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Why Car Insurance May Not Pay if You're Careless

Have you ever left your car running, doors unlocked, while you ran inside to get something?

If someone stole your car at that time, chances are your car insurance company would refuse to compensate you for the theft - even if you have comprehensive insurance.

This is known as a situation that "increases the risk of theft", and there is probably language in your policy that excludes payments due to this type of carelessness.

Another example is if you are in an accident due to reckless driving or racing another vehicle.

Car insurance is meant to protect you in case of a genuine accident - not something that was caused by reckless behavior. Many car insurance companies will not cover these types of damage claims.

Next time you feel the urge to leave your car running while unattended, or worse - race another vehicle, remember that you're on your own and will probably not be protected if you cause damage.

3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money

The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:

Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network

Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).

Select Vehicle to Get Local Pricing

Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect

TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.

Step 3 Complete my Checklist

Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.
- Gregg Fidan

Each week, I'll keep you up-to-date on the latest car deals and news that might affect your purchase. This includes...

Best Rebates, Incentives, and Lease Deals
Latest Car Buying Scams and Tricks
The Best & Worst Time to Buy a Car
Which Cars You Should Avoid

About The Author

Gregg Fidan is the founder of RealCarTips. After being ripped off on his first car purchase, he devoted several years to figuring out the best ways to avoid scams and negotiate the best car deals. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject of car buying and taught thousands of car shoppers how to get the best deals.

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