Family Car Checklist

Our Family Car Checklist is brought to you by Metromile. We thank them for sponsoring this post and allowing you to pay as you go! Metromile allows you to pay while you’re driving, and not pay while you’re sleeping, cooking and playing dolls with your toddler. 😉

The search for a Family Car can be a heavy task and there’s a lot to consider! 

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As a work at home nthsm I’m traveling much less than I did when I worked outside of the home. We owned two cars and found that not only was my car sitting for most of the time, but we were also paying for insurance that wasn’t being utilized. My car left the driveway maybe 3 times a week since we used my husband’s car for the most part. Eventually when my lease ended we thought about all the end costs of owning a vehicle and the high insurance for 2 cars just didn’t make sense since he would come home early from work. Now his hours are charging and he’s been working later nights that means I don’t have access to his vehicle as much.

What is Metromile?

Metromile is an auto insurance founded by Dave Friedberg (CEO: Dan Preston) in 2011 taking the world by storm allowing customers to pay-per-mile. This allows drivers to pay for the miles they drive without judgement of driving style or behavior.  They’re the first agent to offer this kind of service in the United States. You can also keep track of your cars’ general health and usage with their smart technology Metromile App! In addition, you can see trips & trends including miles, MPG, time and speed, fuel level and cost estimates, car location which helps recover stolen cars, street sweeping alerts (in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, & Chicago) and contact a mechanic. Metromile is currently available in 7 states (California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia,Illinois and New Jersey).

Thankfully there’s affordable car insurance that lets you pay when you use your car! How crazy is that? With Metromile the average customer can save $500 annually. This is great if you utilize public transportation, carpools or just don’t use your car as much as the regular customer. Why should we pay the same? Now that we’ve found an affordable solution I’m looking to purchase (not lease!) a new vehicle!

My family car checklist for a new car are and in this order:

1. Good Car insurance: Why is car insurance number one? Well, because without it you can’t drive your car! With Metromile you can pay-permile in New Jersey. Ideal for (me!) those who drive less than 10,000 miles a year. You’ll spend only a few cents per mile with a low base rate each month for full coverage. With Metromile you also get their Metromile plus which is invaluable, more on that below this checklist!
2. Safety: I search high and low through the internet when considering any purchase, reviews are a huge thing for me and this is even more important when purchasing a vehicle. I look at several reliable sources when it comes to the safety testing of vehicles.
3. Reliability/Longevity: I’m buying a car for the next 5-10 years. I want that car to be not only reliable this year, but for the long hall. I want to make sure it won’t be spending more time in a mechanic’s garage instead of mine.
4. Comfort: Who doesn’t love a comfortable ride? I’m super picky when it comes to comfort. I like when the steering wheel is stiffer, rather than loose. I love seats in the back that aren’t too reclined. Talking about the back seat, I want it to be spacious! Meaning if my husband is driving and I’m behind him I don’t want the seat hitting my knees. Also one that can not only fit one car seat, not two but three. Leather seats are a great upgrade for families since kids can get food on the seats, it’s much easier to clean! Also when it comes to comfort I want at least AWD!
5. Style: Of course we all want a nice looking car. This is definitely on my list, but much lower. I do love a stylish car, but also realize that it’s a vehicle and it’s not something I live in. I need it to be safe, reliable and comfortable while still having a bit of style.
6. Price: Price is important too. Everyone wants to save money these days and there’s no way I’m going to spend $500-600 a month on a car. It’s just silly. I’m even open to a new to me car that was gently used to lower the price.

Metromile makes every car a smart car with the Metromile Pulse. The Pulse plugs into the standard OBII port and is used to track mileage and provide cardata, such as driving stats, engine health and car location. It’s even been used to recover stolen cars! 

Metromile Pulse is AMAZING.. Why is that huge for me?? Well.. our truck was stolen almost 2 months ago. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to lose your vehicle and all of your belongings. I had tons of personal items in our trunk bed that I can never replace. It was stolen right from our driveway. Sadly I was packing up the boxes from all of my daughter’s first outfits, blankets and even my own to put in storage. They took it before I had the chance to bring it. You don’t realize things like this happen until it happens to you. Our truck is most likely overseas or parted out as the police have been unable to find it. Having Metromile Pulse alone is invaluable! Tracking devices can cost anywhere from $500-1,000 and then some have monthly fees after that as well. We were able to see that our truck was stolen around 2-3am time frame thanks to EZPass, but unfortunately we didn’t have any sort of tracking, because who thinks of that? Obviously Metromile, that is a MAJOR selling point to me.

If you’re in the market for affordable car insurance I think Metromile might just be the answer for you!

One lucky reader is going to win a $100 gift card + swag!

To be entered, simply get a quote on Metromile.com and come back telling me me your quote and what you’d do with your annual savings! (If you’re not located in a Metromile state, you can enter your zipcode, sign up for the waitlist and comment on what you would do with potential savings. Ends 3/10/2016. Courtney’s Sweets is not responsible for prize or prize shipment.