Aptera Insurance and Financing Info

[tim-dean]

Set up an interest bearing savings account and make payments into it. When the time comes use that account proceeds for your down payment. There are many online calculators to tell you how much to set aside. Done.

[daniel-gleason]

Since we have no way to start paying now, I’ve opened a new bank account which is going to be used for my payments lol. What about you guys?

[Tom]

I’m setting aside money each month to build up savings so that I can purchase my Aptera with cash when the time comes. So, yeah, I have car payments… I’m just paying myself until Aptera is ready to take my money.

[Russell]

I’ve been buying shares of Aptera so once they go IPO, Aptera can pay for my Aptera.

[Shawgrin]

I set up a separate account just for me to get an Aptera Roadster.

[steven-bryant]

I’ve been saving since my first investment in Aptera and I can now buy the 250 version and will keep saving till they give me a call. I may have enough saved by then to get the whole shebang ( 1000 miler)

[Mangoat]

I’ll hopefully pay off my current car by the time Aptera is out, so I’ll just sell the car I have towards the Aptera, once I get mine. Should take off a nice chunk of the price.

[Pragmatic_to_a_Fault]

When I placed my preorder I started putting all of my overtime money aside as a down payment with the hope that this grift will be over and we will all get a car for Christmas next year.

I strongly suggest putting a minimum of $550 away each month until the car shows up. If you cannot afford it now. You won’t be able to then.

Why $550 ?

I went to auto loan calculator and put the total price of the aptera in the cost and left the 5000k down payment as it is. Included the taxes and fees and well. It’s $537 for 60 months.

Maybe there are plenty of people who ordered the aptera that intend to use their stock options and infinite wealth to pay for the car. But for those who don’t the luxury of being independently wealthy, be realistic $550 a month isn’t peanuts for a lot of people.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by  James Lee.

[WhoNeedsWings]

Great advice and attitude. I have a regular W-2 job, but in the evenings, after work, I do deliveries for Amazon on Amazon Flex. I also do Walmart Spark and Door Dash. There is also Uber and Lyft. You’ll be surprised how much money you can make in 4 hours a day 5 days a week especially on the Weekends. Believe me, if you keep on going, you’ll have a 20% down payment before you know it. Combine that with a low interest loan from any of the credit unions on my list (https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/us-national-auto-interest-rates.8687/), you’ll be saving yourself more money in the long run than the average buyer who doesn’t take the time to do research and find ways to mitigate price increases.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by  Javier Rodriguez.

[WhoNeedsWings]

I have a list of Credit Unions that have open membership with loan rates as low as 2.99% APR. I have no affiliation or get compensated by any of these institutions. Is just for informational purposes only. If you are interested, here is the link https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/us-national-auto-interest-rates.8687/

[craig-merrow]

I have a money market account with my credit union to put payments into, plus I have a good relationship with them for loans. I figure that by summer 2024 I should be able to cover most of the purchase price. The only wildcard is insurance, but we’ll know more as Aptera gets closer to production.

[Fran]

Good news at the end.

I have never seen a quote for insurance for an Aptera so I called my insurance carrier. They will not underwrite Aptera as a motorcycle because it has doors and no handle bars. They won’t underwrite Aptera as a car because it only has three wheels and probably because it doesn’t meet all the safety standards for a car (yet). So they passed me off to one of their partner underwriters who gave me a couple QUOTES. Now these quotes won’t be accurate for everybody but its a starting point.

My situation is optimal because I’m 72 and live out in the country and have an excellent driving record. I’m surprised that the quote did not depend on the weight of the vehicle so I guess the rates will be similar for each battery size. I hope I don’t get your hopes up too much with these excellent prices, but here they are:

Liability only (New York State 25,000/50,000/10,000): $162.30 for six month policy

Full coverage (liability, collision, and comprehensive, $250 deductible): 366.80/ for six months for the base model (250 mile). I assume the more expensive models will have more expensive insurance premiums.

Before I talked to the company I used their online quote system to get prices on a Polaris Slingshot: $127/yr for liability only, $1532/yr full coverage with $1000 deductible, and $2656 for full coverage with $50 deductible.

My quotes were for an auto policy for an Aptera through GEICO but underwritten by one of their partners (they wouldn’t say who). They know its registered as a motorcycle.

I would call this excellent news.

[Greek]

Thank you for doing the legwork Francis Giroux. Very valuable and helpful. Now we also have a base to work off of. Wasn’t sure that insurance companies have already started quoting policies. Looks like at least from the beginning that rates are somewhat favorable. Not as cheap as motorcycle insurance, but somewhat less than a 4 wheeler.

[rafael-mendez]

My apologies if this was covered already. Will there be inhouse financing? Will banks/credot unions approve this vehicle for financing?

[Greek]

Nothing that we know of as of yet for in-house financing.

I can’t see why wouldn’t either institution offer financing.

One of our posters also mentioned that at least one insurance company is starting to quote rates.

[DesertSkies]

I am quite confident that Aptera will partner with a reputable financial institution to provide in-house financing. They would be foolish not to do so.

I am not so optimistic about *affordable* insurance. I have no doubt that Aptera owners will be able to find an insurance underwriter, but at what cost? As someone (I believe it was the ever-sensible John-Malcolm) said some time ago, insurance underwriters need certain information (crash test results, accessibility to repair sites, etc) before they can provide a reliable premium quote, and that information is simply not available yet.

Please allow me to share a personal experience:

I bought the first Mazda RX-7 convertible sold in the state of Texas in 1988. State Farm did agree to insure the vehicle, but it did not have a rating category for the convertible version. So the agent classed the vehicle as a hardtop and wrote the policy anyway. Two months later, when the State Farm corporate offices discovered what the agent had done, they canceled the policy outright on the basis that it was improperly offered. They re-rated the car, and my rate literally tripled! State Farm wanted $2250 per year to insure the RX-7 convertible … in 1988 dollars! (They classed it as a high-performance sports car. And two-seaters are always classed as higher risk, which is why most car makers put at least a “pretend” back seat into their smaller vehicles.)

I believe it is pointless to speculate about insurance until a rock-solid production date is announced and the insurance underwriters are able to assess the risk associated with the vehicle. And even then, I would anticipate a significant change in premiums once the vehicle develops some “history.”

[Fran]

Hey Desertskies,

Insurance quote from Geico: 366.80/ for full coverage for six months ($250 deductible) for the base model Aptera. If you want details look up at my post five posts before yours. PS. I don’t live in a high crime city.

[The_Ladybug]

I’m not expecting delivery for good long while (# 61k+) but I asked my Credit Union (Navy Federal) how they would classify Autocycles if you were to take out a loan through them for one currently. It took a while for the hamster wheels to finish spinning for the non-standard question but currently it appears that it would fall under neither car, nor motorcycle loans, but as an “Other Collateral” loan. I was purposefully non-specific because autocycles currently run the gamut as more of a catch-all weirdo-mobile category than a codified class and a lot of financial entities will probably look at the Autocycle classification and stick it in a similar bucket as NFCU. Aptera is definitely delightfully weird, TBH.

Has anyone else asked how their banks or credit unions classify autocycles/Aptera?

[steven-g-bueche]

According to USAA it’s a motorcycle and can be financed accordingly. State Farm also says it will be insured as a motorcycle. This saves us money all around. You can also add additional considerations to the insurance as with all things. (custom wrap costs or add on features)

[john-malcom]

Good to know about USAA for all of us on the forum who are current or past service members. Thanks!

[Mike-Mars]

Once it reaches production, the vehicle details will be exported into the insurance industry’s databases, and it’ll be much easier to talk to them about it. If all else fails, talk to a custom motorbike insurance specialist – they won’t cost any more than other insurance brokers, and the agent on the phone is much more likely to understand what they’re dealing with.

[Gozer]

I own an Arcimoto FUV, insured by Progressive motorcycle insurance. Limited Liability for me was around $300 a year in CA. I just googled “progressive online motorcycle insurance quotes” at the time. It was pretty easy to dial in the coverage I wanted.

I’m thinking I’ll want full coverage for an Aptera. Everyone will hate us.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Glenn Langit.

[romeo-salcedo]

can we lease an aptera?

[harry-parker]

Not until Apteras are in production and sold, of course. And not until all 42,000 existing pre-orders are satisfied. So not for at least 4 years by my estimation. Or perhaps some of those 42,000 will be offered up for rent or sale or lease.

[marc-w]

Any news on financing at low rates ? You could start your own Aptera Finance CO. just like the Major brands. Ford Motor Accetpance etc.

What better investment than your own cars !

Sell on Amazon, or your own site – whatever exists now would need work with an additional financing option and delivery portal.

[Mike-Mars]

Usually financing on cars is actually provided by banks, not the manufacturer (it’ll be branded as the manufacturer, but the bank handles everything).

[michael-apple]

You could finance it through the Clean Energy Credit Union, which is an online credit union based out of Colorado which provides loans for EVs of all kinds as well as clean energy projects for members’ homes. The easiest way to join is to become a free member of Solar United Neighbors. You could also become a paid member of the Electric Vehicle Association to gain access to the membership class.

[randy-j]

This came in my email today. I originally thought EV’s were going to be cheaper to insure. Not true says the author:

Good morning,

Canadians already complain about the higher costs of electric vehicles, but just wait until they get the insurance bill.

By 2035 all vehicle sales in this country will be zero emission, according to a mandate from the federal government.

But as Canadians replace their gas and diesel vehicles with electric in coming years, they should expect to pay more for insurance, says a report by credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.

EV uptake has been slower in Canada than in Europe, the United Kingdom and even the United States for reasons ranging from the higher cost of vehicles, “range anxiety” in Canadian winters and a lack of charging stations.

New vehicle registrations of EVs in 2022, including hybrids, accounted for just 2.7 per cent of the total in Canada, according to Statistics Canada — far lower than in Europe and the U.K., where rebates are more prevalent and infrastructure more advanced.

Judging by the experience of drivers across the pond, Canadians can expect higher premiums, mainly because EVs are more expensive and cost more to repair. Average electric car insurance costs in the U.K. leapt 72 per cent last year, compared with 29 per cent for gas and diesel models, the Financial Times reports.

One carrier has even suspended coverage for EVs as it reassesses the cost of repairs, it said.

While an electric car has fewer serviceable parts than an internal combustion engine, the cost of replacing batteries, the availability of parts and fewer technicians to fix them can drive up the bill for repairs and insurance, said DBRS.

Batteries are expensive, representing about half the overall vehicle cost, and even minor damage can be a big deal. A small dent can destabilize the battery, potentially causing fires or even explosions.

The FT reports that EV claims are typically 25 per cent higher than for gas or diesel vehicles and take 14 per cent longer for repairs.

“These vehicles are, in effect, computers on wheels, packed with expensive and complex parts and advanced technology that can make EVs expensive to repair after a collision,” said DBRS.

In fact, there have been reports of insurers writing off an EV with low mileage rather than replace the battery.

A media report out of British Columbia said the province’s main insurer ICBC wrote off an entire EV because the cost of replacing the battery would be the same as buying a new vehicle of the same model. And there have been reports in the U.K. of insurers writing off EVs after minor collisions, rather than repairing the battery pack.

One thing Canadians drivers have going for them is a highly regulated auto insurance industry, said DBRS. Rate changes must be approved by provincial regulators and this could ease the impact of rising premiums.

“However, we expect that auto insurance rates will trend upward over time as insurers generate more claims data for EVs and reflect that experience in pricing,” said Victor Adesanya, Morningstar DBRS vice-president of insurance.

[Greek]

I ride on an electric motorcycle (Zero sr/f). Rates were comparable to gas bikes. Insured through Progressive which tends to have the best rates for motorcycle insurance. I am hoping that they recognize my APTERA in the same category as my bike for insurance. I actually expect to pay less than what I pay for my other electric vehicles.

[curtis-cibinel]

Overall Canadian ev sales was 9.4% vs 7.7% for the USA in 2022. California is the current top dog but bc and Quebec are close behind (bc was #1 per capita until the inflation reduction act). Last month I was in Vancouver and went to a t&t supermarket and 60% of vehicles were teslas (specific areas of Vancouver drive lots of our numbers).

Ps: icbc wrote off a ionic 5 due to Hyundai wanting 60k to replace a pack with damage to the cooling plate. Dealers are the issue. Hyundai corporate got word and paid for it because the dealer was stupid and put new policies to object their review for all pack repair estimates.

[glenn-zajic]

While I believe that the costs associated with a battery replacement are high, but coming down, I also believe that insurance companies will use that as an excuse to increase prices. Another factor, as Tesla has dominated the US market, their giga casting does not yield to easy repairability, and another excuse to simply total a vehicle that could be repaired. It is kinda like a service tech replacing a module rather than the defective component, but on a $grand scale. While we use insurance to lower our risk, insurance companies do what they can to limit theirs.

[Winnie]

My understanding is they can NOT use deposit money towards tooling or production. Those funds cannot be touched until car is delivered. Is this correct?

[Greek]

The $100 or $70 that all off us put down to secure a spot in line can Not be used by APTERA for anything else other than the purchase of your vehicle. If you decide to not purchase, that amount you put down is fully refundable. Also, if APTERA goes bankrupt (GOD FORBID) these funds are kept separate and will be given back to their owners.