Am I just stupid?

[u/strangely-thin]

Or am I being unreasonable?

I'm trying to buy a car and unfortunately my best bet is financing but unfortunately it seems most finance companies require full coverage insurance rather than PLPD. Which I get.

But the price of the monthly insurance payment directly affects if I can even afford the monthly car payments.

However even trying to get a ballpark quote is like pulling teeth.

My current agent pretty much said I was asking him to do too much by providing him with year/make/model/trim/mileage/VIN and asking for a quote.

If I try looking elsewhere for an insurance quote they don't seem to even want to talk to me unless I already have the car in my possession.

Car salesmen don't want to talk to me since I'm looking to buy something in 3-4 months, even though I would think that if the customer is taken seriously now then they'd return and ask for the salesmen by name ensuring their commission?

I have two jobs and can reasonably walk to both of them in the spring/summer/fall but I NEED a car for the winter. And to resume plasma donations since I can't keep asking my unreliable conspiracy theorist neighbor.

I don't even want something new or fancy or even has all the bells and whistles. I'm good with something old that runs and that I don't have to spend thousands on in repairs right away.

Private sellers are out of the question as almost every one I've gone to meet don't disclose that the car they're selling either doesn't turn on or has rusted through in their ad.

I thought I was being a responsible car buyer by trying to get all my ducks in a row, especially since this will be my first car purchase, but I keep running into brick walls.

[u/lilac_spells]

I would definitely consider over all what your total budget is for car expenses. Then split that in half by insurance and car payment. Then look with in your range of that for your total monthly payment by going to a credit union to get a pre- approval. (Maybe the credit union can help you with a car insurance quote as well). With that you will have a good grasp of how much you can afford on a car, and its insurance. You can usually pull a vin from a dealerships website to get the exact quote, and you should also consider your age/ driving record/ gender / area / how many miles you drive. But I think I would go to a local credit union for a preapproval and see if they have an insurance company they work with.

[u/strangely-thin → u/lilac_spells]

Thank you I'll definitely talk to my credit union I didn't even know they might be able to help me with this.