Tracking Driving Habits with OBDII port (for insurance savings)

[Absolutely Red 12]

They penalize for mileage, hard braking, and driving between midnight and 4 am!!

This is LA, hard braking happens evry 10 minutes, due to idiots out here.

Between midnight and 4 am is the quietest time of the day!!

Its stupid.

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

They penalize for mileage, hard braking, and driving between midnight and 4 am!!

This is LA, hard braking happens evry 10 minutes, due to idiots out here.

Between midnight and 4 am is the quietest time of the day!!

Its stupid.

I can understand your issues, it is not for everyone.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

They penalize for mileage

When I changed my registration to Texas, that being 'kept track of' by the state took some getting used to. We have mandatory yearly vehicle inspections here and one of the bits of information transmitted to the state is your odometer reading.

[edmscan]

It really isn't a penalty .. just a fact of how insurance works. Drivers that drive more are more likely to get into accidents and thus they SHOULD pay higher insurance rates than those drivers that seldom drive.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by edmscan

It really isn't a penalty .. just a fact of how insurance works. Drivers that drive more are more likely to get into accidents and thus they SHOULD pay higher insurance rates than those drivers that seldom drive.

I'm okay with the reporting of the mileage thing because I understand an entity that makes the assumption that people are going to lie. I remember when 'your' agent asked you how many miles you drove a year -- just when starting with a new agent. Then the subject was never broached again. Obviously, as the world changed, that was no longer good enough. What I feel 'pushes over the line' are 2 things I can think of right away 1. 'you need to have a front plate on because the cops need to see the front plates of criminals' (a dubious perceived requirement IMO) -- even if I am not a criminal, I'm getting lumped in with them (IMO) and 2. The SCOTUS decision this week re taking a DNA sample of someone ACCUSED of a serious felony to see if the DNA matches any unsolved cases. I'm fine with this if they do it to someone who has just been CONVICTED, but not merely ACCUSED.

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by edmscan

It really isn't a penalty .. just a fact of how insurance works. Drivers that drive more are more likely to get into accidents and thus they SHOULD pay higher insurance rates than those drivers that seldom drive.

I'll play the devil's advocate:

Drivers that drive more, have more experience!!

My last accident was 1976, Im still being rated by my mileage, and zip code.
Not my driving record!!.

Can they tell I just drove 800 miles through desert highways, which I just did!

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

My last accident was 1976

My last accident was last December. Guess I am one of those bad drivers.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

Im still being rated by my mileage, and zip code.

...and the computer system at at least one insurance company (mine) is programmed to set the rate to your mailing address. My house and my UPS Store PMB box are in different zip codes. When I got my initial quote (which was the lowest I found), it was based on my house address. I hadn't given the agent the other address yet (and the other address wasn't in any database for me yet---other than the UPS Store). After noting the advantageous terms, I signed up for the policy and gave my UPS Sore PMB address. I soon got the paperwork there (different zip) and the rate was about 10% less. I talked to my new agent and he said that's just the way their system applies it, that even if they were able to change it, it would 'correct back' to what I had in front of me. He said, 'count your blessings'. This probably gives them an edge when I do comparisons each year.

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

When I changed my registration to Texas, that being 'kept track of' by the state took some getting used to. We have mandatory yearly vehicle inspections here and one of the bits of information transmitted to the state is your odometer reading.

Wouldnt you want to make sure the odometer wasnt tampered with when you buy a used car?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

Wouldnt you want to make sure the odometer wasnt tampered with when you buy a used car?

I haven't lived in Texas long enough to know the whole history here re having inspections (what might be an official reason, what might be the real 'nudge nudge wink wink' reason, etc). The IMPRESSION I get from my own experience with the inspections here and listening to people who have lived here 2, 3, 4 times as long as I have is that the inspections are an excuse to generate revenue for the state/help a little cottage industry of people setting up their 'inspection shingles' (so to speak) and not to measurably make the roadways safer. My first thought about why they want to know the mileage is that they would sell the information to insurance companies so that insurance companies can check to see if the mileage affidavits that their customers are swearing to are likely correct, but your question could certainly be another plausible reason.

I've only had 2 cars that either I or another family member didn't buy new. One was my first car that I bought with my own money. My dad was working for a Ford dealer at the time and the General Manager gave it to me for the amount the trade amount (so the dealer didn't make any money nor lose any money), which was WAY under wholesale book. My dad approached the GM after the car had already been evaluated and taken in from the customer. The other car I had that was used was a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 AWD Manual Transmission (very hard to find when I bought one). I'd always wanted one. It had a salvage title and had been rebuilt by a mechanic who buys such (salvage title and the like) and rebuilds them. I knew I had little way of knowing how many miles were on it, but it was so inexpensive I felt it was worth it even if it lasted 20k miles (it was a second car). I drove it through California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana (over the Going To The Sun Highway), Idaho again, Washington, Idaho again, Wahington again, Oregon, and then California again. On a later trip, I was driving on CA 58 near the intersection with 395 (on my way to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve) and with about (ironically) 20k miles since purchase it threw a rod and I let the towing yard have it. Those 20k miles were definitely worth what I spent.

I don't know if I'll ever buy a used car again (....only, I think, if I found an 'Idahotomlike' RAV 4), but yes I'd like to be able to rely on the mileage stated re a used car. I'd only believe it if I knew how any state tracking would specifically ebsure that and believed in the integrity of that procedure. The only thing is, applying your question to Texas, I would think that would only be truly knowable for cars that had never been registered outside of Texas, or (if they had) had only been registered in other states that have the same requirements Texas does.

Has California instituted any policies recently that help consumers re odometer tampering?