LS1 Insurance and gas costs?

Okay now I'm seriously thinking about getting one soon. The lack of power and rear-wheel-drivness is eating away at me. How much are LS1 F-bodies for insurance and gas. My dad will be loaning me alot of money to get one, and I need him be convincing that it's not a bigger money pit than my GTI is. I have a job and am slowly paying him back for the GTi, so I have to make sure the F-body will not exceed in price by too much, hopefully be cheaper to own and maintain. So can anybody let me know how much insuranc eon an LT1/LS1 would be for a 17 year old driver? What about gas? How often do you guys fill up and how far can a tank get you ?
Thanks.

its expensive!

luckily i work pretty close to home so i spend about 100 on gas a month.. maybe 115.

insurance is a bitch though.. a real bitch.
:(

Insurance is really expensive depending on your driving record, insurance alone is gonna be around 3000, and gas (depending on how much and how you drive) isnt all that cheap either, when i drove my car everyday i was spending close to 200 a month on gas.

Like Amit said insurance is a real bitch.

It would be tough to convince anyone that a Camaro will be less of a "money pit" than a VW........

You're looking at some incredible bills if you get into this Jim.:(

On the plus side - you'll have a kick ass car!:)

i doubt maintence is gunna be cheaper then ur gti
expecially gas
depends on how much u drive
like if i drive all hwy i usually get around 350-400 tank if i play a bit
its been as bad as 250 a tank
55 litre gas tank so it goes
INsurance on my dads name.. is like 170 month
so its expensive man

this is just my opinion, to help u out, so no flaming, i'm not interested in that

a) 17 w/ an LS1... u may kill urself, 1st and foremost
b) insurance, under ur name = $3000+ at the very MINIMUM, if not closer to $4000, if u have all the junk (which u should, and what, prolly 5% discount)
c) gas, with a 17 yr old driving it hard, everywhere, which u would, will kill any chance of u ever having money to go out...

basically, i've been there, i pay for uni and ****, and work on the weekends, as a waiter, and i can only just make ends meet with a v6... so unless u have no aspirations of post secondary.. and dont think u'll total the car pretty soon (gotta remember RWD is totally different to FWD... it was even a big deal going from a 88hp RWD to a 160hp RWD car, and i spun that off the road), do it...

but if i were u, wait until the end of ur post secondary is in sight, then do it... thats what im doing...

I'd have to double check my info when I get home, but insurance is expensive. I have 43% discount (max) and I believe a full year is still $2000+ for me (and I'm 30+ years old, etc..). But I only insure it for 6-7 months though.

My car is definitely more pig-like in its gas consumption, with the automatic and the big stall, but I still do good. Probaby 18 mpg city and 26 hwy. The stall eats up about 3 mpg city driving, I've found. Get about 400km city and can get 600-700 hwy.

I manage to spend 200+ dollars a month on my GTi every month on gas alone. :eek:
My insurance is 3500-ish. :eek:
My car has a SMALL tank, so I fill up every 5 days or so, driving it only to school and back, to work and occasionally to get some food.
According to my car (may be busted) I get 13.2 Litres/100 Km City driving. This is grannying it most of the way. Maybe something's wrong with the car, but I don't know. :confused:
I'm assuming I'd get an insurance discount for..
If I have an alarm?
If I have the club?
IF I took a ICBC approved driving school?

Any time I show up to a meet, or any time I ride in one of my friend's RWD sporty cars, my heart sinks. :(
By the end of college I have plans for maybe a business, so I want this car soon. How much are F-body parts? Right now I broke my fold-in cupholder on my GTI, cost 250 bucks for a new one from Germany. :eek:
The damn car's trying to kill me!

Does anybody know an insurance agent that could get me an exact quote?
Are Mustangs cheaper to insure? What about other alternatives?
Thanks!
Hope to be the proud owner of an F-body soon.
Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm going to wreck it. Obviously I know it has alot of power and I'm not going to be gunning it everywhere in the rain or anything like that.

in a stock vette I was getting around 13l/100km in the city, and about 9L/100km on the highway.

with the cam its around 14.5l/100km in the city.

you might get $50/year cheaper insurance with all of those things you listed.

i dont think clubs get any off, nor aftermarket alarms... they're looking for immobilizers... which f-bods have, thus saving u $30 a year, i think... and the driving school.. never heard of that.. if it does, fill us in..

sorry to be a 'glass half empty' kind of guy... but, well... i am...

Originally posted by mr00jimbo
I manage to spend 200+ dollars a month on my GTi every month on gas alone. :eek:
My insurance is 3500-ish. :eek:
My car has a SMALL tank, so I fill up every 5 days or so, driving it only to school and back, to work and occasionally to get some food.
According to my car (may be busted) I get 13.2 Litres/100 Km City driving. This is grannying it most of the way. Maybe something's wrong with the car, but I don't know. :confused:
I'm assuming I'd get an insurance discount for..
If I have an alarm?
If I have the club?
IF I took a ICBC approved driving school?

Any time I show up to a meet, or any time I ride in one of my friend's RWD sporty cars, my heart sinks. :(
By the end of college I have plans for maybe a business, so I want this car soon. How much are F-body parts? Right now I broke my fold-in cupholder on my GTI, cost 250 bucks for a new one from Germany. :eek:
The damn car's trying to kill me!

Does anybody know an insurance agent that could get me an exact quote?
Are Mustangs cheaper to insure? What about other alternatives?
Thanks!
Hope to be the proud owner of an F-body soon.
Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm going to wreck it. Obviously I know it has alot of power and I'm not going to be gunning it everywhere in the rain or anything like that.

your gas milage sucks.....im getting 13.8 litres/100km in the city....and mines a lt1 vette

Thanks for the honest truth, guys.
In any way I need to replace my car and was looking for an F-body since I was like, 13 years old. Everybody has the one car that catches their eye, and no matter how much they look for alternatives, it brings them back to the one ride. I just don't want another FWD econobox boring thing.
:p

Originally posted by mr00jimbo
Thanks for the honest truth, guys.
In any way I need to replace my car and was looking for an F-body since I was like, 13 years old. Everybody has the one car that catches their eye, and no matter how much they look for alternatives, it brings them back to the one ride. I just don't want another FWD econobox boring thing.
:p

why don't you just buy a 8000 dollar lt1 and save your dad alot of money......just a thought

i get barely 300 kms to a tank.

and thats with granny driving.

:eek:

but its all city driving though

The insurance will kick your ass . There was a really funny write up about Fbody and Mustang insurance prices and how the insurance companies decide on what to charge . Basicaly they formulated through past experience that you are GOING to crash because you chose to drive an Fbody and when you DO crash you WILL take ALOT of people with you lol :D

ChriSS is on th emark with his insurance quote. My Ls1 costs 218.00 a month with 43% plus a 2500 $ deductable , 276.00 ish a month with regular deductable.

Gas is pricey because your buying 92 - 94 octain ( If you love your LS1 :p ) and theres no way your not going to get on it all the time its hella fun . . . . besides if your not going to hammer it keep the golf . Id say 200 a month easy in fuel .

You should consider an older fix er upper . When my Ta's on the road it costs me 1200.00 a month to own and maintain . Double that if you want to mod it .

Originally posted by todd15
why don't you just buy a 8000 dollar lt1 and save your dad alot of money......just a thought

It's going to end up killing me in repairs. An LS1 will have some repairs, but not nearly as much as a 10 year old car will.
And the LS1 will be slightly better on gas. Everywhere I go, people tell me they get around 19 mpg in the city. Now, I don't kn ow what planet I am from, but I think that's pretty freaking good for pulling off a low 13 second timeslip. :confused:
Right now i'm getting about 17 mpg (:rolleyes: ) Which aint so great for a 6 cylinder, so I was just shopping around at some other possibilities.
TWITCH,
One of the main factors in this car is I'll have to drive it to work, college, and throughout all the seasons. This is why I want an LS1. It will provide me with the reliability I need. (I hope)
I would love to fix up an old car, but with the job and school and shiz, it wouldn't get around to ever completing it if it's in rough condition, and I don't have alot of room @ home to fix 'er up.
I hope I explained that good, it's hard to get my thoughts into a message. :D

I don't think that F-bods are that expensive to maintain at all!!
They are reliable and all I've had to pay for since I've had my car is oil changes.

How much can you afford to spend on transportation every month ? Thats the big Q . Is your dad covering the payment , If so then I think you can swing it no problem . If not Id say avoid it unless you have a GOOD job .

Also , A well maintained , old lady driven lt1 with about 120 000 km on it should be a gread driver and a good starting point .

Another idea is the beater option . Get the Ls1 but store it 8 months out of the year and drive a 500 $ deisel rabbit around . Just an idea :confused:

Originally posted by Tw!tchb!tch
Another idea is the beater option . Get the Ls1 but store it 8 months out of the year and drive a 500 $ deisel rabbit around . Just an idea :confused:
Hey!:shock:
That's exactly what I do!
Y'know..........except I've got an LT1, and an old diesel golf.........worth more than 500 bucks.......:think:

Other than that - exactly!

Technically, my dad's paying it. However I have been working for it since around 11 washing windows, vaccuuming, etc. etc. for him. He's giving me a huge break though and gave me more than what I realistically earned.
Every month with gas, insurance, payments, etc. it runs about 900 for the car. :cry:
I never really realized how much a VW could potentially cost. Hell, I thought it was like a Civic. I didnt know you had to put 92 gas, pay an arm and a leg for all these parts, etc.
Willin' to pay maybe 7-800/month on an F-bod. on payments, ins. gas.

thats about what it costs for me to run my car every month.

a good 900 beezies.

Originally posted by Amit
thats about what it costs for me to run my car every month.

a good 900 beezies.

Could you maybe break it down on what $ goes where?
Thanks.

Hey!
That's exactly what I do!
Y'know..........except I've got an LT1, and an old diesel golf.........worth more than 500 bucks.......

Other than that - exactly!


Great minds . . . . . . :p

440 for car payment
253 insurance (used to be 319 but i raised my deductible to 500$)
about 100 for gas..
and thats about it.

wait..thats actually about 800 a month:metal:

450 payment
160 insurance (Victoria)
200 gas

So 800/month or so for me, before maintenance. Maintenance hasn't been that bad at all really. And don't forget tires man. A set off Khumo 712's would cost around 900 for a set... and those are an inexpensice Z rated tire. Better tires will cost 1500+.

Hey
well ima 16 yr old driver. Insurance is costing me about 105 a month, and gas i get about 20 mpg, so depending on how much you drive, you can figure that out. Also, it does reccommend premium, i find that it runs fine on regular as well. its just not as fast of course. It shouldnt hurt it, the computer recognizes the lower octane and adjusts the fuel and ignition systems to compensate. You should also think about driving practicabilty. (is that a word?) rwd isnt so hot in bad weather. But youll LOVE an ls1!

Originally posted by ianwells100
this is just my opinion, to help u out, so no flaming, i'm not interested in that

a) 17 w/ an LS1... u may kill urself, 1st and foremost
b) insurance, under ur name = $3000+ at the very MINIMUM, if not closer to $4000, if u have all the junk (which u should, and what, prolly 5% discount)
c) gas, with a 17 yr old driving it hard, everywhere, which u would, will kill any chance of u ever having money to go out...

basically, i've been there, i pay for uni and ****, and work on the weekends, as a waiter, and i can only just make ends meet with a v6... so unless u have no aspirations of post secondary.. and dont think u'll total the car pretty soon (gotta remember RWD is totally different to FWD... it was even a big deal going from a 88hp RWD to a 160hp RWD car, and i spun that off the road), do it...

but if i were u, wait until the end of ur post secondary is in sight, then do it... thats what im doing...

Hey man, im only 16, and im a very cautious driver, only getting all on it when i can safely. Also, i only pay 105 a month, under my dads name, and just cuz hes 17 doesnt mean hed have to drive it hard everywhere. I have to buy my own gas, and i only drive hard probably 9 percent of the time. and the rwd is ok, as long as you go out and purosely do some fishtails and spins to get used to it. In a safe place of course. But i agree with you, teen drivers are less exerienced and are more at risk to crash, just dont think that just cuz hes 17 means he would crash it.

Damn, 16 eh? How's it holdin' up for ya man ?
Is it an LS1?

BOTTOM LINE: If you are worried about how bad a car is on gas or how much it costs per month to operate, DO NOT buy an f-body.

Thank you, that is all.

Also Jimbo, maybe you should pay for it yourself so your Dad is out of the picture. You may have to settle for an older car (like me originally: 1982 Z28) but at least you will have the satisfaction of 100% ownership. Then you can upgrade later when you afford it.

Andy

Originally posted by oldschool
BOTTOM LINE: If you are worried about how bad a car is on gas or how much it costs per month to operate, DO NOT buy an f-body.

Thank you, that is all.

Also Jimbo, maybe you should pay for it yourself so your Dad is out of the picture. You may have to settle for an older car (like me originally: 1982 Z28) but at least you will have the satisfaction of 100% ownership. Then you can upgrade later when you afford it.

Andy

beautiful advise...financial independance is something most ppl dont have nowadays...
yeah, i may have a v6.. but, for saying i pay for a uni degree, and all that ****, and have basically no debt, i'm very happy... i dont want someone to say 'wow for u...' i just want ppl to respect that not all 21 yr olds can afford nice lt/ls1 f-bods.... i wish i could... and for ppl who flame me to grow up a bit, thats all...

but yeah, something has to be said for the feeling of all out owning ur own, nice car... also, dont know if ur dad's like this, but he may stop u from modding if u owe him $$$... could be frustrating having that over u.

What he's basically going to do is put me to work on weekend mornings to pay it off. Not too bad, been doing it with the GTi anyways. I'm not too worried about the gas consumption cause I hear everywhere that it's decent (probably better than my VR6 anyways hehe) but the whole concern with a V8-powered car is that.
With my one job right now I do a decent job at supporting the GTi almost halfway, but it's a high maintanance car, with expensive German parts.
I will look into the finances, maybe cash in on a couple inventions I have in my head, then
F-body, here i come :p

not to sound too condesending - but if you are worried about future gas costs then don't even think of buying this car.

Originally posted by oldschool
BOTTOM LINE: If you are worried about how bad a car is on gas or how much it costs per month to operate, DO NOT buy an f-body.

Thank you, that is all.

Also Jimbo, maybe you should pay for it yourself so your Dad is out of the picture. You may have to settle for an older car (like me originally: 1982 Z28) but at least you will have the satisfaction of 100% ownership. Then you can upgrade later when you afford it.

Andy

good point andy.....and plus jimbo when you get older.....you don't want your dad to have anything on you.....I say buy what you can afford.....not what your dad can......unless hes just buying it for you .and thats the end of it

Everyones right, if your worried about gas prices insurance costs dont buy the car simple.

Keep what you have until you can get what you want. Not worth the problems down the road. I'M, 19 my self and have a SS, but trust me these cars do run fine if taken care of, but if you get one problem ls1's are very costly ask anyone of the ls1 drivers ( craig, chriss, blair, twitch etc....) so just keep that in mind as well. Best bet from me to you is keep what you have, until further down the road the goal is more attainable no need to rush into anything that mite prove to be costly in the long run.

Again, I'm not worried about gas costs, I'm just comparing. Just something to bring up. My friend has a 5.0 and he gets better gas mileage than my GTi, and I assume an LS1 will get better gas mileage than a 5.0 anyways. I'm thinking of keeping it pretty much stock. I know LS1 parts are considerably expensive but once I get out of HS, I will have a second job anyways.
Are LT1 one parts cheaper?
I want a performance car as is, and not buying an f-bod. I'm just going to break down and buy a Mustang, or a Civic or something.
sorry for sounding so stubborn, it's just I have been working and anticipating an F-body for so long know, it's driving me nuts. :p
The money thing really isn't too big of an issue, I just figured I would do some research and check out how much they run as far as cost. Trust me, I don't think an LS1 can be more money to maintain than a VR6.

Originally posted by Pandamonkey
Hey!:shock:
That's exactly what I do!
Y'know..........except I've got an LT1, and an old diesel golf.........worth more than 500 bucks.......:think:

Other than that - exactly!

That makes two of us.... LT1 and Golf diesel. :D

Why are you guys paying so much for your insurance? Is it because its an LS1? My 94 TA costs me $1700 a year, if I remember correctly, for insurance. My Golf costs me more for insurance than my bird.
Jimbo, I don't know how many kilometres you do a week, but I'll tell you one thing. I went from filling up every 3-maybe 4 days on my TA to once every three weeks on the golf. The amount of money I have saved is amazing. Like everyone said, don't buy this car for gas mileage. I think your best bet, if your dad really is willing to help you out, is to keep the Golf, and buy an older LT1 that you can store and work on. Trust me, it's too stressfull driving it in bad weather and you'll be able to save a lot of money by only insuring the F-bod in the summer. If the Golf costs too much, trade it in for a cheap civic or a diesel golf that won't cost you an arm or a leg. Hell for what you pay, you can buy a brand new Cavalier or Sunfire and save even more.
Just my two cents.:cool:

good luck! i have a 30% discount and i pay 210 on a 95 and its going up in may cause insurance just went up. i pay 240-260 in gas everymonth and im assuming you dont drive everywhere on the highway so expect around 300-320 kms to a tank.
payment-420
insurance-210
gas-250
by the time i add in oil changes and aircare and things like that it adds up to about 900 a month average. and last yr i spent 9000 on the car including wheels and clutch and fixing things so thats another 750 a month.
id have to agree with andy buy a late 80's iroc or something that you coudl afford on your own.and maybe a few mods alos. who wants to be driving around in a stock f-body.:D

^ Thanks, Sandeep.
I figure maybe if I have enough to buy a beater and get some cheap insurance on it, I could go that route and get an LT1 to keep in the garage, providing the funds allow it. The whole reason I'm mostly set up on the F-body is I like the whole way of the community, for one. Met some of you guys, and you seemed really cool and helpful, take this thread for instance. Believe me, I have tried hanging around the "import crowd" (mainly consisting of Hondas) they all sit around their mom's Civic DX with the hood open, going "Yep, if you put an intake on 'er, you'll beat Ford Explorers...well, V6 ones anyways; those 8 cyls are a different story all together"
Mustang guys are alright, too but I have always been more of a GM fan, so that would be like stabbing myself in the back! :p
If I can't afford an LS1 daily D, I will just go down the LT1/L98 in Garage, Accord or something daily D route.
I guess we'll see how the finances go.
In any way, I hope to be the proud owner of a GM product before August! :)

Ok just so everyone knows, no HWY driving, straight city with huge traffic, sometimes its horrible stop & go 3k/h speeds, sometimes its good, but all straight city driving to richmond & back, I get 310kms per tank with all mods in the sig, ok driving, no flooring around & if I choose to drive hard its about 290kms/tank, & thats not running her dry, I'm sure there is 330kms/tank if I run her bone dry. Thats with huge cam, heads etc... & 4.10 gears, lol.

Oh man I get about 300-320 before i need to fill up on mine and im near stock :(
Something must not be workin right...

some mods help fuel economy, like intake/headers/exhaust. anything that reduces the pumping losses of the motor.

yep, & a ton of other stuff, tunning helps a big one, etc... good valve jobs, aluminum flywheels ;) but not my 315's in the back, those can't be helping :)

Originally posted by Tw!tchb!tch


Another idea is the beater option . Get the Ls1 but store it 8 months out of the year and drive a 500 $ deisel rabbit around . Just an idea :confused: This is the best option as long as you have storage for your f-body. I wouldn't buy a LS1 as a daily driver all year round. :no: Insurance is about $100.00 a month more than driving a beater, big deal? :rolleyes: Gas mileage is way better than an older f-body. Like Amit says I get a little more than 300k's per tank booting it around town, where else can you have that much fun for under $50.00 per tank?.I live 5 minutes from work and store my f-body in a heated garage all winter. I've seen a few nice f-bodys driving around in the winter. I doubt they will be that nice for long. The LS1 power to gas mileage ratio is awesome. My advice is to get the LS1, you really wont be satisfied until you do so take the plunge. Especially with you dad helping out. :D

If your town lays down gravel during the winter, it'll hurt.. :(





Originally posted by Drumhawk
This is the best option as long as you have storage for your f-body. I wouldn't buy a LS1 as a daily driver all year round. :no: Insurance is about $100.00 a month more than driving a beater, big deal? :rolleyes: Gas mileage is way better than an older f-body. Like Amit says I get a little more than 300k's per tank booting it around town, where else can you have that much fun for under $50.00 per tank?.I live 5 minutes from work and store my f-body in a heated garage all winter. I've seen a few nice f-bodys driving around in the winter. I doubt they will be that nice for long. The LS1 power to gas mileage ratio is awesome. My advice is to get the LS1, you really wont be satisfied until you do so take the plunge. Especially with you dad helping out. :D

Originally posted by Ken S
If your town lays down gravel during the winter, it'll hurt.. :( So will the salt. :eek: :shock: :yuck:

enought out of you numbhawk.

Originally posted by NiteRider
enought out of you numbhawk. I'd rather be numb than dumb. Hey, I'm the late night poster, I should be called "nighthawk".