Yeah, the valet and car wash thing drives me nuts too. I had Metromile for a while and it once logged a 0.1 mile “trip” when my mechanic just moved my car across the lot. I switched to Nationwide’s SmartMiles—still not perfect, but at least the dongle isn’t as twitchy. I guess none of these are really made for folks who baby their cars or don’t drive much. Maybe in a few years they’ll get smarter about this stuff...
I get what you mean about the little trips getting counted, but honestly, I kind of like that these systems are strict. I had a friend who’d “forget” to log miles for short errands with his old insurer, so at least this way it’s all tracked. I do wish they’d let you flag non-driving events, though... like, I’m not the one racking up miles when my car’s getting serviced.
I do wish they’d let you flag non-driving events, though... like, I’m not the one racking up miles when my car’s getting serviced.
That’s actually what’s making me hesitate about signing up. My cousin had her car towed once and those miles got counted—she was pretty annoyed. I get wanting things to be fair, but it feels a little too rigid sometimes. Still, I guess it beats trying to remember every errand or trip for insurance paperwork. Just wish there was a way to “pause” the tracker for stuff like service appointments.
Honestly, I get the frustration, but I think people might be overthinking how much those extra miles really add up. Unless you’re getting your car towed every other week or spending half your life at the mechanic, it’s probably not going to make a huge dent in your premium. I’ve had my car serviced a couple times since switching to mileage-based insurance, and yeah, those miles counted, but it was maybe 10-15 miles each time. Not ideal, but not a dealbreaker either.
I’d actually be more concerned if they started letting people flag miles themselves—seems like that would open the door for all kinds of abuse. The system’s not perfect, but at least it’s consistent. If you’re someone who racks up a lot of non-driving miles for legit reasons, maybe this type of insurance isn’t the best fit. For most folks, though, I think the savings outweigh the occasional annoyance.
That’s a really fair point about the consistency. I’ve been on the fence about switching to mileage-based insurance, and honestly, the idea of every single mile counting (even the ones from test drives or service runs) kind of bugged me at first. But you’re right—unless you’re constantly in and out of the shop, those extra miles probably don’t make a huge difference over the course of a year.
I do wonder if some companies handle this better than others, though? Like, do any of them let you flag “service” miles or something? Or maybe they just assume it all evens out. I get what you mean about people gaming the system if it was self-reported... that would get messy fast.
Anyway, it’s reassuring to hear that the savings are still worth it for most people. I guess for folks who only drive occasionally (like me, still learning), it’s probably a net win even with a few “wasted” miles here and there.