2012.

The Verdict: The best $500 you can spend. If a car you're considering doesn't offer ESC, then reconsider that car.

Side airbags - Must-have
Side airbags, especially ones like these that include protection for occupants' heads, significantly reduce the risk of death and serious injury from side impacts. They are standard equipment on many cars, including the Volvo C30, for which a mock-up is shown here.

Front air bags get all the cool crash-test footage, but side air bags are no less important for occupant safety. There are two basic types of side air bags: ones that protect the head (side-curtain air bags) and ones that protect the chest (side-torso air bags). A car can have curtain air bags, torso air bags or a combination of the two.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, side-curtain bags have reduced driver deaths in side collisions by 37 percent. Side-torso bags have reduced driver fatalities 26 percent. Since 1999 a voluntary standard has minimized any risk side air bags posed to children; go to safercar.gov to see if your model meets that standard.

Side air bags will add around $600 to your negotiated price but, really, is this an area of the car where you want to be cheap?

The Verdict: The more your car looks like it was attacked by the Stay Puft marshmallow man in the event of a crash, the better off you'll be. Spend the money.

Run-flat tires - Maybe
Nobody loves changing a flat tire, but some hate it more than others. If you fall into the latter camp, run-flats may be a good buy.
Offered on cars from the Mini Cooper to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, run-flat tires let you drive up to 100 miles at 50 mph even if a tire has lost all its air. There's no spare in the trunk (which can give you more space for your gear) and you'll never have to crouch on the side of a highway at 11:30 p.m.

Upscale versions of the Honda Odyssey minivan use the Michelin Pax run-flat system shown here.

That said, run-flats can cost as much as 50 percent more than regular tires (it's a roughly $400 option on most cars), not every tire shop is certified to handle maintenance and getting a run-flat patched after a blowout can cost upwards of $50 - twice the price of a standard patch job.

The Verdict: It comes down to how often you expect you'll change a tire and whether you'd pay around $400 to avoid it.

Bluetooth phone kit - Maybe
In many states it's now against the law to talk on a handheld phone while driving (cruising while eating a Big Mac, however, is totally legal everywhere). The Bluetooth option, available in cars such as the Chrysler 300C and Nissan Versa, means you can use a wireless connection and steering-wheel-mounted buttons to place and receive calls.

On factory-installed Bluetooth systems such as Audi's, your phone-book info is also downloaded to your car's in-dash display so you can scroll through a call list. Most systems incorporate voice-recognition technology, so initiating a call is simply a matter of saying "Call home."

A Bluetooth connection allows your car to instantly and wirelessly hook to devices like a cell phone or music player, as here in a Volvo C30. But it adds only a little to what most of today's cell phones can already do with a headset.

Of course many cell phones already have built-in (albeit tinny) speakerphones, and some offer voice recognition as well. And you can buy an earpiece for next to nothing.

Factory-installed Bluetooth systems can run around $300, while a regular phone with similar features may cost $50 - that's a pretty big spread.

The Verdict: If you're conducting a lot of business from the driver's seat and need a crystal-clear, full-featured hookup, your car's Bluetooth is the answer. If you're just calling the family to say you're heading home, a handset's speakerphone or an earpiece should do the trick.

Rearview camera - Maybe
Rearview cameras are immensely helpful - you get a wide-angle view of everything behind your rear bumper, whether it's another car or a tyke's Big Wheel.

So why isn't it a must-have? The problem is that rearview cameras are often packaged with other options that aren't nearly as useful. On the Infiniti M35, for example, a backup cam is part of the $2,950 "Technology Package," which includes in-dash navigation and an upgraded stereo. It's one thing to package some sybaritic luxuries together (if you want massaging seats and a backseat refrigerator, that's your business), but automakers shouldn't play cute with something that actually contributes to pedestrian safety.

Some rearview cameras, like the one on this Mercedes-Benz S-class, overlay lines onto the image to show where the car will go based on the current steering wheel position.

The Verdict: It's a genuine advance, but just try finding it a la carte. Unless you really like the other options included in the package, spend a little extra time looking behind you when you back up.

GPS navigation - Buy it later
GPS lets you find your way almost anywhere, and that's great when you're headed somewhere unfamiliar, but do car manufacturers really have to gouge you so much?
There are good aftermarket navigators that do everything factory-installed models do, if not more, and they cost a fraction of the price. Want navigation on your BMW 3 Series? Prepare to cough up an extra $2,100.

Navigation systems, like this one in a Cadillac STS, can help you find your way when lost, but most of us don't need one on a regular basis. A portable model will look less elegant, but will probably cost much less, and you can take it with you when you rent a car.

Meanwhile you can get Magellan's Maestro 4050 portable navigation unit for $700. The Maestro has voice recognition and live traffic updates and acts as a Bluetooth speakerphone for your mobile. It requires no installation (save a suction cup or sticker), so you can swap it between cars or lend it to friends and family. And the Maestro 4050 is a top-of-the-line model. You can get a perfectly decent unit (such as the TomTom One) for around $300.

The Verdict: Buy aftermarket. Blow the difference on a great road trip, knowing you won't get lost.

Rear-seat DVD systems - Buy it later
Let's say you're in the market for a Honda Odyssey minivan. It's an excellent choice for families, so long as you steer clear of the DVD option. Honda charges $1,300 for a ceiling-mounted movie player, a fold-down nine-inch screen and a pair of wireless headphones. All for the luxury of having the screen fold back up into the headliner once the brood is done watching Shrek 5.

A nine-inch portable DVD player bought at Best Buy costs about $180. Throw in two pairs of headphones and the price creeps up to $200. And like the portable GPS unit, you can take this handheld movie theater with you wherever you go.
The redesigned 2008 Chrysler Town & Country, shown here, will have two separate DVD screens, allowing second and third row occupants each to have their choice of entertainment.

The Verdict: Save the $1,000 and go for the portable. Then you can buy all the DVDs the kids want.
(C)CNN