good lord what part of i only pay 400 dollars a year dont you understand? its insanely low for me being 15 and having full coverage.

 

A lot of it depends on the area you live in.
I'm 50 years old, drive a 6 year old truck, have a clean driving record, but I live in the DC metro area.
My insurance is ~$850 per year (full coverage including rental vehicle & towing)
Waaaay too many drivers in "Hoopties" around here with no driver's license, much less no insurance.

 

Yes, where you live is a HUGE part of it.

I was checking prices on a new Dodge 3500 last year, and the insurance on it as my only vehicle would have been 1100 for 6 months. When she asked if I had a 2nd vehicle to insure, I said yes, but it would only be liability, as it is too old to pay for anything else (unless Ii want to pay them more in a year than they would give me if totalled). That 2nd vehicle dropped the total bill for 6 months to 450.


The area I live in isn't as bad as DC, but it ain't that far off either.

Regarding the tailgate, I look at it this way, If I get 15-16 mpg empty, and 13.5-14.5 loaded with gooseneck and 10k+, the tailgate isn't gonna make enough of a difference to put up with the hassle (bumps making it flop around, makes parking even harder, idiots hitting it at a light, etc).

 

Not to mention when the cables snap because of all the stress on them having the tailgate bouncin up and down..

Road debri/small rocks that will fly up and ding/chip it.

etc. etc

 

Wow...It would be nice to pay 1400 for six months...out here just having the name " Turbo" with my truck made my insurance jump close to a grand. We have full coverage on two vehicles and pay almost 2600 every six months just for the car and the truck..good thing my parents are divorced because the insurance on that mega cab is hideous..
My moms car is only about 500 dollars every six months for her insurance..so you see where 17, no wrecks, no tickets, and good student discount will get ya in AZ

 

I don't even have ins. on my truck right now, thanks to the rates. When i was driving my Dakota ('97 V-6 4x4), I was paying $1700 a year for LIABILITY ONLY! I shopped around and managed to lower it to $1100 a year. I'm 34 with a clean record (at that time...a couple minor tickets in the past 3 years). I really need to get liability on the Ram though...but the rates are going to be nuts because of the GVW (heavier truck can do more damage).

Jim