Alisande, you're giving them praise for talking you out of using their service that you had already paid to use? They were real happy with you too, believe me. You could have gotten the same info about the nearby service station from a map on a gps device or a smart phone. (When I called the State Farm dispatcher as described above, they said "Do we have permission for one time use of the locator system for your phone, so that we know where you are?" I said yes, and they came back and said "OK, we see your position". I didn't have to tell them.) Sushipup, so a truck that stocks and sells replacement batteries drives up, "checks your battery", and tells you what you need is a new battery? I'm not sure I would have fallen for that. Maybe they were on the level, but hmm... I would have limited the service to a jump start and then gone to a garage to have it checked.

I had a long addendum to my earlier post about earthquake insurance in my prior post but decided to cut it and not post it. The shorter version that as a California resident for 66 years where we get tremors/ quakes regularly, I have never had earthquake insurance nor do I know anyone who has. I don't know a single suburban homeowner who has ever sustained a loss due to the quakes. Even those who live near to places that sustained major infrastructure damage during the largest quake in my lifetime, the Loma Prieta. Three tremors in 12 years in an area not even on the geological radar as being earthquake prone? There is a reason the companies don't offer the insurance. Buying it is burning money for no reason. Possibly better spent to address the earthquake anxiety issue.

I'm with State Farm. We get some breaks for having multiple thnigs insured by them: 3 cars, home, personal property, and an umbrella policy. I believe that if I shopped around I could find a little lower rate for some of these items, but at the expense of not having a local office and having to deal with 3rd party people in case of claims. We've dealt with our local insurance office for a number of years and have built a relationship with them. The agency recently passed from mother to son. Yes. it may be a little more expensive, but when you need to file a claim, it is very good to have help and guidance. Over a year ago, a driver ran a stop sign and t-boned my SUV. He hit it hard enough to roll it over. After the accident, everything went smoothly for me as my agent went after the other driver and his insurance. The settlement was fair, but before arbitration was settled with the opposing insurance, my insurance covered the cost right away. The arbitration process with the other company dragged out for a year. Over a lifetime of driving, I have had a couple of fender bender claims against a parties that had low cost, out of state insurance by mail, and that was a pain. For example, they wanted me to take time off my job to look up their independent claim adjuster, chase around and schedule meeting places. I felt that I could not take the time away from a critical project i was working on. After a few phone calls, I finally told them I will tell you where the car is parked and your guy can see it any time by contacting me. I am no longer going to do your job!. The claim adjuster came to my company's parking lot and examined the car. This one sample of what one might face with a fly-by-night operation. I had to become resistant else I would have been running all over town getting 3 estimates on my time. The fender did get repaired by a guy working out of his private garage at his residence and the paint job was less than spectacular, but acceptable for an every day driver. While it was being repaired, I had to use my other car - A loaner was not offered. Maybe a loaner was available, but again, one had to agitate to get it. In this case, it was not worth the hassle, but it led me to think about what it would have been like if that had been a major event with personal injury. Yes, standard insurance through a company's insurance agent and office may cost more, but in my opinion, the service provided by a local professional agent is worth it.

Why even consider the unique laws of New York or Massachusetts if you don't live there? Kind of silly in my book. And the paranoia of someone else "driving" your car is moot too since I don't know of a state where insurance isn't reciprocal. I'm insured on your car and you're insured on my car (with permission of course). So as long as you OK him coming and using your car, you're covered. Check with your agent of course for your local laws but that's probably the case. Having collision insurance is for one reason. If the benefit of paying the insurance offsets what you could get out of it if something happens. I think you should drop the collision altogether. I don't think $4k would break you to lose it if it's totaled out. You're better off putting that money toward higher liability, higher uninsured and underinsured coverage and maybe an umbrella so it benefits you. There's really no down side to suspending the coverage when you're gone. Why pay for it when there's no way you'll use it? You'll keep the comprehensive which is all you really need under those circumstances. Again, check with your agent but I don't know of a place this wouldn't apply. And you wouldn't need liability since you're not driving it. Even if your son DOES drive it while you're gone, it's usually covered by his insurance (again, check with your agents to be sure). As Elmer said there's benefits to running a vehicle but a few months sitting likely isn't going to be an issue with the caveat that I don't know how fragile or sensitive Jags are. I've had vehicles sit for a year or more without being started. The biggest issue is your upper level lubricant is usually gone so it'll take a few seconds to get the oil back up there, pressure to build in the engine and tranny, etc. If you're leaving it a long time you might want to prep it, but check with your mechanic. I'd bet they'll tell you 3 months is no big deal. Any time you use a charger you should be using it in a well-ventilated area as a charging battery does give off gasses. Nothing to be paranoid about but something about which you should be educated. Oh, and here, there's also a rental car coverage that has to be dropped if you drop collision. So there's an additional saving. If you have a good agent, and why do business with them if they're not, they should be able to explain this and help guide you on your decision. Couple months ago I had a sit down with my agent and we went over my coverage. Got back my fogey class discount, tweaked coverage and he encouraged me to consider dropping collision soon. I will on the next renewal since I already paid it when we met. Put on a $1 mil umbrella, upped the liability/un/under and a couple other tweaks and the net result was actually about break even or even less and when I drop collision/rental it'll be more savings. As a side note, I've always said there's 4 things you want the best you can get and in no particular order they're doctor, lawyer, mechanic and insurance agent. You'll benefit big time in the long run if you keep that in mind.